Each topic described below is presented with a written, hard copy handout and a Power Point summary.  Each is designed to provide ample time for interactive questions and answers.  You may select any combination of presentations that will fit your program.

Types of Community Foundation Funds

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)

Donor advised funds are a major source of new funding for community foundations.  The rules governing DAFs are vague and undefined and the IRS is conducting audits to gauge whether more guidance is needed.  This presentation includes:

•  An update on legislative and regulatory oversight
•  Basic rules applicable to DAFs
•  Due diligence requirements
•  Practices that skirt the edges of the law, and
•  Recommended best practices in anticipation of governmental scrutiny

Agency Endowments

Many local charities (agencies) find it attractive to form endowment funds with their local community foundation.  Recent legislation and requirements from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have made these funds more complicated.  This presentation includes:

•  The two different types of agency endowment funds
•  How they are structured
•  Pitfalls to avoid, and
•  How the FASB accounting rules apply

Supporting Organizations

Supporting organizations have become more popular with donors and are used increasingly by community foundations in a variety of ways.  This presentation covers the basic requirements of supporting organizations and explores the three different types available under the law.  Emphasis is placed on the importance to the community foundation in maintaining adequate oversight and control.

Termination of Private Foundations

Each year many private foundations close down operations and convert to funds at community foundations.  This presentation covers the advantages of private foundation termination and the legal process required to avoid unnecessary penalties.

Grantmaking Issues

Due Diligence: Grants to Charities & Non-Charities

Community foundations have a responsibility to see that their grants are used for charitable purposes.  The law permits grants to other charities and to non-charities.  This presentation explores the legal requirements for both types of grants and reviews common best practices.

Scholarships & Other Grants to Individuals

In contrast to grants to organizations, the law requires more due diligence and recordkeeping for grants to individuals.  This presentation covers the legal requirements necessary for grants for scholarships, fellowships, disaster relief, economic relief, prizes and awards.

Fiscal Agents: A Trap for the Unwary

Community foundations are used in many ways as financial intermediaries so that donors and other funders can avoid a variety of different legal requirements.  If not structured with care, these arrangements can backfire and cause multiple legal problems.  This presentation describes how to do fiscal sponsorships correctly to stay out of trouble.

International Grants

Community foundations traditionally have a local, geographic focus.  As the world becomes more globally interconnected, more donors are looking to the community foundation for assistance in charitable giving that addresses concerns outside the United States.  Based on Edie’s book, Beyond Our Borders: Making Grants Outside the U.S., this presentation summarizes the legal requirements and recommended best practices for this type of grantmaking.

Lobbying & Public Policy

Community foundations are permitted to lobby on issues consistent with their charitable purposes – but only to a limited extent.  This presentation explains what is lobbying, what is not lobbying and the many ways community foundations can affect public policy without crossing the line. 

Legal Basics

Law & Foundations 101

This presentation takes a minimum of 2.5 hours and provides a basic introduction to the legal concepts all board and staff members should know.  Key topics include: an explanation of Section 501(c)(3), fundamental differences between community foundations and private foundations; charitable deduction advantages for donors giving to community foundations; the more stringent restrictions applicable to private foundations; and the Intermediate Sanction rules for community foundations and other public charities.

Calculating the Public Support Test

To avoid being reclassified by the IRS as a private foundation, all community foundations must continue to satisfy the public support test.  Key topics include:  What counts as public support; How to calculate the public support fraction; The one third “mechanical” test; The 10% “facts and circumstances” test; The 2% limitation on certain donations.

Intermediate Sanctions

The IRS can levy excise tax penalties on staff and board members of community foundations in cases of excessive compensation and so-called “excess benefits transactions.”  This presentation describes the key definitions in the law, how the penalties are applied and steps that can be taken to build in extra safeguards around these financial decisions.

Conflicts of Interest

This presentation covers the broad range of different types of conflict of interest.  Some conflicts violate the law (federal or state). Others are more ethical conflicts or touch on best practices.  Topics included are self-dealing, intermediate sanctions, grants to organizations where board or staff are associated, and best ways to avoid or treat conflicts of interest.

Fundraising Events & Donor-Initiated Fundraising

Dinners, galas, raffles, golf tournaments, Runs For The Cure – community foundations often put on a variety of fundraising events.  The potential problems are compounded when a donor wants to raise money for his or her own fund – or a local charity wishes to do the same for its agency endowment created at the community foundation.  In most cases, the community foundation is the legally responsible organization.  The potential legal pitfalls that arise with fundraising events are described in this presentation including: written verifications required for donors, tips in calculating the economic benefit provided to donors, the importance of reporting fundraising expenses on the tax return and recommended procedures for donor-initiated fundraising.

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance

Based on Edie’s book, Directors and Officers Liability Insurance and Indemnification, this presentation covers several topics including: What is D&O insurance?  What does it cover?  What does it not cover? How does it differ from “indemnification?”  How common are claims against foundations? Who needs it?  What do other community foundations do about it?  What are the most important provisions in a good D&O insurance policy?

Invading Corpus & UMIFA

The Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act (UMIFA) provides necessary flexibility to well run community foundations in setting both their investment and spending policies.  UMIFA can also place stiff restrictions on newly created funds when investment markets are moving down.  This presentation covers the basic advantages and disadvantages of UMIFA and offers suggestions as to how best to structure new fund agreements in order to maintain flexibility.