Bridget M. Weiss brings a mission-first approach to her representation of tax-exempt organizations and philanthropists. With deep experience across the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, she provides strategic, solutions-oriented counsel to help clients align legal compliance with organizational goals and charitable impact.
She advises a wide range of tax-exempt organizations—including charities, private foundations, advocacy and political organizations, hospitals and medical research institutions, and international NGOs—on formation, tax-exempt qualification, governance, operations, and regulatory compliance. Her experience includes designing complex international affiliate structures, advising on lobbying and political activity compliance, and supporting impact investment vehicles that advance charitable missions. She also works with for-profit companies on corporate philanthropy initiatives, employee engagement programs, and related partnerships with nonprofit organizations.
Bridget regularly counsels family offices and high-net-worth individuals on structuring and managing multi-entity philanthropic and impact platforms. This includes developing shared services arrangements among family offices, social enterprises, and affiliated nonprofits. She advises on charitable gift planning and helps clients select the most appropriate philanthropic or mission-driven vehicles to achieve long-term legacy and impact goals.
She has significant experience advising on the use of market-based strategies to further charitable purposes. Her work includes the formation of incubators and impact funds; structuring program-related and mission-related investments; and establishing joint ventures, subsidiaries, and affiliates across both nonprofit and for-profit entities. Bridget also supports clients in launching innovative vehicles—such as charitable LLCs, social welfare organizations, and taxable nonprofits—and in developing operational frameworks, partnership models, and policies that enable innovation while maintaining legal compliance.
In the federal funding space, she advises recipients of grants and contracts on regulatory requirements, including audit readiness, reporting obligations, and risk management. Bridget also represents nonprofit organizations in IRS audits, internal investigations, and examinations by federal and state enforcement agencies, including Congressional inquiries. She works closely with boards and executive leadership on governance issues, providing guidance on fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, internal controls, and oversight in complex organizational contexts.
Bridget is a frequent speaker at conferences on tax-exempt organizations issues.
Experience
- Multiple tax-exempt organizations, including private foundations, operating charities, international NGOs and educational institutions regarding maintenance of tax-exempt status, including responding to shifting governmental requirements and priorities.
- Medical and scientific research organizations with respect to their formation and ongoing operations, including establishment of consortia with major hospitals and research universities, as well as structures (including related investment funds) for commercialization of intellectual property.
- Nonprofit hospital system with respect to tax-exempt compliance, including the relationship with, and activities of, for-profit affiliates.
- Multiple family offices in structuring, managing and operating the family’s philanthropic and policy vehicles and initiatives, including individual charitable giving, supported tax-exempt organizations (including private foundations and 501(c)(4) advocacy organizations), and for-profit mission-related entities and investments.
- International NGO in optimizing its global governance and operational structure, including the formation of, and relationship, with local affiliates, to advance charitable impact.
- Former public officials and authors in donation of personal papers and other memorabilia to educational institutions and libraries.
Perspectives
Recognition
US Taxes: Non-Contentious (2014, 2017, 2021-2022)
Credentials
Education
- J.D., Northwestern University School of Law, 2004, cum laude, Order of the Coif
- A.B., Brown University, 1998
Admissions
- California
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
Activities
- Chair, Charities Committee, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, American Bar Association
- Member, Tax-Exempt Organizations Committee, Tax Section, American Bar Association