Nonprofit Law Prof Blog

Trustee Compensation And Charity Care Provision in US Nonprofit Hospitals

From a study published this week in Health Affairs . No reaction yet from AHA, but I am sure it is forthcoming.  

Nonprofit hospitals are required to pursue charitable missions to justify their taxpayer subsidies, which include exemptions from federal and state income taxes, property tax, and sales tax and the privilege of receiving tax-deductible charitable contributions and issuing tax-exempt bonds.1–5 These missions may come in the form of charity care and other types of community benefit, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Nonprofit organizations’ trustees represent the interest of a wide range of stakeholders and fulfill critical fiduciary duties to ensure that management decisions are aligned with the advancement of the hospital’s charitable missions.6,7

Trustees are usually motivated to contribute to the nonprofit organization’s charitable mission, and many are uncompensated.6,7 Using data from mandatory filings with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), we found that in 2019, among a total of 2,058 US nonprofit hospital organizations, 37.3 percent (n ¼ 768) compensated their trustees, and 62.7 percent (n ¼ 1,290) did not (in 2011, 40.1 percent of nonprofit hospitals compensated their trustees). The former, on average, had a lower charity-care expense ratio than the latter (1.6 percent versus 2.2 percent; p < 0:01; exhibit 1). In addition, from 2011 to 2019 the average charity-care-to expense ratio among all nonprofit hospitals decreased by 21 percent, with ratios among compensators declining more than those among noncompensators.

In a companion study published in the same Health Affairs issue, researchers found hospitals charged uninsured patients about forty to fifty percent less than the rates billed to insured patients for the same hospital service.  The outcome was especially pronounced for government and nonprofit  hospitals.  Here is page 3 of the first study:

Festschrift for Professor Ellen Aprill at Loyola Law School LA

Loyola Law School Los Angeles hosted a Festschrift on Friday March 24, celebrating the scholarly career of Ellen Aprill who has
contributed so much to the nonprofit/tax-exempt organization legal sphere over her impressive career. I participated in the event. It was a wonderful opportunity for the Loyola Law School Community to share a collective recognition of Prof. Aprill with law professors from around the country, as well as practitioners. So many described the significant ways in which Prof. Aprill impacted their scholarly and personal lives. It was a touching tribute with her family sharing fabulous reflections as well. 

9:30 am – 3:00 pm  
FESTSCHRIFT & LIVE SYMPOSIUM featuring works-in-progress, to be published in a symposium issue of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, by  

•  Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, University of Notre Dame, Nonprofits, Taxes, and Speech 
• Samuel D. Brunson, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, & Philip Hackney, University of Pittsburgh School of Law: A More Capacious Conception of Church
• Roger Paul Colinvaux, Catholic University of America: Strings Are Attached: Placing a Spotlight on the Hidden Subsidy for Perpetual Donor Limits on Gifts
• Richard L. Hasen, UCLA School of Law: Nonprofit Law as the Tool to Kill What Remains of Campaign Finance Law: Reluctant Lessons from Ellen Aprill
• Michelle D. Layser, University of San Diego School of Law: The Unknown Consequences of Place-Based Tax Incentives

The presentation of papers was followed by a celebration and tribute from around thirty different people from students to colleagues, from practitioners to family from 3:30 – 5:00 pm. It was a true joy.

Philip Hackney

Brunson & Hackney: A More Capacious Concept of Church

Samuel D. Brunson (Loyola Chicago) and Philip Hackney (Pittsburgh) have posted A More Capacious Concept of Church, which will be published in the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review as part of a symposium issue honoring Ellen Aprill (Loyola L.A.). Here is the abstract:

United States tax law provides churches with extra benefits and robust protection from IRS enforcement actions. Churches and religious organizations are automatically exempt from the income tax without needing to apply to be so recognized and without needing to file a tax return. Beyond that, churches are protected from audit by stringent procedures. There are good reasons to consider providing a distance between church and state, including the state tax authority. In many instances, Congress granted churches preferential tax treatment to try to avoid excess entanglement between church and state, though that preferential treatment often just shifts the locus of entanglement. But those benefits and protections come with cost both to individual churches (by making these organizations susceptible to tax shelters and political activity shelters) and to our democratic order (by granting churches to a higher status than other organizations). Does Congress get the balance right? We think the balance struck is problematic but justifiable. In this Essay we only note the problems and suggest some actions churches and religious organizations might take to protect against some of the dangers.

Lloyd Mayer

Hasen: Nonprofit Law as the Tool to Kill What Remains of Campaign Finance Law

Richard L. Hasen (UCLA) has posted Nonprofit Law as the Tool to Kill What Remains of Campaign Finance Law: Reluctant Lessons from Ellen Aprill, which will be published in the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review as part of a symposium issue honoring Ellen Aprill (Loyola L.A.). Here is the abstract:

This brief Essay was prepared for a festschrift honoring the work of Professor Ellen Aprill. I explain in the Essay how Professor Aprill’s deep knowledge of nonprofit and tax law and her relentless intellectual honesty leads her (and us) to an unhappy place: a world in which many of the remaining regulations of money in politics could well be struck down as unconstitutional or rendered wholly ineffective by a Supreme Court increasingly hostile to the goals of campaign finance law and extremely solicitous of religious freedom. Just as the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission used the First Amendment rights of nonprofit corporations to open up direct political spending by large, for-profit corporations, additional arguments about the rights of charitable institutions and other nonprofits will be used to push further judicial deregulation of the political process for all.

Professor Aprill in her most recent writings at the intersection of nonprofit law and election law reluctantly shows the way: a path toward getting churches, synagogues and other charitable institutions directly in the business of politics; a means of striking down or rendering ineffective what remains of our campaign disclosure laws; and a self-reinforcing bootstrapping that relies upon legislative and agency inertia coupled with judicially-created loopholes to argue for the ineffectiveness of the system as a whole, triggering its demise through constitutional litigation. It is a sad but expertly told story of regulatory collapse.

Lloyd Mayer

Kicking the Charitable Contribution Deduction Can Is Undemocratic

 

Since it was first enacted in 1917, the charitable contribution deduction has been amended 11 times, according to a 2020 CRS Report.  There is now pending before Congress a very likely nominee for the 12th change in the deduction's history.  Two of the last four amendments, dating back to 1981, have concerned whether the deduction should be allowed above the line.  The above the line deductions have been miniscule in the grand scheme of things and, it is fair to admit, facilitated cheating precisely because the permitted deductions were so small that they were not worth policing.  Taxpayers could easily enough claim the deduction above the line with confidence that nobody would question the claim.  But the reason why we should tolerate the moral hazard is that above the line deductions are the democratic thing to do.  It spreads the charitable contribution deduction subsidy to non-itemizers, presumably comprising middle and lower income earners.  It allows those earners to have a vote -- miniscule though it may be -- in the selection and operation of charitable missions.  They can vote with their subsidized dollars, the same as the far fewer but much wealthier donors.  

That's why this 12th proposal, though it enjoys bipartisan support, is only kicking the can.  This above the line deduction, too, is only for 2023 and 2024.  Congress should stop kicking and make the above the line deduction permanent.  

From Wednesday's press release:

Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Raphael Warnock (R-GA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today introduced the Charitable Act to expand and extend the expired non-itemized deduction for charitable giving that would ensure Americans who donate to charities, houses of worship, religious organizations, and other nonprofits of their choice are able to deduct that donation from their federal taxes at a higher level than the previous $300 deduction.  

Specifically, the bill would make available to taxpayers, who do not itemize on their tax return, a below-the-line deduction for charitable giving on federal income taxes valued at up to one-third of the standard deduction (around $4,500 for an individual filer and around $9,000 for married joint filers). The standard deductions for tax year 2023 are $13,850 for individual filers and those married filing separately and $27,700 for married joint filers.

You can read the full bill below the fold.

 

Press Conference Announcing Introduction of the Charitable Act of 2023

 

darryll jones

 

Continue reading

Henry Hansmann Enabled George Santos And Other Nonprofit Malefactors: The Agency Costs of the Nondistribution Constraint

 

Curious about how far Santos went in abusing nonprofit organizations? I mean look, if you are willing to cheat a dog charity there is really nothing redeeming about you.  Who would cheat a good ol' loyal dog!  If you want to know how the government might eventually charge him for his heartlessness, consider these excerpts from the indictment in United States v. Andrew Gillum; Gillum came within a few percentage points of winning the Florida gubernatorial election five or six years ago but is now defending himself against allegations of Santos-like behavior:

34. GILLUM and LETTMAN-HICKS caused the National Black Justice Coalition ("NBJC"), an entity created pursuant to Title 26, United States Code, Section 501(c)(3), to serve as "fiscal sponsor" and accept the funds from Organizations C and D for the CDLS effort.

35. On or about August 24, 2016, GILLUM sent an email to Organization C which included a project proposal, budget, and supporting documentation. The total proposed budget of $201,552 included $50,000 for the campaign manager, $90,000 for a communications consultant, and $41,412 in overhead, including office rent and administrative costs. The proposed budget did not disclose that funds would be transferred to P&P or be used to pay GILLUM.

37. LETTMAN-HICKS used her position as Executive Director and CEO of the NBJC to divert $50,000 of the funds donated by Organizations C and D. She did so by purchasing a $25,000 cashier's check from NBJC's bank account on March 16, 2017, and another $25,000 cashier's check on May 30, 2017. On those same dates, each cashier's check was deposited in the bank account of P&P [a for-profit entity controlled by Lettman-Hicks.

38. LETTMAN-HICKS then distributed the fraudulently obtained funds to GILLUM, disguised as salary payments from P&P, and in so doing, caused interstate wire communications to occur. 

. . . 

42. In 2018, GILLUM and LETTMAN-HICKS defrauded Individual F of $150,000 of his $250,000 contribution to GILLUM's campaign for Governor of the State of Florida.

43.  The Forward Florida PAC was a type of tax-exempt organization under Title 26, United States Code, Section 527, for the general purpose of advancing GILLUM's political prospects. A Section 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment, or defeat of candidates to federal, state, or local public office.

. . . 

46.  In May 2018, GILLUM solicited Individual F to contribute money to GILLUM's campaign for Governor and falsely and fraudulently represented to Individual F that the entire contribution would be used for GILLUM's campaign for Governor.

47.  Based upon GILLUM's false representation that the contribution would be used solely for GILLUM's campaign for Governor, Individual F agreed to give a $250,000 contribution for GILLUM's campaign for Governor.

48.  Instead of depositing the funds into the GFG campaign or Forward Florida PAC accounts, the defendants caused the $250,000 to be wired into an account of Organization E, a 50l(c)(4) organization, managed by an acquaintance whom GILLUM and LETTMAN-HICKS could control.

. . . 

51.  Letterman-Hicks then caused Organization E to provide only $100,000 of the $250,000 campaign contribution into the Forward Florida PAC account. LETTMAN-HICKS then obtained the remaining money for P&P by arranging a fraudulent contract with Organization E to allegedly provide services on a voter education program regarding the gubernatorial candidates, knowing that these services would not be performed. Pursuant to the fraudulent contract, P&P obtained $132,500 of Individual F's campaign contribution, which was then disbursed to LETTMAN-HICKS and GILLUM.

These smart guys pretty much follow a game plan they think nobody else knows or will find out about -- set up a nonprofit, use its halo effect to solicit donations (Gillum used the name "National Black Justice Coalition," a name that might have prompted a donation from me) and then funnel donations to the person who thinks himself too smart to get caught.  Really dumb, but for only a small percentage of the wrongdoers no doubt.  For everybody caught, there are probably ten or more people who aren't caught. 

Henry Hansmann is the real evil genius behind the whole thing.  I bet you didn't know that.  Yep, it was Hank who first got us all singing the praises of the nondistribution constraint (NDC).  Have you ever heard such mumble jumble?  Who talks like that at a cocktail party?!  "Well, the kids asked for money and the car keys to go out one night, but they hadn't completed their chores so I imposed a nondistribution constraint on their asses."  The NDC was all good, Hank assured us in The Role of Nonprofit Enterprises, because the NDC (the whole phrase taste like rotten eggs, sour milk and vinegar in my mouth, bleh!) helps "buyers" get what they pay for.  Donors are buyers in economic talk, unknown beneficiaries are the ultimate consumers; donors, not being ultimate consumers, cannot know that the public goods and services they paid for are actually delivered as promised.  The NDC doesn't guarantee that beneficiaries get what donors pay for, but theoretically it lessens the possibility of diversion by removing one temptation -- personal consumption rather than charitable spending.  In some other fashion the NDC is thought to solve the free-rider problem inherent to financing public goods and services.  If Hank ever discussed the NDC's costs, I don't remember and I am not about to go re-read 60 pages of hard core economic porn to find out.  I'd rather get a root canal or a rusty fork poked in my eye.   

But what do you mean costs?  What costs?!  Santos and Gillum prove that the cost of the NDC is that ain't nobody watching.  Nobody has immediate or traceable bottom line financial skin in the game when it comes to nonprofits.  And in Florida, the Attorney General is usually too busy protecting us from African American History, or suing to overturn the election to care.  And what ol Hank might not have told you is that profit is not just useful to spur innovation by the hope of unlimited upside.  Oh no, not just that!  The profit incentive also spurs close monitoring -- it solves or reduces the agency problem. When people have skin in the game, they watch how money is being spent, and people like Santos and Gillum aren't so easily able to disguise their donation-funded foie gras consumption as nonprofit spending.  Nobody has sufficient skin in the nonprofit game to care about close monitoring of the sort needed for Hank's wayward minions.

So.  Thanks a lot Hank!  Always with the jokes that guy.  And if government is unwilling to effectively monitor nonprofit spending, let the capital market do it.  Beef up government supervision of public organizations, or find a happy medium between profit taking and charitable mission.

darryll jones

Call for Papers (deadline: 3/15/23): 2023 Modern Studies in the Law of Trusts, Wealth Management & Philanthropy Conference

I received a call for papers for the fifth conference in the Modern Studies in the Law of Trusts, Wealth Management & Philanthropy series to be held at Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University on July 27-28, 2023. The deadline is March 15, 2023. Here is the full announcement:

Call for papers for Modern Studies in the Law of Trusts, Wealth Management & Philanthropy 2023

The fifth conference in the “Modern Studies in the Law of Trusts, Wealth Management & Philanthropy” series will take place on 27-28 July 2023 at the Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University (Singapore). The 2023 conference will be co-organised by Singapore Management University, Centre for Commercial Law in Asia, the University of York, and The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London.

The theme of the conference is “The Law of Trusts, Wealth Management & Philanthropy: Innovation and Reform in the Law of Trusts”. The conference will focus on current developments and challenges facing trust law, wealth management and philanthropy, with particular focus on the need for innovations responding to contemporary developments and emerging issues – for example, technological disruption, new forms of regulation, climate change and sustainability goals - that impact global families and how they manage their wealth. The conveners of the conference (Richard Nolan (York), Tang Hang Wu (SMU), Yip Man (SMU) and James Lee (KCL)) plan to publish a selection of the papers presented at the conference in a special edition of a journal (subject to review and availability of space).

If you would like to offer a paper, please submit a working title and an abstract (of no more than 1500 words) by 15 March 2023 by email to James Lee ([email protected]) and Yip Man ([email protected]).  The conference conveners are particularly keen to hear from Global South, women and emerging scholars in the field. Acceptance will be on a rolling basis and the conference conveners will be grateful for early submissions. There are no speaker registration fees for those whose papers are accepted this conference. Speakers and attendees are expected to meet their own travel costs and accommodation for this conference.

Lloyd Mayer

Race and Tax Symposium

The Tentative Schedule includes presentations relating to nonprofit organizations by Leslie, David, Sam and me.
 

 

darryll jones

Nonprofits at AALS

Just a quick reminder: a week from today (that is, Thursday, Jan. 5) the Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law section of AALS is having its annual session. The session will be at 8:00 am in the Marriott Grand Ballroom 13. We'll hear excellent scholarship from Tinu Adediran, Phil Hackney, and Jill Horowitz. I hope to see many of you there! 

Samuel D. Brunson

Charitably Guilt-Tripping

Well, I finally understand the sinister psychology underneath those free mailing labels, pens, and other items with just enough utility that we just can't throw them out.  The secret is you can't throw the stuff out so it!!  So every time you use the pens or mailing labels, you are reminded that some "poor" charity (or its for-profit solicitation firm) is struggling because you didn't make a donation in exchange for the pens or labels you never asked for in the first place but are using right now!  Its all right here in this WSJ editorial.

To increase their chances for a share of those funds, charities have learned that a free token or gift goes a long way. Recipients will often feel guilty about not making a donation and will be even more ashamed if they use the gift without paying for it.  I struggle with this every time an unsolicited mailer arrives with greeting cards, kids’ socks, or other tchotchkes. By law, “you may keep such shipments as free gifts,” according to the Federal Trade Commission. But few of us treat this issue in legal terms. It’s not practical to send the items back, even though Boys Town tells me that a small percentage of people do. I tried giving the things I receive away, but I’ve found no takers. Tossing perfectly good pens and paper in the trash makes no sense. So I use the stuff, reminding myself that I make my share of charitable donations every year—just not necessarily to the organizations that keep filling my mailbox. Still, a tinge of guilt remains.

Guilt, especially in a capitalist world, is a great motivator for altruism.  Its why I give to panhandlers every now and again, quite frankly.  Pure guilt, and also hedging my bets of getting into Heaven I guess.  In small town Nampa Idaho (why anybody would chose Nampa over Tampa is a mystery to me), the City Council has made it easier for me to keep on walking without feeling guilty if I don't give to panhandlers:

Signs like this would help alleviate my anti-panhandler guilt, and if I later forgot to send a donation to NPR or something, I would be that much richer and less guilty.  The loudest opposition to the signs comes from the Nampa nonprofits, apparently:

In October, Nampa City Council unanimously authorized police to spend up to $1,800 to develop 10 anti-panhandling signs and place them throughout the city. Nine signs have been installed so far, and the final sign’s location is yet to be determined, though staff are considering areas near Interstate 84 on- and off-ramps.  The signs have spurred backlash from community members, particularly from local nonprofit leader Kenton Lee of Because International. Lee has opposed the signs from the beginning and has come before the council multiple times to argue that the signs categorize the city’s homeless population as drug addicts or alcoholics, and later asked why the signs say “no panhandling” when city code does not specifically ban panhandling.

I would wager that guilt motivates a lot more charitable giving than the Tax Code.  But I could be wrong.

 

dkj

NYU School of Law Hosts 2022 Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing Conference

    Earlier this month, the Impact Investing Legal Working Group (“IILWG”) and the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU Law hosted a conference entitled “Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing in the U.S. and Beyond” at NYU.  The IILWG is a group of lawyers and legal/compliance professionals who work or desire to work in the fields of impact investing and social enterprise.  It is comprised of a impact investors, social enterprises, law firms, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and academic institutions.  The Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship was formed in May 2017 by two NYU School of Law alumni.  Its mission is to “enhance the community of lawyers and legal institutions engaged in social entrepreneurship and impact investing and to accelerate their effective participation in these fields.” 

    The 2022 conference focused on the following themes: (1) Inclusive Capitalism and Going the Last Mile; (2) Blending Finance to Advance Climate Adaptation and Resilience; (3) Elevating Beneficiaries: Inclusive Design in Impact Instruments; (4) Climate Regulation and the Long and Winding Road; (5) Legal Implications of Minority Wealth Equity Strategies; and (6) Prepare for Impact: Training Lawyers for ESG, Impact Investing, and Social Enterprise Practices.  The complete Program Agenda may be found here.  The themed panel discussion on minority wealth equity seems particularly relevant in light of recent tragedies involving racially charged violence, and it focused on supporting minority-owned businesses in the United States and abroad.  My former Corporations professor, Professor John Coates, delivered a keynote on the proposed SEC climate regulation in confronting a global concern.  The agenda also included, inter alia, an in-progress case study on MicroBuild, a global impact investing fund with a goal of providing adequate housing for the poor.  The topics from the conference lend credence to the notion that impact investing is an effective vehicle for resolving global challenges in a new era of much needed change.

 

Khrista McCarden

Hoffman Fuller Associate Professor of Tax law

Tulane Law School

AALS Section on Trusts & Estates TWO Calls for Papers: WIP & Pedagogy

The AALS Section on Trusts and Estates Section is seeking papers/presentations for a works in progress panel and a panel on Pedagogy.

Here are the two calls for papers/presentations:

Call 1 WIP: The AALS Section on Trusts and Estates is pleased to announce a Call for Papers: “Works in Progress in Trusts & Estates” 

Selected papers will be presented at the Trusts & Estates Program Session at the 2022 AALS Annual Meeting held in San Diego from January 4-7, 2023. 

Program Description: The Section seeks submissions on a variety of topics and methodological approaches related to Trusts & Estates Law. We are interested in all states of article development.

Eligibility: Full-time faculty of AALS member schools or non-member fee-paid schools as of the submission deadline are eligible to submit papers. For co-authored papers, both authors must satisfy the eligibility criteria. We particularly encourage new voices in the field to submit.

Submissions, due dates and method: Submissions should be of abstracts between 250 and 1,000 words, inclusive of any footnotes. Scholarship may be at any stage of the publication process from work-in-progress to completed article, but if already published, scholarship may not be published any earlier than 2022. We welcome legal scholarship across a wide variety of methodological approaches. Each potential speaker may submit only one abstract for consideration.

There are two submission due dates. The Section seeks detailed abstracts in late summer, with final papers due in late fall.

• The due date for detailed abstractsis August 31, 2022.
• The due date forfinal submission is November 15, 2022.

Abstracts and papers should be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format to Eric Chaffee at [email protected] The subject line should read “AALS Trusts & Estates Section CFP WIP Submission.” By submitting an abstract for consideration, you agree to attend the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting Trusts & Estates Program Session should your paper be selected for presentation.

Submission review, selection, conference attendance: Abstracts and papers will be reviewed by members of the Section’s Executive Committee. Selected presenters will be announced by October 1, 2022. The Call for Paper presenters will be responsible for paying their own AALS registration fee, hotel, and travel expenses.

Inquiries or questions: Any inquiries about the Call for Papers should be directed to Eric Chaffee at the contact information noted above.

 

 

Call 2 Pedagogy: The AALS Section on Trusts and Estates is pleased to announce a Call for Papers: “Post-Pandemic Pedagogy in Trusts & Estates” 

Selected papers will be presented at the Trusts & Estates Program Session at the 2022 AALS Annual Meeting held in San Diego from January 4-7, 2023. 

Program Description: We invite papers and/or presentations that provide insights into educating law students in trusts & estates. These insights might take a variety of forms. For example, papers/presentations might describe classroom techniques and innovations, innovations in course design or structure, or novel courses. They might discuss proposals that show how we might incorporate issues of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, immigration status, and/or disability into our classrooms. They might also explore the lessons learned during the time we have all now spent teaching during the pandemic. Or contributions might be completely forward looking and propose novel ideas or experiments in teaching that you have not yet implemented.

Eligibility: Full-time faculty of AALS member schools or non-member fee-paid schools as of the submission deadline are eligible to submit papers. For co-authored papers/presentations, both authors must satisfy the eligibility criteria.

Submissions, due dates and method: Submissions should be of abstracts between 250 and 1,000 words, inclusive of any footnotes. The submissions for this panel can either describe an intended paper or a presentation that you will provide. Scholarship may be at any stage of the publication process from work-in-progress to completed article, but if already published, scholarship may not be published any earlier than 2022. We welcome legal scholarship across a wide variety of methodological approaches. Each potential speaker may submit only one abstract for consideration.

There are two submission due dates. The Section seeks detailed abstracts in late summer, with final papers due in late fall.

• The due date for detailed abstractsis August 31, 2022.
• The due date forfinal papers/and or presentation materials is November 15, 2022.

Abstracts and papers should be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format to Philip Hackney at [email protected]. The subject line should read “AALS Trusts & Estates Section CFP Pedagogy Submission.” By submitting an abstract for consideration, you agree to attend the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting Trusts & Estates Program Session should your paper be selected for presentation.

Submission review, selection, conference attendance: Abstracts and papers will be reviewed by members of the Section’s Executive Committee. Selected presenters will be announced by October 1, 2022. The Call for Paper presenters will be responsible for paying their own AALS registration fee, hotel, and travel expenses.

Inquiries or questions: Any inquiries about the Call for Papers should be directed to Philip Hackney at the contact information noted above.

 

Philip Hackney

06/13/22

Happy June! (And Call for Papers)

Happy June everybody! You know what that means--it's time to submit for the AALS meeting! I've copied the call for papers below. Let's hear all of the hard nonprofit work everybody has been doing!

Call for Papers
AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law
2023 Annual Meeting
January 4-7
San Diego, CA

Nonprofits & Philanthropy

The AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law announces a call for papers to be presented as works-in-progress in our committee session at the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA from January 4-7, 2023.

The Section seeks submissions on a variety of topics and methodological approaches related to Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law. Given the recent importance and novelty of state nonprofit law, we are especially interested in scholarship that illuminates, elucidates, and otherwise engages with the work states are doing in the nonprofit world, but are happy to consider any scholarship in the field. We are interested in all states of article development.

Eligibility: Scholars teaching at AALS member or nonmember fee-paid schools. We particularly encourage new voices in the field to submit.

Due Date: June 15, 2022

Form and Content of Submission: Submissions may range from early drafts to articles that have been submitted for publication, but not articles that will have already been published by January 7, 2023.

Submission Method: please submit papers electronically to [email protected] with “AALS Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law Submission” in the email subject line.

Submission Review: Papers will be selected for inclusion in the program after review by members of the AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law.

Additional Information: Presenters are responsible for their own expenses associated with the conference. If you have any questions, please contact the chair, Sam Brunson, at [email protected].

Call for Papers: 2023 AALS Annual Meeting

Call for Papers
AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law
2023 Annual Meeting
January 4-7
San Diego, CA

Nonprofits & Philanthropy

The AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law announces a call for papers to be presented as works-in-progress in our committee session at the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA from January 4-7, 2023.

The Section seeks submissions on a variety of topics and methodological approaches related to Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law. Given the recent importance and novelty of state nonprofit law, we are especially interested in scholarship that illuminates, elucidates, and otherwise engages with the work states are doing in the nonprofit world, but are happy to consider any scholarship in the field. We are interested in all states of article development.

Eligibility: Scholars teaching at AALS member or nonmember fee-paid schools. We particularly encourage new voices in the field to submit.

Due Date: June 15, 2022

Form and Content of Submission: Submissions may range from early drafts to articles that have been submitted for publication, but not articles that will have already been published by January 7, 2023.

Submission Method: please submit papers electronically to [email protected] with “AALS Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law Submission” in the email subject line.

Submission Review: Papers will be selected for inclusion in the program after review by members of the AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law.

Additional Information: Presenters are responsible for their own expenses associated with the conference. If you have any questions, please contact the chair, Sam Brunson, at [email protected].

ABA Nonprofit Organizations Committee Seeking Nominations for 2022 Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Awards

The Committee on Nonprofit Organizations of the American Bar Association is seeking nominations for the "2022 Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Awards."  The Committee will also name a recipient for its Vanguard Award for lifetime commitment or achievement in the nonprofit field.  Nominations are due by March 7, 2022.  For the nomination form and further information, please visit the Nonprofit Organizations Committee webpage.  Scroll down to access the nomination form under "2022 Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Awards."  The award recipients will be announced at the Business Law Section's Spring Meeting on March 31 - April 2, 2022.

Rooftops Conference Chicago 2022

My colleague Jim Hagy founded and has been directing the Rooftops Project for the last twelve or so years. The Rooftops Project focuses largely (though not exclusively) on nonprofits' physical spaces and, for the last seven or eight years, has also featured a conference in Chicago. The conference brings together nonprofit leaders, policymakers, academics, and others. This year the conference, which will be held on February 25 from 8:30 until 2:00 Central, is entirely online.  The conference is free and you can preregister here.

If you have time, I'd strongly recommend registering and attending. The conference is always fascinating. I have to admit that, prior to attending, I'd rarely thought about the physical spaces of nonprofits, but they matter in a number of ways. The panelists are always excellent and this year, the conference will include two panels focused on DEI in the charitable sector.

So good luck as you get back into the semester, stay safe and healthy, and consider registering for the Rooftops Conference.

Samuel D. Brunson

This Sunday: AALS Presentations on Nonprofits, Inequality, and Black Poverty

For people attending the virtual American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting this week, there are two nonprofit-related presentations of which I am aware that may be of interest.

On Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern), the Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law section will present A Subsidy for Inequality: Bob Jones and Fundamental Public Policy Today. The presenters are Provost JoAnne A. Epps (Temple), along with two of our blog contributors, Samual D. Brunson (Loyola-Chicago) and yours truly; the moderator is Khrista McCarden (Tulane), who is also a blog contributor.

And on Sunday at 4:45 p.m. (Eastern), the Tax Section will present New Voices in Taxation, including The Black Tax: How the Charitable Contribution Subsidy Reinforces Black Poverty by Nyamagaga R. Gondwe (NYU) (forthcoming in the Tax Law Review). Here is the abstract:

This paper analyzes tax-based welfare policy through the lens of Black economic history. It juxtaposes the tax treatment of Black Kinship Networks and the charitable contributions deduction in the federal tax code to show how the tax incentive for charity creates an economic burden for the Black community. The paper argues that when the tax code creates incentives to attract private capital to welfare projects without making antipoverty welfare a condition of the tax benefit, it shifts the burden and cost of providing welfare services back to communities in need. In the Black community, wealth and income disparities make the lack of public welfare accommodations an even greater burden. Still, Black Kinship Networks facilitate the survival of in-group members, as they have for generations, in an effort to counteract the effect of declining public welfare and ineffectual private welfare.

Lloyd Mayer

Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (virtual, December 2-3, 2021)

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to present at this year's Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations, to be held virtually on Thursday, December 2nd, and Friday, December 3rd. As always, Ellen Aprill (Loyola - Los Angeles), Jill Horwitz (UCLA), and the rest of the organizing committee have put together a great program. Registration is required by December 1st.

Here is the schedule (all times Pacific):

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Welcome and Introduction, 8:30 AM-8:35 AM PT

 

Lessons from Headlines, 8:35 AM-9:30 AM PT

 

Current Employment Issues, 9:30 AM-10:30 AM PT

 

Break, 10:30 AM-10:40 AM PT

 

Equity Based Compensation, 10:40 AM-11:40 AM PT

 

Keynote, 11:40 AM-12:10 PM PT

 

 

Friday, December 3, 2021

Becoming an Anti-Racist Nonprofit: Legal Issues, 8:30 AM-9:30 AM PT

 

Consequences of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 9:30 AM-10:30 AM PT

 

Break, 10:30 AM-10:40 AM PT

 

Breakout: UBIT Silos - Overview and Lessons Learned, 10:40 AM-11:40 AM PT

 

Breakout: Cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Tokens, 10:40 AM-11:40 AM PT

 

Breakout: Private Foundation Terminations - Frequent Flashpoints, 10:40 AM-11:40 AM PT

 

Making a Splash – Charitable Giving Update, 11:40 AM-12:40 PM PT

Celebrating Ellen Aprill, 12:40 PM-1:00 PM PT

More details are available through the link provided above.

 

Lloyd Mayer

 

 

April 8th: Charitable Crowdfunding: Who Give, to What, and Why? (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy)

I am very much looking forward to participating in a presentation with Amy Sample Ward and Una Osili on new research from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy about charitable crowdfunding. Free registration is available. Here are the details:

Charitable Crowdfunding: Who Gives, to What, and Why?

Thursday, April 8, 2021
2:00-3:15 p.m. ET
Cost: Free

Featuring:

• Amy Sample Ward, CEO, NTEN
• Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, J.D., Associate Professor of Law, Notre Dame
• Una Osili, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research and International Programs, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

During these unprecedented times, crowdfunding has taken on a significant role in philanthropic giving and fundraising. 

New research from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy reveals perceptions of crowdfunding, how awareness of crowdfunding compares with giving via crowdfunding projects, what motivates donors who give this way, what they support, how they differ from other donors, and where crowdfunding fits in the philanthropic landscape.

Join the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and NTEN for a webinar that blends research and practitioner perspectives on this timely topic. We will present research highlights, discuss trends and implications for crowdfunding for nonprofits, and field questions from participants. This opportunity was made possible with funding from Facebook.

Lloyd Mayer

March 25-26: Data & Technology: Resources and Implications for Nonprofit Regulation and Oversight

The Urban Institute will host a meeting of key stakeholders to discuss Data and Technology: Resources and Implications for Nonprofit Regulation and Oversight on March 25th and 26th. Persons interested in participating should contact Elizabeth Boris ([email protected]) or Cindy Lott ([email protected]). Here is the description of the event:

The Urban Institute's Regulation of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Project will convene key stakeholders to consider how current research and data platforms could inform regulation and oversight of US nonprofits. The event will focus on data and technologies charities regulators require to succeed in their oversight roles. We invite you to join us, researchers, leaders from data-providing organizations, and state and federal charities regulators to explore how to promote data-informed nonprofit regulation.

Lloyd Mayer