Nonprofit Finances
We may get into nonprofit management because we want to good, but the reality is that we've got to keep the organization financially healthy in order to achieve that good.
Boards and nonprofit managers should take the time to set up and fund an endowment. It can add stability for the long term.
A recent survey by The Bridgespan Group of nonprofit executive directors found that half of the 102 organizations responding had seen their revenues begin to creep back up in the past year.
Unfortunately, many people do not trust some nonprofits to use their donations wisely. By being completely transparent about your finances, you can make sure potential donors don't have any reason to distrust your organization. Use this checklist to make your nonprofit more transparent.
The Pension Protection Act, passed in 2006, requires that small nonprofits, who in the past have not needed to file the IRS 990 Form, have to file the new IRS 990-N.
How do you keep your nonprofit financially stabile when the economy has the jitters and donors have cold feet? Weathering a bad economy should not send your nonprofit skittering to the bunkers, but it should sharpen your focus and improve your efficiencies. Here are five suggestions to consider for the economic bad times.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was intended to bring transparency to businesses, but it can be enormously helpful to nonprofits as well.
With the increasing need for accountability by nonprofit organizations, more and more nonprofits are turning to audit services.
With more and more nonprofits offering donors the ability to make credit card payments, there is the potential for plenty of confusion. Your organization could end up paying more than you need to for processing transactions.
Managers and executives of nonprofits almost invariably come from the program side of the organization. They know how to design and deliver programs and services, curate art shows, heal patients, do academic research, perhaps even how to raise funds. What they are almost always weak on is finance.
Typically, a nonprofit and for-profit pay for unemployment claims through a state unemployment insurance tax (SUI). But unlike their counterparts, nonprofits have an alternative choice – to become a reimbursing employer.
When asked what about their organization keeps them awake at night, most nonprofit executive directors and senior managers will give the short and simple answer: money.
While most bring financial management experience to their job, many have less expertise in this area than they would like. All, however, are aware that sound financial management is linked with every function of the nonprofit and is essential for organizational success.
It is perplexing that approximately one third of nonprofits, operate perpetually in financial distress, and approximately 7%, are totally insolvent. An expert on nonprofit organizations explains what the nonprofit board needs to know.
The Society of Nonprofit Organizations publishes one of my favorite journals about nonprofit management. It is called Nonprofit World and a recent issue included a wonderful article, 25 Ways to Cut Costs.
We have excerpted 10 of those suggestions here.
In general indirect costs for a nonprofit are those costs that cover multiple activities and that occur on a regular basis.
Choosing a new donor management system for your nonprofit is never easy. Follow these tips to figure it all out.
How much earned income can your nonprofit receive? What about unrelated business income? Learn the ins and outs from a nonprofit expert.