• OVERVIEW
  • EXPERIENCE
  • INSIGHTS
  • RELATED PEOPLE

Bilzin Sumberg serves as a trusted advisor to not-for-profit organizations that span the gamut of industries including education, healthcare, housing, and social services, together with religious organizations and cultural institutions. Bilzin Sumberg’s attorneys have a unique understanding of what makes non-profit businesses different than their for-profit counterparts. We are knowledgeable about the challenges and opportunities not-for-profits face in operating businesses to create financial margins that can be reinvested in the organization’s mission. 

Our business and legal strategy and planning is anchored by our extensive experience leading and counseling non-profits. In addition, our attorneys serve on the boards of countless non-profit organizations of all sizes, local and national. Recent representative clients include: South Florida Arts Center, Voices for Children Foundation, Baptist Health, Casa Familia, The Allapattah Collaborative Community Development Corporation, Mourning Family Foundation, Overtown Youth Center, The Carrie Meek Foundation, YWCA South Florida, Goodwill Industries South Florida, Miami Dade Innovation Authority, Palmer Trinity School, Barry University, CARE School and Lotus House.

Our representation spans the non-profit life cycle, from formation and organization to real estate acquisition and development, leasing, contractual negotiations, corporate governance, tax, procurement-related matters, and dispute resolution.

Common areas of counsel include:

Formation documents, bylaws, employment agreements, joint venture arrangements, and other corporate governance issues, such as conflict of interest, sexual harassment, and spending policies

• Written consents and resolutions for managing the business

Negotiation and drafting of grant and donor agreements

Franchising, licensing, management agreements, and vendor and distribution agreements

Real estate acquisitions and dispositions

Real estate finance: acquisition, construction, mezzanine, and grants and loans issued by federal, state, and local governmental authorities

Affordable and workforce housing financing, including low-income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds

• New Markets Tax Credits

Commercial leasing

Land use, permitting, and zoning approvals for new developments and redevelopments

Review of design and construction documents for the expansion/renovation of facilities

Environmental investigation, remediation, and regulatory permitting counseling in connection with real estate acquisitions and development

Procurement and negotiation of government contracts and advising on public-private partnership arrangements, including complex transactions involving ground leases

Dispute resolution counseling, including breach of contract claims

• Tax advice related to tax exempt entities under IRC Section 501 and selection of appropriate exempt entity type, including public charities, private operating foundations, and private grant-making foundations

EXPERIENCE
Experience
Advised the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, a nonprofit incubator of innovative solutions for improving local livability, on various corporate matters, including governance documents and contracts with Miami-Dade County and various funding sources.
Experience
Representation of Casa Familia Inc., a non-profit organization, in the P3 development of a multifamily affordable housing project for adults with autism and other cognitive disabilities. Handled negotiations and government contracting with Miami-Dade County to secure a 50-year lease of County land f...
Experience
Advised Voices for Children Foundation, Inc. in reviewing and revising board policies, organizational documents, and contracts with the State of Florida to ensure alignment with Board of Directors mission and vision.
Experience
Representation of New Urban Development in the formation of a joint venture seeking to redevelop commercial property owned by the City of St. Petersburg in Florida into an affordable housing project that will include a grocery store in an area previously identified as a “food desert”. Negotiated an ...
Experience
Representation of The Carrie Meek Foundation, Inc., a non-profit that seeks to improve the lives of Miami-Dade County residents through education, housing, health, and economic development programs, in lobbying for and negotiating a contract with Miami-Dade County for an anti-violence initiative. Re...
Experience
Representation of Lotus House, a homeless shelter for women, youth, and children, in the developmentof a new facility. Our multi-practice team handled legal work pertaining to the acquisition of properties surrounding the current facility, related land use and zoning issues, and approval of $25 mill...
INSIGHTS
Client Alert January 3, 2024
Earlier this year, the State of Florida enacted a law that continues to have significant implications for employers across the Sunshine State. On May 10, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law SB1718, now Section 448.095, Florida Statutes (“Section 448.095”), which requires private ...
Podcast February 25, 2020
Land use and zoning attorney, Jennifer Fine, discusses the approval process, standards of proof, RLUIPA, and how the first amendment relates to Religious Use Law.
Speaking Engagement June 06, 2017
Richard M. Goldstein is a panelist at the United Way of Miami-Dade Professional Advisors Spring Seminar. The discussion focuses on assisting families in the transfer of assets, values, and philanthropic legacy across generations.
Webinar April 7, 2020
Not for profit leaders face unique challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and this webinar will serve to highlight the areas of initial focus to address arising legal issues.
Press Release April 12, 2024
The governing body of Lotus Endowment Fund, Inc., the supporting foundation benefitting the nation’s largest homeless shelter for women, youth and children is expanding its board with the addition of two longtime supporters who will help advance the expansion of the shelter’s services an...
Press Release April 12, 2024
Trial & Litigation Partner Scott Wagner has been honored as a 2024 Power Leader in Corporate Philanthropy by South Florida Business Journal.
RELATED PEOPLE
Albert E. Dotson, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner
Misbah Farid
Partner
Brittany Chung
Associate
Alexandra Haller
Associate
Terry M. Lovell
Partner, Head of Affordable Housing and Tax Credit Practice
Eileen Ball Mehta
Of Counsel
Sanika Nanda
Associate