All 501(c)(3) organizations are required by law to file some version of IRS Form 990 annually, with the notable exception of churches. Since the establishment of Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), churches have been exempt from this annual reporting requirement. …
A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that donors in that state who gave to charities, only to have the charity use the money for purposes other than that intended by the donor, are due a refund. This precedent-setting decision…
If you had told me three years ago that state-level compliance for nonprofits would someday become more of an issue than dealing with Uncle Sam, I would have been quite skeptical. If you had told me that it would happen…
An Annual Fund is an organized effort to obtain gifts on a yearly basis to support, at least in part, the general operations of a nonprofit organization. These unrestricted funds are typically raised through a combination of special events, direct…
In working with thousands of nonprofit startups over the years, we have often experienced the proverbial glazing over of the eyes when we start talking about things such as bylaws. That’s about the last thing a typical budding social entrepreneur…
It is an unfortunate reality: many self-described tax professionals are not professionals at all. They are more than willing to take a customer’s money for “professional” work that often results in a nightmare situation for the taxpayer. This includes those…
Well, we are pretty much down to it. There are only a few weeks left in 2011…and during much of that time, most of us will be preoccupied with all things Christmas. But in all the hustle and bustle, there…
A Self-Assessment Having worked with thousands of nonprofits over the years, we have seen just about every possible scenario you could think of. At least it seems that way! One of the most common issues we encounter, especially with startups,…
Halloween is upon us…and there is no more appropriate topic that we could cover than how to effectively scare away donors. In the, um, spirit of the season, let’s look at six ways to guarantee donors will want nothing to do with you!