What charitable donors need to know about taxes
Although most charitable donors aren’t primarily motivated by potential tax breaks, they still need to know how donations affect their taxes. It’s important for your not-for-profit to educate them — particularly as tax laws change. For example, in 2020 and 2021, even nonitemizers were allowed to deduct up to $300 and itemizers could deduct cash […]
Time to spring clean your programming lineup
Does your not-for-profit offer programs that may have started out promising, but have become disappointing? Do you have replacement programs in mind but haven’t yet secured funding for them? Consider subjecting your programming lineup to a good spring cleaning. That way, you can reallocate funds to offerings that have the best potential to meet your […]
Our NFP Experts Discuss Board Member Contributions
We get a lot of questions from our not-for-profit (NFP) clients, and we thought it would be valuable to publish our answers. Reach out to us if you would like to see a question in a future newsletter. Question: One of our board members made a significant contribution to our 501c(3) organization. Does this put […]
Is your nonprofit on track? Ask your clients for feedback.
Regularly asking clients for feedback about your not-for-profit and its services is essential to maintaining healthy relationships. But the practice also makes financial sense. You want to ensure you maximize the power of your budget by allocating funds to the most productive programs that deliver the best outcomes. Here are several best practices for collecting […]
Conflict-of-interest policies: It’s about trust
According to a 2021 Independent Sector survey, 57% of Americans trust not-for-profits to “do what is right.” Although that’s a majority, being trusted by just over half of respondents is hardly worth celebrating. Well-publicized scandals involving nonprofit principals and a general decline in the population’s faith in institutions (particularly among conservatives and rural dwellers) have […]
No audits required? Do it anyway.
Your not-for-profit may not be required to undergo regular audits. But an audit can reassure donors and other stakeholders that you take seriously your responsibility. Audits can also help you identify risks before they become intractable problems. Here’s how to initiate and prepare for an audit. Find and meet with an auditor Start by drafting […]
Your nonprofit’s board needs to know these financial red flags
Is your board staring at financial red flags without knowing it? Although some warning signs — such as those experienced when the pandemic first hit — are obvious, others are easy to overlook. Here are several signs of trouble that board members need to be aware of and prepared to act on. Unexplained variances and […]
Keeping your nonprofit’s remote workers connected
Many employees have embraced the opportunity to work from home during the pandemic — but not all of them. Some remote workers have experienced feelings of disconnection and isolation. So if your not-for-profit plans to make remote working a longer-term proposition, you should look for ways to make everyone feel connected to the job and […]
What your nonprofit needs for a successful capital campaign
Many nonprofits have put major purchases and other ambitious initiatives on hold during the pandemic. But if you need to buy or expand a facility, purchase expensive equipment, or seed an endowment, your organization may not want to wait any longer. A capital campaign to raise funds can be more difficult at this time — […]
Why NFPs Should Make Cybersecurity a 2022 Priority
Summary As nonprofits look to the year ahead, they would be remiss to ignore a few of the events from last year: cyberattacks affecting large companies, government organizations, public schools, and nonprofits. Hackers don’t have to attack your nonprofit directly, as seen in the attack on Kaseya, an IT software provider. When Kaseya was attacked, […]