Nonprofits, Mutual Aid, and Compliance: A Legal and Financial Perspective of Navigating Rapid Response in Minnesota (FREE event)
April 14 @ 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm CDT
Virtual Workshop – Live/Online
Fee: Free
In Minnesota, nonprofits face increasing pressure to stay compliant while still advancing their missions and supporting community-led change. This webinar will offer a guide for leaders who are responding rapidly to urgent community needs while also remaining compliant. Together, we’ll explore how to use your 501(c)(3) status as a strategic tool rather than a limitation.
Participants will learn how charitable organizations can maintain financial and regulatory compliance while collaborating effectively with mutual aid groups, community coalitions, and informal networks. We will demystify what is and is not allowed, clarify the boundaries around fundraising and resource sharing, and highlight creative, compliant ways nonprofits can support grassroots efforts.
Key Topics
- What compliance really requires today: essential rules for 501(c)(3) organizations, including boundaries around fundraising and fiscal oversight.
- Nonprofits + mutual aid: how to work side by side: partnership models, resource sharing strategies, and how to support community work while protecting your exempt status
- Using the 501(c)(3) status as a tool: ways to leverage your structure to expand access, build trust, mobilize resources, and strengthen community resilience.
- Practical scenarios and problem solving: examples of collaboration, risk assessment, and decision-making that keeps your organization safe and impactful.
Event Details
This virtual event will take place on the Zoom platform.
Captioning is provided automatically through Zoom. For information on requesting CART, ASL, or another accommodation, please visit our Registration Policies page.
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Speaker Information
Allison Wagstrom (she/her)
Senior Loan Officer & Financial Specialist
Propel Nonprofts
Allison is a change leadership, operations, and financial expert with 20+ years of experience in the Minneapolis community. A relationship builder, Allison leverages strong working relationships with leaders to help them propel overall development. She is committed to non-traditional capital markets, engaging trainings, and transformative technical assistance. Previously, she served as Vice President of Finance for Juxtaposition Arts, MinnPost, and Faith’s Lodge. Allison is passionate about voting rights and led the League of Women Voters Minnesota as the Associate Director, State Director, and Voting Education Director. She is dedicated to empowering future industry leaders through training, coaching, mentoring, and professional development opportunities.
Leah Porter (she/her)
Strategic Services Director
Propel Nonprofits
Leah believes deeply in building a more just and equitable future for all and is passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations in working toward that vision. With nearly 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, the unifying thread throughout her career has been helping diverse organizations develop innovative and effective ways to meet community needs. Her work has ranged from co creating more dignified models of elder care to founding the Twin Cities Mobile Market, a grocery store on wheels that increases access to healthy, affordable food for thousands of residents in low income neighborhoods.
Prior to joining Propel, she provided consulting services to organizations across the United States, spent ten years in multiple roles at the Wilder Foundation, and worked with other nonprofit organizations throughout the Twin Cities. She is particularly skilled at helping organizations translate theory into practical, actionable strategies so they can focus on delivering their core mission.
Sarah Duniway (she/her)
Partner
Lathrop GPM
Sarah Duniway is known for representing a wide range of nonprofit organizations and policy advocacy groups. When nonprofit leaders encounter legal challenges, Sarah Duniway is the attorney they rely on for clear direction and innovative solutions. Her approach to legal guidance is rooted in enabling clients to harness creative problem-solving opportunities, ensuring they receive effective solutions aligned with their business goals.
Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge, legal counsel and a unique perspective to 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities. She regularly counsels clients in a variety of areas including, Joint ventures, affiliations, mergers and acquisitions; governance; tax-exemption and tax-exempt bond financing; business operations; grants and social impact bonds; licensing and regulatory compliance.
