Nonprofit Organizations

Overview

There are 1.6 million tax-exempt organizations in the country, from religious institutions and cultural centers to disaster relief agencies. At Nixon Peabody, we believe having a positive impact on the world is central to the success of any business—a belief that is reflected in our mission. Working with nonprofits is one way to bring this mission to life. Our team serves nonprofits in all areas vital to their operation, including structuring, board governance, and tax-exemption status. We’ve assisted charity organizations shape their fundraising strategies. We’ve advised for-profit companies on their relationships with their tax-exempt affiliates, including foundations, scientific research organizations, and cultural institutions. And we’ve acted as counsel for numerous community foundations regarding investment decisions and endowment expenditures. Whatever the issue, Nixon Peabody brings knowledge and sensitivity to our nonprofit clients and the communities they serve.

Representative Experience

• Assisted an organization that was originally formed as a charity “convert” to a for-profit structure. Process involved sale of assets to a for-profit as well as seeking approval of NYS Attorney General Charities Bureau and NYS Supreme Court
• Charity with spinning off a line of business into a separate legal entity with outside investors
• Provided advice on structuring of multi-corporate nonprofit system consistent with directions of recently deceased founder
• Advised with respect to relationships between for-profit companies and their tax-exempt affiliates, including company foundations, scientific research organizations, a culinary institute, and a museum
• Multi-corporate nonprofit system on pursuit of digital media strategy, consolidation of separate corporations
• Five Massachusetts research universities in creating a joint venture entity called the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, Inc. (MGHPCC), which constructed a super-computing center in Holyoke, Massachusetts. MGHPCC was a groundbreaking collaboration among Harvard University, MIT, University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Northeastern University, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and private industry.
• Three original corporate sponsors—Kodak, Corning, and Xerox—in the creation of the Infotonics Technology Center to collaborate with the sponsors, small photonics businesses, and university members to advance research and development of nanotechnologies with a view toward enhancing the commercialization of such products

Recognition

• Nixon Peabody has been named a Tier 1 firm in Washington, DC for Nonprofit / Charities Law by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” in 2023.