Nonprofit Representation

Charitable Giving

Hemenway & Barnes offers a full range of charitable giving services to nonprofit organizations. Our attorneys and philanthropic advisors apply our expertise in the charitable gift planning process to help meet our clients’ individual needs and vision for philanthropy. We regularly assist with and provide guidance on the following:

• Establishing and administering planned giving programs
• Advising on legal issues in gift administration, including endowments, donor privacy, and gift restrictions
• Representing nonprofits in specific gift transactions, including charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities and charitable lead trusts
• Working with donors to achieve their philanthropic, financial, tax, and family goals
• Conducting due diligence and risk assessment for charitable giving

Financial & Fiduciary Services

• Stewardship of foundation assets, including investment oversight; supervision of external investment advisors; development of investment policies in keeping with organization's mission
• Budgeting and financial planning consistent with foundation goals (preservation of corpus, spend-down, program-related investments)
• Coordination of charitable giving with other activities that promote a client's broad philanthropic interests
• Tax compliance and IRS filings

Representative Experience

• Assisted university in negotiating, accepting and managing complex charitable gifts, including charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, and gifts of interests in real estate and closely held businesses.
• Advised on administration of endowment and restricted funds, including appropriations, terminations, and cy près or deviation actions.
• Helped a foundation client tailor its endowment investment policy to be consistent with its environmental mission.
• Wrote an investment policy that provided strategies for the foundation to grow its corpus while continuing to increase its grant-making over time.
• Helping private foundations and community funds expand their impact while navigating federal tax rules and state, federal and international legal matters.
• Developed a donor-advised fund program for a community foundation.
• Advised donors and nonprofits on issues involving donors and naming rights.