Friend or Foe? The New Tax Code for Nonprofits

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

This workshop has been cancelled.

8:30 - 9:00am - Networking and Coffee
9am - Noon - Workshop

Half-Day Workshop: $90

About this session: Enacted in January 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 is the largest tax overhaul since 1986. With less than a full year of enactment, we will only be able to review the initial impact of TCJA as it relates to nonprofit tax-exempt organizations. Even after acknowledging the modest impact on economic growth, the initial overall impact of this Act has appeared to reduce federal revenues by a significant amount which may decrease the availability of federal funds for nonprofits.

Although TCJA simplifies taxes in some ways it also creates new complexity and compliance issues in others. These complexities appear to have raised health care premiums and reduced health insurance coverage and had an adverse effect on state and local governments that often provide funding support to nonprofit organizations. The TCJA does have some major tax changes that even though confusing, appear to have some benefits for nonprofit organizations. These changes and their potential impact will be carefully explored.

About the Presenter: 

Aurie A. Pennick, JD, retired in 2016 from the position of executive director and treasurer of the Field Foundation of Illinois, Inc. where for over twelve years, she managed grant making and oversaw approximately sixty million dollars in foundation assets. From 1992 to 2002, Aurie was the president and CEO of the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, the nation’s only fair housing organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Aurie’s efforts in the civil rights movement of Chicago have been highly regarded and are reflected in the book The Chicago Freedom Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism published in 2015. From 1987 to 1992, Aurie was the managing attorney – administration for the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) legal department. Prior to joining the CTA’s legal department, Aurie was the assistant director for special grants with the MacArthur Foundation where she designed and implemented a multi-million dollar grants program for small and emerging community organizations. Her career in philanthropy began at the Chicago Community Trust as the third fellow and first female in the Trust’s Minority Fellowship Program. 

A native Chicagoan, Aurie received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the administration of criminal justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She later received her law degree from John Marshall Law School. Throughout her lengthy nonprofit career, she has led several organizations, including being the founding executive director of the Greenhouse Shelter—the city’s first battered women’s shelter. For over twenty years, Aurie was an adjunct instructor at the Spertus Institute where she taught courses on nonprofit law, strategic planning and board development.  

Aurie has been the recipient of numerous awards and appointments. Her oral history is documented in The HistoryMakers Collection which is a part of the Library of Congress.