Susan Vignola practices in the firm’s Tax-Exempt Organizations department, where she represents a wide range of charitable and nonprofit institutions, including private foundations and public charities, donor-advised fund sponsoring organizations, social justice and advocacy organizations, international grantmaking institutions, schools and universities, and arts and cultural institutions, as well as their affiliated organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Ms. Vignola also counsels individual, family, and corporate donors on philanthropic planning and engagement with tax-exempt organizations. She regularly advises clients in governance, regulatory and compliance matters, donor-advised funds, cross-border philanthropy, management and expenditure of endowments, and related corporate, tax, and regulatory matters. Ms. Vignola also helps tax-exempt organizations manage institutional collaborations and has extensive expertise advising clients on 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) affiliations and helping clients navigate the rules relating to lobbying and political activity.  Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Vignola spent over a decade working for nonprofit institutions in the U.S. and overseas. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, M.A. from the George Washington University, and B.A. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. 

Bar Admissions

• New York

Education

• New York University School of Law (J.D.)
  • Root-Tilden-Kern D'Agostino Scholar
  • Robert McKay Scholar
  • Notes Editor, Journal of Legislation and Public Policy
• George Washington University (M.A.)
  • J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Scholar
• University of North Carolina (B.A.)
  • Phi Beta Kappa

MEMBERSHIPS: Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Committee on Nonprofit Organizations, 2015-2018); New York Bar Association; American Bar Association

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: Not-for-Profit Governance Trends in a Post-Pandemic World, Grant Thornton's Not-for-Profit Executive Briefing Series (February 2024); MASTER CLASS: Navigating Intellectual Property Issues for Nonprofits, UT CLE's Nonprofit Organizations Institute (February 2024); Endowments and Restricted Funds: Managing UPMIFA in Unpredictable Times, Annual Exempt Organizations Update Meeting, TEGE Exempt Organizations Council (November 2023); 40th Annual Nonprofit Organizations Institute (January 2023); Legal Considerations in Starting a Nonprofit, Nonprofit Formation Fundamentals Series, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Candid and Support Center (April 2019); Primer on Charitable Giving, Georgetown Law Continuing Legal Education, Representing and Managing Tax-Exempt Organizations (April 2016).

• "Economic and Other Benefits Associated with the Provision of Civil Legal Aid," Seattle Journal for Social Justice (Fall/Winter 2010)