Community Empowerment Matters

 Tax-exempt organizations typically rely on grants and donations to support their missions, but many nonprofit organizations explore alternative sources of revenue to maintain financial stability. For example, a school may rent out additional space in its building or sell advertisements in its bulletin, newspaper, or podcast. While some organizations generate income from activities that do not align with their mission, it may be crucial to prioritize earning funds to further execute the organization’s purpose. However, if an organization is not careful, this added income can potentially jeopardize the organization’s tax-exempt status. Generating income from activities unrelated to the organization’s purpose may be considered unrelated business income (“UBI”), and the income derived from it may be subject to an income tax referred to as unrelated business income tax (“UBIT”). The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) defines an activity as UBI if it is “(1) income from a trade or busin...

  https://www.flickr.com/photos/iceninejon/1470401797   What Is 501(c)(3) Status The term “501(c)(3)” refers to the section of the Internal Revenue Code that governs certain kinds of tax-exempt organizations. In order to receive tax deductible donations, organizations must be:        Charitable;         Religious;         Educational;         Scientific;         Literary;         Testing for public safety;         Fostering national or international amateur sports competition; or         Preventing cruelty to children or animals. Many foundations and other sources of grants require that the organizations they donate to maintain 501(c)(3) status. While applying for 501(c)(3) status is a good idea for many nonprofits, there are some drawbacks. The application process may involve a great deal of paperwork, and 501(c)(3) st...

          When first considering the benefits of forming an entity for your business, it is natural to focus on liability protections.   Perhaps, it is even more natural to focus on investors, particularly how many you anticipate and whether you are open to granting equity in your business.   However, this blog post highlights an additional consideration that, in some circumstances, may be the primary factor in determining which entity structure is best for your business: How will your business be taxed?   For the purpose of simplifying this illustration, the Limited Liability Company (LLC) was selected for comparison because of the prevalence at which it is selected and its specific attractiveness to small businesses.   This blog post focuses narrowly on the specific tax benefits of the S Corporation (S Corp) structure in comparison to the LLC structure.   https://images.app.goo.gl/qjGQeGWSGCkXqUxQ7           ...

               This blog post is designed to assist small businesses and nonprofits in transferring title (ownership) of real property in Michigan. Section one will discuss the three most commonly used deeds and their respective differences and benefits. Section two will go through the process (step by step) of filling out a deed and recording it with your county’s register of deeds (land records office). Section three will highlight a few of common issues that arise in the transfer of title and how to avoid them. I.          Selecting the Right Type of Deed The first thing to consider when preparing to transfer title of property is which type of deed will serve your interests best. A deed is a legal document which conveys title of real property. Deeds can be tailored to include whichever warranties (guaranties) and covenants (promises to do/refrain from doing certain things) you want, but there are a ha...