Charitable Giving

In the area of charitable giving, donors and donees each come with unique charitable interests and goals. Whether a donor is seeking to ensure that her or his donation will be used for a particular purpose, or a charity wants to ensure that it has received the correct distribution from an estate, our experienced lawyers understand the importance and sensitivity of these important objectives.

Public Charities 
Charitable contributions are the lifeblood of most public charities. Public charities aim to structure their charitable giving programs to maximize their ability to receive a variety of charitable gifts while minimizing unnecessary risk to the organization. There are a myriad of laws, both federal and state, that regulate various aspects of an organization’s charitable giving program. Perlman & Perlman has experience providing practical and strategic advice with regard to gift acceptance policies, planned giving, and gift administration, allowing your organization to operate successful charitable giving programs.

Individual Donors 
Individuals use a variety of strategies to implement their philanthropic goals, while also achieving strategic tax, financial, and family legacy goals. Charitable gifts may include major cash or non-cash gifts, restricted purpose gifts, endowments, charitable trusts, charitable gift annuities, or bequests. Given the complexity of U.S. tax laws, the place where these goals meet can be difficult to discover without a guide. Perlman & Perlman’s attorneys are familiar with the legal and tax issues that arise when structuring charitable gifts, and will analyze your situation to find the optimal structure for your charitable and legacy objectives.

Corporate and Private Foundations 
Corporate and private foundations give billions of dollars every year to charitable organizations and causes, and are subject to more stringent regulation than public charities. Private foundations are subject to excise taxes for engaging in acts of self-dealing, failing to distribute a certain amount of income each year, maintaining excess business holdings, and making jeopardizing investments. The attorneys at Perlman & Perlman can educate your foundation managers regarding their fiduciary responsibilities, advise on potential tax ramifications of specific investments and activities, and help you develop policies and procedures that will ensure a smooth and legally compliant grantmaking process.

• Asset Protection
• Charitable Bequests
• Charitable Gift Annuities
• Corporate Foundations
• Cy pres relief (modifying donor restrictions) registtation and compliance
• Donor Advised Funds
• Endowment Funds
• Enforcement of Charitable Pledges
• Gift Acceptance Policies
• Grant Agreements
• Grantmaking Policies and Procedures
• Restricted Gifts
• Supporting Organizations
• Tax-Deductibility of Contributions

• Established endowment funds for religious institutions to protect their charitable assets
• Enforced restrictions on a donor’s gift to a nonprofit arts organization pursuant to the terms of a charitable gift agreement
• Prepared international grantmaking policies and procedures for a corporate foundation
• Petitioned the court to modify outdated donor restrictions and permit the use of funds for current needs (cy pres)
• Obtained licenses in multiple states to permit charities to issue charitable gift annuities
• Establishment of supporting organizations