Tax-Exempt Organizations
Basswood Counsel delivers timely, cost-effective service to charitable foundations and other nonprofits. Our attorneys provide guidance on whether activities such as employment arrangements or business ventures jeopardize tax-exempt status or generate income subject to unrelated business income tax. We assist with the unique legal and business issues involved in fulfilling nonprofit and philanthropic missions in a cost-effective manner.
Basswood Counsel provides legal guidance and counsel at each stage of the life cycle of nonprofit organizations, from entity formation and recognition of federal tax-exempt status to dissolution and notifying the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of termination. We can advise on the full range of operational, transactional, and strategic issues that may arise over the course of a nonprofit organization’s existence.
We guide tax-exempt organizations through incorporation, designing suitable governance structures, obtaining federal and state exemptions, and commencing operations. We assist nonprofits in navigating the complex regulatory environment. We help our clients in developing good board governance policies and practices, and we advise them on fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, risk oversight, board and committee structures, executive compensation, and compliance with governance best practices. We also assist with the structuring of complex grants, program-related investments, impact investing, and joint ventures.
Basswood Counsel works with tax-exempt organizations that are entering into corporate transactions. We also advise nonprofit organizations in structuring their investments to avoid or minimize the impact of unrelated business income tax and private foundation investment restrictions, and to satisfy their other business and legal concerns.