Thursday, April 29, 2010

Required Quarterly and Annual Filings for Nonprofit Organizations

The IRS has very specific annual tax filing requirements for nonprofit organizations.

501c3 public charities must complete the form 990, 501c3 private foundations must complete the form 990 pf, and nonprofits that make $25,000 or less per year must complete a form 990-N.

According to the IRS if small organizations failed to file a form 990-N for the past three years, on May 15th their tax exempt status will be REVOKED. Guidestar estimates that between 350-400k nonprofits will loose their tax exempt status!! Yikes.

Here are some tips and resources on quarterly and annual filing requirements for nonprofits.

1. Don't overlook letters from the IRS (seriously)
2. File annual 990's
3. File annual paperwork with the state attorney general's office
4. File quarterly wage and tax statements (check with your state)

FREE Handbook from Southern California Edison: Legal Issues for Small Businesses and Nonprofit Agencies
Form 990 Resources and Tools
Nonprofit Law Blog
Not for Profit Accounting Blog
Exempt Employer's Toolkit

Survey on skills needed for a successful nonprofit career

Message from American Humanics:

American Humanics (AH) is seeking your input to assure that work ready talent is available to organizations and agencies who serve families, our communities and the world.

American Humanics is the only national organization bringing together nonprofit organizations and higher education for the purpose of credentialing future nonprofit managers and leaders. Founded in 1948 we work with 62 affiliated colleges and universities to insure that students preparing to work in the nonprofit sector obtain industry specific competencies and skills.

This national survey will determine what competencies are needed in effective managers and leaders. Your input will drive the continued development of the American Humanics Nonprofit Management and Leadership credential. This is the largest survey of its kind and seeks the input of all segments of the nonprofit sector.

Please access the survey here: Take the Survey

We are seeking the input of nonprofit executives, human resources leadership, those with human resources responsibilities and nonprofit management faculty. We would like representation from diverse cross-section of the nonprofit sector. The deadline for completion of the survey is Monday, May 31, 2010. The survey is easy to complete and should take 10-20 minutes.

The results of the survey will be published and distributed publicly in the fall of 2010. More so, the findings will support curricular development in our network of colleges and universities.

American Humanics thanks you in advance for your support. The results of the survey will be shared later this year and will ensure the nonprofit workforce is equipped to handle future challenges.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Three VERY IMPORTANT Manuals for Nonprofit Organizations

Many times I've blogged about the importance of nonprofit operations. Ever so often accounting, human resources, and technology practices get pushed aside in a nonprofit organization because program work is prioritized as being more important. This is fine and dandy until a crisis occurs, like someone embezzles money from the organization or a disgruntled employee sues the organization. These types of things happen more often than not. That is why it is important to put the proper operations policies and procedures in place ahead of time to prevent these horrible things from happening.

Whether you run a new nonprofit or your nonprofit has been around for years, I recommend that EVERY nonprofit implement and actively use these three manuals in their organizations:

  1. Accounting manual
  2. Employment manual
  3. General operations manual

The accounting manual will keep an organization in compliance with nonprofit specific Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), as well as protect its financial assets, and ensure that proper internal controls are in place. The contents of a nonprofit accounting manual generally includes:

  • · Division of Duties
  • · Cash Receipts Procedures
  • · Cash Disbursements Procedures
  • · Reconciliations
  • · Petty Cash Fund
  • · Purchases
  • · Fixed Asset Management
  • · Payroll
  • · Financial Reporting
  • · Grant Compliance
  • · Fiscal Policy Statements

Sample Nonprofit Accounting Manual
Steps for Creating an Accounting Manual

The employment manual will help protect an organization against employee lawsuits and grievances. This manual will also help nonprofit employees understand key employment policies as well as the benefits available to them and mandated by California employment law**. The contents of an employment management generally includes, but is not limited to:
  • · Employment Policies
  • · Leave from Work and Other Benefits
  • · Vacation and Sick Leave
  • · FMLA
  • · Other state mandated policies
  • · Conditions of Employment
  • · Compensation and Other Administrative Matters
  • · Grievance Policies
  • · Verification of Receipt
  • · At Will Employment Statement
**Always involve a personnel attorney in creating or revising your employment manual

Sample Employment Manual
Creating an Effective Employment Manual for Your Nonprofit
Personnel Policy Manuals

The operations manual will document critical organizational information and general operating procedures. This manual will also improve operational efficiency. The contents of an operations manual generally includes, but is not limited to:
  • · Security Culture/Procedure
  • · File Saving Procedure
  • · Back Up Procedure
  • · Marketing and communications Procedures
  • · New Hire Procedure
  • · Emergency/Evacuation Procedure
  • · Fundraising Filing Procedure
  • · Human Resource/Personnel Filing Procedure
  • · Events Procedures

Operations Manual Template
Operations Manual Example
Operations Best Practices

I provided links to templates and examples so you can easily revise and personalize these manuals to your own nonprofit organization. The important thing is to involve the staff and key board members in the entire process from start to implementation.