On Demand
Audio
Political Issues for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
Produced on October 15, 2020
Course Information
Course Description
While a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization can be a powerful tool for good in this country, there are severe restrictions on their engagement in direct political action. The most common guidance for nonprofits stepping into the political arena is: “Don’t”. Nevertheless, if an attorney advising a nonprofit takes the time to learn the field, there are a number of tools and tricks they can use to make their client’s voice heard (without disrupting their tax-exempt status). In this course, attorney Todd Kulkin will provide a top-down view of the dead-ends and avenues for political engagement by a 501(c)(3) organization. This will help you to spot problems before they arise, and provide you with new tools to magnify your nonprofit clients’ impact for good.
Learning Objectives:
- Review the tax structure of 501(c)(3) organizations
- Identify the basic forms of 501(c)(3) non-profit relationships with political entities
- Use the “friends-of” tool for tax-exempt donor aggregation
- Manage compliance issues with international donors
- Dissect the Johnson Amendment: understanding the amendment and advising clients in the wake of Trump’s Executive Order
- Support your organization’s ideals and goals while remaining non-partisan
Credit Information
Faculty
Todd Kulkin
The Warren Law Group
Todd P. Kulkin practices in the areas of corporate, securities, and not-for-profit law. He is risk management and strategy focused, having graduated with a concentration in Financial Transactions from University at Buffalo (SUNY) Law School in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Todd now serves as outsourced general counsel for start-up companies, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and abroad.
Todd began his legal career representing and advising Fortune 500 companies at one of the largest law firms in the US. In 2012, he departed that firm to open his own practice and joined the Warren Law Group in 2020.
He has been honored by the Reuters publication Superlawyers as a “Rising Star” in business law for the New York Metro Area from 2014-2020. Only 2.5% of attorneys under the age of 40, or having been in practice less than 10 years, in the New York Metro Area are given this distinguished honor.
A consummate educator, Todd is dedicated to empowering his clients with the knowledge needed to accelerate growth and mitigate risk. He regularly teaches other attorneys about corporate, securities, and not-for-profit legal issues and is often contacted by those attorneys for advice.
Reviews
This was great. i'd watch more courses by this instructor.
Great speaker!
Great course. Cd have benefited from examples to illustrate some of the points tho.
Knowledgable and engaging presenter!
Good course. Video had occasional issues.
Timely topic.
ok
Loved it, 527(f) was something I hadn't heard of. Good content.
The presenter is very knowledgeable of the subject-matter and was very engaging with the participants, particularly in addressing participants’ questions.
Really impressive!