TRUSTED ADVISORS TO NONPROFITS

Wagenmaker & Oberly provides legal counsel to NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS across the nation with offices in Chicago and Charleston.

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First Minutes: Taking the Nonprofit’s Corporate Foundational Steps

September 20, 2021

How does a new nonprofit move forward after incorporation? The practical answer is through strong leadership and significant effort! The legal answer is through “First Minutes,” a written corporate resolution reflecting a nonprofit corporation’s key first steps. The First Minutes should address essential elements, particularly to avoid corporate governance pitfalls.

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Governance

NONPROFIT LAW NEWSFEED

NYC Must Give Teachers With Medical And Religion Exemptions Non-Classroom Work, Arbitrator Finds

09/13/2021

Gothamist  An arbitrator has ruled that New York City must offer teachers with certain medical and religious exemptions non-classroom assignments, after the teachers' union argued that the city's requirement that all school employees—teachers, administrators, and other staff—must be vaccinated by September 27th was "draconian."

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North Carolina General Assembly Passes Bill Limiting Nonprofit Donor Disclosure

09/09/2021

Ballotpedia News On August 25, 2021, the North Carolina Senate voted 25-19 to approve S636, a bill that would make donations to nonprofit corporations confidential. The bill now heads to Gov. Roy Cooper (D).

What the bill proposes

 S636 prohibits the public disclosure of names or identifying information of donors to nonprofit organizations.

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Locast Loses Key Defense Against Major Networks' Copyright Claims

09/08/2021

Reuters A Manhattan federal court has knocked out an important Copyright Act defense for over-the-air streaming service Locast against infringement claims brought by the four major U.S. television networks.

Despite being a nonprofit, Locast makes too much money from user payments to be exempt from ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox's claims under part of the law that protects nonprofits retransmitting copyrighted works, U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton ruled Tuesday.

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The Lansing Catholic school that sued the state over its mask mandate lost in federal court

08/25/2021

FOX 47 News  A Lansing Catholic school that sued the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, claiming the state didn't have the right to require children to wear masks inside the

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Infrastructure bill includes energy efficiency grants for houses of worship

08/18/2021

Washington Post  Buried on Page 1,729 of the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill approved by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday (Aug. 10) in a bipartisan vote is a project titled “Energy efficiency materials pilot program.” It would fund $50 million in grants to nonprofits, including religious congregations, so they can buy new energy efficient heating and cooling systems for their buildings.

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What to know about the infrastructure bill’s controversial ‘gender identity’ provision

08/18/2021

Deseret News Some religious conservatives believe the bipartisan infrastructure bill would fuel discrimination against people of faith

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Supreme Court won't block Maine's Covid restrictions on churches

08/04/2021

NBC News  The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request from a church in Maine to prevent the state's reimposing Covid-related restrictions.

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Would-be Rhode Island State Rep Stole Nonprofit Funds

07/07/2021

The NonProfit Times Laufton Ascencao, who was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2018 but never took office, pleaded nolo contendere to one count of felony embezzlement, three counts of failure to report campaign expenditures and one count of failure to have a duly appointed treasurer other than himself certify the accuracy of his campaign finance reports, according to a statement from the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General.

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First Liberty Appeals Denial of Tax Exemption for Group Alleged to Have Republican Ties

07/07/2021

Newsweek Christian legal organization First Liberty Institute is appealing the recent denial by the IRS to grant tax exemption status to a Texas Christian group that the federal agency alleges supports the Republican Party

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New Washington State Nonprofit Corporation Act Revitalizes Law Governing Nonprofit Corporations

07/07/2021

National Law Review Effective for most purposes on 1 January 2022, a new state law overhauls and reforms the governance landscape for nonprofit corporations in the state of Washington. Replacing existing Chapter 24.03 RCW (the “Current Act”) in its entirety, the new Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act (the “New Act”) modernizes state law relating to the organization, management, and governance of nonprofit corporations.

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NYC Must Give Teachers With Medical And Religion Exemptions Non-Classroom Work, Arbitrator Finds

09/13/2021

Gothamist  An arbitrator has ruled that New York City must offer teachers with certain medical and religious exemptions non-classroom assignments, after the teachers' union argued that the city's requirement that all school employees—teachers, administrators, and other staff—must be vaccinated by September 27th was "draconian."

READ MORE

North Carolina General Assembly Passes Bill Limiting Nonprofit Donor Disclosure

09/09/2021

Ballotpedia News On August 25, 2021, the North Carolina Senate voted 25-19 to approve S636, a bill that would make donations to nonprofit corporations confidential. The bill now heads to Gov. Roy Cooper (D).

What the bill proposes

 S636 prohibits the public disclosure of names or identifying information of donors to nonprofit organizations.

READ MORE