Event Description
Leaders Impacting the Nonprofit
Community (LINC) CLE
Series
When: 4
Sessions
- March
12, March 26, April 2 and April 23
Time:
2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
for each session
Where: HCBA, 600 Nicollet Mall, Suite 390,
Minneapolis
Lawyers are often called upon to serve
on nonprofit boards, and while they bring strong skills in many areas and
the desire to make a difference, they may lack the background and formal training
needed to contribute effectively as nonprofit volunteer leaders.
The Hennepin County Bar Association has
developed the LINC (Leaders Impacting the Nonprofit Community) program to
provide volunteer lawyers with training in nonprofit governance and an
introduction to legal issues commonly faced by nonprofits. The skills you
acquire from LINC training will be applicable to positions of leadership on
nonprofit boards and committees, including associations, faith communities, and
community based nonprofits. The training will not only provide information
that every person serving on a nonprofit board should know to uphold his or her
fiduciary duties, but also an opportunity to focus on issues that uniquely
impact lawyers serving on nonprofit boards.
The program was originally created by
the HCBA in 2005. It is offered every other year and over the last 15 years LINC has
been honed into an engaging, thorough four-session program. This year we are
trying something new and concluding the sessions with a 1-hour Ask a Nonprofit Lawyer
session with a panel of our experts. Make sure to keep track of any questions
that weren’t answered throughout the sessions, and bring any burning new
ones!
This experience is meant for any attorneys that are curious to
explore the potential of serving on a nonprofit board or for attorneys that already serve
and would like to expand their understanding of the nuances that can be
involved when serving as an attorney on a nonprofit board. Participants who
attend all four sessions will earn a total of 10 (9 Standard, 1 Ethics) MBCLE
credits.
Agenda:
SESSION 1: Thursday, March 12
| 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. – 3:30
p.m. Nonprofit Corporate Governance/Role of a Board Member
1.5 Standard Credits / Speaker: Ann Novacheck,
Shareholder, Nilan Johnson Lewis
Governing well is essential for strong nonprofits to
work efficiently and effectively to address the needs of our communities.
Learn the basics of board structure and governance as well as current best
practices and trends in effective nonprofit board leadership. We will
discuss the role of board members in governing an organization rather than
managing the day-to-day affairs of the organization, delegation of authority and
how the board should communicate with the organization’s managers.
3:30 p.m. – 4:00
p.m. Networking Break
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Ethics
of Serving on a Nonprofit Board
1.0 Ethics Credit / Speaker: Jess Birken, Birken
Law Office
A lot is expected of lawyers serving on
nonprofit boards – often much more than a lawyer can provide without running
afoul of his/her commitment to professional ethics. This session explores the
convergence of and conflicts arising from lawyers’ professional duties and the
duties required of nonprofit board members.
Participants will be cued to revisit their
professional duties – to safeguard client property, maintain confidences, avoid
conflicts of interest, deal honestly, and refuse to take advantage of the client
– in the context of a nonprofit director’s duties of care, loyalty, and
obedience. Hypotheticals based on actual cases will be utilized to lead
participants through potential situations they may encounter while serving on
nonprofit boards and the pros and cons of various action steps that might be
taken. The session will also explore the question of who the client really is,
when a lawyer is assisting a nonprofit on whose board he/she serves, and what to
consider when you are serving both as a director on a nonprofit board and as its counsel.
SESSION 2: Thursday, March 26 | 2:00 p.m. - 5:00
p.m.
2:00 p.m. –
3:30 p.m. Overview of the Law of Tax Exempt
Organizations
1.5 Standard Credits / Speaker: Emmett Robertson,
Partner, Rubric Legal LLC
When most people think of nonprofit
organizations, they think of 501(c)(3) organizations. However, not all
nonprofits are charities, or even tax exempt! There are currently 29 different
types of organizations listed in the main exemption section of the Internal
Revenue Code (Section 501), and numerous other exemptions that appear
elsewhere. Tax exempt organizations are subject to significant amounts of
restrictions and proscriptions on their behavior, based on the type of
organization, the relative amount of tax benefits that type of organization
receives, and how much we “value” that benefit. Greater amounts of tax
benefits = greater amount of regulation on activities and operations. This
presentation will give an overview of the common characteristics of many types
of tax exempt organizations, with a primary focus on 501(c)(3)s.
3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Networking
Break
4:00 p.m. – 5:00
p.m. Restricted Gifts and Endowments
1.0 Standard Credit /
Speaker: Heidi Christianson, Shareholder and Firm President, Nilan
Johnson Lewis, PA
Charities receiving charitable
contributions have legal duties related to managing, investing and spending
those contributions. In this session you will learn about important issues
to consider in receiving charitable contributions, especially contributions with
restrictions such as gifts that are endowed by the grantor. We will
discuss the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act and how it
impacts a charity’s management and investment of all institutional funds as well
as the limitations it places on the use of endowment funds. We also will
discuss the important distinctions between donor restricted funds and board
restricted funds.
SESSION 3:
Thursday, April 2 | 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. –
3:30 p.m. Nonprofit Financial Literacy and Competency
1.5 Standard
Credits / Speakers: Maria Schwingler, CPA, Audit Partner, Eide Bailly and Hannah
Horn, CPA, Audit Manager, Eide Bailly
The core “duty of care” that is required of nonprofit board
members assumes that board members will be good stewards of the nonprofit’s
finances. Unfortunately, many lawyers will privately – and sometimes publicly –
admit to a fundamental lack of understanding of nonprofit finance. Gaining
comfort with the numbers side of nonprofit board service is essential for
lawyers who aim to adhere to their duties under the law and who aspire to
exemplary board service. Topics include budgeting, and budget oversight,
financial statements, restricted vs. unrestricted funds, and 990s.
3:30 p.m. – 4:00
p.m. Networking Break
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Election
Year Issues
1.0 Standard Credit
/ Speaker: Marie Ellis, Public Policy Director, Minnesota
Council of Nonprofit
In presidential election years,
many nonprofit organizations become more active in activities that are loosely
referred to as "political activity". Some nonprofits use this opportunity to
encourage people to participate in the electoral process. Others increase their
advocacy activities to take advantage of the increased attention on many issues
during the course of a campaign. This advocacy activity may be to raise public
awareness of particular issues, to influence the passage of legislation
concerning particular issues (lobbying), or to elect candidates based upon their
position on particular issues (electioneering). Depending on which kind of
activity is being conducted, nonprofits have varying limitations and reporting
responsibilities.
SESSION 4: Thursday, April 23 | 2:00 p.m. - 5:00
p.m.
2:00 p.m. –
3:00 p.m. Employment Law for Nonprofits
1.0 Standard Credit /
Speaker: Sarah Riskin, Shareholder, Nilan Johnson Lewis,
PA
Not-for-profit corporations with employees must comply with
the same federal, state and local laws to which all employers are subject.
And not-for-profits are subject to the same types of litigation, with the
potential of jury verdicts granting substantial damage awards. This
session will consider a broad range of employment issues with the goal of
providing an understanding of the most essential laws applicable to not for
profit, tax exempt employers
3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Fundraising
0.5 Standard Credit / Speaker: Greg Larson, Partner, Lathrop GPM
Lawyers on nonprofit boards are quickly confronted with expectations related
to making contributions to the nonprofit they serve and raising funds from other
individuals and organizations. Lawyers can struggle with these expectations –
both in reconciling them with professional ethics and business relationships,
and in feeling comfortable in the fundraising realm. Topics covered
include multistate fundraising, commercial co-ventures, charitable gambling,
sponsorships, and silent auctions.
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Networking Break
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Ask a Nonprofit Laywer
1.0 Standard
Credit / Panel, TBD
Total CLE Credits
for Series:
10 (9 Standard, 1 Ethics) MBCLE credits
approved | Event Code:
292808
Cost:
HCBA Member: $249.00
Non-HCBA Member:
$399.00
*Non-member cancellations must be received 7 days
prior to the event in order to be eligible for a refund. The cost of materials
will be deducted from total amount of the refund. Non-members registering for an event
fewer than 7 days prior to the event will be ineligible for a
refund.
*Remote participaton is not
available.
Thanks to the
2020 LINC Program Co-Chairs:
Ann Novacheck , Nilan Johnson Lewis PA
Emmett
Robertson
, Rubric Legal LLC
To register with a check,
please mail in this registration
form.
Need to cancel? Please see our cancellation
policy.
Questions? Contact Tram Nguyen | 612-278-6316
Deadline to Register: Thursday, March 5,
2020
The HCBA is committed to creating an inclusive environment in which all
members can participate fully. If you need reasonable accommodations to
participate in this event, please notify Tram Nguyen via 612-278-6316 or
email: tnguyen@mnbars.org. Please
provide notification at least 72 hours prior to the meeting to allow sufficient
time to make arrangements for accommodations.