Nonprofit Harvest

Assisting nonprofits gather financial management resources that will help them build sustainable futures.

May 4, 2010

Stay Tax Exempt

Filed under: 990, Accounting, Financial Management Resources, News — Tags: , — ashley @ 2:02 pm

News Flash

Every nonprofit organization must file an annual 990.

The change happened a few years ago, but may not have received adequate attention.  All nonprofits, not just organizations with revenues of $25,000 or more, must file a tax return. Any organization that does not file a 990 for three consecutive years will lose their tax exempt status. The federal law requiring this change was passed in 2006, and the first three-year window closes May 15th, 2010.

If you work for a nonprofit, hopefully you already know this and are aware of the upcoming May 15th deadline – the date when organizations with a December 31st year end must file their 990 with the IRS.

Although this change could negatively impact thousands of organizations, there is still time to meet your filing deadline.

(Update: The Star Tribune has published an excellent article on these changes.)

Steps to Staying Tax Exempt

Visit the IRS Website

Financial activity Filing requirement
Gross receipts normally ≤ $25,000
Note: Organizations eligible to file the e-Postcard may choose to file a full return.		 990-N (e-Postcard)
Gross receipts < $ 500,000 and
Total assets < $1.25 million		 990-EZ or 990
Gross receipts ≥ $500,000, or
Total assets ≥ $1.25 million		 990
Private foundation (regardless of financial activity) 990-P

Prepare Your Form

Not sure if your organization is at risk?

Find Out More

January 22, 2010

New Year, New You?

Filed under: 990, Accounting, Boards, Financial Management Resources, Philanthropy, training — Tags: , , , , , , , , — ashley @ 2:56 pm

It’s a new year, a new decade, time to turn over a new leaf. Like many of you, I have New Year’s resolutions to get my life (and notoriously messy office) in better shape.

Many nonprofit and social enterprise bloggers have the same idea.  My favorite was Nell Edgington’s ideas about Social Impact Finance:

It’s a new year and a new decade, and both hold tremendous promise for creating real social change.  And key to significant social change is a fundamental restructuring of how we finance that change.  I think (hope) that in the next decade we will see the emergence of a new Social Impact Finance.  And I imagine it will look something like this…

  • Nonprofits Understand the Power of Finance. Nonprofit organizations understand and become successful at financing their overall operations, instead of fundraising for them.  And they begin to think bigger about their work, the overall outcomes they are trying to achieve and how finance fits into that (The GiveWell blog did a great series on the “Room for More Funding Question.”)

Another one of her predictions, Individual Donors Become a Powerhouse, echoes Kate’s post, The Year For “Right-Sized” Donations and the outpouring of support we have seen in response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti.

(For more on Haiti, I suggest visiting Philanthropy.com and PhilanTopic, which have done a great job covering this story from a nonprofit and philanthropic perspective.)

2010, The Year of the Board?

Is 2010 the year of the board?  Two blogs I read regularly are focusing on  governance to start the new year:

Are you looking for ways to help your board of directors take their leadership to the next level? Check out our webinar Financial Clarity for Nonprofit Boards next Friday, January 29th at 2pm CT (3pm EST). This training is a great way to prepare boards to assess and pursue new financial strategies, as well as shore up their understanding of nonprofit financial reports, terminology, and responsibilities.

We offer a range of financial trainings throughout the year.  They are an easy and affordable way to enhance your nonprofit’s financial management. For more information you can visit our website or sign up to receive training updates.

New Year, New Rules

We know there’s a new 990. Since organizations operate with different fiscal years (our Fiscal New Year is also April Fool’s Day) how do you know which form to use? Not-For-Profit Accounting has a short explanation to help you:

When do we file the new 990? Read below or click here for a PDF of a general overview of the instructions.

Calendar year – Use the 2008 Form 990 to report on the 2008 calendar year accounting period. A calendar year accounting period begins on January 1 and ends on December 31.

Fiscal year – If the organization has established a fiscal year accounting period, use the 2008 Form 990 to report on the organization’s fiscal year that began in 2008 and ended 12 months later. A fiscal year accounting period should normally coincide with the natural operating cycle of the organization. Be certain to indicate in the heading of Form 990 the date the organization’s fiscal year began in 2008 and the date the fiscal year ended in 2009.

The Nitty Gritty

There have been many useful guides to the new 990. Here are some of my favorites:

In case you want to go directly to the source, these are updates and resources from the IRS:

This is also a good time to review the Top 5 Compliance Problems for 501(c)(3) Organizations.

For folks interested in taking their analysis to the next level, check out The Door Has Opened: New Form 990 Creates Strategic Opportunities and Risks for Nonprofit Organizations.

Nonprofit Harvest

October 15, 2009

Doing Something Risky

Filed under: 990, Financial Management Resources, Miscellaneous — Tags: , , , — ashley @ 3:24 pm

I’m doing something risky by linking to Seth Godin, but his recent blog on the difference between apparent risk and actual risk got me thinking…

What Is Risk Management?

According to the Nonprofit Risk Management Center:

Risk management — A discipline for dealing with the possibility that the future may be surprisingly different from what we expect (see Strategic risk management).

Strategic risk management — A discipline that counters downside risks by reducing the likelihood, magnitude, and unpredictability of losses and financing recovery from these losses; and seizes upside risks by searching for opportunities to more fully, more certainly, and more efficiently achieve an organization’s nonprofit goals, and developing plans to act on these opportunities when the future presents them.

So, how does this impact nonprofits?  Writing globally, Seth commented:

When things get interesting is when the apparently risky is demonstrably [less safe] than the actually risky. That’s when we sometimes become uncomfortable enough with our reliance on the apparent to focus on the actual.

In other words, sometimes it is safer to take a risk.

And the Risk Management Center agrees.  Check out their Hallmarks of a Risk-Aware Nonprofit – best practices for strategic risk management (not strategic risk avoidance).  The very first hallmark is Takes More Risks than It Avoids:

A nonprofit cannot go about its daily work of mission fulfillment without taking risks. Risk-taking may lead an organization into uncharted territory when it expands its services to a new category of beneficiaries, or brings its programs to foreign countries, or adds an on-line “donate here!” button to its web site.

Avoiding risk, while not child’s play, is much easier than knowing which risks are imperative for the nonprofit to take. It is hard work to evaluate whether to take a risk or avoid it. Nevertheless, for nonprofits that take more risks than they avoid, the work of evaluating risks pays off. An excellent risk management program will enable the nonprofit to achieve a proper balance between prudent risk taking and the paralysis of trying to avoid all or most risks (and in the process, necessarily avoiding some, or even all opportunities.)

Peter Drucker said, “People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” A nonprofit that takes more risks than it avoids can innovate and explore uncharted paths to accomplish its mission, while remaining alert to emerging threats that must be avoided in order to protect critical assets.

These are uncertain times.  The safe things, the tested things, may not help your organization deliver services in a sustainable way.

Help your nonprofit do something risky. Check out these risk taking tools or read more from the Risk Management Center.

Go ahead, embrace the possible.

Nonprofit Harvest

Update on the Minnesota Economy

GiveMN

990 Updates

Other Resources

July 31, 2009

Dashboards and Due Diligence

Filed under: Accounting, Collaboration, Data, Economy, Financial Management Resources — Tags: , , , , , , , — ashley @ 3:37 pm

Dashboards

A few weeks ago, Blue Avocado published a great post about the value of Dashboard reports:

Imagine getting a dashboard like this at every board meeting. With a glance, board members could see how the organization is doing and start asking the important questions. The board would also be able to discuss what indicators should be added to the dashboard and which might not be necessary…

It’s hard to imagine driving a car without quick, ongoing access to a speedometer, fuel gauge, or gear position. An organizational Dashboard can be the same, fast way to check in on basics . . . so you can pay more attention to where you’re going.

It was a timely article, because we had just revamped our own dashboards.  We wanted to make sure we were giving the board and staff the most useful metrics about our finances, programs, and other work.  The end result is more useful dashboard for board and staff, but just was useful was a by-product of the process.  It forced all of us to take a step back and consider what information we’re sharing and why.

As the Blue Avocado article states, it doesn’t tell us where we’re going, but it provides critical information that allows us to focus on our work and the road ahead.  A tool that helps you cut through the noise and focus is a great asset.

For more on dashboards, read What Gauges Belong on Your Dashboard? or Seth Godin’s post, Dashboards.

Overhead

There is an interesting debate swirling about nonprofit overhead expenses.  Are they an investment in infrastructure,  money that could be better spent on programs, or something in between? Do donors care?  Should they?  This is Kate’s take:

Here’s my soapbox

I agree that it’s wise to “Do the same due diligence on your donations that you would your investments or your business.” But when I review an investment opportunity, I review based on the expected criteria for a successful business – profitability, market share, and returns. I don’t review their overhead and management costs. So why would overhead be the criteria for a charity?

…Do some due diligence on charities before you donate, just as you would for an investment or business opportunity. Pay especially close attention to how successful the nonprofit has been at achieving its mission. Do they provide information about how effective their programs are and what impact they have on the people and communities that they serve? Do they have a way to measure and communicate progress and/or success?

Join the conversation at Balancing the Mission Checkbook, facebook, or follow the example of Rich Cowles from Charities Review Council and blog about your position.

Late July Harvest

Mergers

IRS Updates

Other Resources

Crowdsourcing: What’s Working, What’s Not

A few weeks ago, Kate issued a call for “stories of change and transformation” and in the comments we talked a little bit about how we could leverage the power of our online community and crowd source this. I’ve had a few conversations about tools and tags, but before we jump into tactics, I wanted to ask:

  • Is this happening elsewhere?
  • Is anyone interested is collaborating on this kind of project?

Let me know in the comments.

June 5, 2009

Getting Real About Nonprofit Compensation

Filed under: 990, HR, Resource Collections — Tags: , , , , — ashley @ 12:59 pm

Employee Compensation

Recently there’s been a lot of chatter about nonprofit wages in the blogosphere and beyond. Debating these questions is important, but in this age of tight budgets, are there any steps an organization can take to improve employee compensation right now? Especially for lower wage employees who are critical to an organization’s success, but are sometimes left out of this conversation.

Blue Avocado gets to the heart of the matter in the article Low-Wage Workers and Nonprofits:

While raising salaries would be, by far, the best way to support these important staff, doing so isn’t possible for most nonprofits: certainly not in the short term, and often impossible for the long term given business models and funding constraints…

Although the challenge of providing adequate compensation to low-wage employees may seem overwhelming, especially during a financial crisis, the fact is that nonprofits, consultants and funders can consider a number of helpful options without torpedoing the budget.

The article offers a range of options, which fall into three main categories:

  • Steps to take relatively quickly at little or no cost
  • Intermediate steps
  • More far-reaching steps

These ideas are not intended to replace a real conversation about wages, especially one that goes beyond executive compensation.  But they are a place to start. Add your thoughts and suggestions here or leave a comment at Blue Avocado.

Related HR Resources

Not-For-Profit Accounting shares some information from the intersection of HR and accounting.  This post unpacks the sometimes woolly world of employee classifications — exempt vs. nonexempt, independent contractor vs. employee — and provides information on payroll systems.

If you have specific questions about nonprofit account, I suggest submitting them to Alan.  His regular Q&A feature is a great resource for financial managers.

New Resource Collection

Blue Avocado has compiled all of their articles about nonprofits and the economy. Visit this archive for information on financial management, HR, and more.

Harvest

May 15, 2009

Loans and CDFIs and PRIs – Oh My!

Filed under: CDFI, Economy, Foundations, Resource Collections — Tags: , , , , , , — ashley @ 1:37 pm

This week the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Finance Fund launched their discussion series, Financial Management in Tough Times.

The first topic was Financing Options, which included information about loans, PRIs, and other financing options.  Coincidentally, at the same time we were hosting a Social Enterprise Network on capital sources and touched on many of the same topics.

This week’s post gathers definitions and resources shared by participants of both discussions. For more details, I suggest you read the transcript at the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s website or Not-For Profit Accounting’s summary.

Program Related Investments (PRIs)

A PRI is a tool foundations can use to provide capital to nonprofit organizations.  It is more like a loan than a grant because it must be repaid or otherwise provide a return for the foundation.  In their PRI Primer, the PRI Makers Network lays out the benefits of these investments:

PRIs give charitable organizations or commercial ventures access to needed capital, typically at favorable terms. In return, the funder benefits in several ways:

  • It is often able to recycle PRI payments for subsequent charitable investments.
  • The foundation is generally able to count PRIs toward its minimum five percent payout of net assets.
  • PRIs allow foundations of every type and size to have greater programmatic impact.

Resources

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

Community Development Financial Institutions are vehicles to foster economic growth and ensure access to capital in urban and rural low-income communities.  Many CDFI’s focus on affordable housing and economic development activities.  Others, like Nonprofits Assistance Fund and Nonprofit Finance Fund, specialize in providing credit and financial training to nonprofit organizations that serve low-income and underserved populations.

Loans and Lines of Credit

Clara Miller issues an important reminder that “loans are never a substitute for revenue” and makes an excellent case for when credit makes sense for your organization. For more information you can also read our Borrowing Guide.

Download our Cash Flow Template to help assess whether or not credit can help your organization bridge a gap caused by grant timing, delays in government reimbursements, or other accounts receivable.

Nonprofit Harvest

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