Leonard, Street and Deinard provides a full range of legal services for nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations.

We assist public charities, private foundations, community trusts, cultural and arts organizations, churches, social-services agencies, trade associations, colleges, schools, hospitals and health care organizations, and providers of housing and services for low-income families and the elderly. Our attorneys apply experience and knowledge from many other practice areas, including corporate, tax, charitable-gift planning, employment, employee benefits, health law, affordable housing and public finance.

Leonard, Street and Deinard attorneys are proud to effectively help nonprofits accomplish their legal objectives.

Leonard, Street and Deinard attorneys provide nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations with legal services in the following areas:

Affordable Housing, Facilities for the Elderly and Financing

We have extensive experience in the area of affordable housing, representing developers (both nonprofit and for-profit), owners, investors, lenders and governmental entities in connection with ownership, development, financing and management. That work includes: (1) financing for nonprofit-owned housing and elderly projects with FHA-insured mortgage loans, FNMA, GNMA and FHLMC credit enhancement rated bonds under the Affordable Housing Program of Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, tax-exempt bond financing, low-income housing tax credits, HOME, CDBG, state and local sources; (2) obtaining favorable determination letters from the IRS for nonprofit housing and elderly care corporations; and (3) advising clients regarding joint venture, construction and sales tax issues.

General Corporate

We provide a broad range of general corporate services, including: (1) structuring, forming and organizing of nonprofit, exempt and affiliated entities; (2) reviewing transactions and activities for compliance with state and federal law; and (3) dissolving nonprofit organizations.

Public Finance

The firm's attorneys represent the nation’s largest nonprofit-nursing home and elderly-housing owner/operator in its tax-exempt and taxable financings throughout the United States. We also represent a number of very active, but smaller, nonprofit housing owners. We have experience with forming nonprofits as well as providing financing. We also have extensive experience with Section 42 low-income-housing tax credits for projects where a nonprofit acts as general partner.

Tax Exemption and Related Tax Issues

We provide a full array of federal and state tax services to large and nonprofit organizations. We particularly help groups acquire and maintain tax-exempt status, advise on taxation and charitable-contribution issues, and structure deferred-giving programs, endowment funds and restricted gifts.

Compensation and Employment Issues

We work with clients to design, implement and maintain employee benefit programs such as life insurance; health and disability plans; ESOPs; pension, profit sharing and 401(k) plans; flexible benefit (cafeteria) plans; and other fringe benefit and incentive programs. Our work for nonprofits includes developing 403(b) and 457 plans; advising executives and boards of directors; preparing policies and procedures on sexual harassment, student misconduct and discipline; preparing faculty and student handbooks; and drafting and negotiating employment contracts.

Health Law

We serve as outside counsel and advisors to inside counsel for regional and national health care, health insurance and managed care organizations. The practice serves all types of clients in the health care industry, including physicians, hospitals, multihospital systems, health plans, long-term care providers and health-related trade associations. Our work for nonprofits includes conversion of exempt status, unrelated business income planning, excess benefit transaction planning, affiliations between exempt and for-profit organizations, restructuring exempt organizations, forming taxable for profit subsidiaries, and counseling clients on bond issues for public and private hospital financings.