Nonprofit Regulatory Compliance
Tax-exempt organizations, foundations, and federally funded nonprofits.
6
Total Enforcement Actions
3
Actions This Year
—
Total Penalties Tracked
0
Critical / High Severity
Regulatory Overview
Tax-exempt organizations under IRC 501(c)(3) must avoid private benefit and private inurement, file Form 990 annually, and comply with lobbying expenditure limits. Nonprofits receiving federal grants must comply with 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance) for cost principles, audit requirements, and internal controls. State attorneys general oversee charitable solicitation and investigate donor fraud.
Primary Enforcement Focus
IRS revocation of tax-exempt status for private benefit/inurement. State AG investigations for charitable fraud. Federal grantor agency audits for Uniform Guidance compliance.
Common Violation Patterns
Private Benefit / Inurement
Excessive compensation, insider transactions, or organizational activities that primarily benefit insiders or private interests.
Federal Grant Misuse
Unallowable costs, misallocated indirect costs, purchasing non-approved equipment, and inadequate documentation.
Form 990 Inaccuracies
Material omissions or errors on Form 990 — particularly in compensation disclosure, program accomplishments, and governance questions.
Charitable Solicitation Fraud
Misrepresentation of program ratios, sham charities, and telemarketing fraud investigated by state AG offices.
Enforcement Actions — Nonprofit
Violations Signal Board
Latest Nonprofit NewsAll
The Closure of Identity Alaska Underscores the Need for Queer-Focused Care
The only health clinic devoted to the queer community has closed in Alaska. What does this mean for a vulnerable population in a medically underserved state?
A Letter to the World: From a Young Palestinian Man, To a World Where I and My City Will Be Eradicated
A Palestinian poet and translator from Rafah writes a letter to the world, introduced by Yahia Lababidi.
We Did Not Come Here to Celebrate, We Came to Build
On the eve of America's 250th anniversary, Next250, a people-powered declaration, is asking a question this country has never fully answered: What do we owe each other?
The Myth of Heroic Leadership Is a Justice Issue
The heroic leadership myth is not an operational problem. It is a justice issue and, until we name it as such, we will keep designing organizations that consume the people most committed to the mission in the process.
America 250 Demands that We Carry Forward the Legacies of Resistance by Trans and Indigenous Movement Leaders
Trans and Indigenous community leaders today are carrying the long legacy of our ancestors forward—a legacy that extends beyond the origins of US democracy.
Key Regulations
26 USC 501(c)(3) — Tax Exemption
Organizational and operational tests. Private benefit, private inurement, and substantial lobbying can trigger IRS revocation.
2 CFR Part 200 — Uniform Guidance
Cost principles, procurement standards, property management, and Single Audit requirements for federal grant recipients.
Form 990 Filing Requirements
Annual information return. 3 consecutive years of non-filing results in automatic revocation of exempt status.
State Charitable Registration
Most states require registration before soliciting donations. Some require annual audited financial statements. AG has enforcement authority.