HANO: State charity officials to convene in October

State charity officials to convene in October

The National Association of Attorneys General and the National Association of State Charity Officials will hold their joint annual Charitable Trusts and Solicitations Conference on Monday, Oct. 19, at the Omni Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas.

The conference is designed for nonprofit leaders, professional advisers and academics who want to stay abreast of charitable regulation issues and those who interact frequently with state charitable solicitation, registration and enforcement officials.

The keynote speaker will be Tom McLaughlin, Director of Consulting Services for the Nonprofit Finance Fund, adjunct lecturer with Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management and author of five books focused on management issues for nonprofits. His keynote will focus on ways charities can deal with the current economic crisis.
Later McLaughlin will join Jack Siegel of Charity Governance Consulting, author of A Desktop Guide for Nonprofit Directors, Officers, and Advisers: Avoiding Trouble While Doing Good, and Barry Silverberg, director of the Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College and President & CEO of the Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations, to discuss nonprofit end-of-life scenarios and considerations.
Lois G. Lerner, director of the Internal Revenue Service's Tax Exempt and Governmental Entities Division will provide an update on the new Form 990 and other IRS initiatives affecting tax exempt organizations, while Roberta B. Zarin, the IRS’ director of Customer Education and Outreach for Exempt Organizations will present the abundant resources and training programs that can be found on the IRS website.
Michael W. Peregrine, Esq. will provide a comprehensive and engaging update on developments in corporate governance affecting nonprofits. Marion Fremont-Smith, adjunct lecturer and senior research fellow at Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, and Evelyn Brody, professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, will discuss their viewpoints on the application of trust law to corporate law, with Assistant Attorney General Eric Carriker providing the perspective of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office on the subject.
Ron Sommers, attorney for the Houston-based law firm of Nathan Sommers Jacobs, and Rob Yaquinto Jr., of the Dallas law firm of Sherman & Yaquinto, L.L.P., will follow up with a discussion of nonprofit bankruptcy issues, including work-out plans, dissolutions, and mergers.
David Spackman, chief of the Public Charities Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, will join other state regulators in identifying recent trends in hospital regulation, and Chris Cash, president of NASCO, and Robert S. Tigner, general counsel to the Association of Direct Response Fundraising Counsel and director of the Multi-State Filer Project, will conclude the day with an update on efforts to develop a uniform annual financial report for use in the 40 states that register charities.

The registration fee for the conference is $325 per person or $350 after Sept. 25. The hotel reservation cut-off date is Saturday, Sept. 26. To register by Sept. 25, contact Andrew Giessel, at NAAG, (202) 326-6018 or agiessel@naag.org. The registration fee includes a continental breakfast, program materials, lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments, and a reception at the conclusion of the conference.