News

A leadership departure in your accounting department can create turmoil, at least temporarily. However, it also provides an opportunity to assess the department’s performance and create a vision for how it should perform in the...

November 29, 2016, is Giving Tuesday. Never heard of it? Known on social media as #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has grown into one of the biggest fundraising drives for the not-for-profit industry. Two is Better than...

Making donations to charities is more than good business citizenship. It can also lower your tax liability. Some lesser-known federal income tax breaks for charitable donations by businesses were retroactively reinstated and made permanent by the...

Determining the amount to compensate top leaders in a tax-exempt organization can be a daunting task, considering that tax-exempt and for-profit organizations compete in the talent pool. Although there are measures of a tax-exempt leader’s...

Donor-advised funds have their fans and their critics. Both sides are passionate in their feeling about these charitable-giving devices. It is precisely these points that led to the criticism of the funds because the donor gets a charitable...

There is both good and bad news when it comes to giving in the United States. That’s according to Money for Good 2015 study, which examines the “giving needs, attitudes and behaviors” of donors and how nonprofit organizations can...

Mobile giving took a big leap in 2014. Almost 10 percent of all donations were made through mobile devices. That translates to one in six donors using mobile devices. Almost half read emails on mobile devices, another sign that electronic...

Cultivating new donors is an expensive proposition. If it’s easier to get more business in the for-profit world from an existing customer than a new one, how does that translate into donor retention practices? The association’s 2014...

The Great Recession caused a perfect storm for nonprofits by raising client need at the same time dollars from individuals, government and foundations declined. Grantmakers for Effective Organization (GEO) annually studies trends in grant making,...

While social media provides exciting new channels to reach and engage donors and the community, this complex communications landscape offers both many challenges as well as opportunities. The 2015 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report surveyed...

The IRS must supply electronic documents in a readable format as a result of a case concerning Form 990 with the transparency group Public.Resource.Org. The court said that, under the Freedom of Information Act, the IRS was required to provide...

Charitable giving is up – way up, according to the new Giving USA yearly report released in June. There were four major sources of total giving:Charitable giving increased 7 percent to nearly $358 billion in 2014, more than any year in the...

Funding from the federal government can be a significant source of support for nonprofit programs and services. Applying for the money and then handling it once it’s awarded, however, is often a complex proposition. The Office of Management...

A budget may not be exciting to prepare or review, but it is essential for any organization, including a nonprofit. Budgets, particularly over a period of years, can be extremely useful not only to make sure that dollars are available to pay...

An organization can qualify as a public charity by being a “supporting organization.” The rules are complex. A supporting organization is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of one or more public charities. Internal...

Nonprofit organizations are not immune to theft by their employees or volunteers. In fact, sometimes they are more vulnerable because charitable organizations tend to place more faith in the individuals in their organizations, perhaps wrongly...

Fundraising appeals tied to particular causes, time of year or specific needs are often used to great effect by fundraisers. Because they hone in on a specific, often time-limited, effort they present a very clear connection between the gift and...

Most nonprofits struggle with maintaining sufficient ongoing funds for operations. Donations and grants go up and down annually, often influenced by factors outside the organization’s control. Nonprofits of all sizes are realizing that they...

More than half of high net worth individuals plan to leave some of their fortunes to charity, according to a recent survey, and nine of 10 are involved in some kind of philanthropy. Millionaires typically give about 7 percent of their annual...

The IRS has four categories under Sec. 509 that allow an organization to be a public charity, but the two most common are 509(a)(1) and 509(a)(2). The characteristics of an (a)(1) public charity were discussed in previous articles. This article...