Elizabeth A. Prendergast

Beth’s experience includes advising and representing clients in areas such as the following:

• Nonprofit entity formation, including development of governance documents, policies and procedures, obtaining federal tax exemption, and preparing founders for operational readiness.
• Designing and implementing complex structures involving multiple tax-exempt organizations, such as a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4), or a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(6), as well as strategic partnerships, affiliations, and joint ventures with other nonprofit and for-profit organizations.
• Representing tax-exempt organizations in mergers, consolidations, liquidations, and acquisitions of other organizations’ programs, assets, and activities.
• Advising on grantmaking, including grants to international organizations, individuals, and non-501(c)(3) organizations, and best practices in due diligence, documentation, and recordkeeping.
• Implementing planned giving strategies through various structures and vehicles for charitable giving, including private foundations, donor-advised funds, and supporting organizations, and preparing agreements and policies governing charitable gifts and grants.
• Helping private foundations avoid excise taxes from self-dealing, jeopardizing investments, failure to make minimum distributions, taxable expenditures, and excess business holdings.
• Helping 501(c)(3) organizations navigate political activity, including advocacy and lobbying, and maintain tax-exempt status by avoiding impermissible support for candidates.
• Navigating donor anonymity interests amidst charitable transparency laws.
• Advising tax-exempt organizations on commercial activities and unrelated business taxable income.
• Managing charitable registrations and compliance with annual reporting requirements, including preparing and filing annual reports nationwide.
• Advising fundraising counsel, paid fundraisers and others who solicit charitable donations on compliance with state charitable solicitation and charitable trust laws.
• Reviewing and analyzing tax returns, including IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF.
• Hybrid entity formation, such as LC3s and benefit corporations.