Personal vs. Organizational Activity

Download: Best of the Nonprofit Law Podcast (mp3, 6:36)

Shownotes

Intro

Tim Mooney… Welcome to the Nonprofit Law Podcast
Your guide to the laws impacting nonprofits.
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When is a person acting on their own versus acting on behalf of their organization?

- Joining a nonprofit as a director or a staff member doesn’t take away your individual rights
- Individuals can do things that are otherwise forbidden… donate time/money to campaign, etc.
- General rule – so long as an organization’s financial resources, facilities, or staff are not used, the organization is not going to be beholden to the individual acts of its staff, officers or directors

When do the actions become attributed to an organization?

- Principles of agency are used… if the person acts as if they have power, and they actually do have the power, the IRS will usually consider the action that of the organization
- Actions of individuals that weren’t ok’d by the group, but were later “implicitly ratified.” (i.e. Organization found out about the actions and did not disavow them)

Tips & Best practices

- Have a policy in place on use of organizational resources
- Encourage use of disclaimers for individuals working on non-organizational endeavors (i.e. “organization shown for identification purposes only”)

Resources

Election Year Issues (pp. 363-365) – IRS CPE Text
Election Year Activities for Section 501(c)(3) Organizations: Frequently Asked Questions – McDermott Will & Emery
Closing

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This podcast provides general information about legal topics but it is not a complete discussion of all legal issues that arise in relation to nonprofits nor is it a substitute for legal advice. This podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is general legal information and the contributors make no warranties regarding the general legal information provided in this podcast , and disclaim liability for damages resulting from its use to the fullest extent permitted by the applicable law.