Creating Tax-Exempt Solutions for Hurricane-Ravaged City
Holland & Knight's Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations Team, along with other attorneys from the firm's Jacksonville office, were honored on April 15, 2019, in appreciation of their pro bono work for the city after Hurricane Michael devastated the community in October 2018. Nearly every one of the city's more than 8,000 homes was damaged.
Holland & Knight's private wealth and corporate services attorneys created a Section 501(c)(3) public charity to facilitate structural and economic recovery in the city. The goal was to raise $40 million for the city's Hurricane Relief Trust Fund, which is being used to help residents pay their insurance deductibles and other costs.
In appreciation of Holland & Knight's efforts, the team was presented with a key to the city and issued a proclamation on behalf of the city's residents that April 15 was to be known as "Holland & Knight LLP Day."
The Jacksonville team provided pro bono counsel to the municipal government with respect to the formation of a nonprofit corporation as well as its application for recognition of tax-exempt status. At the request of the firm, the application received expedited consideration and an exemption determination, retroactive to the date of incorporation, in a fraction of the standard estimated time.
The Bay County city was one of the most severely impacted cities when Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018. The storm was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the United States in recorded history, as well as the strongest storm in terms of wind speed to strike the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992.
As the largest private wealth practice in the United States, Holland & Knight's Private Wealth Services Group represents high-net-worth individuals, substantial closely held and family businesses, charitable organizations, educational institutions, banks and trust companies. Our taxation, nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations attorneys provide in-depth representation on a variety of matters to help our clients achieve their goals.