About Doug Mentes, Esq.
Douglas Mentes is an alum of Drake University with a degree in journalism, who has covered news in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and Salt Lake City. He has a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law and ran his own law firm for more than 10 years in St. Paul, Minnesota, earning designation as a Super Lawyers Rising Star. He practiced in the areas of family law, real estate and probate, handling several successful appeals. He currently covers bankruptcy law for Thomson Reuters.
Articles written by Doug Mentes, Esq.
How Much Can Nonprofit Founders Pay Themselves?
Nonprofit visionaries who aspire to dedicate themselves full-time to their cause may ask themselves, “How much can I pay myself?” The law provides little guidance, only requiring that compensation be reasonable. But, even if your planned compensation is a reasonable salary under the law, you may face a more subjective check: the opinions of your nonprofit’s potential donors. How Much Is Too Much for Nonprofit Salaries? Noel Fleming has practiced law in Pennsylvania for more than 15 years, …
How Are Nonprofit Compensation Practices Enforced?
Large-scale audits and lawsuits against nonprofits over executive compensation packages and misuse of funds garner a lot of media attention. Perhaps these events lead the public to believe enforcement is a risk for nonprofits they donate to. However, the trends show that nonprofits are experiencing less enforcement of issues related to excessive compensation of chief executive officers or nonprofit board members. Who Enforces Nonprofit Compensation Requirements? “Nonprofit organizations are …
Determining Reasonable Compensation for a Nonprofit Job
Compensation for higher-level nonprofit employees is often an issue of concern for nonprofits. No one wants to see a nonprofit — many times organized as a public charity — take advantage of their donors and tax-exempt status. They don’t want to give the appearance it’s over-compensating its nonprofit executives. That may lead to donor complaints and possibly a decline in donations or funding. How can the nonprofit properly compensate its employees and avoid appearances of improper …
Should I Choose an S or C Corporation for My Small Business?
Once a small business owner decides their business should incorporate, the decision-making isn't over. The next critical step is to choose which form of corporation and business structure is best for them. S corp vs. C corp? By default, any business startup will form as a C corporation under IRS rules. The business must designate to form as a subchapter S corporation by filing IRS Form 2553–Election by a Small Business Corporation. The entity form is called an S corporation because the law …
Should My Small Business Incorporate?
Not all small businesses — defined as employing 500 or fewer employees — incorporate. Many remain sole proprietorships, which don’t require registration with the state of Ohio. In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses in the U.S. make up 99.9% of all businesses, and 81.7% of those small businesses have no employees. And for those businesses that have no employees, 86.5% are sole proprietorships. Why Incorporate? The biggest benefit of incorporating is …
Can a Nonprofit Increase Its Lobbying?
That still allows for some lobbying by the organization but the IRS leaves many nonprofits in limbo with no clear definition of what constitutes a substantial part of their overall activities. If the organization slips up and is found to have conducted excessive lobbying activity, it can lose its tax-exempt status, resulting in all income being subject to tax. The 501(h) Election Instead of facing the uncertainty of the substantial activity test, nonprofits — other than private foundations …
How To Sponsor an Employee for Permanent Residence
Thousands of U.S. employers currently employ foreign workers, likely here on visas like the H1-B. Each year approximately 140,000 people, nearly all visa holders, qualify for lawful permanent residence (LPR) through employment — referred to as employment-based (EB) green cards. Most of these jobs are in the high-technology or STEM fields. The most common job titles in these areas include software developer, computer systems analyst, and information systems analysts. But other common job …
Fiscal Sponsorship: An Alternative To Applying for Tax-Exempt Status
Many who consider starting a new nonprofit organization (NPO) initially focus their efforts on their chosen charitable activity or social cause — while paying less attention to the business side of things. That may work for small, grassroots organizations, but a charitable organization is a business, and a business requires funding. And in this case, that funding comes from donations that are tax-deductible to their donors. Further, obtaining tax-exempt status can be a time-intensive and …
How To Get a Green Card Through Employment
About 140,000 applicants each year get green cards through U.S. employment-based immigration visas. That total is the legal cap, which hasn't changed since 1990. Many people hoping to obtain their employment-based green cards are denied, told they have little chance, or wait in line for several years. For legal advice about how to get a green card through employment in the U.S., talk to an immigration lawyer. Employment-Based Immigration "Usually, the economy doubles in size every seven …
Should My Nonprofit Startup Incorporate?
Starting a nonprofit organization has become more popular in recent decades, partly because of the simple start-up process. For some, it may be as simple as getting a group together to perform charitable work for others. There is no requirement that a nonprofit or charitable organization incorporate or form a Limited Liability Company (LLC), and there is no requirement for the nonprofit to obtain federal tax-exempt status under U.S. Code section 501(c)(3). However, there are good reasons why …
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