Nonprofit Organizations

At Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville, our nonprofit clients include the full spectrum of tax-exempt entities, such as health and educational systems, public charities, trade and professional associations, voluntary health organizations, lobbying organizations, and political action committees.

The firm provides a wide range of legal services for these organizations. Most of our nonprofit clients are in the healthcare field, but we also represent nonprofit entities in numerous other areas, including education, engineering, environment, and urban planning.

Tax Matters

Attorneys at Powers incorporate nonprofit organizations in many states throughout the country and help them obtain tax exemption under both federal and state law. We provide our nonprofit clients with ongoing counseling on a variety of tax issues, including unrelated business income tax, lobbying reporting and compliance issues, political activity rules, and corporate sponsorship arrangements.

Powers represents clients in matters at all levels within the Internal Revenue Service in an effort to help them obtain the best result possible at a reasonable cost. We have had considerable success throughout the years in helping our nonprofit clients resolve their tax problems administratively at an early stage and avoid costly litigation with the IRS.

General/Special Counsel Services

Powers attorneys serve as outside general or special counsel to many of its nonprofit clients. In this capacity, we provide nonprofit entities with advice on their most complex legal and governance matters, as well as day-to-day legal issues. We advise on most of the other areas of law that affect tax-exempt organizations, including ethics, corporate and contract law matters, formation or consolidation with other nonprofit entities, and creation of nonprofit and for-profit affiliates.

Additionally, Powers attorneys provide advice on intellectual property matters (trademarks and copyrights), antitrust issues, non-tax lobbying and election law matters, and matters pertaining to employment, employee benefits, and executive compensation. We also assist our clients in complying with the many areas in which the Americans with Disabilities Act affects nonprofit entities, including employment, meetings, courses, websites, and other interactions with the general public.

Certification and Accreditation

Powers attorneys assist our nonprofit certification and accreditation clients with assistance in forming and operating their programs. We provide advice on the full range of legal issues facing these organizations, including antitrust, due process, ethical standards, risk management, and compliance with ADA examination and other rules.

Charitable Giving and Fundraising Programs

At Powers, our attorneys advise on the development, maintenance, and expansion of charitable giving programs, corporate sponsorship, and other fund-raising activities. We also advise clients on federal and state fund-raising requirements and assist them in registering and reporting under these laws.

Legislative/Regulatory/Legal Advocacy

Powers attorneys are dedicated to supporting our nonprofit clients in their efforts to advocate for or against new laws or regulations in the tax-exemption area or in the client’s substantive field of interest, e.g., health or education. We routinely assist our clients with submitting comments on draft legislation, notices of proposed rulemakings, or informal actions by the IRS, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Trade Commission, and numerous other federal agencies. We also represent our clients in legal challenges to agency actions and routinely file amicus (friend of the court) briefs on their behalf.

New Developments

The firm's exempt organizations team continually monitors new developments in the laws pertaining to tax-exempt organizations. As a service to our clients, we also offer free nonprofit training seminars and informational memoranda to keep clients abreast of changes in the law.

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