Principles of Nonprofit Law & Compliance Management

3 Credits.

Nonprofit organizations in the United States are tightly bound with federal tax and state fiduciary regulatory requirements, requiring nonprofit leaders to familiarize themselves with tax rules and regulations critical to their operations. Given 501 (c) 3 organizations are exempt from federal and state taxes, they must understand the potential risks to maintaining this status, while ensuring financial transparency to the public. This course is an interactive and engaging nonprofit law class for the non-lawyer to familiarize themselves with the various types of legal issues related to nonprofit management. Students will gain exposure to the overall legal issues that concern a nonprofit, such as maintaining federal tax-exempt status, the misclassification of employees, or risks of lobbying and political activity, among others. In addition, students will learn strategies to stay in compliance with various federal and state regulations. Nonprofit organizations are founded for charitable, philanthropic, and advocacy purposes, to support the public at large, which means they must apply for, maintain, and safeguard their eligibility to serve as 501(c) entities by the IRS. This course will provide insight on the best legal practices while ensuring nonprofit organizations stay in compliance with federal regulations.