Collaborative partnership-
We hope to build a relationship with you and be a true partner for your foundation. We are eager to work as your collaborator, not just as an accountant that you talk to once a year at tax time. The greatest success we can experience is helping your foundation succeed, grow, and carry out its charitable mission.
Coach in your corner-
Private foundations must operate within a set of rules and regulations that are rather complicated and wide-ranging. Gaining a clear understanding of what’s required takes time and effort; no one is born knowing this stuff! We provide year-round coaching and consultations and teach you the do’s and don’ts of the regulations. We help you simplify compliance issues, reduce errors, and avoid regulatory pitfalls.
Operational development-
We provide consultations and advice that go well beyond private foundation tax preparation—we help you efficiently run your foundation. We see private foundations from the inside and we are very knowledgeable about the unique challenges that private foundations face. We also help monitor your operations to assure you do not run afoul of complex IRS rules and regulations. If we identify a point of issue, we notify you and help you resolve it.
Fair and simple service model-
We do not nickel and dime you when you contact us with questions. We avoid working on a strict billable hours model because we believe it restricts communication. We provide our private foundation tax service package to all our clients for a flat annual investment. We want you to call us when you have questions without worrying it will cost you extra!
Private foundations are our focus-
Don’t be a large firm’s afterthought. Larger firms generally don’t take the time to help their foundation clients with what they really need; some even regard foundations as a distraction. If your client relationship has repeatedly been passed around to different advisors it is a red flag and shows you are not a priority. We are passionate about serving private foundations and we do it well. This work is not just a job for us but rather a vocation.
Emphasis on privacy-
We are diligent about keeping your information private and safe. We prepare our private foundation clients’ tax returns to limit personal information. The private foundation tax return Form 990-PF is considered a public document and is available online from a variety of open sources as well as subscription sources. With just a small amount of initiative, any member of the public can easily find your foundation’s Form 990-PF. We protect your personal privacy by limiting personal information on Form 990-PF such as home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses
Eye on tax benefits-
As private foundation specialists we are very cognizant of certain private foundation tax benefits. Please click through this link for private foundation tax benefits to see our write-up of the topic. As we serve your foundation, we make sure to advise you on how to maximize any tax benefits that you or your family may be entitled to. Furthermore, although the private foundation investment income excise tax rate is only 1.39%, we still work to minimize your foundation’s tax burden by properly classifying private foundation tax deductions and expenses.