"Individuals Working for a Better Community"
Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP's commitment to our clients doesn't stop with individual families and businesses, but extends
to the community in which we all live. Our attorneys and staff don't just work and live in the
Hudson River Valley, they commit their energies, talents and personal time to local charitable
causes, serve on the boards of and represent local not-for-profit organizations, provide
educational speakers for local civic groups, and coach local teams. We get out there and get
involved. Please take a look at some examples of our commitment to the community.
Gerald N. Jacobowitz
- Orange County Citizens Foundation, Member
- Community Foundation of Orange County, Inc., DirectorNP
- Walden Local Development Corp., Director
- Meyer & Lillian Jacobowitz Foundation, Director
- Municipal Law Section, New York State Bar Association, Executive Committee Member
- Mid Hudson Patterns for Progress, Member
- Families First New York, Inc., Vice President/Director
- Orange County Planning Board, Member
David B. Gubits
- Mohonk Preserve, Inc., Member-Land Protection Committee
- Maverick Concerts, Inc., Director
- Woodstock Jewish Congregation, Director
John H. Thomas
- Mid-Hudson Chapter Appraisal Institute, Member
Peter R. Eriksen
- The Children's Rights Society of Orange County, Board Member
Howard Protter
- The Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, Trustee and General Counsel
- Cornwall Lions Club, Member
- Claire J. Hoyt Foundation, Director
- New York State Bar Association Municipal Law Section Executive Committee, 2nd Vice Chair
- American Bar Association Local Government Law Ethics Committee, Member
- The Food Bank of The Hudson Valley, Advisory Board Member
- New York State Bar Association Committee on Mass Disaster Response, Member
- Orange County Land Trust, Director
- Orange County Citizens Foundation, Trustee
- Builders Association of The Hudson Valley, Education Committee Member
- Orange County Bar Association, Municipal Law Committee Chair
Larry Wolinsky
- Mid-Hudson Patterns for Progress, Executive Committee Member and Board of Directors
- Orange County Partnership, Member
- Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, Board Member and Chair of the Shovel Ready Committee
Robert DiNardo
- Washingtonville VFW, Member
- McSherry Foundation, Member
Mark A. Krohn
- Orange County Office For the Aging, Member
John C. Cappello
- RECAP, Board of Directors
- Josephine Louise Library, Walden, Board of Directors
- Newburgh Habitat for Humanity, Site Selection committee
- Orange County Citizens Foundation, Land Use committee
- Pattern for Progress, Affordable Housing committee
Mark Starkman
- Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce (formerly Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce), Chairman, Legislative Action Committee
- Lighthouse International, Hudson Valley Division, Advisory Board Member
- Dutchess County Bar Association, Alternate Delegate to New York State Bar Association House of Delegates
- Dutchess Community College Foundation, Business/College Partnership Committee, Member
- Orange County Bar Association, Director
- St. Luke's Cornwall Health System Foundation, Director
- New York State Bar Association, Health Law Section, Member
Jodi Lynn
- Walden Community Council, Member
- American Heart Association, J&G Team Leader
- Walden Day Care Center Board of Directors, Secretary
Linda Rodriguez
- Equine Resource Rescue, Member
Donna Tobin
- FAN — Food Allergy Network, Member
- Labs 4 Rescue, Member
- International Women's Writers Guild, Member
Bridget Maniscalco
- Business and Professional Women of Newburgh, Treasurer and Member
Nonprofit
Nonprofit corporations face virtually all of the challenges affecting for-profit businesses, and then some. Like a business, a nonprofit must have revenues that exceed expenses in order to operate. A nonprofit must not stray from its official corporate purposes. It must use its assets only for those purposes. It may not take the kinds of financial risks that a business could. Its tax returns are readily available public documents. The officers and directors have fiduciary duties, not to shareholders, but to donors and to the public, represented by the State's Attorney General.
At Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP, we represent numerous nonprofit clients. However, our commitment doesn't stop with individual clients, but extends to the community in which we all live. Most of our attorneys and staff commit their energies, talents and personal time to local charitable causes by serving on the boards and committees of nonprofit organizations. These organizations cover a wide range of interests including health care, protection of children and the elderly, economic and community development, environmentalism and the arts. Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP has long experience working for and with nonprofit organizations.
At all stages of the life of a nonprofit, J&G has helped in planning, identifying and resolving issues, managing risk, exploring opportunities and closing transactions.
Entity Formation
- Analysis to determine eligibility for and desirability of nonprofit mode of operation
- Formation of nonprofit corporation, including obtaining consents from government agencies
- Drafting of Articles of Incorporation, including vital corporate purposes provisions
- Drafting of bylaws and committee charters
- Preparation of IRS Form 1023 Application for Recognition of Exemption
- Preparation of applications for real property tax exemption
- Assistance in completing IRS Form 990 tax returns
Ongoing Governance
- Purchases and leases of real property and business equipment
- Governance and best practices
- Financial reporting and controls auditing
- Officer and director duties and liability
- Taxation and unrelated income
- Employment and labor
- Strategic alliances and affiliations
- Fundraising
- Conflicts of interest
- Lobbying
- Review and revision of committee structure and charters
Reorganization and Dissolution
- Structuring and implementation of mergers
- Formation of nonprofit or for-profit subsidiaries or affiliates
- Petitions for Judicial or Non-Judicial Dissolution
These are some of the nonprofits that we are affiliated with:
- Orange County Citizens Foundation
- The Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan RECAP, Inc.
- Orange County Arts Council
- Dutchess County Arts Council
- Arden Local Development Corporation, Horton Local Development Corporation, Walden Local Development Corporation, Highland Falls Chamber of Commerce, Orange County Land Trust
- Families First New York
- Maverick Concerts
- Hudson Highlands Nature Museum
- Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, MidHudson Patterns for Progress
- The Orange County Partnership
- Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, Newburgh Institute for the Arts and Ideas, The Meyer & Lillian Jacobowitz Foundation, Inc., Claire J. Hoyt Memorial Foundation, Inc., McSherry Foundation
- Mohonk Preserve
- Children's Rights Society, Inc.
- Habitat for Humanity
- Cornwall On Hudson Riverfest, Inc.
Hudson Valley Food Frenzy Food Drive Supports Regional Food Bank
Pattern for Progress Fellows Project Encourages Competition for a Cause
Hunger is a reality in America. One in eight Americans faces hunger each day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the Hudson Valley — a region rich in farm land and opportunity — we are not immune to the struggles families face to put food on the table. According to the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, which serves a six county region, every community throughout their service area faces issues of food insecurity and, unfortunately, demand on services continues to grow at a rapid pace.
Using their class project to make a difference, participants in the 2009 Pattern for Progress Fellows program have developed an innovative way to fight hunger throughout our region. The Hudson Valley Food Frenzy will encourage collaboration through competition to help stock the Food Bank's warehouse. The Hudson Valley Food Bank serves Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Rockland, Sullivan, and Putnam counties.
The program, which will kick-off in September in recognition of National Hunger Awareness Month, capitalizes on Pattern's commitment to regionalism and the benefits of collaboration to create a regional response to hunger in the Hudson Valley. The Food Frenzy will encourage friendly competition between businesses and organizations of similar size and/or mission to collect donations of food and money during a 10-day period in September. Prizes will be awarded to the organizations that collect the most donations.
"As Pattern Fellows, we hope that organizations will get on board to support the Food Frenzy," said Howard Protter, managing partner of Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLP. "Appealing to people's competitive nature will surely benefit the Hudson Valley Food Bank and those in need throughout our region," continued Protter, speaking on behalf of the Fellows organizing the event. "It's an easy event that so many can get involved with by donating food and/or money."
Participating organizations can collect donations of both food and money. Every dollar raised translates to seven meals that can be provided. Details regarding the collection of nonperishable food items are available in the Food Frenzy registration package available on the Food Bank's website www.foodbankofhudsonvalley.org.
A number of Hudson Valley organizations have already pledged their support for September's Food Frenzy, including the Bar Associations of Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, Rockland, and Putnam Counties, as well as the Orange County Association of Realtors, the Mid-Hudson Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, Hudson Valley Builders Association, and the Newburgh Kiwanis Club. MidHudsonNews.com has signed on as the event's media sponsor.
"By creating a regional competition that will serve those in need throughout the Hudson Valley, the Pattern Fellows have truly demonstrated their understanding of an important focus of Pattern for Progress," said Jonathan Drapkin, President and CEO of the Hudson Valley "think tank." "I am proud of what they have accomplished."
To register or learn more about the Hudson Valley Food Frenzy, interested organizations should call 845-778-2121 or e-mail Howard Protter at hp@jacobowitz.com for a registration packet. Information is also available online at www.foodbankofhudsonvalley.org.
