Fall Semester 2008Professor Jon Forman

T1:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.Seminar Room# 1025Office – 3061

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS SEMINAR (6700-605)

SYLLABUS

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1. Overview. This course explores the federal and state laws that govern charitable, religious, and educational organizations. The nonprofit sector also includes labor unions, fraternal lodges, social clubs, college fraternities and sororities, trade associations, political organizations, and even professional sports leagues. We will focus on the organization and operation of nonprofit organizations and on the taxation of nonprofit organizations; however, papers can focus on other issues relating to the law of nonprofit organizations. There are no prerequisites, but Basic Income Tax would certainly help.

2. Download the Syllabus(withhyperlinks) at click on Teaching Material.

3. Required Texts

a. Nicholas P. Cafardi & Jaclyn Fabean Cherry, Tax Exempt Organizations: Cases and Materials (LexisNexis 2nd ed. 2008) ISBN 978-1-4224-1754-6 (hereinafter Casebook).

b. Daniel J. Lathrope, Selected Federal Taxation Statutes & Regulations, 2009 ed. (West, 2008) ISBN 978-0-314-19073.

c. Additional reading available on the Web.

4. Assignments. Assignments generally refer to the Casebook and various materials accessible on the Web, as indicated.

ClassAssignment

August 26Casebook, Chapter 1 (General Overview).

September 2Chapter 2 (Rationales for Tax Exemption). See also

Publication 557
htmlpdf / Publication 557 (06/2008), Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization / 06/2008

September 9Chapter 3 (IRS Tests for Tax Exemption).

Topic selection finalized

September 16 Chapter 4I, II, III, and VI (Religious Organizations and Churches)

September 23 Chapter 5 (Educational Organizations).

Annotated Bibliography Due

September 30No Class.

October 7Chapter 13 (Private Foundations).

Abstract Due

October 14Chapter 9 (Charitable Contributions).

Sign Up for Presentations

October 21Chapter 12 (Unrelated Business Income Tax). See also

Publication 598
htmlpdf / Publication 598 (11/2007), Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations / 11/2007

October 28Chapter 10V (Political Activities);

Chapter 14 (Securing and Maintaining Tax Exempt Status);

(Review all

links).

Draft Papers Due and Time Stamped by Secretarial Pool no later than 4:45 p.m., Friday, October 31, 2008. Also e-mail them to me and to the class.

November 4Presentations.

November 11Presentations.

November 18No class.

November 25Presentations.

December 2Presentations.

Final Papers Due and Time Stamped by Secretarial Pool no later than 4:45 p.m., Friday, December5, 2008. Please also e-mail me a copy.

5. Course Requirement and Grading Standards. Each student will be required to attend all seminar class sessions and to participate in discussions. Students will prepare an annotated bibliography, a one page abstract, a draft, and a seminar paper in final form on a topic approved by the professor. Students will orally present their papers for discussion by the entire class. There will be no examination. Each student=s grade will be based on individual participation and contribution to the seminar and their paper. The final course grade will be based on the following: (i) 10% for class participation, (ii) 5% for bibliography, (iii) 5% for abstract, (iv) 20% for the draft, (v) 10% for the presentation, and (vi) 50% for final paper on assigned topic.

6. Topic Submissions. Individual consultation with the professor. A useful approach to selecting a paper topic is to go through the casebook and find a topic that may interest you. Then, explore the subject in more detail to see if it is sufficiently narrow and interesting. (See the attached list of Some Possible Topics for Papers.)

7. Standards for Papers. The primary purpose for this assignment is to provide a major exercise in rigorous legal research and writing. (See the attached GRADUATION WRITING REOUIREMENT STANDARDS.) Each student is responsible for the investigation of sources and authorities, the accumulation of data, the selection of pertinent material, and the presentation of a full paper in acceptable form. If you agree, your paper, if acceptable, will be included in a web book and published on the OU College of Law web site. See, e.g., Law and Economic Justice:ACompendium of Student Materials (Jonathan Barry Forman ed. 2008), available at

Each paper should include the following components: basic explanation of the nature of the background or history of the area involved, discussion and analysis of the relevant aspects of the topic, and a thesis or statement of the student=s position concerning one or more of the issues raised by the topic. The paper should focus on the significance of the topic and, where issues are unresolved, attempt to examine what the law should be and why. In sum, it is more desirable to comment on and analyze your topic rather than simply report or describe.

ORIGINAL WORK. The paper must be of original work for this course only. Work for law review, moot court, other classes, outside employment or work prepared by others is not a substitute for preparing a paper for this course. If you have any questions concerning this requirement, see me. In transcribing anyone else=s actual words, one precaution is absolutely requisite: enclose every phrase or sentence you copy in quotation marks, to remind you that you have borrowed it and thus must retain the quotes.... To a reader who detects the unacknowledged Aborrowing,” the offense is known ... accurately, as plagiarism. The plea that the identifying quotation marks were absent from the original research note by reason of momentary carelessness, or that they were lost somewhere between the original note and the merciless daylight of print, is not a defense. It has been used unsuccessfully in several well-publicized recent cases, ... and the professional careers of the careless transcribers have been seriously impaired if not actually destroyed. See, e.g. Richard Altick and John Fenstermaker, The Art of Literary Research 210 (4th ed. 1993).

MINIMUM LENGTH. Each paper should be at least 20 but not more than 30 full pages of text, exclusive of preliminaries (e.g. table of contents, title page), tables, charts, footnotes or endnotes, bibliography, and appendices.

FORM. Each paper must be typewritten or computer-produced on a letter quality printer. Required form and quality include (i) double-spaced, (ii) use of proper English, (iii) correct spelling and punctuation, (iv) an appropriate bibliography, (v) compliance with the most recent edition of The Bluebook:A Uniform System of Citation, (vi) 12 Pt. type, and (vii) standard margins.

ELEMENTS OF PAPER DEVELOPMENT:

  1. Topic.
  1. Annotated Bibliography - this bibliography should be at least 4 pages long citing the material you intend to use in your research and paper. Citations should be in Bluebook form, and each entry should be accompanied by a short annotation describing the source and how you intend to use it.
  1. Abstract - This one page paper should summarize your intended paper and include a thesis, a short description of the development of your paper, and a short conclusion.
  1. Draft paper - Should be a complete and final paper; the best work you can do without the professor’s comments.
  1. Final paper.

WARNING. Late bibliographies, abstracts, drafts, and final papers will not be accepted for full credit. Those who rely on computer reproduction of a paper must be aware that a breakdown is always possible. Computer breakdown will not be accepted as an excuse for failure to meet deadlines.

8. Office Hours. Generally, before and after class T, but stop by any time.

9. Students with Disabilities. The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course are requested to speak with the professor as early in the semester as possible. Students with disabilities must be registered with the Office of Disability Services prior to receiving accommodations in the course. The Office of Disability Services is located in Goddard Health Center, Suite 166, phone 405-325-3852 or TDD only 405-323-4173.

10. Some Other Resources.

Nonprofit Law Prof Blog,

Joint Committee on Taxation,

See, e.g.,Historical Development and Present Law of the Federal Tax Exemption for Charities and Other Tax-Exempt Organizations (JCX-29-05, April 19, 2005),

Internal Revenue Service

Tax Information for Charities & Other Non-Profits,

Topics for Charities & Non-Profits,

IRS Publications
526 / Charitable Contributions (html | pdf)
561 / Determining the Value of Donated Property (html | pdf)
557 / Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization (html | pdf)
598 / Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organization (html | pdf)

Some Possible Topics for Papers

Below are some possible starting points for paper topics. It is a very incomplete list, both in scope and focus. Do not feel compelled to select from this list. It is distributed only as a life preserver for those of you who have drawn a blank in choosing your topic. For those of you who know the subject area you wish to research, this list may correct any insomnia.

Churches and the Internal Revenue Code

Political activities and churches

New Religions and the IRS: The case of Scientology

Racial Discrimination and the Internal Revenue Code

Sexual Discrimination and the Internal Revenue Code

Antitrust issues in higher education

Antitrust issues and hospitals

Health Care:

State and local tax exemption of nonprofit hospitals

The Status of Restricted gifts when nonprofit hospitals convert to for-profit status or merge.

Joint ventures between nonprofit and for-profit health care providers

The new foundations created from conversions of health care providers: must they focus on health care?

Legal issues relating to the conversion of Empire Blue Cross to a for-profit corporation

The Rights of Donors to assure their gifts are spent as promised.

Herzog Foundation case, the Audubon Society, the Bass gift to Yale, Guggenheim Museum and some other cases

Donors rights to control their gifts after they have been given.

Deaccessing of the museum collection.

Legal issues related to donor-advised funds.

Corporate philanthropy and the independence of Directors.

The Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT)

Rodin pasta, Gauguin tattoos, and the UBIT: museum gift shops

Unfair competition and the UBIT.

The Use of nonprofits for illegal activities, and the Government’s efforts to monitor such activities.—The anti-terrorism guidelines.

Controlling Fund Transfers Abroad

Corporate Sponsorship of Tax Exempt Activities

Private Inurement and Private Benefit

Intermediate Sanctions and the Prohibition of Excessive Compensation

Charitable solicitation over the internet and registration requirements

The limits of legislative lobbying

The Christian Coalition: Political or nonprofit organization? -The legal limits of campaign activity

Section 527 organizations: who should regulate?

Liability of volunteers and the Volunteer Protection Act

Should public television be tax exempt?-the arguments and a recommendation

The Commerciality Doctrine

Private Foundations: Using Foundations for Political Purposes: The Case of the Abraham

Lincoln Opportunity Foundation (which paid for lectures by former speaker Newt Gingrich)

The Right of a Nonprofit Organization to Sue on Behalf of Its Members: Examples from Public Interest Environmental Litigation

Endowment Policy: An Examination of Pace University’s Endowment Expenditure Policy

The Use of Nonprofit Organizations to Shelter “soft political money”

The Right of Private Associations to Discriminate after Dale v. Boy Scouts

Joint Ventures between For-profit and Nonprofit Organizations

Property Tax Exemptions

Excessive Compensation in the Nonprofit Sector, Intermediate Sanctions and I.R.C. § 501(c)(3).

Recent proposals to improve accountability of nonprofits: Sarbanes-Oxley for Nonprofits? Recommendations of the Senate Finance Committee and the recently passed Senate Bill.

Charity Law Reform in the UK—There is new legislation introduced in Parliament that represents the biggest change in charity law since 1960.

Issues of Cy Pres and Deviation – When can a trust change its purposes, using examples such as the Hershey Trust (school) or the Barnes Museum (art museum in Merion Pa, permitted a few weeks ago to move to downtown Philadelphia.)

Should donors have standing to enforce their charitable gifts?

How much of its endowment can a charitable institution spend?

Are there conflicts of interest between museums and their trustees, who are art collectors?

Charities in Bankruptcy: The Clerical Abuse Scandal

When can a charitable corporation change its purposes? Eg. A hospital converts from non profit to for-profit status or a college shuts its doors and uses the remaining assets for another purpose.

The law of fundraising over the Internet: how and who should enforce such rules?
GRADUATION WRITING REOUIREMENT STANDARDS

A.Requirement:

Each second or third year student is required to satisfactorily complete one rigorous writing requirement prior to graduation. To complete this requirement, each student must prepare a scholarly, well documented and well written paper that develops a thesis on a legal topic. The paper must be fully researched and supported by authority. For a paper to satisfy the graduation writing requirement, it must be written under the supervision and approval of a faculty member. Some courses taught by adjunct faculty may provide an opportunity for a student to satisfy the writing requirement.

B.Grade:

The paper written for the graduation writing requirement will be evaluated by the supervising faculty member separately from the student's overall performance in a seminar or course for which it may be written. The paper must be of at least B minus (B-) quality in order to satisfy the writing requirement. Since seminar or course requirements may differ from the graduation writing requirement, a paper written for the writing requirement may not satisfy a particular professor's course or seminar requirements. Likewise, a paper that satisfies a particular professor's course or seminar requirements may not automatically satisfy the graduation writing requirement standards.

C.Minimum Standards:

The paper written for this requirement must be typewritten. The paper must be of a length appropriate to the subject matter under investigation by the student. As a general guideline, the paper should total a minimum of twenty textual pages, exclusive of the title page, table of contents, footnotes, bibliography, and appendixes.

D.Progress Report and Deadline:

Each faculty member supervising a student will require at least one progress report or initial draft during the semester the paper is being written. More progress reports may be required at the discretion of the faculty member supervising the student. The deadline for submitting the substantial paper written for the graduation writing requirement is the last day of finals in the semester in which the student is writing the paper. The supervising faculty member may grant the student a continuance if good cause is shown. Penalties for late submission of a paper are at the discretion of the supervising faculty member.

E.Form and Style:

It is expected that any paper submitted to satisfy the writing requirement will be in standard written English including proper spelling and punctuation. The student should conform the style of paper to the most recent edition of A Uniform System of Citation unless the faculty member supervising the paper directs otherwise.

F. Graduation Writing Requirement Curriculum:

1.There are a number of courses that will provide the opportunity for second or third year students to satisfy this requirement. These are:

a.All seminars will provide the opportunity for students to satisfy the requirement. A list of the seminars offered each semester will be provided to the students in enrollment materials. If, in the faculty member's discretion, the course work for a seminar would not otherwise provide the opportunity for a student to satisfy the writing requirement, the faculty member must allow the student to do additional work which would satisfy the writing requirement.

b.All students who enroll for Directed Legal Research will be given the opportunity to write a paper that satisfies the writing requirement.

c.Enrollment in the Oklahoma Law Review, OKJOLT, or American Indian Law Review will not automatically satisfy the writing requirement. The requirement will be met only if the paper also satisfies the minimum graduation writing requirement standards.

d.Other courses in the curriculum may offer an opportunity for students to satisfy the writing requirement. If any course offers the student the option of writing a paper or papers to satisfy the course's requirements, the student may submit, upon permission of the professor, that paper or series of papers to the professor for certification by the faculty member as satisfying the graduation writing requirement.

2.Some courses and curricular activities at the College of Law will not offer students the opportunity to satisfy the writing requirement. These are:

a.Courses with no paper option or requirement

b.Clinical courses

c.Competitions

d.Practice Court and Trial Techniques

e.Serving as a law review editor or officer

G.Procedure:

Students who enroll in any course with the intention of writing a paper to satisfy the writing requirement, must inform the professor of that intention at the earliest possible time in the semester. The faculty member will be required to certify the student's successful completion of the writing requirement on a form provided by Student Services.

7/17/03

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