Tag Archives: Accountability

A Nonprofit News Round-Up

roundupToday I just have a short round up of interesting items from the last few weeks.  But I first want to say thanks to the Nonprofit Congress Blog for mentioning this blog in the Nonprofit Blog Carnival it recently hosted.

This piece is from mid May but it is worth another mention.  The article is on administration costs and charity ratings from the Good Intentions Are Not Enough blog.  The premise is that the focus on administrative costs can do harm than good, and I agree with the author’s arguments.

This article from the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group is a nice wrap up of the President’s Stimulus plan and its possible effects for the nonprofit sector.  From helping organizations stay afloat to expanding others, there is a lot to know about the plan.

Our sector is not immune to questionable ethical decisions.  This article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review highlights some of the issues specific to the nonprofit sector and ways to promote ethical behavior in charitable organizations.

When groups talk about saving money all options should be on the table.  But eliminating Directors and Officers liability insurance is a risky option.  This article gives some good reasons why you shouldn’t cut it and some tips about judging your own coverage or shopping for other coverage.  Here is a good resource for D&O insurance and other organizational coverages.

Nonprofit Resources – Three helpful items

Have a question about a nonprofit issue?

BoardSource has a really nice Question and Answer section.  Some of the items are member only but there is plenty of free information available.  This site also has a bunch of Q&A’s here.

How does a nonprofit go out of business?

While there may be some state specific rules you’ll need to look up, the IRS recently published this piece on how to terminate an organization.

Private Inurement, Excess Compensation, Intermediate Sanctions, and Rebuttable Presumption

This free publication from GuideStar outlines what the IRS expects of charities and how we can comply with the rules that govern 501(c)(3) organizations.

Nonprofit News Roundup: Laws and Money

roundupSmart things from other parts of the web.  More good blog posts will be found at the end of this month when the Nonprofit Congress Blog hosts the Nonprofit Blog CarnivalClick through for more details.

Human Resources News For California Nonprofits

Two pieces from What’s New in Employment Law from earlier this year that detail the differences and similarities between California and Federal rules in charts provided by The California Fair Employment and Housing Commission: The comparison between the Federal ADA rules (both new and old) and the California rules and the FMLA and CA’s Family Rights Act and Pregnancy Disability Leave law.

Another post from them details the updates to to CA’s Alternative Work Week law.  I like the changes.

Meal and rest period information for employers as a result of a recent court case.

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Why You Need an Accounting System

billsAs I consult with nonprofits in California, I have seen a theme emerge:  A nonprofit’s accounting system may not have been put together in a thoughtful manner.  I don’t mean this as a criticism to the people out there making a difference in their communities who work in nonprofits.  I frequently ask in my trainings, “Who started working in the nonprofit sector because you like accounting and filling out reports?”  In almost five years only one person (besides me) has ever raised their hand.  We go into the sector because we care about the mission, making a difference, building community, or any other number of reasons.  Not so we can crunch numbers.

But some people are shocked when they realize just how much regulation, filing and paperwork comes with a tax exempt status.  Nonprofits do not always grow their internal capacity, including the finance piece, at the same pace as they expand program and development.  That is understandable as those two areas drive most nonprofit funding.  But organizations who ignore their accounting systems do so at their own peril because at some point a Board member, a funder, or even the IRS will ask something like, “How much did we spend on this program?”  Getting that answer — and the answers to other questions like, “How much did we spend of Funder A’s grant?” or, “What is the total cost of that program, including all of the allocable costs?” — largely depends on how well your accounting system is set up.

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