CaseMark Nonprofit Compliance Summary
Produces a prioritized compliance assessment for charitable organizations across federal tax, state registration, and governance domains.
Prerequisites
Gather before starting:
- Organizational docs — Articles of incorporation, bylaws, IRS determination letter
- IRS filings — Forms 990/990-EZ/990-N (prior 3 years); Form 990-T if applicable
- State filings — Charitable registration certificates and annual reports for all solicitation states
- Governance records — Board minutes, conflict-of-interest disclosures, compensation approval records
- Correspondence — IRS or state AG inquiry letters, audit notices, compliance warnings
Note any unavailable documents — qualify findings accordingly.
Output Structure
1. Executive Overview
- Overall status: Full Compliance / Minor Deficiencies / Significant Gaps
- Critical issues requiring immediate action
- Filing deadlines within next 90 days
2. Federal Tax Compliance
| Area | Requirement | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual filing | 990/990-EZ/990-N timely filed (3-year lookback) | Auto-revocation after 3 consecutive misses | |
| Exempt purpose | Activities consistent with determination letter | Flag material program changes | |
| UBI | 990-T filed for unrelated business income | Apply substantially-related test | |
| Private inurement | No prohibited insider benefit | ||
| Excess benefit | No IRC §4958 violations | ||
| Political activity | No campaign intervention | ||
| Lobbying | Within limits (substantial-part test or §501(h) election) | ||
| Contribution records | Written acknowledgments for gifts ≥ $250 | ||
| Public charity status | Passes §509(a)(1)/(2) public support test | Flag private foundation risk |
3. State Compliance (per Jurisdiction)
For each state where the organization solicits donations:
| State | Registration | Annual Report Due | Fundraiser Reg. | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [State] | Active / Expired / Not Filed | [Date] | N/A / Current / Missing | Web ✓/✗ · Materials ✓/✗ |
Flag states requiring pre-registration before any solicitation (including digital appeals).
4. Governance & Operations
| Area | Standard | Status | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board composition | Minimum size; majority independent | ||
| Conflict of interest | Policy adopted; annual disclosures collected | ||
| Executive compensation | Rebuttable presumption: (1) independent approval, (2) comparability data, (3) contemporaneous documentation | ||
| Corporate records | Minutes, resolutions, financials maintained | ||
| Financial controls | Segregation of duties; audit commensurate with revenue | ||
| Joint ventures | Special compliance analysis conducted |
5. Recommendations
| Priority | Issue | Action Required | Deadline | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | ||||
| High | ||||
| Routine |
Workflow
- [ ] Collect and inventory prerequisite documents
- [ ] Assess federal tax compliance (Section 2 table)
- [ ] Assess state registration for each solicitation state (Section 3 table)
- [ ] Assess governance and operations (Section 4 table)
- [ ] Draft executive overview with status rating
- [ ] Compile prioritized recommendations with deadlines and citations
- [ ] Mark uncertain citations with [VERIFY]
Critical Checks
- Revocation risk: 3+ consecutive missed 990 filings triggers automatic retroactive revocation — always flag this prominently
- Compensation: Never conclude reasonableness without all three rebuttable-presumption elements documented
- State solicitation: Apply multi-state analysis even for incidental solicitation; most states require registration before digital solicitation to residents
- Citations: Reference specific form numbers, filing dates, and statutory provisions (IRC §§ 501(c)(3), 4958, 6033; state statutes) for every finding
- Uncertain citations: Mark
[VERIFY]for any citation not confirmed against source documents - Audience: Write so non-lawyer board members understand fiduciary obligations; flag legal conclusions for counsel review