The response to the fifth edition of this book was positive and encouraging; I am grateful for the opportunity to comprehensively update and to consider many issues in more depth. In 1969, when KPMG gave me the task of studying, interpreting, and communicating the new private foundation rules to our Houston clients, I began a search for information to interpret the nonprofit organization tax laws and procedures and often found it lacking. This book represents a compendium of checklists, client memoranda, and interpretive materials developed over the years to provide guideposts for compliance and tax planning for exempt organizations.

My experience has been enriched by a myriad of wonderful people with ideas for improving the human condition and saving the earth. The wealth of altruism and kindness shared by benefactors and volunteers in the nonprofit community is an inspiration. From the vantage point of the funder who wants to create a private foundation, the healer who senses the ability to cure a disease, and the artist who wants to paint a public mural, among many others, I have had the privilege of working with many people to figure out the best financial and tax mode in which to establish an entity that can accomplish those goals. My years as a KPMG tax specialist under the able tutelage of John Herzfeld and Lloyd Jard taught me that tax rules are not black and white; answers are complex and often gray. Achieving the best tax answer requires an exacting search, an ability to weigh alternatives, and the willingness to defend your choice.

As treasurer and chief financial officer of the Menil Foundation and The Rothko Chapel—the Houston-based charitable ventures of Dominique and John de Menil—I had a unique hands-on opportunity to manage nonprofit organizations. Returning to public practice in 1981, I continued my commitment to nonprofit organizations and started an accounting firm that focuses on exempt organizations and the people who work with and create them. In the early 1980s, a group of professionals created the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA). Our purpose was to improve the technical expertise and expand the body of law applicable to nonprofit organizations. With this goal in mind, seminars were organized and technical issues researched and reported. Since that time, the number of trained and willing volunteers with TALA and other pro bono organizations has multiplied many times. This book is partly a result of the questions asked as I teach continuing education seminars. It is intended to be a practical guide to establishing and maintaining tax-exempt status for nonprofit organizations.

I also acknowledge the people who played an instrumental role in making this book possible. Bruce Hopkins, my coauthor for private foundation books, and Wiley editor Jeffrey Brown, in 1988, found merit in materials I proposed for the first edition of this book. Over the years, I have benefited from accomplished Wiley editors such as Marla Bobowich and Martha Cooley. Susan McDermott, my current editor and Brooke Graves pushed me to prepare this sixth edition and provided encouragement and invaluable assistance. Jennifer MacDonald, development editor, performed miracles in reviewing our manuscripts, and Melissa Lopez, production editor, combed through the maze of checklists, exhibits, and appendixes, greatly facilitating the process. Thanks to all of you.

On a professional level, I am indebted to my colleagues at Blazek & Vetterling who with me serve our more than 600 nonprofit clients. The countless questions our clients and other professionals present to us provide the fuel for materials considered and I thank them as well. Since 2001, I have had the enriching experience of serving as an advisor to Foundation Source. Working with their senior vice president for Legal Affairs, Jeffrey Haskell, I have been confronted with a wonderful array of private foundation questions. Assisting them to develop policies and procedures for an online administrative system for foundations has been a challenging and invaluable learning experience.

Finally, I am indebted to my husband, my sons, and my clients for their patience and support while I devoted time to this project.