Projects
Scholz Nonprofit Law works with organizations of all sizes and types to assist with their legal compliance, operational needs, and business transactions. For some, we do the start-up work or guide them through a merger process. For others, we advise on a single agreement or large multi-year projects.
Below is a sampling of projects and the types of clients we serve.
Start-up Nonprofit, Tax-Exempt Organizations
Scholz Nonprofit Law has helped create many hundreds of organizations. We advise on the best classification for tax-exempt status — usually, 501(c)(3) v. 501(c)(4) v. 501(c)(6) — help frame a business plan, prepare and file articles of incorporation, write bylaws, complete the application for tax-exemption (Form 1023 or 1024), address fundraising registration, create checklists and guidance for annual compliance, and advise on other issues common for new organizations, including employment questions and services agreements.
Representative projects :
Impact Investing
Scholz Nonprofit Law works with various types of 501(c)(3)s, including community foundations, donor advised funds, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to assist with traditional financing and impact investing, including program related investments (PRIs).
- Structure investments that create social benefits while generating financial gain
- Advise on partnerships between exempt organizations and fund mergers
Representative projects:
Impact Charitable
Neta Foundation
Day-to-Day Advice
We regularly advise on day-to-day management issues such as compliance on advocacy and political issues, parameters of “charitable” activities, agreements with vendors and partners, board governance and advisory committees, gift acceptance and grants, donor management, leases, intellectual property, and financial transactions, as well as frequent consultations on strategic issues.
Representative projects:
Forward Community Investments
Access Community Health Centers
Advocacy – 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) Organizations
We work with state-based and national 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations, often affiliated, to advise on advocacy issues. Our work ranges from strategic advice on apportioning different activities between the c3 and c4, pitches to funders, wordsmithing communications, preparing agreements, and compliance obligations.
Melissa Scholz has deep experience with these issues through her personal involvement with advocacy work, including as a founding Board member and current Co-Chair March for Our Lives Action Fund, the national gun violence prevention group.
Representative projects:
American Constitution Society
GROWW
Real Estate
Through our real estate practice, Scholz Nonprofit Law assists nonprofits, businesses, and funding sources, including banks, private investors, and governments, with real estate, land use and financing needs.
Sample projects include:
Scholz Nonprofit Law helped Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation acquire nearly 100 acres of underutilized land, partner with the YMCA to develop a YMCA on the property and negotiate a public private partnership with the City of Watertown and local home builders to develop parts of the property for much needed workforce housing.
- Scholz Nonprofit Law routinely represents a number of exempt organizations that partner with for-profit developers to secure low income housing tax credits to develop affordable housing around the country.
- Scholz Nonprofit Law lawyers have helped a large for-profit developer finance the development of the Spectrum Brands building in Middleton with tax exempt bonds.
- Scholz Nonprofit Law helped convert an existing office building into a non-profit commercial center to be used by multiple exempt organizations to advance their charitable missions.
Land Trusts
We provide counsel to conservation, agricultural, and community land trusts, supporting their diverse stewardship and preservation-related missions. Our services encompass tax-exempt compliance and best practices, guiding real estate acquisitions, donations, and bequests, establishing and enforcing conservation easements, and drafting stewardship agreements and ground leases. Our team also advises on risk management, partnership agreements, and community engagement strategies, ensuring each land trust is able to protect, manage, and sustain their assets for the long term.
Representative project:
Living Lands Trust
Cooperative Development
We support the establishment of new cooperatives, facilitate smooth and successful cooperative conversions, and offer comprehensive outside counsel to established cooperatives. Our services span the entire cooperative lifecycle—from development and business planning to formation, structuring, financing, ongoing operations, compliance, and dissolution. Our team is well-versed in the cooperative ethos and is experienced in drafting governing documents, member agreements, leases, and operating policies that reflect cooperative principles and values.
Representative project:
NASCO Properties
Training and Workshops
In addition to speaking at conferences, community forums, and university classes, we provide training and resource materials for client Boards, staff, and volunteers, including training on Directors and officers’ responsibilities, liability issues, and advocacy.
Representative project:
Madison Community Foundation
Merger and Other Consolidations
We help evaluate options for and assist with the execution of a consolidation, including mergers and asset transfers. We meet with Boards of Directors, staff and other consultants to discuss potential issues and describe the process, review and advise on “due diligence” issues, create new governing documents, negotiate and prepare the merger and related documents, and complete steps for transfer of property.
Representative project:
Scholz Nonprofit Law has assisted with the development of the Madison Public Market from the start up formation of the Madison Public Market Foundation as a nonprofit, to real estate issues and fundraising support.