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Question of the Month
In our “Question of the Month” series, we are taking your church and non-profit legal questions. We will select a question each month to answer.
Question of the Month - Legal Concerns For Asking Donors to Share Appeal for Support in Facebook, etc.
When a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization encourages its friends and donors to share an appeal for designated support with their friends through Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, Twitter or other social networking, does this raise legal concerns?
Question of the Month - Open Board Meetings
Do all nonprofits and churches have to hold open board meetings?
Question of the Month - Advertising as a Nonprofit but not a 501(c)(3)
Can an organization advertise itself as a nonprofit, but not be a 501(c)(3) organization?
Read more: Question of the Month - Advertising as a Nonprofit but not a 501(c)(3)
Question of the Month - Liability for Apartment Under Lease
We purchased a church with a 4 unit apartment building on the premises. Same address. We have remodeled one of the apartments and are renting (at cost of utilities only) to a single mom with terminal cancer and her son. Some of our board members are concerned about their liability and our tax exempt status. What is the best way to protect our board members/church and maintain our tax exempt status? Insurance policy? Separate entity?
Read more: Question of the Month - Liability for Apartment Under Lease
Question of the Month - Housing Allowance for Chaplains
We are a nonprofit hospice care organization that is not affiliated with any religious organization or government entity. We employ chaplains as part of our interdisciplinary team. These chaplains are ministers of the gospel, duly ordained by their own church bodies. The chaplains’ primary duty in their capacity as a chaplain for our organization is to provide spiritual counsel and care to our patients and their families and, on occasion, perform funeral services for patients after they pass. These duties include the direct contact with the patient and patient families as well as the administrative activity of documenting these contacts in the patient files. I can find no where that the IRS defines “conducting religious worship or administering sacerdotal functions” nor the “exercise of his/her ministry”? Can these chaplains get housing allowances if the organization is will to set the aside each year?
Read more: Question of the Month - Housing Allowance for Chaplains