Law Latte Blog

Gail Perry is a nonprofit consultant and motivational speaker for nonprofit organizations. Her website contains great articles and tips for improving nonprofits and nonprofit boards. Check out her “2012 New Years Resolutions for Board Member” at the link below

2012 New Years Resolutions for Board Members

My all-time favorite Christmas Carol has been arranged and performed by  Casting Crowns to take its place as my all-time favorite contemporary Christmas carol:

You can download the music through Amazon (my preferred music provider) here:  Amazon – Casting Crowns Christmas Album
( I highly recommend the entire album – CC has wonderful arrangements of classic carols and beautiful new Christmas songs)

There is also a great choral arrangement of this version – our HS Show Choir performed it at this year’s Christmas Feast event – a great piece for a choir:
Word Music – Anthem "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (Peace on Earth)"

May the Peace of Christ be with you now and in the coming year.

Merry Christmas from Lawlatte!

Grab a cup of coffee and watch this video – gorgeous HD nature-videography. Go on – it’s worth it, and that next task can wait 5 minutes while you recharge your batteries.

It’s a rainy, dark, November morning, and coffee with one of these cookies sounds like an excellent, cozy treat.  Thanks to Scrambled Henfruit for the recipe:

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

YUM!

Paul Lippe is an attorney that contributes to “Legal Rebels,” an ABA-sponsored platform that encourages attorneys to think “outside the box.” He had one of the more interesting posts about Steve Jobs and his biography. You can read a short excerpt, here, or the full article at the link, below.

“Much has already been written about Steve Jobs and the book, but since he is perhaps the exemplar of the New Normal, I thought it might be useful to summarize some thoughts on what we as lawyers might want to draw from his life. For those who don’t want to work through the whole book, there’s an excellent article in Time that covers the major points. ….”

via Read more – 10 Ways for Lawyers to Find Their “Inner Steve Jobs”.

Folks are welcome to send email questions about nonprofits. I am happy to answer (with appropriate disclaimers – like check with your local legal professional to be sure that you get advice that is tailored to your nonprofit). This was a good question, so I thought I would share:

Question:
I have a nonprofit 501(c)(3) exempt status, and a friend has asked me if she could use my 501(c)(3) to apply for grants for a business venture. What are the pros and cons for letting someone use my nonprofit’s exempt status? I don’t feel comfortable about sponsoring another organization.

Answer:
It’s acceptable for a §501(c)(3) to act as a “financial conduit” for another §501(c)(3) or similar charitable nonprofit. However, it is considered to be an abuse of your nonprofit status to funnel nonprofit grant funds to a for-profit venture, and your nonprofit risks the loss of its §501(c)(3) status.   I was unclear whether your friend was involved with a for-profit or non-profit organization, but the term “business venture” seems to indicate a “for-profit” nature. This would be the first thing to confirm, before proceeding with your consideration of whether your nonprofit should act as a financial conduit.

Some things to analyze as you consider a request to be a financial conduit for another organization:

Risk – Even if the friend’s project is another §501(c)(3) organization, or an unincorporated nonprofit that clearly has a charitable purpose (and not a “for-profit” business), you are right to be cautious. The “financial conduit” is responsible for the grant dollars that flow through to the target entity. If those funds are misused or lost or stolen, your nonprofit might have to repay the lost amount to the granting organization, plus endure the public shame that would come with the public knowledge of the lost funds.

Relationship – Usually, nonprofits that are not §501(c)(3) organizations, or for some reason do not qualify for a grant (for example, they don’t have a large enough budget, haven’t been in existence for long enough, or are too small to be a §501(c)(3)), have some sort of pre-existing close relationship with the financial conduit. For example, in my home town, the local Food Pantry acted as a financial conduit for the local Thrift Shop on a site improvement grant — this was appropriate because the Food Pantry was the landlord, and both had similar stakeholders and constituents, so it was a natural fit.

Mission – If your nonprofit is very different from your friend’s nonprofit, it might be financially awkward for your nonprofit to act as a financial conduit – it might be tough to show the funds on the books (to find an appropriate accounting way to represent the information), and your stakeholders might question why you are funding a project outside of your primary mission.

Bottom line – while it is considered an acceptable practice for one nonprofit to serve as the grant conduit for another (several granting entities provide for a separate set of forms for the financial conduit, so granting organizations support and allow this practice), it requires your board’s on-the-record approval with “open eyes” to the risk and responsibility of the status as financial conduit.

I live in a small community – our county population is less than 20K.  Despite our slight numbers, the community is an enjoyable place to live, with some lovely jewels that are not so “hidden.”  One recent visitor posted a nice review of the Wabash and Erie Canal trails.

Link to the post:  One Trail-Blazing Small Town

Link to the Carroll County Wabash & Erie Canal Center for more information:  Wabash & Erie Canal

There’s a lot more to the Canal Center than the trails – all of which is top-notch.  Check out the Canal Interpretive Center, the Outdoor  Pioneer Village, take a ride on the Canal Boat, walk the trails or rent a bike to ride the 10+ miles of trails.

What’s great about this center is that it has been built, and it is maintained, solely through volunteer efforts.  The local dedication is a great example to other nonprofits in the area, and has won state and national honors for the site and the volunteers.

Thanks to the blogger for the nice post – which provides a great lead-in for me to urge you to check it out!

Amazing video morphing 500 years of paintings of women:

If you want to know more about the video and the paintings represented check out this link:  500 Years of Women in Art – Info

OK, I don’t usually play around with web-based toys and applications, but it was a rough morning with back-to-back phone calls and emails, and I needed a 5 minute break before going back to the salt mines.  Firefox told me that it wanted to update, and this is what happened.  Mozilla’s new Firefox includes a short quiz to learn more about you and create a collage that reflects your character.  I’m not going to put this on my Facebook status, and I don’t “tweet,” so here it is.  This is me – now, back to work.

I don’t have an iPad or iTouch (or i-anything for that matter, stubborn Windows user that I am). However, the spouse and the kids each own one or more of the ubiquitous Apple products. This Jesse Roston video is posted for them. And for you, Dear Reader. This is the first iPad app to get me thinking about actually buying an iPad.

Check out this YouTube video called Social Media Revolution 2. If you thought social media (Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) is just for the kids or is a passing fad – this video is for you.

Nonprofits – pay attention – If you don’t connect with social media, you will see a decline in attention to your organization as the general population shifts attention to instant content.

With all the debate and concern over the US Debt limits, please check out the US Debt Clock for some perspective. This is a “real time” representation of US Debt and the demands of different entitlements on US financial resources

US National Debt Clock

(Click on image for larger picture)

US Debt Clock 07-13-11 approx 13 07

If you serve on a nonprofit board, or are paid staff of a nonprofit, you must read Blue Avocado. It is the most helpful, conversational, timely, and thoughtful newsletter on nonprofit issues from folks that work “in the trenches” of nonprofits. The articles are, simply, excellent.

The article linked below discusses the pros and cons about whether the tax deduction for charitable donations should be abolished. This cites yet another article which advocates for removal of the tax deduction.

In this case, the article is not that memorable – I have read numerous posts about whether to abolish the charitable tax deduction, and most of them miss a number of key points in the rush prove their position on the matter. The Kim Klein article cited in this post is no different.

What is remarkable, and what I encourage you to read, are the extremely thoughtful and thought-provoking comments to this article that are far more intelligent and “deep-thinking” than the Kim Klein article.

I think we all can agree that our tax system is cumbersome, inefficient, ineffective and unfair. The real argument comes from the difference in opinion on what is “effective” and what is “fair.” The comments to this article share a different perspective that is worth the look.

Link to article: Tax the Rich More? or Less? Blue Avocado.