Posts Tagged: tax-exempt organizations

Trademark vs. Copyright for Nonprofits: What’s the Difference and Why Does It Matter?

September 25, 2026 Posted by socialspicemedia in Non-profits, Nonprofits

Nonprofits spend years building recognition around their names, programs, educational materials, fundraising campaigns, and other creative work. Yet intellectual property is often overlooked until another organization begins using something that looks or sounds surprisingly familiar.  Two of the most important forms of intellectual property protection for nonprofits are trademarks and copyrights. Although the terms are …

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Public Support Series 6 of 6: Staying the Course: What Long-Term Public Charity Compliance Looks Like

For many nonprofit organizations, obtaining 501(c)(3) public charity status feels like the finish line. In reality, it is only the beginning. Throughout this series, we’ve explored how public charities maintain compliance through public support testing, donor diversification, proper fundraising structures, and careful financial reporting and projecting. Each of these pieces plays a role in helping …

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Public Support Series 5 of 6: Earned Revenue and Public Support: How Program Income Impacts Your Status

Introduction In the prior post in this series, we examined the 33⅓% public support test and the 2% limitation rule governing donor-supported public charities under Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”). However, many nonprofits are supported by earned revenue including program fees, and memberships. This article turns to a distinct framework, the public …

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COVID-19 Relief for Nonprofit Employers

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, federal and state governments have provided the country with several waves of relief for employers, including nonprofits, to help ease the burdens caused by the pandemic. New programs will affect nonprofit employers by imposing upon them new obligations towards their employees and by providing them with benefits to …

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IRS Targets Nonprofit Self-Declarers

It’s official. IRS targeting of nonprofit self-declarers will begin this year. Most organizations that qualify for federal tax-exemption other than non-church 501(c)(3) charities do not need to apply for tax-exemption. Whereas may do, they can simply self-declare that they are tax-exempt. When such nonprofit organizations complete their Forms 990 they need only identify their 501(c) …

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