Know What You Don’t Know: What Are the Top Legal Issues Nonprofits and Associations Are Thinking Through Right Now?

The landscape is in flux right now for nonprofits, to say the least. To help structure your action plan, these are some of the top questions our Nonprofits & Associations team has been helping our clients think through.

Are your diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, materials, and statements creating unnecessary risk for your organization, and how can you reduce that risk?
Are you complying with existing employment anti-discrimination laws when conducting interviews and making hiring and job promotion decisions?
If you receive federal funding, are you using those funds consistent with applicable law and the terms of the government contract or grant, is that funding at risk in light of the recent Executive Orders, and what steps can you take to mitigate that risk?
If you have had a federal grant terminated, or if you wish to terminate a federal grant because new public policies or new interpretations of existing law are incompatible with your organization’s mission, what are your rights?
What practical steps can you take to limit the risk that existing federal grants which are consistent with current public policy are nonetheless suspended or terminated on the erroneous belief that they are in conflict with current public policy?
Is all or a portion of your nonprofit mission potentially at risk in light of the Administration’s policy focus, and what are the practical realities if your mission could be perceived by the new Administration to conflict with public policy?
Are your grant-making activities potentially subject to legal challenge by private litigants, and what steps might your organization take to mitigate that risk while continuing to comply with laws governing charitable assets?
Is your staff managing emails and documents consistent with your document retention policy and in a manner that mitigates the impact should you receive a subpoena or government inquiry, and does your staff know what to do if someone shows up at the office with a subpoena or warrant?
Are you communicating effectively, and in a risk-mitigating manner, with the public?
What are your opportunities to communicate with, and influence, policymakers about the impact of emerging policies on your stakeholders?
What can you do in response to internet trolls attacking your organization, directors, and staff?
How can you best manage layoffs or furloughs, or manage the risk of financial insolvency or bankruptcy?
Are you using artificial intelligence tools with data privacy and retention policies that protect your sensitive or confidential information?
Are you conducting your activities in compliance with the antitrust laws?
Are you protecting your copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property?

Contact the ArentFox Schiff attorney with whom you normally work to start a discussion of these and any other issues you are working through.

Ultimately, it is critical that you, your staff, and your stakeholders be positioned to filter fact from fiction. Sign up for our team’s alerts to be sure you’re up to date; some recent alerts include:

ArentFox Schiff’s Nonprofits & Associations group routinely advises on legal strategies and compliance programs that align with our clients’ goals.