Nonprofit Organizations
Non-profit Attorneys Helping Charities Thrive with Legal Clarity and Compliance
Our non-profit attorneys support charities, foundations, and educational institutions with formation, tax exemption, and operational compliance. At Kirton McConkie, our non-profit attorneys in Utah help 501(c)(3) organizations with formation, governance, compliance, and tax-exempt status.
Whether you’re starting a grassroots nonprofit or running a multibillion-dollar foundation, our attorneys can guide you through the regulatory, operational, and tax challenges that affect your ability to deliver on your mission. Our clients include private foundations, religious and educational institutions, healthcare organizations, trade associations, advocacy groups, and donor-advised funds with operations across the U.S. and internationally.
Our team brings firsthand insight from non-profit board service, offering practical guidance on fiduciary duties, grantmaking, and governance.
Non-profit Legal Services Include:
- Consulting and assisting clients with the initial stages of entity formation and issues surrounding qualification for tax exemption, and preparing applications to secure federal and state tax exemptions.
- Preparing organizational documents, such as articles of incorporation, bylaws, policies, and trusts.
- Assisting with general business, operations, and policy matters related to real estate, intellectual property, contracts, contributions, insurance, employment, employee benefits, and other issues pertinent to the organization, including unrelated business income tax issues.
- Advising on non-profit involvement in structures involving commercial entities, including for-profit subsidiaries, partnerships, and joint ventures.
- Advising private foundations, organizations maintaining donor-advised funds, and other grantmakers on sophisticated grantmaking programs, including expenditure responsibility grants, equivalency determinations, and program-related investments.
- Helping clients comply with the U.S. private foundation rules in their programmatic activities and investments, including private equity, and correcting previous violations.
- Advising qualification as a publicly supported public charity, supporting organization, or private operating foundation.
- Advising U.S. charities on activities outside the U.S. (working with local counsel as necessary) and managing inbound and outbound flows of funds in a tax-effective manner.
- Advising foreign organizations on their U.S. tax issues and establishing “friends of” fundraising organizations.
- We advise nonprofits on charitable solicitation, donor compliance, and fundraising regulations in all 50 states.
- Providing counsel on internal governance matters, including the selection and operation of boards of directors, fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, and liability issues.
- Counseling charities about planned giving, including gift acceptance policies, due diligence concerns, tax strategies, and negotiating large gifts.
- Establishing charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and charitable gift annuities.
- Advising non-profit advocacy groups on the restrictions on lobbying and political activity by tax-exempt organizations.
- Reviewing executive compensation and other transactions to ensure compliance with IRS and state rules governing excess benefit transactions and private inurement.
- Representing exempt organizations and related parties in tax disputes and IRS audits or seeking private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service.
- Approaching legislative or executive branch policymakers about potential legislation or regulations and their impact on non-profit clients.
From formation to fundraising, and governance to global operations, we help non-profit organizations stay compliant, mission-focused, and built for long-term impact.