Kelly is a foundation trustee who, during a recent review of the foundation’s investment portfolio, learned that income generated by the portfolio was not enough to fund the foundation’s charitable activities—the required 5% annual distribution. Although the portfolio’s returns were good, cash flow was an issue. Kelly wondered about a conservative way to generate cash... Read More
In the first blog in this 3-part series, Fran Sykes reflected on how her board’s decision to sunset spurred the foundation to stretch and expand its vision, and try to establish a legacy in its limited time. In this blog, Fran describes their plans and assumptions, and how their path took them into new territory.... Read More
The first blog in a 3-part series When Fran Sykes, founder and president of Pascale Sykes Foundation, tells people she is purposely closing her foundation’s doors in four years as a conscientious business strategy, people seem puzzled. Why would anyone purposely go out of business? Like many foundations, Pascale Sykes was originally established in perpetuity.... Read More
Producing audit ready financial records for a private foundation can be an intimidating task—even for financial professionals. With fiscal year-ends that may differ from a calendar year (they do at roughly 50% of private foundations according to Thomas F. Blaney, CPA, CFE and partner, director of foundation services at PKF O’Connor Davies)—there often is no simple... Read More
Legal insights provided by Arnold & Porter On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed a new tax bill into law, informally referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). Although several proposals were dropped from the legislation, the Tax Act contains a number of provisions relating to charitable giving and tax-exempt... Read More
Many nonprofits across the country struggle with financial viability, according to a recent report based on data provided by GuideStar. The majority have less than one month of operating reserves, and 30% face potential liquidity issues. Nonprofits in the education and health and human services sectors, typically reliant on government contracts and fee-for-service-revenue, operate with... Read More