Hot Topics for 501(c)(3) Organizations Explored

Michael N. Fine is an associate in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Chicago office. He focuses his practice on issues affecting tax-exempt health care organizations, including corporate governance, executive compensation, intermediate sanctions, joint ventures, charitable contributions and obtaining tax exemption from the IRS. Michael has experience representing exempt organizations under IRS audit and advising tax-exempt health care providers on captive insurance and other alternatives to commercial insurance. Prior to joining McDermott, Michael was an associate for an international law firm in Washington, D.C. There, Michael represented individuals, corporations and partnerships regarding federal income taxation issues, including planning and transactional matters, audit and controversy matters, and those involving tax-exempt organizations. Michael has written numerous articles for Taxation of Exempts including “Vision Service Plan, Part Two,” “Money, Boards, Hospitals and Draft Form 990,” and “Clearing the FBAR: Hurdles for 501(c)(3) Organizations, Employees, Officers, and Directors.” He has also published articles with Tax Analysts and frequently co-authors McDermott Will & Emery client alerts on topics that pertain to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations. Michael often speaks on topics relating to tax-exempt organizations. He recently served as the primary speaker for a Lorman Education Services teleconference on “IRS Guidelines for Good Governance and the Continued Tax Exemption of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations.” While at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Michael was a Senior Editor of the Journal of International Economic Law and represented nonprofit corporations through the Gittis Small Business Clinic. During law school, Michael served as an extern for the Honorable Alan S. Gold, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Michael is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Illinois and Pennsylvania. He is an active member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.

Mr. Pollak, JD, is Program Director of the National Center for Charitable Statistics, a program of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. Recent research projects include a study of operating reserves of Washington-area nonprofits, a report on the nonprofit environmental movement; and an analysis of private contributions to U.S.-based international development organizations. His current focus is on the development of state and local civic capacity-building projects with the Urban Institute/NCCS Community Platform. He has published in numerous scholarly journals and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, the Washington Post, USA Today, the New York Times, and other national media. He has his JD from Georgetown University and is a member of the Maryland and DC bars.

Sally Bloomfield is a partner at the law firm of Bricker & Eckler LLP in Columbus, Ohio. For more than 30 years she has practiced in the areas of public utility and administrative law, with a focus on state public utility regulatory proceedings. She is deeply committed to matters that affect nonprofit organizations in the state of Ohio and, through Bricker & Eckler’s Nonprofit Practice Group, has worked extensively to help nonprofit organizations with federal filing requirements. Throughout her career, Sally has served on numerous nonprofit and community boards, including the YWCA Endowment Trust (chair, 2006–present); Franklin County (Ohio) Convention Facilities Authority (vice chair, 1996–present); Council of Delegates, Ohio State Bar Association (member, 1980–present); and the Board of Trustees, Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation (member, 2007–present).

Deborah G. Kosnett, CPA, is a Tax Principal with Tate & Tryon, CPAs and Consultants, in Washington, DC, a firm specializing solely in not-for-profit organizations. She has nearly 25 years' experience as a tax advisor to not-for-profit organizations throughout the country. Prior to joining Tate & Tryon in 1999, Ms. Kosnett was a senior tax manager with both KPMG and Ernst & Young in Washington, DC, where she worked with numerous exempt organizations, as well as not-for-profit hospitals and multi-entity health systems. Ms. Kosnett is a frequent contributor to American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) publications; her most recent article is "Need-to-Knows in the New 990," published in the January 2010 Associations Now Volunteer Leadership Issue. She is also a regular presenter at conferences held by AICPA, ASAE, the Greater Washington Society of CPAs, and the Finance and Administration Roundtable, and is a co-author of ASAE's "Guide to the Newest Form 990.” Ms. Kosnett currently serves on the AICPA's Exempt Organizations Technical Resource Panel, where she assists with numerous initiatives, including the TRP's Form 990 Task Force.