The Nonprofit FAQ

Where can I learn about the laws affecting nonprofits?

Several law firms maintain websites with answers to many questions about the laws affecting nonprofits. (If you know of an additional firm that should be listed here, please use the "feedback" link at the bottom of this page to send a suggestion to the editor.) Hurwit Associates in Newton, Massachusetts, has a directory of questions on its website at http://www.hurwitassociates.com. The DC lawfirm Steptoe & Johnson publishes a frequent "Exempt Organization Advisory" to describe developments affecting nonprofits. To see the past issues, use this link: http://www.steptoe.com/resources-area-62-32.html. To subscribe to receive future issues by email, send your name, organization name, address and phone for our database to bstone@steptoe.com. McDermott Will & Emery, with headquarters in Chicago, publishes a newsletter and occasional papers about developments in tax-exemption and IRS regulation. To see a list of recent publications, click http://www.mwe.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/publications.nllist/practice_area_id/e9fbd722-682a-4d5e-924d-dbda91a725f3/pa_flag/0.cfm">here. The Internal Revenue Service circulates frequent "EO Updates" to announce initiatives and publications of the Exempt Organizations division. To learn about this service and how to subscribe, visit http://www.irs.gov/charities/page/0,,id=130596,00.html Nonprofit Issues offers a free weekly Q&A drawn from questions posed by readers of this subscription newsletter. See http://www.nonprofitissues.com/ The International Center for Not-for-profit Law, with offices and programs in several places around the world, has an Online Library which offers "a searchable directory of key research including Country Laws, General Legal Documents, White Papers, Reports, Legal Opinions, IJNL and more. The online library includes over 2,300 resources from more than 140 countries. Resources can be found in 37 different languages." See http://www.icnl.org This Nonprofit FAQ includes answers to many questions about legal issues in the Regulation section; see http://www.idealist.org/en/faqcat/55-55 Bruce Hopkins, Nonprofit Law Made Easy (2005), is an introductory guide from a widely-published author on the subject. To order this book, click http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471709735/internetnonprofi">here (a small royalty will be paid that helps to support this site). Posted 9/21/07 -- PB