Legal Guide for Iowa Nonprofits published

The Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center has published Legal Guide for Nonprofits and is providing a free copy to libraries in county seats.  The book is designed to help Iowa nonprofit organizations with the basic legal issues they face. It covers the organizational structure most common to Iowa nonprofits, the Iowa nonprofit corporation (Willard L.Boyd, III, “Legal Aspects of Organizing and Operating an Iowa Nonprofit Corporation”). How to define the responsibilities and manage the liabilities facing nonprofit boards is also addressed (See Willard L. Boyd, III, “Duties and Liabilities of Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Board of Directors”)

 Nonprofits have a special tax treatment once they have exemption under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), and the basic rules under which tax exempt organizations must function are spelled out (Patricia Cain, “Federal Tax Exemption”). Iowa also has several taxes such as property tax and sales tax for which there are some rules particularly for nonprofits (Harry Griger, “Iowa Taxation of Nonprofit Organizations”)

 How nonprofits in Iowa obtain their funding is also full of legal issues. Nonprofits are regulated in asking for gifts from donors. Gambling used for charitable fundraising  purposes is also subject to certain rules (Richard Koontz, “ Fundraising in Iowa”) When nonprofits get gifts, the donor restriction may become impossible to carry out over time, and there are methods to cope with changing the restriction (Patricia Cain, “Restrictions on Gifts: Legality and Public Relations”). Charities entering capital projects may well use tax-exempt bonds. (Dean Spina, “Tax- Exempt Financing for 501(c)(3)’s”).

Finally, the same rules governing employees in for profit organizations are application to nonprofits, and a general outline of these rules is included (Marcus M. Mills, “Employment Relationships”.)  This volume was written by lawyers and is useful to lawyers. However it’s terminology and subject matter is accessible to any manager of a nonprofit organization.

For more information, visit http://inrc.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu.