Considering Why People Volunteer
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the nonprofit sector. Just about every nonprofit charitable organization uses volunteers in some capacity. In most cases, board members serve without compensation. For many [more…]
Understanding Nonprofit Ownership
No one person or group of people can own a nonprofit organization. You don't see nonprofit shares traded on stock exchanges, and any equity in a nonprofit organization belongs to the organization itself [more…]
Forming a Committee from the Board of Directors
An organization's board of directors is responsible for forming committees when necessary. Committee members must be drawn from the current members of the board itself, so having a talented and diverse [more…]
Introducing Form 990: Tax Forms for Nonprofits
Non-profit organizations are generally tax-exempt and don't need to file revenue forms, but the Internal Revenue Service still requires lots of information — all to be painfully extracted and meticulously [more…]
Understanding Your Rights on the Board of Directors of a Nonprofit Organization
It's a sad fact of life that volunteer directors of nonprofits run the risk of being sued in the course of carrying out duties for which they aren't paid. Fortunately, many states realize the importance [more…]
Getting Buy-In for Your Mission Statement
If you're starting a nonprofit with a group of people, everyone needs to agree on the mission statement. Consider holding a meeting to solicit input from everyone. The important thing to keep in mind is [more…]
Understanding How and Why Nonprofits Face More Government Scrutiny
U.S. nonprofit organizations are entering an era of the most intense federal and state regulation in history. After cracking down on corporate America by enacting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [more…]
Examining Executive Compensation in Nonprofits
Issues of executive compensation and governance are closely intertwined thanks to the influence of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The IRS is always concerned as to whether governing boards of nonprofit [more…]
Raising Money for Your Nonprofit Organization
Every nonprofit organization needs to raise money. Whether applying for grants, searching for donors, or throwing fundraising events, you’re always going to be looking for new ways to bring in funds. These [more…]
12 Annual Tasks for Every Nonprofit Manager
As a manager at a nonprofit organization, your job is to make sure that each of the following 12 organizational tasks is completed every year: [more…]
Securing Nonprofit Status in Ten Fairly Easy Steps
The most important aspect of being a nonprofit organization is having nonprofit status in the eyes of the IRS, or Internal Revenue Service. Take the following steps to gain nonprofit status for your organization [more…]
How to Write a Great Case Statement
The backbone of your fundraising campaign is a strong case statement. A case statement outlines what need your agency addresses, how you address it, what makes your organization unique, and how others [more…]
Monitoring Your Nonprofit's Cash Flow in a Changing Economy
As if a fundraiser’s job weren’t hard enough, sometimes the economy takes a tumble, causing contributions to your organization to slow down. You may need to revamp your fundraising message to make it clear [more…]
Quarterly Accounting Reminders for Your Nonprofit Organization
To analyze the financial health of your nonprofit organization, the board of directors needs quarterly financial statements, which monitor the flow of revenue. Likewise, for taxes, grants, and contracts [more…]
Annual Reminders for Your Nonprofit Business
Running a nonprofit requires that you annually prepare and submit paperwork to your employees, the Board of Directors, the Social Security Administration, and the IRS. Each year, you should evaluate your [more…]
Weekly Reminders for Your Nonprofit Organization
To ensure your nonprofit’s daily activities are completed, organize a weekly to-do list and prioritize the tasks so the important ones are done first and other jobs are scheduled around them. Managing [more…]
Monthly Budgeting Tasks for Your Nonprofit Organization
As a director or manager of a nonprofit, you require monthly budget assessments to track and manage your nonprofit’s finances. Monthly meetings, which should happen after a cost-benefit analysis, should [more…]
The Basics of Forming a Nonprofit
To ensure the success of your nonprofit organization, you need to start with a solid foundation. Take a look at the following fundamentals checklist so your nonprofit is set up properly and legal issues [more…]
Tax Traps for Nonprofits
Don't assume that since the federal government doesn't tax most nonprofit income that it doesn't require nonprofits to comply with tax-reporting requirements. Just like for-profit businesses, nonprofits [more…]
What Is Cause Marketing?
Cause marketing is a partnership between a nonprofit and a for-profit for mutual profit. For example, you may be familiar with the partnership between Komen for the Cure and athletic shoe maker New Balance [more…]
Forms of Cause Marketing: Point-of-Sale
Point-of-sale is a very common and effective form of cause marketing. When a consumer is solicited for a donation at checkout that is point-of-sale cause marketing. Point-of-sale can take on two forms: [more…]
Forms of Cause Marketing: Purchasing, Licensing, and Message Promotion
A partnership between a nonprofit and a for-profit for mutual profit is called cause marketing. Three of the forms of cause marketing are purchasing-based donations, licensing and caused focused messaging [more…]
Benefiting from Cause Marketing
The essence of cause marketing is win-win — good for the cause, good for the company. But the benefits of cause marketing will vary. Your local food bank will profit differently than the restaurant chain [more…]
What Cause Marketing Is Not
Cause marketing is something that is clearly defined as a win-win partnership between cause and company involving specific tactics. Part of understanding what cause marketing truly is means clearly understanding [more…]
Point of Sale as a Cause Marketing Tactic
Point-of-sale (POS) cause marketing is when the consumer is asked to donate a dollar or two to a cause at the point of checkout. Because these transactions often happen at a checkout register, they’re [more…]
