A Primer on Advising Nonprofit Organizations
April 2011
A Primer on Advising Nonprofit Organizations
Co-sponsored by the Business and Taxation Law Sections of the Colorado Bar Association and the Colorado Nonprofit Association
Why You Should Attend
This program will present a comprehensive analysis of legal issues of concern to nonprofit organizations. The program is intended primarily for attorneys. Key representatives of nonprofit organizations, including board members, executive directors, chief financial officers, accountants, and representatives of governmental agencies can also benefit.
Program Highlights
- A Four-Subject Primer
- Annual Tax Update
- Governance/Best Practices
- Employment Law - New Applications and Interpretations in Response to Changes in the Workplace
- State and Local Tax Issues of Importance to Nonprofit Organizations and Their Donors
- Innovative Educational Models to Meet Challenging Needs
- Religious Organizations: Governance Structures and Unique Tax Issues
- Religious Organizations: The Epic Confrontation Between the Anti-Discrimination Principle and the Association Principle
- Religious Organizations: Child Abuse Reporting and Pastoral Confidences
- Private Foundations: Rules, Restrictions and Opportunities
- Developments at the Federal and State Level Affecting Exempt Health Care Organizations
- Affordable Housing
Program Description
As in recent years, this year's Institute includes a Thursday afternoon primer designed to introduce practitioners to more general aspects of the laws governing the formation and operation of nonprofit organizations, applying for and maintaining tax-exempt status, the distinctions between public charities and private foundations, and charitable giving rules and techniques.
The morning of Friday's all-day Advanced Program will focus in depth on four areas that are both timely and of long-standing interest - an annual update of recent federal and state tax law developments, a survey of various outside pressures that seek to impose increasingly rigorous standards on the administrative and governance practices of nonprofit organizations, emerging issues of employment law that affect nonprofit organizations, and the availability of state and local tax exemptions in a time of worsening governmental budget shortfalls.
The keynote luncheon speaker, a legislator, educator, and education policy advisor, will survey more recent initiatives and innovations that are emerging to address the challenges that confront public education.
Friday afternoon's program will be divided into two tracks, each focusing on specific industries within the nonprofit sector. One track will explore the current legal challenges faced by health care institutions, affordable housing providers, and private foundations. The second track will concentrate on religious organizations, including a discussion of their diverse governance structures and practices, unique tax issues applicable to them, and the tension between antidiscrimination legislation and religious association, and the clergy's dilemma regarding reporting child abuse.
Agenda
Moderated by:
John Valentine, Esq.
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
Denver, Colorado
12:15 -12:45 p.m.
Registration
12:45 - 1:00 p.m.
Welcoming Remarks and Introduction of Primer Moderator
John Valentine, Esq.
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
Denver, Colorado
1:00 p.m.
Organization of Nonprofit Entities
Nonprofit corporations in Colorado may be formed for “any lawful business or activity,” and the flexibility of Colorado's nonprofit corporation statute lends itself to structuring nonprofit corporations in ways that accommodate a wide diversity of circumstances. This session will begin with the mechanics of creating a nonprofit corporation and then proceed to consider many of the different ways in which they may be governed, including a discussion of the relative rights and responsibilities of members and directors. This session will also touch on important areas of compliance with the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act.
Presented by:
Denise D. Hoffman, Esq.
Mastin Hoffman & Crews PC
Greenwood Village, Colorado
1:50 p.m.
Obtaining and Retaining Tax-Exempt Status
This session will provide a basic introduction to the tax law applicable to organizations described in Section 501(c). It will begin with an overview of the varied categories of tax-exempt organizations, including social welfare organizations, trade associations, and social clubs, and will then focus on the requirements for qualifying and operating as a Section 501(c)(3) charity. In that regard, this presentation will explore the types of activities that can be considered to fall within the scope of Section 501(c)(3), the relationship between its public benefit requirement and private inurement prohibition, and its restrictions on lobbying and political campaign involvement.
Presented by:
Cara G. Lawrence, Esq.
Isaacson Rosenbaum PC
Denver, CO
2:40 p.m.
Break
2:55 p.m.
Public Charities, Private Foundations, and Unrelated Business Taxable Income
This session will clarify the complexities of qualifying a Section 501(c)(3) organization as a public charity, as well as the consequences of its failure to establish or maintain that status and thus becoming classified as a private foundation. The second half of this presentation will explore the taxation of unrelated business taxable income, with a special emphasis on how to recognize which activities may generate taxable income and strategies for avoiding or minimizing it.
Presented by:
John Valentine, Esq.
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
Denver, CO
3:45 p.m.
Charitable Giving: Tools for Charities and Tax Relief for Donors
In this economic climate, many charities are seeking to increase their revenues while potential donors are seeking tax relief. Charitable giving can meet both goals. This presentation will begin with an overview of the rules relating to deductibility of charitable contributions, including categories of eligible donees, percentage limitations, special rules based on the type of property donated and the purposes for which it is used, and the substantiation rules imposed on charities and donors when a gift is made. It will then review charitable giving techniques charities may wish to employ as part of a planned giving program, including charitable split interest trusts, conservation easements, gifts of remainder interests, restricted gifts, charitable gift annuities, and pooled income funds, with an emphasis on techniques that can be particularly attractive to donors when interest rates are low.
Presented by:
Merry H. Balson, Esq.
Berenbaum Weinshienk PC
Denver, CO
4:35 p.m.
Wrap-up: Questions and Answers - Panel
4:50 p.m.
Adjourn
Planning Committee
Peter C. Guthery, Esq., Program Chair
Berenbaum Weinshienk PC
Denver, Colorado
Peter B. Nagel, Esq.
Peter B. Nagel, P.C.
Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
William E. Walters, III, Esq.
Kelly Garnsey Hubbell & Lass LLC
Denver, Colorado
Moderator
John Valentine Esq.
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
Denver, Colorado
Faculty
Merry H. Balson, Esq.
Berenbaum Weinshienk PC
Denver, Colorado
Denise D. Hoffman, Esq.
Mastin Hoffman & Crews PC
Greenwood Village, Colorado
Cara G. Lawrence, Esq.
Isaacson Rosenbaum PC
Denver, Colorado
John Valentine, Esq.
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
Denver, Colorado
Video Replays: June 2, 2011
Denver: CLE Classroom, 1900 Grant Street, Suite 300
Grand Junction: 1250 East Sherwood Drive
Colorado Springs: 421 South Tejon Street, Suite 100
Location Information
CLECI Large Classroom
1900 Grant Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80203
Get directions
1900 Grant Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80203
Registration Fees
| Non Member | $199.00 |
| CBA | $159.00 |
| Non Member | $159.00 |
| Non Member | $159.00 |
| CORP | $139.00 |
| TAX | $139.00 |
| Non Member | $139.00 |
| New Lawyer | $119.00 |
- General Credits: 4.00
- Ethics Credits:
- EDI Credits:
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