Representative nonprofit matters in which our attorneys have been involved include:
Start-up/Tax Exemption
- Assisted with start-up and successful 501(c)(3) application for organization that raises capital through sale of notes to environmentally motivated investors and uses the capital to make loans to help finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
- Assisted with start-up and successful 501(c)(3) application for alumni organization with educational and public service mission.
- Assisted with start-up and successful 501(c)(3) application for organization that provides martial arts scholarships to students in disadvantaged Boston neighborhoods.
- Assisted with start-up and successful 501(c)(3) application for organization that preserves historic glass plate photographic negatives for small museums in New England.
- Assisted with start-up and successful 501(c)(4) application for organization that provides professional training and develops industry standards.
- Assisted with successful 501(c)(6) application for neighborhood organization dedicated to opposing overdevelopment on land owned by a college in its community.
Outside General Counsel and Other Matters
- Serve as outside general counsel to various nonprofits, including a nonprofit lender to small renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, an organization that pioneers market-based mechanisms to promote financial literacy and savings among low- and moderate-income populations, and a private foundation that supports efforts to improve the lives of workers.
- Assisted nonprofit in planning and setting up a groundbreaking “prize-linked savings program” with a group of credit unions in Michigan using unique provisions in Michigan law that allow for credit unions to run “savings promotion raffles.”
- Represented nonprofit client in the development of the legal architecture for its successful first and second generation fee-based registries of corporate carbon emissions reductions and carbon offsets.
- Assisted nonprofit with grant agreements, professional services agreements and pilot site agreements relating to development of video game for teaching financial literacy.
- Assisted nonprofit with legal infrastructure for pilot “refunds to assets” programs involving sale of U.S. savings bonds to clients of volunteer tax preparation assistance organizations.
- Assisted nonprofit with grant agreements and other documents to support childhood vaccination programs in Armenia.
- Represented nonprofit in an amalgamation with a larger nonprofit structured as a contribution of both restricted and unrestricted assets.
- Served as outside general counsel to venture philanthropy grant organization providing assistance on grant agreements, multi-year charitable pledge arrangements, professional services agreements and other matters.
- Assisted private foundation in revising its grant documents and procedures to better manage funding of community organizing activities while ensuring that no grant funds are earmarked for lobbying purposes.
Nonprofit Securities Offerings
- Assisted with nonprofit securities offering by organization that sells notes to socially responsible investors to raise capital for loans to community development and microfinance institutions in developing countries.
- Assisted with nonprofit securities offering by organization that sells notes to socially responsible investors to raise capital to backstop guaranties of third party loans to non-governmental organizations and businesses in South Africa.
- Assisted with nonprofit securities offering by organization that sells notes to environmentally motivated investors to raise capital for loans to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.