Private Foundations
The Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Planning group helps family foundations, community foundations, corporate foundations, and private operating foundations achieve their philanthropic goals in a tax-efficient and legally compliant manner. We advise on strategic and legal considerations in relation to the formation or dissolution of the foundation, non-profit governance, achieving and maintaining tax exempt status, planning and making donations and grants, and complying with regulatory and fiduciary obligations. We prepare all organizational documents, including charters, corporate filings, bylaws, corporate policies, and trust agreements, and other documentation, including grant or endowment agreements. When appropriate, we work with our Private Wealth attorneys to align a client’s estate planning or trust arrangements and ultimately achieve their personal and philanthropic goals.
Our clients include philanthropists, community foundations, and corporate foundations from across Delaware, the United States, and the world. We are equally at ease sitting down with an individual client or family to discuss their private foundation as we are arranging virtual meetings and multijurisdictional transactions with international organizations and their advisors. We are inspired by the work of each of these organizations and are privileged to be a part of their mission.
Public Charities and Supporting Organizations
The regulatory landscape in which section 501(c)(3) organizations operate is both difficult and dynamic. The laws fluctuate with political, technological, and societal changes, and nonprofits must ensure compliance or face potentially hefty penalties. Our attorneys help public charities and supporting organizations with their formation filings, drafting organizational documents, achieving tax exempt status, and ongoing governance and regulatory matters. As regulatory oversight of non-profit organizations increases in the U.S. and governance issues abound, we stay on top of the rules and responsibilities imposed on nonprofits and fiduciaries so that our clients can remain focused on their mission.
We support 501(c)(3) organizations from their formation through daily operations, expansion and, when necessary, dissolution. Our attorneys handle corporate and IRS filings, advise on tax-exemption and lobbying issues, and advise on matters that are not unique to the non-profit sector such as employment law, real estate, and contractual disputes. In these matters, we are able to bring in GF&M attorneys with extensive experience in these fields to provide superior representation for our nonprofit clients.
Social Welfare and Other Exempt Organizations
A non-profit organization organized exclusively to promote social welfare may be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. We assist social welfare organizations and their principals with formation filings, drafting organizational documents, attaining and maintaining tax exemption, compliance with state and federal regulations at all stages of the organization’s life cycle, and ongoing governance and operational questions. When a 501(c)(4) entity is restructuring or dissolving, we guide the organization through the legal process, and administrative and IRS filings, to ensure that the entity is properly terminated, funds are appropriately distributed, and liability risks are minimized.
Among our clients, we advise advocacy groups, community sports associations, and other groups working for the betterment of society. We have also assisted section 501(c)(6) and section 501(c)(7) organizations with formation, governance, and tax matters.
Split Interest Charitable Trusts
Split interest charitable trusts allow a person to combine their desire to provide for themselves or others with their charitable goals in one tax-efficient vehicle. Our lawyers advise trustors, trustees, and beneficiaries on the drafting, funding, construction, and administration of all types of split interest charitable trust and similar vehicles.
Charitable remainder trusts (which distribute income to designated beneficiaries and the remaining assets to a charitable organization) and charitable lead trusts (which make distributions to a charity for a period of time and the remainder to designated beneficiaries) are commonly used in trust and estate planning, but they are also complex and subject to state-specific trust laws. In Delaware, our unique trust laws make the state a popular choice for individual and corporate trusts. As seasoned Delaware trust and nonprofit lawyers, we are adept at creating split-interest trust arrangements that take advantage of Delaware trust laws to achieve our clients’ objectives and maximize their philanthropic goals.
Planned Giving
When an individual, family, or corporate entity wishes to make a gift, endowment, pledge, bequest, or other planned giving, there are numerous practical, legal, and tax considerations. Our attorneys have experience advising both donors and donees in such arrangements to assist them in executing their wishes, protecting their interests, and maximizing the impact of a gift. Whether a scholarship fund at a university, a gift with naming opportunity to a hospital, a donor-advised fund, or a charitable gift annuity, we handle all types and structures of gift, both inter vivos and testamentary.
