Non Profit & Tax Exempt Organizations

If you are involved in the non-profit sector of our economy, the Tax-Exempt Organizations Team at Holland & Knight can guide you through the increasingly complex maze of regulations governing the organizations with which you work. From corporate governance, to tax matters, transactions, litigation and real estate issues, our dedicated team will give you the most current legal counsel.

Offering Representation for a Broad Range of Clients

Holland & Knight represents tax-exempt organizations of all types, including the following:

• public charities, including:
  
  
  • national and international charitable organizations
  • colleges and universities
  • private and charter schools
  • student exchange organizations
  • cultural institutions
  • religious organizations
  • social service agencies
  • healthcare providers
  • research organizations
• private foundations
• donor advised funds
• trade and professional associations
• social clubs
• advocacy groups

What About Tax Issues?

Our team provides you continuing direction on obtaining and making the most of your tax-exempt status. Clients are advised on:

• Internal Revenue Service Regulations and Examinations
• unrelated business taxable income
• private inurement and private benefit prohibitions
• reasonable compensation issues and intermediate sanctions generally
• restrictions on lobbying and political activities
• rules on supporting organizations and donor advised funds

We also provide counsel on private foundation regulations, including the annual distribution requirement, rules on domestic and foreign grant-making, prohibitions against self-dealing, jeopardizing investments, and excess business holdings and taxable expenditures.

Our broad scope of expertise includes providing Section 501(c)(3) tax opinions in tax-exempt bond financings, advising you on the rules governing low income housing and student housing, and obtaining and maintaining real property tax exemptions.

Addressing Your Corporate Governance Needs

Our lawyers assist clients in conducting internal reviews of their governance procedures and help them develop best practices and prepare governance guidelines, bylaws, committee charters, conflict-of-interest policies and ethical conduct statements. The team advises directors and officers on their fiduciary responsibilities, and on indemnification and insurance issues.

Should Litigation Problems Arise

As a leading authority on nonprofit governance, our lawyers are regularly consulted on questions of fiduciary conduct and liability. The team has extensive experience in conducting internal investigations and in defending organizations when state attorneys general and the Internal Revenue Service investigate nonprofits or assert claims against them and their directors. If your issues cannot be resolved, you can depend on our team of advisors to handle any ensuing litigation.

Managing Tax-Exempt Assets

Focusing on the changing business environment in which we live, your Holland & Knight team will aid you in managing your tax-exempt organization's assets in various ways:

• solicitation and use of endowment funds and gifts
• fiduciary obligations regarding the investment of charitable assets
• development of endowment policies and investment policy statements
• advice for trustees of charitable split-interest trusts

Meeting Charitable Solicitation Requirements

Our Tax-Exempt Organization Team provides the resources you need for achieving charitable solicitation and fundraising compliance. We know the federal tax law requirements and state charitable solicitation statutes; we renew and amend registrations and resolve disputes with state agencies.

Corporate and Transactional Work

In both nonprofit corporate transactions and contract work, our Holland & Knight corporate team will represent you in transactions from consolidations and mergers to agreements with professional fundraisers and corporate sponsors.

Approach Real Estate Transactions with Insight

With Holland & Knight serving as a market barometer, you can approach real estate transactions with confidence. Our team brings knowledge of the laws regarding unrelated business taxable income and the standards for real property tax exemption to these projects.

Employment Matters

Enabling you to respond rapidly to emerging issues, our team is assisted by Holland & Knight’s labor and employment practice.

Balancing Revenue and Risk

Helping to manage your intellectual property portfolio, Holland & Knight provides a cross-disciplinary range of legal services designed to help protect your rights and to strike an equilibrium between balance of revenue and risk.

Ensuring Receipt of Charitable Bequests

We protect the interests of organizations named as beneficiaries in estate planning documents, and thereby protect the interests of charitable donors as well.