By TRACEY DRURY
tdrury@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1609

A new state initiative aimed at helping nonprofit organizations improve governance and legal compliance will link organizations to volunteer attorneys.

The Charity Corps is a joint project of the state Attorney General's Office and the New York State Bar Association.

According to AG Eric Schneiderman, Charity Corps attorneys will help ensure that nonprofits fulfill their responsibilities and continue to provide critical services through difficult economic times. The AG's office oversees the state's Charities Bureau, responsible for supervising charitable organizations to protect donors, and ensure funds and other property devoted to charitable purposes are properly used. The bureau will support the initiative by providing training and guidance to volunteer attorneys and nonprofits.

The pilot program, which will serve up to 50 nonprofit groups in its first year, will be administered by the bar association, which will help facilitate pro bono relationships with nonprofit groups that can't afford to hire legal professionals, said Vincent Doyle III, president.

Doyle is a partner at Connors & Vilardo LLP in Buffalo and past president of the Erie County Aid to Indigent Prisoners Society.

"New York's attorneys stand ready to serve our important charitable sector — housing, shelter and youth programs, mental health and crisis intervention clinics, high school dropout prevention programs, relief and development assistance, civil rights organizations, veterans' assistance groups and others — by helping them with their governance and legal compliance needs," he said.

Charity Corps will recruit and train volunteer attorneys to provide legal advice on issues like board governance, fiduciary responsibilities and nonprofit law compliance. The program is designed to fill in gaps in coverage so a broader array of organizations throughout the state are served. It will also work to maximize available resources by matching existing legal service providers with nonprofits in need of pro bono counsel. Organizations that serve the needs of indigent people will receive priority in the program.

"Nonprofits are vital to our local communities and state, and we are committed to ensuring that they continue their important work — especially at a time when their services are most in need," Schneiderman said.

Members of the 18-member leadership committee in charge of overseeing the program include Ken Perri of Legal Assistance of WNY Inc.; Douglas Sauer of the New York Council of Nonprofits; and Stacey Slater of Nixon Peabody.

Eligible organizations must have a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, lack in-house counsel and be unable to afford outside counsel. Applications from potential participants are due by Dec. 31. Go to www.nysba.org/CharityCorps.