Mary Tovella Dowling, Esq.
Managing Attorney
Tovella Dowling, PC
Mary Tovella Dowling is a practicing attorney and a partner at For Purpose Law Group, where she serves as co-chairperson of the firm's Nonprofit, Business, and Social Enterprise practice groups. Ms. Dowling's legal practice primarily focuses on providing full-service legal representation and outside general counsel services to tax exempt organizations, social enterprises and entrepreneurs across a broad spectrum of industries and sectors.
Ms. Dowling's nonprofit practice is focused on providing counsel and guidance to tax exempt organizations and their donors as they navigate the myriad legal issues facing modern tax-exempt entities. Her current clients include a wide variety of public charities, private foundations, and other nonprofit organizations—from museums, religious and faith-based organizations, and social welfare organizations to sports-based organizations, business leagues, educational institutions and social clubs. As a passionate advocate for her clients at all stages of the nonprofit life cycle, she places a particular emphasis on corporate law and tax matters, under federal, state, and local tax laws, beginning with entity formation and applications for federal and state exemption, and including such issues as unrelated business income planning, fundraising, compliance with public support tests, property tax exemption, nonprofit corporate governance, contract drafting and negotiation, corporate compliance, and joint ventures.
In addition to her representation of tax-exempt organizations, Ms. Dowling represents social enterprises and other corporate clients in a wide variety of business pursuits and transactions, including business formation, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, dissolution, joint ventures, corporate compliance, and intellectual property. Relying on her complimentary backgrounds in both business and law, Ms. Dowling is able to combine her areas of expertise to help her clients create, manage, and maintain successful business pursuits at all stages and across numerous industries.
