By Chris Mennel, audit manager, Alerding CPA Group As your nonprofit strives to use its resources as effectively as possible, at some point, you might consider outsourcing the functions that fall under your accounting and financial umbrella. Nonprofits often outsource areas that require specialized knowledge or a significant number of hours, such as payroll processing […]
By Zachary Kester, JD, LLM CFRM, Charitable Allies Spending too much on overhead is bad. But how much is too much? While scholars agree that the 15 percent line implicitly reflected in Part IX of the Form 990 is too low, what’s the sweet spot? And, maybe more importantly, what do funders think? Both scholars and […]
By Amir Pasic, Eugene R. Tempel Dean, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Judging by the proliferation of research-inspired ventures, it may seem we’re in a golden age of philanthropic knowledge creation. But we are not focusing enough of our efforts on basic research. Given the urgency of finding better ways to solve pressing […]
By Mike Bensi, advisor, FirstPerson I was flipping through some old school papers I’ve hung on to for far too long and found my notes from Michael Porter’s book, Competitive Advantage. If you haven’t heard of Michael Porter, here’s a great summary of him and the business ideas and strategies he’s shared over the years. In this particular […]
by Yvonne de Calonne & Michelle (Micki) Siner Certainly, complying with self-dealing rules and following the letter of the bylaws are requirements of fiscal responsibility. But they may be just the minimum requirements. Here are three ways for boards to further exercise their fiscal responsibility. 1. Assure the agency stays within its budget Prepare a realistic budget. […]
By Angela E. White, CFRE, senior consultant and CEO, Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates Giving USA released its annual estimates of U.S. charitable giving in June for 2016, and the results show overall growth during a presidential-election year filled with national tumult and impending policy changes. Giving USA 2017: The Annual Report on Philanthropy reports that […]
By Ann M. Merkel, Senior Vice President and Chief Market Development Officer, The National Bank of Indianapolis Congratulations! As the leader of your nonprofit, you have successfully led your team in growing and fulfilling your organization’s mission. In fact, your organization is serving more people than you ever envisioned — or planned for! As we […]
By Jeremy York, HR Field Representative, the Synergy Companies Most people are familiar with the term job description. It is the document that outlines items such as job responsibilities, experience, education, skills, etc. A dreaded document that most managers hate to prepare or fail to see the overall importance of having such a list. But […]
By Andy Canada, senior consultant, Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates A development audit is a great “barometer” to measure the capabilities of your development office and to establish goals and strategies for future success. This internal assessment is a rare opportunity to get a fresh perspective on a strong development program and can allow you to […]
By Jim Simpson, CPA and director, Financial Technologies & Management In the nonprofit community, outsourcing typically means long-term delegation of key operation to outside experts. The accompanying expectation is improvement of the quality, strengthening effectiveness, and lowering or controlling costs. A key difference in the nonprofit sector is not only controlling costs, but becoming a […]