Join BakerHostetler’s Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving team and Fair Chance for an informative webinar.
This program will discuss the potential implications of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard and the ongoing American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund litigation for nonprofit organizations engaged in race-based grantmaking programs and other charitable activities involving race. Last year, the Supreme Court held that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. More recently, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held that one of the nonprofit Fearless Fund’s grantmaking programs – intended to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color and grow small businesses started by women of color – is a “racially exclusionary program” and, therefore, “substantially likely to violate” Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act. As we await the court’s final decision, it is timely to reflect on the legal framework underpinning efforts by nonprofit organizations to advance racial justice and remedy racial discrimination.
Potential implications will vary by organization and charitable activity. Areas of particular focus include the application and selection process for scholarships, grants and school admissions; terms and conditions for grant agreements; and service obligations for grant recipients. The nexus between race and charitable programming is likely to differ from one organization to the next, depending on each organization’s mission, history and charitable class it serves.
Topics:
- What is the tax law definition of charitable activity, and how does it affect race-based programs?
- How does Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act apply to nonprofits?
- What is the difference between a grant and a contract?
- In general, how can nonprofits and grant makers best prepare and position themselves to advance racial justice and remedy racial discrimination under current law and in the event of an unfavorable ruling against Fearless Fund?
Presenters
- Alexander C. Campbell, Counsel, BakerHostetler
- Alexander L. Reid, Partner and Leader of the Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving Team, BakerHostetler
- Erika K. Thomas, Partner, BakerHostetler
- Gretchen Van der Veer, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Fair Chance
1.0 hour of CLE credit is approved for California and New York. New Jersey credit is available via reciprocity. Credit is pending in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. CLE credit may be available in other states upon request.
For more information, please contact Lindsay Sonich at lsonich@bakerlaw.com.
View the presentation materials.