Pittsburgh, PA: The Forbes Funds, a supporting organization of The Pittsburgh Foundation, announced a new partnership with Lawyers for Nonprofits. In partnership, The Forbes Funds and Lawyers for Nonprofits will co-host an inaugural “Meet with a Lawyer Day,” event where nonprofits can meet with lawyers to get answers to questions regarding compliance, governance, nonprofit status and general operations. In addition, partners will host several informational webinars throughout the year to increase knowledge related to nonprofit legal capacity. Additional resources will be made available to members of the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership (GPNP), a network of approximately 500 nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including coaching and service discounts. The partnership will be introduced to the nonprofit sector during The Forbes Funds’ public Call for Community Solutions at 10:00 AM on May 24th.
“Lawyers for Nonprofits is excited and proud to partner with The Forbes Funds to improve access to legal services for small/start-up and medium-sized nonprofit organizations in Allegheny County,” said Jeff Fromknecht, MSW, Esquire, and co-founder and Managing Attorney of Lawyers for Nonprofits, a nonprofit virtual law firm with operations in Pennsylvania and Florida. “We believe that small and start-up nonprofits are an essential part of the community and often fill gaps in services for our communities, especially in service to our most resilient residents.”
These partnerships will also be supported through Lawyers for Nonprofits’ relationship with Duquesne University School of Law. Two Duquesne University law students will support the partnership while serving as law clerks this summer.
“Lawyers for Nonprofits present another layer of support to nonprofit organizations and is a welcome addition to and partner in our ecosystem,” said Fred Brown, president and CEO of The Forbes Funds. “This partnership is a great next step in providing resources to our nonprofit community and addressing the concerns and questions raised by the sector.”
Co-founder and managing attorney of Lawyers for Nonprofits, Jeff Fromknecht, is a lawyer, author, and speaker who has a passion for helping others. Jeff holds both an MSW from the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and law degree from Duquesne University School of Law and is licensed to practice law in both Pennsylvania and Florida. His legal work focuses on the corporate, tax and compliance legal issues impacting tax-exempt organizations and their work. He has over 20 years of experience working at nonprofit organizations in a variety of direct-service and administrative roles and as a community partner at Community Living and Support Services (CLASS) in Pittsburgh, where he developed and evaluated programs designed to help people with disabilities build social capital.
This partnership is in response to a need raised by the local nonprofit sector. The Forbes Funds Director of Learning & Education, Dr. Hannah Karolak, noted that the organization, who provides executive coaching to close to 100 nonprofit leaders annually, has seen a significant increase in the number of requests for support related to nonprofit legal questions following the COVID 19 pandemic. Through partnerships like this one with Lawyers for Nonprofits, the Forbes Funds is working creatively to respond to emerging needs of the sector.
Established in 2012, Lawyers for Nonprofits is a nonprofit virtual law practice that provides general counsel legal support to small nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, including 501(c)(3) public charities, private foundations, 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, and unincorporated grassroots organizations. Their work focuses on the transactional and compliance legal issues impacting tax-exempt organizations and their work. Lawyers for Nonprofits is a project of Side Project Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. More information at: Lawyers4Nonprofits.org
For more than three decades, The Forbes Funds has advanced the well-being of western Pennsylvania’s nonprofit sector by helping human services and community development nonprofits build their management, leadership and adaptive capacities. The Forbes Funds supports the region’s nonprofit organizations, big and small, through local, national and international partnerships. Since March 2020, The Forbes Funds has expanded key services to nonprofits struggling in the wake of COVID-19. To learn more about The Forbes Funds, visit www.forbesfunds.org.
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Hi my name is Terri Shields, I have a non-profit JADA House International and I would like some legal advice about our bylaws, also I am a member of the GPNP. Here is my email information [redacted] and contact phone number [redacted]. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Hi Terri! Thank you for your outreach – I will make sure you have the link to get access to the Lawyers for Nonprofits scheduling calendar. The email is on its way!