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Overview
Since its founding more than 70 years ago Dilworth Paxson has assisted and represented philanthropists and nonprofit organizations through every major development in federal, state, and local law impacting charities and philanthropy. We view it as our responsibility to the communities we serve and are institutionally committed to providing the highest quality legal and tax services to those who seek to assist and support activities, causes, and programs that benefit humanity. Our multi-discipline nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations team assists and represents organizations of all kinds – charitable trusts, nonprofit corporations, family and institutional foundations, colleges and universities, hospitals and health systems, social services organizations, trade associations, religious organizations, governmental entities, cultural organizations, advocacy groups, and many others. Our focus and objective is to assist such organizations economically, efficiently, and expeditiously to better achieve their nonprofit missions, objectives, and purposes.
Our practice areas include:
- Charitable Gift Planning
- Formation & Tax Exempt Status
- Federal, State & Local Regulatory & Tax Reporting Compliance
- Addressing & Monitoring Tax legislation, Regulations, & Private Rulings
- Program-related, Mission-related, & Social-impact Investments
- Nonprofit Governance
- Director/Trustee Duties & Responsibilities
- Joint Ventures/Partnerships with For-profit Organizations
- Nonprofit Mergers, Dissolutions, & Asset Transactions
- Nonprofit Structures, Relationships & Affiliations
- Charitable Contribution Deductions
- Donor-advised funds
- Private Foundations
- Public Charities
- Religious Institutions
- International Charitable Transactions & Operations
- Revenue Generating Activities/Unrelated Business Income Planning & Tax Saving Strategies
- Tax & Other Regulatory Audits & Controversies
- Tax Treatment of Lobbying & Political Activities
- Associations, Clubs & Other Tax-Exempt Organizations
Today, donors face a multitude of sophisticated options and complicated choices in determining how to achieve their philanthropic goals. Both the type of charitable vehicle and the assets utilized are often subject to highly complex and rigorous tax requirements imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. Prospective donors can confidently call upon us to provide highly skilled counsel in determining the best strategy to further their philanthropic objectives.
The group is comprised of lawyers with broad experience in corporate law, taxation, and planned giving. The group counsels both non-profit organizations and individuals. Our goal is to devise prompt, creative legal solutions which enable clients to accomplish their goals effectively.
Dilworth Paxson’s Philanthropic & Non-profit Group represents some of the nation’s largest charitable foundations including private operating foundations, as well as many public charities.
The Philanthropic & Non-profit Group has experience with regard to advising boards of directors and officers, fundraising, intermediate sanctions rules, ongoing tax-exempt status, Pennsylvania’s Purely Public Charity Act, political activities, unrelated business income tax, and the excise tax.
When necessary and appropriate, our Philanthropic & Non-profit Group attorneys draw upon the resources of their colleagues in other practice areas to advise our tax-exempt clientele. A sampling of legal services that we offer to our non-profit clients includes employee benefits (ERISA), employment counsel, environmental and land use issues, health law matters, intellectual property (trademark, copyright, technology licensing, e-commerce, website, and internet issues), litigation, and real estate.
Our lawyers also work extensively with creating and counseling private foundations. We advise donors on the design and implementation of private foundations to meet their charitable, financial, tax, and family planning objectives. We have created numerous private foundations, and advise on compliance with excise tax rules on matters such as self-dealing, qualifying distributions, excess business holdings and jeopardy investments, and grant-making including grants to foreign charities, expenditure responsibility requirements, and foreign public charity equivalency procedures.
