Churches, Schools, and the Unvaccinated Movement

Recent outbreaks remind leaders of the precautions they must take. By Lisa A. Runquist “First appeared on March 23, 2015, on ChurchLawAndTax.com Those of us in our late 50s or older have probably never been vaccinated for measles, mumps, chicken pox, or other “childhood” diseases. Why? Because we had those diseases as children. In fact,…

Duties and Liabilities of Directors of Nonprofits

by Lisa A. Runquist Updated 7/14/01 1. Introduction Nonprofit organizations are big business. Because of this, and because of their unparalleled growth, nonprofits are receiving attention like they never have before (between 1974 and 1997, the sector doubled in size), both from Congress, and because of this, from the Internal Revenue Service. Another more disturbing…

New Disclosure Regulations Issued by IRS

by Lisa A. Runquist updated March, 2000 Exempt organizations are required to make their federal application for tax exemption (Forms 1023, 1024, etc.), and their federal informational returns (Forms 990, 990-EZ, etc.) available for inspection by anyone who requests to see them. However, in addition to this requirement, exempt organizations must also provide copies of…

How To Keep Your Nonprofits Out of Trouble With The IRS: Appendix A- IRS Sample Conflicts of Interest Policy

Article I Purpose The purpose of the conflicts of interest policy is to protect the Corporation’s interest when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the Corporation. This policy is intended to supplement but not replace any applicable state laws governing…

How To Keep Your Nonprofit Out of Trouble With The IRS

by Lisa A. Runquist Revised January, 2001 1. Introduction Nonprofit organizations are big business. Because of this, and because of their unparalleled growth, nonprofits are receiving attention like they never have before, both from Congress, and because of this, from the Internal Revenue Service. Another more disturbing reason is the spate of highly publicized scandals…

Raffles in California

by Lisa A. Runquist July 14, 2001 Raffles have been illegal in California. The California Constitution was amended by initiative, to allow the Legislature to authorize private, nonprofit, eligible organizations to operate raffles to provide funding for beneficial and charitable works. SB 639 was passed on August 30, 2000, was enrolled and signed by the…

Basic Tax Aspects for Religious Organizations

by Lisa A. Runquist Revised January, 2001 “Piety is no defense to the assessments of the tax collector.” Scripture Press Foundation v. United States, 285 F.2d 800, 904 (1961), cert denied 368 U.S. 985. Religious organizations are not exempt from complying with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, or applicable state laws. However, there…

Employment Law- The Fair Credit Reporting Act Provides Safeguards for Employees Under Investigation

by Elizabeth R. Koller Whittenbury *Posted with Permission from California Lawyer. This file cannot be downloaded from this page. California Lawyer’s definition of reprint permission does not include the downloading, copying by third parties or any other type of transmission of any posted articles. This spring the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an opinion letter…

Volunteer Protection Act of 1997- An Imperfect Solution

by Lisa A. Runquist and Judy F. Zybach* Updated 7/14/01 On June 18, 1997, the “Volunteer Protection Act of 1997” was enacted into law by the United States Congress (111 Stat. 218). The purpose of the Act is to limit lawsuits against volunteers serving nonprofit public and private organizations and governmental agencies. The Act was…