The Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations, 12th Edition

CHAPTER TWELVEPublic Charities and Private Foundations

• § 12.1 Federal Tax Law Definition of Private Foundation
  • (a) Private Foundation Defined
  • (b) Private Operating Foundations
  • (c) Exempt Operating Foundations
  • (d) Conduit Foundations
  • (e) Common Fund Foundations
  • (f) Other Types of Foundations
  • (g) Organizational Test
• § 12.2 Disqualified Persons
  • (a) Substantial Contributors
  • (b) Foundation Managers
  • (c) Twenty Percent Owners
  • (d) Family Members
  • (e) Corporations
  • (f) Partnerships
  • (g) Trusts or Estates
  • (h) Private Foundations
  • (i) Governmental Officials
• § 12.3 Categories of Public Charities
  • (a) Institutions
  • (b) Publicly Supported Charities
    • (i) Donative Publicly Supported Charities in General
    • (ii) Facts-and-Circumstances Test
    • (iii) Community Foundations
    • (iv) Service Provider Publicly Supported Organizations
    • (v) Public Colleges and Universities Support Foundations
  • (c) Supporting Organizations
  • (d) Public Safety Testing Organizations
• § 12.4 Private Foundation Rules
  • (a) Self-Dealing
  • (b) Mandatory Distributions
  • (c) Excess Business Holdings
  • (d) Jeopardizing Investments
  • (e) Taxable Expenditures
  • (f) Other Provisions

The federal tax law relating to charitable organizations¹ differentiates between public charities and private foundations. This is done for a variety of reasons, including the fact that special regulatory requirements target private foundations.² Despite the relative scarcity of private foundations,³ the extent and growth of the law governing them are extraordinary.⁴