Sharon P. Want is Of Counsel in Caplin & Drysdale's Exempt Organizations practice group. She first joined the firm as an Associate from 2002 to 2006 and returned in 2015 as Of Counsel, bringing to the firm the benefit of more than eight years of experience in government service and the charitable sector.
Services
Ms. Want helps organizations accomplish their tax-exempt purposes by providing sound advice on operational and programmatic issues such as:
- making public charity and private foundation grants to domestic and foreign organizations;
- engaging in advocacy while following rules on lobbying and political activity;
- establishing board governance practices to support compliance with legal requirements;
- structuring relationships and transactions between affiliated organizations;
- determining reasonable compensation and avoiding self-dealing; and
- minimizing or avoiding tax on unrelated business activities.
Ms. Want offers practical guidance informed by her years as in-house counsel at the American Cancer Society (ACS). From 2006 to 2011, she was the primary legal adviser on tax, lobbying disclosure, and election law issues for ACS and its 501(c)(4) affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. From 2013 to 2015, Ms. Want was responsible for legal issues associated with ACS's global health and government-funded programs, as well as for a range of federal tax issues.
In addition, Ms. Want is well qualified to represent organizations before the IRS, whether they are under examination or seeking a ruling or a determination. From 2011 to 2013, she was Senior Technical Advisor to the Director of Exempt Organizations, Internal Revenue Service. She worked closely with EO Examinations on cases involving executive compensation and unrelated business income tax and with EO Determinations on a range of issues.
Before entering the legal profession, Ms. Want worked on corporate governance issues for the Council of Institutional Investors and the Investor Responsibility Research Center and on fundraising for Bryn Mawr College. She also volunteered for the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia, PA.
Recent Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Governance, National Business Institute, Advising Directors and Officers on Corporate Governance Seminar, September 14, 2017
- Speaker, Lessons Learned from Exempt Organization Litigation - Why Trouble Occurs, How to Minimize Risks, and What to Do (and Not Do) When Litigation Happens, ACC National Capital Region, Nonprofits and Associations Forum, July 15, 2015
- Speaker, Nonprofit Entities: Formation, Governing and Tax Considerations, ALI CLE, June 24, 2015
Click here for a full list of speaking engagements.
Recent Publications
- "What You Need to Know About the New Tax on "Excess" Nonprofit Compensation,"
with Meghan R. Biss, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 11, 2019
- "U.S. Supreme Court Denies Request for Stay of Ruling Requiring Nonprofit Donor Disclosure,"
with Trevor Potter, Matthew T. Sanderson, Douglas N. Varley, and Bryson B. Morgan, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, September 19, 2018
- "IRS Issues Guidance on Calculating Unrelated Business Income Tax,"
with Meghan R. Biss, William D. Fournier, and Douglas N. Varley, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, August 23, 2018
- "Mergers, Acquisitions, and Conversions in the Context of Nonprofit Organizations,"
with Meghan R. Biss, ABA Business Law Today, August 14, 2018
- "Federal District Court Vacates FEC Independent Expenditure Donor Disclosure Rule; Appeal Likely,"
with Trevor Potter, Matthew T. Sanderson, Douglas N. Varley, and Bryson B. Morgan, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, August 9, 2018
- "IRS Donor Disclosure Requirements Eliminated for Most Nonprofit Organizations,"
with William D. Fournier, Meghan R. Biss, Douglas N. Varley, and William M. Klimon, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, July 17, 2018
- "IRS Guidance Removes Obstacle to Restructuring Tax-Exempt Organizations,"
with Meghan R. Biss, William M. Klimon, and Douglas N. Varley, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 8, 2018
- "New IRS Procedures Will Impact Nonprofits,"
with Douglas N. Varley, Meghan R. Biss, and William D. Fournier, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 25, 2018
- "IRS Releases Final Foreign Grantmaking Regulations,"
with Douglas N. Varley, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, September 29, 2015
Click here for a full list of publications.