1099 Reminder

Deadline for Filing Form 1099 is January 31. A reminder of reporting obligations of nonprofits Dear Scholz Nonprofit Law clients, current and past, and friends in the community: Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. We greatly appreciate the work you do in the community and the trust you place in us to assist you. We look forward to being able to serve you in 2019. All nonprofits have an obligation to submit various reports to the IRS and to the state each year. To the best of our knowledge, the filing deadlines are not changing, despite the government [...]

By |2019-04-25T18:23:02+00:00January 15th, 2019|Nonprofit, Taxes|Comments Off on 1099 Reminder

Alternatives to Arbitration Clauses in the Wake of Epic v. Lewis

There was a huge employment news day this week. You may say it was Epic. The Supreme Court issued its decision on Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis allowing for employers to hold employees to binding individual arbitration agreements even in class action situations. There are many excellent articles that explain the importance of this decision such as these in the New York Law Journal and the Washington Post. What does this mean to the small employer? In short, this ruling favors large employers and disadvantages the employees that work for them. Generally, we at Scholz Nonprofit Law find that [...]

By |2019-04-25T00:09:43+00:00May 24th, 2018|Employment|Comments Off on Alternatives to Arbitration Clauses in the Wake of Epic v. Lewis

Summer Hires

Summer Help: Temporary Employee, Independent Contractor, or Volunteer? Despite the incredible blast of winter we are experiencing this April, summer is coming. [Just an expression of faith!] With summer comes summer help. Whether it's a stand-alone project or coverage for vacationing staff, it's a rite of passage for many--we were once the young, bright intern and now take the role of the wise, experienced employer. While this type of relationship can be a win-win for your organization and a student looking for a real-world experience, bringing on summer help can be a risk to your organization if classification of [...]

By |2019-04-25T18:42:58+00:00April 19th, 2018|Employment|Comments Off on Summer Hires

Repeal of the Johnson Amendment

I frequently like to remind our 501(c)(3) clients about the importance of advocating on their issues through lobbying and the legitimacy of their role in doing so. But when we encourage lobbying, we point out the distinction between lobbying on issues and the prohibition on political activity. The rule against political activity has been known as the Johnson Amendment because it was added to the tax code under his administration. As you likely know, President Trump has proposed to eliminate that distinction and allow all 501(c)(3)s to engage in electoral politics - - i.e., support or oppose a candidate [...]

By |2019-04-25T00:08:53+00:00April 3rd, 2017|501(c)(3), Nonprofit|Comments Off on Repeal of the Johnson Amendment

Keep It Moving Forward

Dear colleagues: I’ll be honest. November has been a tough month. I was thrilled when the short Thanksgiving workweek arrived and I could retreat to my home and family - - cooking and cleaning never looked so good. I’ve indeed enjoyed a few days at home, with my two older daughters home from college. As we celebrated Thanksgiving with friends, we stayed focused on all we have to be grateful for and, mostly, avoided the discouraging topic of politics, which has become so divisive. With a little breathing space, I took time to read the recent New Yorker interview [...]

By |2019-04-25T00:07:57+00:00November 29th, 2016|Events|Comments Off on Keep It Moving Forward

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) New Rules Suspended

The new FLSA rules that were scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016 were suspended by a federal judge last week. This means employers are not required to implement the new rules regarding treating employees who make less than $47,476 as “non-exempt” under the FLSA. Of course, if you've made promises for raises, those may be hard to reverse.  However, the ruling does mean that employees earning $23,660 or more per year (the current salary level) may be spared from adding overtime recordkeeping obligations and may continue to take advantage of flex-time arrangements if they meet the other [...]

By |2019-04-25T00:06:49+00:00November 29th, 2016|Employment|Comments Off on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) New Rules Suspended

Advocacy: Standing up for your Issues

In the wake of the election, many organizations may be more motivated than ever to advocate for their beneficiaries. Advocacy is an important tool for 501(c)(3) organizations and should not be overlooked! Here are the basics on the federal and Wisconsin rules that apply to advocacy for 501(c)(3) organizations. Federal rules allow 501(c)(3) “public charities” to participate in many different kinds of advocacy, ranging from educating on the issues to actual lobbying. Advocacy, such as educating policymakers and the public about broad social issues, is unrestricted and unlimited for 501(c)(3) public charities. Advocacy becomes “lobbying” when it is connected [...]

By |2019-04-25T00:04:56+00:00November 29th, 2016|501(c)(3)|Comments Off on Advocacy: Standing up for your Issues

Form 990 Deadline is Approaching!

It's that time of year again! Don’t forget to file your nonprofit organization’s “annual information return,” or Form 990. All tax-exempt organizations (including 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, and 501(c)(6)s) must file a version of the Form 990 with the IRS.  For many small organizations, it is a simple 5-10 minute process to file the "Form 990-N." You should be aware that if you do not file a 990 in 2015 and also did not file one in 2014 and 2013, your organization will lose its tax-exempt status and you will have to reapply with another application and filing fee. Filing FAQ's [...]

By |2015-05-08T15:58:43+00:00May 8th, 2015|501(c)(3), Compliance, Nonprofit, Private Foundation, Public Charity|Comments Off on Form 990 Deadline is Approaching!

501(c)(3) or 509(a)? Your public charity is both.

Today is the Big Share! Don’t miss the opportunity to support 70 local nonprofits dedicated to building a fair, just community and protecting the environment through this Community Shares of Wisconsin online giving event: http://www.thebigshare.org. Thanks to Community Shares and their Big Share partner, Madison Community Foundation, for hosting this event to support the important work of these organizations. And there will be another big share (of information) this week at the annual Wisconsin Nonprofit Association Conference: http://wisconsinnonprofits.org/Conference2015 , which is taking place in Madison on Thursday. With today’s focus on charitable donations to 501(c)(3) organizations, I want to [...]

By |2015-03-03T15:38:52+00:00March 3rd, 2015|501(c)(3), Definition, Events, Nonprofit, Private Foundation, Public Charity|Comments Off on 501(c)(3) or 509(a)? Your public charity is both.

The Upside of Winter (plus a few important deadlines…)

Greetings! I find the upside of the winter season (Yes, upside. I'll never outgrow my California roots...) is that I can take advantage of the slightly quieter times to focus on organization and business details. Well, our mild-ish winter has brought an all-but-mild workload. So, before January completely escapes me, I want to post about a few important issues. Great Board Training Opportunity in Madison! I would like to call attention to this great training opportunity by Melanie Schmidt as part of her "Building Better Boards" series. Below is a blurb on Melanie's session: Nonprofit organizations have one thing [...]

By |2015-01-26T19:22:24+00:00January 26th, 2015|Events, Nonprofit|Comments Off on The Upside of Winter (plus a few important deadlines…)
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