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Nonprofits: How to Acknowledge Donor Gifts
Holiday-inspired generosity and the desire to reduce tax liability makes the end of the year a busy time for charitable giving. According to Network for Good and other sources, approximately 30% of charitable gifts are made in December alone. For nonprofits, an important part of processing these donations is sending thank-you letters that acknowledge gifts.…
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Using Footnotes to Disclose Your Nonprofit’s Financial Information
Does anyone actually read footnotes? If they’re financial statement footnotes, the answer is usually “yes.” Footnotes can provide donors, governmental supporters and other stakeholders with critical information about your not-for-profit. So it’s important to work with your CPA to make sure your footnotes are accurate and thorough. Operations and accounting policy snapshot One important set…
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Smart Nonprofit Leaders Know How to Delegate
Delegation ideally gives not-for-profit executives time to focus on mission critical tasks and provides growth opportunities to staffers. However, you need to approach delegation strategically. This means assigning the right tasks to the right staffers — and following up on assigned work to ensure it’s completed to your standards. Projects and people First, consider potential…
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Candid Communication can Help Ease Nonprofit Staffers’ Anxiety
It would be an understatement to say 2020 has been challenging. Leaders of not-for-profits still standing are justified in worrying about strained budgets and their ability to deliver on their organization’s promises during a pandemic, financial crisis and time of social and political upheaval. Staffers are likely to be just as concerned about the future…
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Why Your Nonprofit Must Make Time for Accountability
“Accountability” may seem like one of those popular management concepts you know would be nice to implement if your not-for-profit had the time and budget. But not only is accountability essential to your nonprofit’s health and efficacy — affecting everything from donations to grants, hiring to volunteering, board fiduciary duty to employee morale — it’s…
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Should You Reach Out to “Effective Altruists?”
Effective altruism is commonly described as a philosophy that uses evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others. Not all donors are aware of effective altruism, but the concept is growing in popularity. To determine whether your not-for-profit should try to reach out to its adherents, learn a little more about…
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Your Nonprofit May Have a License to Print Money
In this pandemic year, many not-for-profits are scrambling to find new sources of revenue to replace donor contributions and other lost income. If this sounds like your charity, you might want to consider licensing your name and brand to a for-profit business. Ensuring success When licensing arrangements work, both charities and companies can experience significant…
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Financial Dashboards Can Steer Your Nonprofit Toward Financial Success
Not-for-profits increasingly are adopting a corporate world tool: financial dashboards. A dashboard is a summary of an organization’s progress toward a specific goal over time — or a snapshot of its current situation. Dashboards are designed to help boards and other constituents visualize important metrics, or key performance indicators (KPIs). But to facilitate informed, timely…
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How Nonprofits should Classify Their Workers for Tax Purposes
Employees or independent contractors? It’s not only for-profit companies that struggle with the question of how to classify workers for federal tax purposes. Not-for-profit organizations must withhold and pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes for employees, but not for contractors. (There may also be state tax responsibilities.) But be careful before you decide that…
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Private Foundations Need Strong Conflict-of-Interest Policies
Does your private foundation have a detailed conflict-of-interest policy? If it doesn’t — and if it doesn’t follow the policy closely — you could face IRS attention that results in penalties and even the revocation of your tax-exempt status. Here’s how to prevent accusations of self-dealing. Who’s disqualified? Conflict-of-interest policies are critical for all not-for-profits.…
