Practical resources on the rules nonprofits operate under. Governance and fiduciary duties. Tax-exempt status and public-support tests. Lobbying and advocacy rules. Employment and volunteer compliance. Fiscal sponsorship.
Written for executive directors, board members, and senior leadership who want to understand the frameworks shaping their work.
The Nonprofit Law Primer.
You Do Not Lose Tax-Exempt Status by Becoming a Foundation
Both public charities and private foundations are exempt under section 501(c)(3). The public support test does not decide whether an organization is exempt. It decides which set of operating rules applies, and there are more ways through it than the arithmetic suggests.
The Cost of Complacency: How Nonprofits Lose Their Tax-Exempt Status and How to Keep It
Tax exemption isn't permanent: three years of unfiled 990s triggers automatic revocation, and so do private inurement, excess political activity, and operations that drift from your stated exempt purpose, often before a board notices anything has changed.
501(c)(3) vs. 501(c)(4) vs. 501(c)(6)
Most founders default to 501(c)(3) without realizing another subsection might better fit their advocacy ambitions, member-service model, or political reality, and here's how to pick the right one before you commit.
Three publications. One convenient monthly update.
Topical legal news from The Beacon. Resources from the Nonprofit Law Primer. Commonlight Legal news when it happens From the Hearth.
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