AboutHarvey Mechanic Expertise US Federal tax issues of nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charities only. Establishing and maintaining legal requirements for such non-profit organizations in the United States, including Internal Revenue service filings and requirements. I will not be working on this free forum to answer questions about Nonprofit's unrelated or for-profit businesses or how to fill out forms. This forum is only for general questions about federal tax law, not as the law applies to your specific situation.
To search my previous answers you can do a Google search: site:allexperts.com/q/nonprofit [with your other search terms appended].
Experience I have been practicing law and especially the law of nonprofit organizations since 1990 when I was admitted to the New York Bar.
Education/Credentials B.S. Columbia University in New York City, 1970
J.D. (Law Degree) Brooklyn Law School, 1990 -- Cum Laude
I copied IRS conflict of interest policy sample as a basis for our organization's policy. I want to make an edit to it but I am wondering if it is valid?
This is what I want to use:
Article VI - Annual Statements
Each director, principal officer and member of a committee with governing board delegated powers shall annually email a statement to which affirms such person:
a. Has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy,
b. Has read and understands the policy,
c. Has agreed to comply with the policy, and
d. Understands the Organization is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.
This is the text the IRS sample provided:
Article VI - Annual Statements
Each director, principal officer and member of a committee with governing board delegated powers shall annually sign a statement which affirms such person:
a. Has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy,
b. Has read and understands the policy,
c. Has agreed to comply with the policy, and
d. Understands the Organization is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.
Thank you very much for your great service.
Answer Yes, it is certainly valid. It appears all that you changed was the fact that, instead of the person "signing a statement" she would email a statement. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act ("UETA") provides a legal framework for electronic transactions. It gives electronic
signatures and records the same validity and enforceability as
manual signatures and paper-based transactions. Therefore, email
is fine, just like for over 150 years a telegram was accepted.
A list of states that have accepted UETA can be found at The
National Conference of State Legislatures and at the NCCUSL
website. While four states have not adopted UETA, they do have
laws recognizing electronic signatures (Georgia, Illinois, New
York, and Washington) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Electronic_Transactions_Act
Harvey Mechanic
Attorney at Law
Harvey108@hotmail.com
