Does your organization conduct thorough due diligence before accepting donations? If not (and you’re not alone), your nonprofit may find itself having to repay donations later determined to have been made from funds associated with illegal activities.
But Minnesot
a Gov. Mark Dayton is trying to change that. He recently signed legislation that will help shield nonprofit organizations from having to repay donations of illegal funds.
Specifically, in bankruptcy proceedings, trustees will now only have two years, instead of six, to “clawback” or retrieve donations made from illegally obtained funds.
Nonprofit groups in Minnesota strongly supported the bill, believing it to be unfair to ask for repayment of donations that had already been spent. But the bill would also preclude trustees from recouping illegally spent money, for example, in the case of Ponzi schemes.
Only time will tell whether opponents of the bill can successfully argue that it is unconstitutional or if similar bills will start popping up in other states around the country.