2009 Executive Roundtable
The 9th Annual Nonprofit Roundtable was held Wednesday, April 3, 2009. It featured Marc Owens, who spoke on “Profit-Making by Nonprofit Organizations: Organizational Strategies and Tax Implications.” The event was sponsored by The Northern Trust Company.
Keynote Speaker
Marc Owens is a member of the Washington, DC law firm of Caplin & Drysdale where he specializes in federal tax issues relating to tax-exempt organizations, including charities and issue advocacy groups. Prior to joining Caplin & Drysdale, Marc spent 25 years with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service where he served as Director of the Exempt Division from 1990 until 2000. In that capacity, he was the chief decision maker regarding design and implementation of federal tax rulings and enforcement programs for exempt organizations, unrelated business income tax, private foundation excise taxes, hospital reorganizations, college and university guidelines, political organizations, and tax-exempt bonds. He also served as the IRS’s primary liaison with other federal agencies, Congress, and state regulators on exempt organizations issues.
Marc is a member of the District of Columbia and Florida Bars, and he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance and of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. In 1998, 1999, and 2001, Marc was selected by the Nonprofit Times as one
of the top 50 most influential people in the nonprofit sector. He is a recipient of the IRS Commissioner’s Award for exemplary service and is a frequent lecturer on the complex laws affecting exempt organizations.
Panel Presentations
The second half of the morning was devoted to a panel discussion on how nonprofits can most “profit” from profitable activities. The panelists included Cassady Brewer, David Jackson, and Janelle Kerlin.
Cassady Brewer is a partner in Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP’s Tax, Exempt Organizations, and Wealth Planning groups. He focuses his practice in the areas of income tax planning, partnerships and limited liability companies, tax-exempt investments in real estate, taxation of closely-held businesses, charitable planning, and wealth transfer and protection.
Cassady is a past Chair of the Partnership and LLC Committee and a past Member of the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. He participated in the drafting of the Georgia Limited Liability Company and Limited Liability Partnership Acts and is a frequent speaker at regional seminars and workshops concerning federal and state tax matters, especially partnership and limited liability company issues. Cassady also is a member of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association and the Tax Section of the State Bar of Georgia, as well as a member of the Atlanta Tax Forum.
Mr. Brewer was honored in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in 2008 and 2009 as a leader in the tax field. He also was named a “Georgia SuperLawyer” for 2007, 2008, and 2009 by Atlanta Magazine and was selected as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s 2006 and 2008 “Legal Elite” in the field of taxes, trusts and estates. He received his B.S. from Vanderbilt University in 1983, his J.D. from University of Arkansas, with high honors, in 1986, and his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1987.
David Jackson is President and CEO of the Atlanta Center for Working Families, Inc (TCWFI). TCWFI provides job development, placement, asset-building initiatives and micro-business training to meet the needs of families in the six neighborhoods clustered around Atlanta’s Turner Field. TCWFI integrates these efforts with strategies that build resident capacity and social capital.
Before joining TCWFI, David was a Vice President of the One Economy Corporation, a global nonprofit that uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people. Other previous positions include Assistant Commissioner of Homeownership for the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). and associate director of the Enterprise Foundation’s Atlanta Office.
David is an Adjunct Professor at Beulah Heights University, holds a MBA from the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, and a Bachelors of Science in architecture from the New York Institute of Technology. David was a Fannie Mae Foundation Fellow at the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and is a frequent speaker on housing and community economic development issues.
Janelle Kerlin is an Assistant Professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Her areas of research include the study of domestic and comparative social enterprise and international nongovernmental organizations. Current research focuses on the influence of culture on innovation in social enterprise, trends in nonprofit commercial activity in the United States, and U.S.-based diaspora philanthropy.
Janelle is author of a number of book chapters, journal articles, and two books including the forthcoming, Social Enterprise: A Global Comparison. She holds an M.S. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in political science from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. She has also worked as a research associate in the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at The Urban Institute and as a visiting research scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars both in Washington, D.C
Roundtable Discussion
Following the panel presentations, the floor was opened to all attendees, who engaged in a lively discussion of the day’s topic. The roundtable discussion was moderated by Dennis Young, Director of the Nonprofit Studies Program, who also served as Master of Ceremonies for the event.
