Social Enterprise & Nonprofit

Overview We will discuss the final policies in this series in a single blog post. These policies concern specific situations in which a nonprofit organization may find itself depending on the nature of its structure and operations. These policies are the joint venture policy and the parent-subordinate consistency policy. While these policies are important to …

The Joint Venture Policy and The Parent-Subordinate Consistency Policy Read More »

Overview In many ways, a nonprofit organization is just like a for profit organization. Nonprofit organizations hire executives, purchase property, engage in business, and, most importantly for this blog post, require significant amounts of traveling for staff and volunteers to perform the needed operations of the organization. When a considerable amount of traveling is done, …

The Travel Reimbursement Policy Read More »

Overview A receivership is the appointment of a disinterested person or organization (a receiver), by a court or by a corporation or a person, for the protection or collection of property that is the subject of creditors’ claims. Receiverships exist at both the state level, through RCW 7.60, and the federal level, through Rule 66 …

Receivership Under RCW 7.60: An Alternative to Bankruptcy Read More »

Overview 501(c)(3) charities are facing relaxed regulations in what they must disclose in tax filings to the IRS. Currently, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6033, a 501(c)(3) organization must annually disclose to the IRS on Form’s 990 Schedule B the total amount of contributions and gifts received by it during the year and the names …

SCOTUS Ruling on Donor Disclosures Sets off Wave of New State Legislation Read More »

In today’s market, buyers and sellers need to be creative when it comes to financing the purchase and sale of a business. Earn-outs offer a financing option that provides for flexibility, incentives for the new owners to do well, and incentives for the seller to see the transition go smoothly. Earn-outs can be structured in …

Seller’s Earn-Out when Selling Their Business Read More »

Overview Copyright Law protects original works of authorship fixed in a tangible form including but not limited to images, videos, articles, and content on websites e.g., this blog post is also protected under copyright law (so don’t get any ideas…). Technology has made it easier to copy, share, save, sell, and replicate content. We can …

The Safe Harbor Read More »

Overview Phrases are powerful branding tools. Some unforgettable branding campaigns include Nike’s “Just do it”; Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?”; or American Express’s “Don’t leave home without it.” For-profit and non-profit corporations derive commercial value from such phrases by making customers think of them when they hear the phrase. For example, if you see the phrase, …

Can I trademark a catchphrase? Read More »

Overview In today’s business and nonprofit world, intellectual property is one of the most valuable assets for a business. It allows a business/organization to have ownership over an idea, work, name, or symbol. This blog post will summarize the four most common types of intellectual property that you may want to consider protecting. These types …

Intellectual Property: Back to the Basics Read More »

Overview It is a simple rule that it takes a lot of documents to run an organization. Governing documents, transaction documents, property documents, tax documents, and many more. What happens when these documents start to pile up? How long should an organization hold on to these documents and what should they do with them when …

The Document Retention Policy Read More »

Overview For organizations exempt from income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the most important governance policy the organization can have is the conflict of interest policy. The policy is not only explicitly asked about for every organization in the Form 990 Informational Return but is also asked about in the Form …

The Conflict of Interest Policy Read More »