Understanding Nonprofit Law and Finance

Erik Estrada, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., has taught graduate and law school classes for nearly a decade at the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs, the University of Denver College of Law, and the University of Denver’s Organizational Leadership Program. He is a graduate of the Boston University School of Law, the University of Denver College of Law, the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs, and the University of Colorado. He was also a Graduate Fellow at Texas A&M University’s School of Government and Public Service. Erik served as the General Counsel for the Level 3 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Before graduating from law school, he served as a Grants Program Officer for the Boettcher Foundation and as a Trustee, Program Director, and Senior Fellow for El Pomar Foundation, where he directed the nation’s second largest youth grant-making program. Erik presently serves, or has served, on the Boards of Directors for El Pomar Foundation, Colorado Center on Law & Policy, Foothills United Way, Community Resource Center, Tony Grampsas Fund (appointed by Governor Bill Ritter), Colorado State Housing Board (appointed by Governor John Hickenlooper), and the University of Colorado Alumni Association.

• I. FOREWORD: WILLIAM J. HYBL, J.D. II. INTRODUCTION: MY WHYIII. NONPROFIT LAW CHAPTERS:1. Tiaa-cref Was Once a Nonprofit Corporation that Was also Tax-Exempt but Congress Revoked Its Tax-Exempt Status: What’s the Difference between a Nonprofit Corporation and a Tax-Exempt Entity?2. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s Philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Is a Delaware Limited Liability Company: What’s the Internal Affairs Doctrine?3. The Level 3 Foundation Addresses What Happens When It Winds Up Its Affairs: What’s a Dissolution Provision?4. Global One80 Adopts “Rules of the Road” to Govern Its Internal Affairs: What Are Bylaws?5. The University of Louisville Foundation Sues Certain of Its Directors for Alleged Misconduct: What’s an Indemnification Provision and Directors and Officers (“D&O”) Liability Insurance?6. A Hypothetical Transaction between a Marketing Firm, the Broad Art Center at the UCLA, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation: What’s a Conflict of Interest Policy?7. A Teacher’s Passion for Disadvantaged Youth: What’s the IRS Form 1023 and How Does a Nonprofit Corporation Become a 501(c)(3)?8. Princeton University and the New York Public Library Have a Fundamental Commonality: What Does “Charitable” Mean under Section 501(c)(3) of the Code?9. Teach for America and Teach for All Have Impacted the Lives of Millions of K-12 Students: What’s a 501(c)(3)-Public Charity?10. Henry and Edsel Ford Establish the Ford Foundation in 1936: What’s a 501(c)(3)-Private Foundation? 11. The Cesar Chavez Academy Shows the Key Difference between the For-Profit and the Nonprofit Sectors: What’s the Private Inurement Doctrine?12. A Homeowners Association and the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes: What’s the Private Benefit Doctrine?13. Colorado Voters Unintentionally Take Away a $250,000 Scholarship from High School Seniors: May a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation Engage in Lobbying? 14. Donald J. Trump and Lyndon B. Johnson Have Opposing Views on 501(c)(3)s, Free Speech, and Candidates for Elected Office: What’s the Johnson Amendment?15. Share Our Strength Has a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Called Community Wealth Partners: May a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation Have a For-Profit Subsidiary?16. Stephen Colbert Wins a Peabody Award for Highlighting What Can Be Done with 501(c)(4)s: What Are the IRS Form 1024 and Form 1024-a?17. A Sorority Saves $50,000 in Property Taxes: What’s a 501(c)(2)?18. AARP Will Show Up in Your Mailbox at Age 50: What’s a 501(c)(4)?19. The National Football League (NFL) Was Once a Tax-Exempt Organization: What’s a 501(c)(6)?20. Condoleezza Rice Is a Member of the Augusta Country Club: What’s a 501(c)(7)?21. The World Wildlife Fund Delivers on Transparency and Accountability: What Are the IRS Form 990 and Form 990-pf?22. Accountants, Lawyers, and Consultants, Oh My!: Who Are Independent Contractors?23. Conscious Venture Lab Embraces Capitalism as a Tool for Good: What Are Low-Profit Limited Liability Companies (l3cs) and Program Related Investments (PRIS)?24. Patagonia Converts to a Benefit Corporation: What Are Benefit Corporations?IV. NONPROFIT FINANCE CHAPTERS:25. The Rise of the Millennial Workforce and Giving by a Corporate Foundation: What Are Articles of Incorporation?26. A Parent-Teacher Association Needs New Computers, Books, Gym Equipment, and Musical Instruments: Why’s a Nonprofit’s Board of Directors Legally Responsible for a Nonprofit’s Finances?27. A Bike Path, the Vail Health Center, and a Compound Fracture of the Thumb: What Are a Nonprofit’s Two Bottom Lines?28. The Macarthur Foundation Has More than $6 Billion in Assets to Fulfill Its Mission and Achieve Its Vision: What’s a Balance Sheet?29. The National Council of Nonprofits, which Advocates for the Nonprofit Sector on a National Scale in Washington, D.C., Adds to Its Savings: What’s an Income Statement?30. A Neophyte Grants Program Officer Analyzes Nonprofit Financial Statements: How’s the Balance Sheet Linked to the Income Statement?31. Three Women from Hartford, Connecticut, Start the First Boys and Girls Club in 1860: What’s the Statement of Cash Flows?32. A Kid from Pueblo, Colorado, Helps Create Silicon Valley: How’s the Balance Sheet Linked to the Statement of Cash Flows?33. Jennifer Aniston, Jimmy Kimmel, and Various Other Celebrities Support the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: What’s the Statement of Functional Expenses? 34. The American Musical Theater Files for Bankruptcy: How’s the Income Statement Linked to the Statement of Functional Expenses?35. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago Has Net Assets of $3.4 million, but Its Board of Directors Only Has the Power to Direct $838,000: What Are Unrestricted, Temporarily Restricted, and Permanently Restricted Funds?36. Building Homes and Operating Stores with Habitat for Humanity of Utah County: What’s the Current Ratio and Working Capital?37. YMCA of the USA Has a Greater Claim to Its Assets than “Outsiders”: What Are the Debt Ratio, Equity Ratio, and Debt-to-Equity Ratio?38. A Potential Grantee of the Boettcher Foundation Settles a Lawsuit: What’s so Important about the “Notes” Section that’s Included in Audited Financial Statements?39. The Power of the Exponential Graph: What’s Time Value of Money and What Can a Nonprofit Invest in with Its Net Assets?40. Private Foundations Are like Philanthropic Banks: What’s the Difference between an Audit, a Review, and a Compilation?41. Booking Revenues and Expenses with Doctors without Borders: What’s the Difference between Cash-Basis and Accrual-Basis Accounting?42. The Ronald McDonald House Operates Two Different Homes in Denver, Colorado: What Does It Mean to Capitalize an Asset and then Depreciate that Asset?43. The Boston Center for the Arts and Deferred Maintenance: What’s the Difference between Fixed Costs and Variable Costs?44. The Chief Financial Officer of el Pomar Foundation Instructs 24-Year-Olds How to Budget: What’s Zero-Based Budgeting?45. Goodwill Industries Has Earned $4.29 Billion from Its Retail Stores: What’s Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI)?46. Ted and Tedx Are Both Nonprofits that Spread “Ideas Worth Spreading”: What Are Internal Controls?47. The Butterfly Pavilion and the Boston University School of Law Share a Common Challenge: What’s a Capital Campaign?48. The Life-Changing Work Conducted Each Day at Children’s Hospital: What’s a Donor Advised Fund, Charitable Remainder Trust, and Charitable Lead Trust?