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Sponsor Insight

Mar 30

Feeling more secure about new retirement plan legislation

By Sponsor Insight

By Kevin Kidwell, vice president national tax-exempt sales, OneAmerica®

If you oversee or coordinate your employer-sponsored retirement plan or have a team that’s in charge, you’ve no doubt heard about the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. Passed by Congress and signed by the president on December 19, 2019, it’s a major bill that affects all Americans.

Like any complex piece of legislation, the SECURE Act impacts companies like OneAmerica®, who administer employer-sponsored retirement plans and are now carefully studying the implications. For our experienced professionals, evaluating and addressing the SECURE Act provisions with clients and financial professionals has been a labor of love ─ especially for our tax-exempt business, because, as our leadership has long said, “Tax exempt is in our DNA.”

This landmark legislation, five years in the making, provides the most significant changes to the retirement industry in more than a decade. In general, the most dramatic changes are to traditional 401(k) plans. However, because nonprofits and healthcare organizations, schools and government agencies are unique and complex, it’s equally important for those who represent tax exempt plans to make sure they remain compliant.

Our analysis uncovered three main takeaways that should fuel important discussions for nonprofits:

  1. We have time to sort it out. The IRS and U.S. Department of Labor have yet to provide key additional guidance, and until then “good faith compliance” is the requirement.
  2. It’s unlikely that the legislation will require you to overhaul your existing employer-sponsored plan. The SECURE Act provides more opportunities and options – such as potentially combining forces with fellow organizations – that could allow your organization to take advantage of scale.
  3. Most likely, the government isn’t done making what they see as improvements to the retirement plan landscape. (Note: Effective dates may also be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The SECURE Act contains nearly 30 provisions designed to increase the availability and use of employer-sponsored retirement plans. They may or may not apply to every participant, company or plan.

Here are some areas the SECURE Act may affect:

Accessibility

  • Increases the automatic enrollment cap to 15% for safe harbor automatic enrollment plans. (A safe harbor is a provision in a law or regulation that affords protection from liability or penalty under specific situations, or if certain conditions are met.)
  • Creates opportunities for long-term (by necessity or choice) part-time workers to participate in 401(k) plans.
  • Contains additional provisions that make offering retirement plans more affordable for small businesses, including tax credits (up to $5,000) and elimination of outdated barriers to joining multiple employer plans (MEPs).

Lifetime income

  • While retirement plan sponsors are currently required to regularly notify participants of the value of their plan (including the balance), employers will need to also provide defined contribution participants with an estimate of the monthly income as if an annuity were purchased (even if no annuity option is available).
  • The act provides for a fiduciary safe harbor for selecting a lifetime income provider (usually an insurance company). While selecting a lifetime income option is a fiduciary responsibility, the act absolves the fiduciary of the liability should the provider’s financial condition deteriorate after selection.
  • If a plan-level decision is made to eliminate the lifetime income option, the plan must allow the participant to take an in-kind direct rollover of the option.

Longevity

  • The act removes the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions.
  • The act increases the age for the start of required mandatory distributions (RMD) from age 70.5 to age 72. Those participants between 70.5 and 72 must begin taking the RMD by April of the year following their voluntary exit from their employer or their termination of employment. (NOTE: Due to recently passed CARES Act related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the requirement for RMDs for those over 70-1/2 has been waived for 2020).

HERE ARE SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Are recordkeepers supposed to contact plan sponsors about optional provisions?
A: No. While the SECURE Act provides for increased access to retirement preparation, many of the provisions are optional. Plan sponsors are encouraged to reach out to their record-keeper to discuss the provisions and determine which may be appropriate for their plan.

Q: If an individual didn’t take the Required Minimum Distribution (=

Q: What are these MEPs (Multiple Employer Plans) and PEPs (Pooled Employer Plans) everyone is talking about?
A: The MEPs were available as an option before the SECURE Act. They are typically appealing to organizations where there was a nexus between otherwise unrelated employers and a “commonality of interest” such as an industry association. These opportunities are primarily steered toward 401(k) and while there are advantages, there are also disadvantages.
The SECURE Act created PEPs – Pooled Employer Plans, but that doesn’t apply for tax exempt or 457 government plans (457 is a type of nonqualified, tax advantaged deferred compensation retirement plan that is available for governmental and certain nongovernmental employers).

Q: What’s the post-death beneficiary rule?
A: This applies to retirement accounts where the participant dies and an heir or loved one is the recipient or beneficiary. The money can’t accrue indefinitely and the inheritor(s) is required to deplete that account by the end of the 10th year after the person’s passing, with exceptions provided for minor children of the deceased, disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries or beneficiaries no more than 10 years younger than the deceased. So, someone who inherits a retirement plan account in 2020 will have to have withdrawn it by 2030, noting the exceptions above.

Q: What about the new in-service distribution changes?
A: Section 457(b) government plans reduced the in-service distribution age to 59.5 from what was previously allowed at age 70.5.

Q: What about the penalties?
A: All retirement plans must file a Form 5500 for every year the plan holds assets. Failing to do that will result in penalties for late filing of IRS Form 5500. These fines increase from $25 a day to $250 a day, and the maximum penalty will rise from $15,000 to $150,000.

As the industry continues to comb through the new legislation and awaits required guidance in areas of the legislation that isn’t clear, OneAmerica continues to:

  • Solicit and analyze additional IRS and DOL guidance.
  • Educate plan sponsors on the SECURE Act and its provisions.
  • Engage and partner with plan sponsors to discuss decisions to be made regarding plan changes, including mandatory and optional provisions.

In Kevin Kidwell’s role as vice president of national tax-exempt sales, he works to provide ideas, knowledge, information – both technical and practical – in an effort to facilitate improved plan and participant outcomes. Kidwell has held various positions within the Retirement Services division since 1988. Beginning in 2000, his exclusive focus has been on healthcare and tax-exempt organizations.

Mar 23

Creating award-winning grant proposals: It takes a village

By Sponsor Insight

By Melanie Priest, senior consultant, Hedges

Like the proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child,” it also takes a village to develop competitive grant proposals. The more resources and team members you include when creating grant proposals, the more you will be able to paint a compelling picture of your organization and the project in which you are seeking funding.

With the increasingly competitive nature of foundation grants, best practices suggest including staff, participants, volunteers, community partners, and funders within your organization’s “village” to develop strong proposals. There are more than a million charitable organizations registered with the Internal Revenue Service in the United States (National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2019). Just like fundraising focused on individual donors, it is a competitive world when trying to secure foundation grants.

Your grant proposal may be developed by the best writer around, however it will fall short without preparation, planning, and input from all perspectives of the organization. It is essential to identify and utilize all contributors that comprise your village to set you up for optimal success.

Before creating the most competitive proposal, it is necessary to build your village by getting to know who the funders are in the area.

Find your funder community

Learning about who provides grants in your community is the first step in the grants process. Researching, identifying prospects, and cultivating relationships are key components needed when getting to know the local, regional, and national funding landscapes.

  • Research: There are various databases available to search for funding prospects. At Hedges, we have found that the Foundation Center’s online directory, https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/, is a robust and comprehensive tool providing information about grant funders through keyword and name searches. The directory is available through a paid subscription or for free at the Indianapolis Public Library’s Central Library.

    Additional free resources to conduct your searches include: the IRS informational tax return (also known as the 990) available on guidestar.org, topical list serves, Google searches, foundation websites and newsletters. Of course, word of mouth is also a valuable resource so asking your board of directors, community partners, volunteers, and staff to keep their eyes and ears open for grant opportunities is good practice.
  • Identifying prospects: Once you have identified potential grantors, you will need to narrow your list to only those that are the best match for your organization. Things to consider when identifying prospects include: the focus or purpose areas in which the funder has an interest; similar grants funded, range of grant awards amounts; geographic requirements. Linkages to executive and volunteer leadership are also important.

    Thorough research to determine a match with each prospect is imperative. Determining the priorities and interest areas of each foundation is important down to the keywords used. Even the difference between a food pantry and a food bank is notable as is the differences in college readiness and college-success programs. Without a strong match, there is less of a likelihood that your proposal will be funded.
  • Cultivating relationships: Similar to relationship building with your individual donors, cultivating relationships with foundation staff and board members is critical. This is particularly true with local foundations. Many foundations in Central Indiana encourage or require an in-person meeting, phone call, or other means of communication to share project ideas before an application can be submitted. When in doubt, take every opportunity to get to know funders whenever possible through invitations to coffee, onsite tours and other programming and fundraising events, and engaging funders through social media and other communications.

    Another way to cultivate funder relationships is through networking. Share names of foundation leadership, with your board, staff, and volunteers to determine if anyone has connections. Our clients are often able to get a foot in the door because of board affiliations. And as the relationship is developing, do not hesitate to seek advice from potential funders about the work your organization does. Through the grants process, they have a pulse on the community and what programs are successful. With further cultivation, these relationships then can lead to deeper involvement and increased financial support for the organization over time.

Now that you have identified grant funders, it is time to develop your proposal. Here are two tips you will want to consider when using your village for the most competitive proposal:

  1. Share your story

Most funders want to understand why there is a need for your project and organization and how your organization measures impact. Use available data to strengthen your grant proposals by illustrating the need and the expected results.

  • Community data sources: There are several online tools that provide demographics and statistics by census tract, neighborhood, city, county, region and state. SAVI is a project of The Indiana University Purdue University (IUPUI) Polis Center and is known as one of the first and largest community data-information systems in the country (www.savi.org, 2020). Additional data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau and Stats Indiana. Scholarly articles and studies on the specific issues that your organization addresses are also available through Google Scholar.
  • Measuring impact: To measure impact it is best to create a logic model. The logic model serves as a roadmap for your program and organization, including what resources you need to implement the program, the activities that will take place, the frequency of the activities and number of participants, and how the activities have impacted participants. A comprehensive overview of logic models is described in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide.

    Logic models serve as a foundation for strong impact measurement. By clearly defining the program’s short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes and associated activities, standardized evaluation tools can then be researched to ensure proper measurement of key outcomes. The data to be collected and measured can be captured through a variety of methods including surveys, focus groups, one-on-one interviews, intake forms and staff observations. A few years ago, one of our clients went through a process to develop a comprehensive research-based program logic model. As a result of the logic model and data collection, they were able to show program impact and were awarded a grant from a funder who had declined a grant proposal in the past because there wasn’t a way to show program impact.
  1. Prime your program experts

Tap into your organization’s program experts and make them an integral part of your grant proposal process. Their expertise and input will strengthen every component of your grant proposal. Key program experts include program and financial staff, program participants, community partners, and advocates.

  • Program staff: The program staff are working on the front lines and implementing programs and services. As logic models and proposals are developed be sure to include them in planning to ensure that the project created is feasible and realistic. A logic model can also serve as a strong training tool for new staff. And remember that front line staff can share stories and accomplishments that will help you, the grant writer, make an inspiring and compelling case for support.
  • Financial staff: Program and organizational budgets are another way to share your organization’s story, demonstrating how you plan to utilize the requested grant funds, and why a funder’s investment is important for program or project success. If you aren’t already, become good friends with your organization’s Chief Financial Officer, controller, bookkeeper or other staff that are responsible for the finances. Budgets and other financial statements are frequently required as attachments for grant proposals to show fiscal organizational health. Financial staff are the best resource in ensuring that the information shared with a funder is current and accurate.
  • Program participants: Don’t forget about the most important members of the village – the program participants. Those receiving services know their needs best and should have the opportunity to inform how the programs are designed and how impact is measured and described. Their input can be acquired through surveys, focus groups and interviews, which should be administered regularly.
  • Community partners: Funders are well-informed about nonprofit organizations in the community and want to know how you collaborate in ways that maximize your collective impact and avoid duplication of services. Consider community organizations as additional members of your village and be able to clearly articulate how you work together and what makes your organization distinctly unique from similar organizations in your field.

Rest assured that successful grant proposals are meant to be created collaboratively. In other words, it really does take a village. So, make sure to meet up with your village and create winning grant proposals that will bring more grant awards to your organization.

Melanie Priest is passionate about making Indianapolis a great place to live, having strong connections in the community and helping nonprofits share their stories of impact. For more than 20 years, Priest has worked closely with the Central Indiana philanthropic community to provide creative solutions to complex problems. As senior consultant, she has worked at Hedges since 2012 securing hundreds of grants for Indianapolis nonprofit organizations to ensure they are able to advance their missions.

Mar 02

Term limits: Expert advice on practical application

By Sponsor Insight

By Jan Breiner Frazer, managing member, Planningplus, LLC

Planningplus+ LLC partners with our clients to strategically achieve tangible results, meaningful impact, and a dynamic corporate culture for current and future success. Our core competencies include strategic and operational planning, board development and committee alignment, leadership development, and building the HR infrastructure. As a result of 30+ years of experience, we have developed a number of our own and unique approaches to working with clients.

Here is an idea for you to consider: Are board-term limits always a good idea?

Read any books or articles on board governance and the issue of term limits is always addressed. Best practices mix indicate that board members should have 3-year term limits, allow a year or two off the board, and then they can apply for another term. But is that always a good idea?

In our years of consulting with nonprofit boards, we consistently find that the most significant challenge for the organization is (and always has been) money – keeping the bottom line profitable to be able to serve more in need, recruit and retain employees, upgrade old facilities, add technology, etc., etc., etc. While the executive director is typically the chief fundraiser, along with a chief development officer, boards generally have some type of committees to support those efforts, such as resource development, marketing, public relations.

But from a board member’s perspective, knowing you have only signed on for three years how much long-sustaining work can you really get done?

Yet who better to role model active support during campaigns, fundraisers, and other revenue opportunities than board members who have consistently shown passion for and commitment to the organization over time? Those longer-term board members have lived the ups and downs, challenges and frustrations, and have significant institutional knowledge about the organization. Is it in the best interest of the board to require them to step off the board?

There are both pros and cons for term limits. Establishing term limits ensures the organization can periodically bring on new perspectives, new energy, new passions and new ideas. Oftentimes these fledgling board members can be the ones who ask “why” and challenge thinking. You need them.

You can also reduce the “we tried it and it didn’t work” mantras. Perhaps most important, it is an easy out for board members who sporadically attend board meetings, avoid committee assignments, don’t show up and support events or who just got burned out over time.

On the flip side, there are always board members who have made significant contributions to the organization, both in time and money and want to continue serving. During capital campaigns, critical funding initiatives, and/or turnaround times these board members have already shown the passion for the mission and with their institutional knowledge of the agency can make a case for support.

As an example, one of our long-term clients, Big Brothers Big Sisters, demonstrated the benefits of retaining long-term, active board members during its capital campaign for a new building. According to Darcey Palmer-Schultz, CEO, it was many of those board members, their contacts, and their time commitments that had a direct impact on the outcome of the campaign. Palmer-Schultz believes that long-term board membership is one of the most common threads in the nonprofit’s major donor base, and she cannot imagine achieving the same level of success without them.

Many boards designate an “emeritus” status for high-dollar donors who don’t want to have to attend board meetings but want to be connected. This is often found in fairly large boards. Our recommendation, however, goes a step farther – to designate a class of board members who best understand the organization and its history, who have participated in the tough lessons learned, and who can mentor new board members coming on board. They are active members of the board, attend and participate in board and committee meetings, and otherwise fulfill all the duties of a responsible board member. On an annual basis these members can choose to continue to serve on a year-by-year basis, and could constitute one-third or one-half of the board, dependent on the size of the board. When working with boards we often refer to this group as the leadership council.

Traditional board members are those elected for the three-year term. More often than not, they have done a great job but after serving a regular term are ready to step back and simply volunteer and/or financially support the organization. After a year or two off the board, they are welcome to again serve for a three-year term (assuming they fulfilled all the responsibilities of board members).

Whichever way you go, our point is that enforced term limits may not be in your organization’s best interests. Consider balancing long-term passion and institutional knowledge with the influx of new ideas and perspectives when it comes time for this year’s elections.

Utilizing our history in board development, committee structure, and board/CEO relationships, we can help.

Jan Breiner Frazier, managing member of Planning Plus, has been a consulting professional since 1987. She has designed and facilitated strategic, annual, and operational planning sessions for a multitude of organizations, often bringing together diverse philosophies, opinions, and perspectives to help groups collectively meet stated objectives. Often, her planning projects have resulted in assisting with organizational design and process improvement initiatives. Her work with nonprofit boards and associations has ranged from strategic planning, board development and committee structure to identifying organizational competencies. Prior to her consulting work, she was the personnel/marketing director for a multi-state wholesale/retail organization, with additional experience in administrative management in public accounting, law and utility construction. She can be reached at jfrazier@planningplusllc.com.

Feb 17

Nonprofit-governance course helps graduates improve boards and organizations

By Sponsor Insight

By Leslie Wells, assistant director of communications, O’Neill School at IUPUI

In 2017, Nigena Livingston was building Urban Act Academy, a K to 8 charter school in Indianapolis, from the ground up. She had worked as an educator for more than 15 years, but launching a charter school was unfamiliar territory.

She was beginning to write the school’s charter and establish its founding board, but she lacked clear direction.

“I had been a principal but felt like a novice when it came to being a CEO,” Livingston says. “I needed more information about boards and board management. I wanted to know how to support my board so that we would know we were on track and doing right by our students.”

So she enrolled in IU Executive Education’s Effective Nonprofit Governance certificate course through the O’Neill School. The six-session program includes lessons on the responsibilities of board members, the evolution of a board, how members help with fundraising, and how to best hold CEOs accountable for advancing the organization’s mission.

“The board is essential to any organization’s success,” says Livingston. “If it’s not treated as essential, your organization won’t thrive. This course included all the information I needed to ensure I was recruiting board members who could participate in meaningful ways and advance our organization.”

Shortly before Livingston began her journey, Amanda Leffler — a nursing education consultant who serves on various boards — was elected board president for the Indiana League for Nursing. She says that election aligned perfectly with the Effective Nonprofit Governance program.

“Enrolling in the program was a strategic decision on my part,” she recalls. “This was an opportunity to learn how to govern a board of directors and grow into a new role.”

Leffler says the classes help participants better understand a nonprofit board’s purpose, how it should operate and how board members can help an organization fulfill its mission.

“Understanding the fundamentals taught in this course is critical to knowing where your organization is, where you want it to go, and how to get there,” Leffler adds.

In addition to content, Leffler and Livingston agree that the diversity of their cohorts provided a deeper understanding and context to the lessons they were learning.

“It was helpful to have non-educators in the room with organizations that face similar challenges to us,” Livingston says. “That helped us turn other organizations’ missteps into teachable moments.”

One critical takeaway for both Leffler and Livingston was gaining a better understanding of the various stages of board development and how to help boards progress — or take steps back — to grow alongside the nonprofit.

“I remember when our board was being nice but not being critical,” Livingston says. “Because of this course, I was able to provide leadership about how they should push me. Rather than just talking about what we want to do, we’re now becoming more evidence-based and developing policies.”

Leffler says that learning the five stages of the nonprofit organization lifecycle has given her “an immense advantage” over her colleagues.

“I approach each of the boards on which I serve in a different way depending on where they are in their life cycle,” she says.

She uses that knowledge to mentor her fellow board members and her nursing students.

“This course trains the trainer,” she says. “I took what I learned and pass it on to help others with whom I work grow, as well. I teach my students how to craft an elevator speech because that is something they need to know, no matter where they are.”

The lessons learned in the program extend well beyond the boardroom. Leffler says not only did she learn to be a better board member and leader, she also learned how to apply what she was learning to her everyday life.

“The knowledge and experiences I gained throughout the program are truly invaluable, especially for anyone looking to serve in the nonprofit sector,” Leffler says. “The tools are practical and simple to implement into everyday practice.”

Leslie Wells joined the O’Neill School at IUPUI as its assistant director of communications in 2018. She previously spent more than a decade in broadcast news and three years as media relations manager at the Indiana Youth Institute.

Feb 03

Beyond large donations

By Sponsor Insight

By Genevieve Shaker, associate professor of philanthropic studies, and Abby Rolland, communications project manager, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Small gifts do matter

Nowadays, it’s easy to assume that small gifts* don’t matter. The U.S.’s biggest 50 individual donors gave $7.8 billion to nonprofits in 2018. The percentage of households that give is declining, even though total donations are increasing because major donors are giving more money.

However, small gifts still matter for at least three, important reasons.

First, when combined, small gifts can make a big difference for a cause.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. After disasters strike, the American Red Cross funds shelter, here food and relief items, basic health and mental health services, and other support. In the wake of Harvey, the Red Cross received over one million donations of gifts under $100. These gifts totaled over $35 million. Small gifts and funded immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts for hundreds of thousands of displaced Americans.

Second, small gifts matter to the nonprofit sector as a whole.

In 2016, 53.09% of households gave to charity. While this percentage declined from 2000 to 2016, it illustrates that the majority of American households do donate. These donor households gave an average amount of $2,763, supporting all kinds of nonprofit organizations. Individual donations (including bequests) totaled $331.8 billion in 2018, or 77% of charitable giving. Even though large donations are crucial, many, many small gifts also contributed to this total.

Third, small gifts matter because donors typically begin modestly, giving larger gifts.

World Vision US (WVUS) received its first donations from Dave and Dana Dornsife in the 1980s, when the Dornsifes click began contributing $20 to cover a monthly child sponsorship. Thirty years of continued donations later, and the Dornsifes gave $35 million in matching fund donations from 2011-2015. The match inspired over $256 million in donations, bringing clean water, sanitation and hygiene to 8.6 million people. Good stewardship and donor capacity can combine, leading to larger gifts and inspiring other donors to make contributions.

How can nonprofits and fundraisers build support for and sustain small gifts?

1.) Craft a strategy and fundraising plan that matches the audience at the given gift level.

It’s not sustainable to use the same strategy for a major donor as you would use for an annual fund donor. Tailor targeted approaches for each gift level and population that you’re soliciting and stewarding.

2.) Once you create a strategy, map out a plan and be sure to evaluate it.

Make sure that the strategies you’re using to earn those small gifts are cost-effective for your organization. Always evaluate the solicitation effort and consider what needs to be done differently if necessary. Implement new goals and tactics if previous efforts didn’t work.

3.) Once you identify new donors, create a plan to effectively engage with them.

Invest in communications and donor engagement. Craft a holistic strategy that not only considers the acquisition of a first gift but creates a good experience after the gift is made. Thanks to new technologies, nonprofits now have a range of tools for personalizing donor experiences at all levels.

4.) Show all donors that you know who they are.

Thank them. Spell their names correctly. Recognize donors in communications. Not only does it encourage them to give to your organization again, but nonprofits also have an ethical responsibility to document and demonstrate that their donor information is correct.

5.) Make sure to communicate the impact of giving on the cause.

Overall, donors expect information that tells them about the good they are doing. Not only will this help steward donors appropriately, showing what gifts achieve makes the case for future contributions (and involvement) at various levels.

Every donor should feel valued and know that they and their gift matter. Stewarding gifts properly is a part of our ethical responsibility … and a key to ensuring nonprofits’ financial futures.

*Small gifts may be defined as under $100 but the definition varies depending on the organization.

Genevieve G. Shaker, Ph.D., is associate professor of philanthropic studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI. Her research focuses on fundraising, higher education advancement, philanthropy in the workplace, and philanthropy, public good, and faculty work. She is associate editor of the journal Philanthropy & Education.

Abby Rolland serves as the communications project manager at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and is also working towards a master’s degree in philanthropic studies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Gettysburg College.

Jan 27

5 methods for improving employee work-life balance

By Sponsor Insight

By Barry Newman, senior human resources representative, Synergy

It might be obvious that severely overworked employees will burn out, but what about the harder-to-spot cases of employees who shoulder a little bit too much stress each day?

Improving work-life balance for your employees has been proven to create a more loyal and more productive workforce. While change can’t happen overnight, there are several methods for encouraging a healthier balance and preventing employee burn out.

Retire the nine-to-five mentality

As long as your industry and work product allow for it, try to provide more tailored scheduling for your workforce. This can make a huge impact, since 89% of surveyed professionals stated the number one thing that would improve their work-life balance would be flexible working hours. Look at each position and consider: why must this here employee be here for these exact hours? In many cases there will be certain meetings that need attending, but outside of that, allowing employees to come in early so they can finish their workday early or shift hours in another way can provide a huge boost to morale.

Offer remote working options

Today’s world is a digital one. Just as with business hours that are more flexible than ever, so too is the location from which employees work. Once again, look at each position and ask: ‘Why click does this employee have to physically be here every single day?’ If all they need is an Internet connection and computer to complete the majority of their job, there should be the potential to allow them to work remotely at least one day per month. In fact, the most engaged workers are those working remotely about 60% of the time, indicating a healthy work-life balance is critical to business success. Best yet, offering remote working options can be a great way to increase attractive benefits without adding any cost.

Tweak the office environment

People are products of their environments. Sterile, fluorescent office interiors are no longer in vogue. Employees desire to walk into a warmer workplace, one that is more vibrant and comfortable. While complete overhauls and construction from scratch can cost thousands, even small tweaks to your environment make a big difference. After all, employees spend a great deal of time at work. Think about the minor but impactful changes you can make, such as adding a new couch and TV to the breakroom, providing an unlimited supply of energy drinks and snacks, or putting a picnic table outside during the summer months.

Promote physical and mental health

An employer looking to improve their organization’s work-life balance must also consider physical and mental health, as psychological and physical problems stemming from burned-out employees cost between $125 and $190 billion per year in healthcare in the U.S.

Encourage employees to be active by enacting a step-counting contest or offering a discounted membership to a local gym. Bring in an exercise instructor once per week or month and have a yoga or other class outside at lunch or after work. Grant employees up to a $20 reimbursement for the purchase of well-being apps that can help them meditate or deal with stress in positive ways. Whatever the form it takes, promoting physical and mental health is an essential duty as an employer.

Adopt paid sick leave

Laws requiring paid sick leave are spreading, but even if it’s not a law in your area currently, it’s something that can go a long way to improving employee work-life balance. Many professionals force themselves to come into work when sick simply because they don’t want to take PTO that they’ve planned to use for their vacation or for an activity with loved ones. This is a dangerous trend since that employee who won’t likely match their normal work rate anyway can get co-workers sick. Build a sick leave policy into the employee handbook and benefits package so employees aren’t put in that situation. They will get healthy faster and appreciate their employer more.

5 ways to improve employee work-life balance

Improving employee work-life balance is more than just offering ample vacation time. While discretion will vary depending on the type and size of your organization, boosting employee morale is the duty of all managers, HR employees, and senior staff. Working together to determine what works best for your employees and implementing those strategies is the key to turning your employee experience from a seesaw to a balance beam.

Provide a boost to your HR and make your employees happier.

Barry Newman is a human-resources professional with nearly 50 years of experience in all facets of HR in a variety of industries. For the last 25 of which have been with The Synergy Companies, a leading Professional Employer Organization providing Midwest-based clients with outsourced human resources management, payroll and benefits.

Reach out to Synergy today.

Jan 13

Could your organization become a victim of lifestyle fraud?

By Sponsor Insight

By Chris Mennel, CPA, senior audit manager, Alerding CPA Group

Sometimes it begins with “borrowing” a small amount of money, as a temporary loan from an employer. He or she may be thinking, “I really need this money and I’ll put it back when I get my paycheck,” or “I just can’t afford to lose everything – my home, car, everything.” Or the employee is living beyond his or her means and wants to support an extravagant lifestyle.

Regardless of the rationale, lifestyle fraud is very real. And small businesses and nonprofit organizations are especially vulnerable.

For example, an employee was involved in an accident resulting in several injuries while also experiencing here marital troubles at home. As a result of the injuries, the individual was prescribed narcotics for pain management. She became dependent on the narcotics as a way to relieve her pain and escape her marital troubles. The employee began spending a large amount of money in order to obtain narcotics, which lead her to steal from her employer in order to make ends meet, resulting in a six-figure loss to the organization.

It’s easy to point the finger at this individual and cite statistics about fraud, but what if we could rewind the clock and encourage management to identify this individual as a potential fraud risk. click The organization’s management could have then reviewed internal controls making sure that stealing wasn’t an option. It sounds difficult to do, but the personal stresses mentioned above were well-known by management.

Don’t be a victim

In 2018, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), 28 percent of employee fraud happened in small organizations, the highest number among all employer categories. Small organizations, less than 100 employees, are the most susceptible, because they lack the resources to implement complete systems of internal controls and properly segregate accounting duties among their limited staff.

The types of frauds include corruption, check tampering, skimming, billing and expense reimbursement fraud. Nearly half of the perpetrators were trusted employees who had been with the company from four to five years, worked in the accounting area and were first-time offenders. The median financial loss to these smaller companies was $200,000, the largest among victimized organizations of all sizes.

How to identify lifestyle fraud
Could lifestyle fraud happen to your company or organization?
Here are some signs:

1) Expensive purchases, which were previously out-of-the ordinary for this employee
2) Personal debt and credit problems
3) Behavioral changes indicating drug or alcohol abuse
4) Refusal to take vacation or sick time and refusing promotions for fear of detection
5) Carrying large amounts of money
6) Unwillingness to share accounting responsibilities
7) Uneasiness when being questioned about accounting records

How to stop it before it starts
There are many ways to prevent lifestyle fraud in your organization or business. Here are some strategies:

1) Review your financial process and tighten controls
2) Make sure more than one person has complete control over an entire cash receipts or cash disbursement process
3) Approve every transaction by someone other than bookkeeping
4) Review bank statements by someone other than bookkeeping

Chris Mennel, senior audit manager at Alerding CPA group, oversees audit and accounting services, nonprofit and consulting services. Since joining Alerding CPA Group in 2006, Mennel’s clientele has grown to include several of the firm’s larger for-profit clients as well as approximately 20 nonprofits located throughout Central Indiana. He also prepares financial statement projections and other financial analyses to assist clients with their financing needs.

Lifestyle Fraud can be prevented with the proper controls and processes. If you need help setting them up or would like to discuss a specific concern within your organization, contact Alerding CPA Group at (317) 569-4181 or www.alerdingcpagroup.com

Jan 06

Bridging financial gaps for your nonprofit

By Sponsor Insight

By Dave Voris, Vice President and Regional Manager, Horizon Bank

If you’re an administrator working for a nonprofit organization, you understand the financial challenges behind finding support to do good work.

Big fundraising events or donation drives may bring in large amounts of money all at once, but spreading that money to meet monthly expenses can stress your resources.

For qualifying organizations, Horizon Bank can provide lines of credit (LOC) to help you through leaner times of the year to gap your cash flow needs – cash receipts in and cash payments out — until grants and other funding commitments are received.

It is not unusual for a nonprofit to incur substantial upfront expenses associated with delivering services. Ultimately these are funded by a third party, such as a government agency or a foundation, but the challenge is the lag between the expense on the front-end and the promised funding that may take weeks or even months to come.

Lines of credit have proven to be valuable resources and tool for nonprofits and allow organizations to continue to deliver vital services while awaiting receipt of grants or payments from contract work. After all, salaries, rent, marketing services and other expenses must be paid consistently and on time.

One important caution is that lines of credit should be used only to address a timing discrepancy between expenses payments and cash receipt. Even nonprofits that spend ample time on budgeting, and even have year-end surplus revenues may need to access a line of credit occasionally to fund general operating. When used appropriately, it can help solve the cash flow problem and allow an organization to borrow based revenue that is due and collectible.

Your nonprofit should prepare monthly or weekly cash flow forecasts and revise them over time to keep tabs on repayment of an LOC. Identify when cash will be received that will pay the LOC’s outstanding balance. Remember, borrowers pay interest and funds should be used judiciously, building payment amounts into your year-round budget.

A line of credit can give you access to the funds you need, when you need them — with a manageable payment to help spread those costs out over a longer period of time. This approach can help balance your cash flow, though, in the long run.

When to see us

If you already have a relationship with us, that’s great. We’ll be happy to sit down with you to review your financial trends from the past, discuss your challenges and determine the times of year when you might most benefit from a line of credit.

If you haven’t worked with us before, it’s a good idea to come in and discuss your year-round cash flow trends before you actually need help. That way we can assist you in getting an appropriate plan in place ahead of time.

Here’s what to bring when you come to talk about a line of credit.

  • Commentary about how the organization raises funds, including the identification of sustaining funds.
  • Discussion about what would likely cause or has caused the need for a line of credit.
  • Three years of prior financial statements, including the balance sheet and the cash flow statement so our bankers can review your history.
  • A 12-month cash flow forecast to show the bankers that, despite the request for a line of credit, the organization will continue its self-sustaining capability.

All of this information will help us better understand why you may need short-term financing, and that you’ll be able to repay any debt.

Dave Voris is a vice president in the Indianapolis market for Horizon Bank. As a senior treasury management officer, he works closely with middle market, nonprofits and small business companies in a broad span of industries. His 25 years of business experience have included treasury management, merchant services, and international banking including sales management, client service and implementation management, product management and electronic payment operations.

We also provide longer-term loans for asset purchases such as vehicles or equipment.  Visit one of our Commercial Banking Advisors today.

Dec 16

Pay-gap lessons help student negotiate better salary

By Sponsor Insight

By Leslie Wells, Associate Director of Communication, O’Neill School at IUPUI

Kennedy Jefferies is eight months into her first full-time job. The O’Neill Civic Leadership major accepted a position as the director of preschool ministries for a large church in Indianapolis.

She edits youth curriculum while recruiting and managing 30 to 50 volunteers who lead classes for hundreds of children, provide childcare at church events and work during youth functions.

Jefferies is passionate about her work with volunteers. It’s why she took Marshawn Wolley’s Managing Workforce Diversity class at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI.

“You miss out on opportunities if you don’t know how to leverage diversity,” says Wolley, director of community engagement and strategic initiatives for O’Neill. “Managers are responsible for creating inclusive environments that make everyone feel like they belong and allow their teams to leverage the culturally salient aspects of whoever they are to impact the work experience.”

Jefferies’ volunteers range in age from 8 years old to 82 years old. She’s even using her project from Wolley’s class to pair volunteers with mentors to develop relationships and bridge generational gaps.

“I think we can often be unintentionally exclusive,” Jefferies says. “To overcome that, I wanted to learn how to manage a workforce very different than me.”

That isn’t the only lesson she applied when interviewing for her current job. When the position first opened up, she nearly jumped at the opportunity. But before she jumped, she thought back to a class discussion about salary negotiation, the pay gap and why women earn 85 percent of what men earn. Jefferies learned that research has shown many women simply don’t negotiate.

That was a light-bulb moment for Jefferies.

“We may not understand our own worth,” she says. “We may take an offer because we just want a job. Men are often more willing to assert themselves in negotiations and ask for more. And as they continue to earn raises, women continue to be left behind.”

Wolley’s class helped Jefferies recognize there was something she could do to help close the gap.

“It’s a problem I am personally committed to addressing,” Wolley says. “I tell my students they are worth negotiating and that I expect them to negotiate.”

Jefferies couldn’t shake the discussion. She says the salary offer she received was fine but wasn’t what she really wanted.

“For me, I was so thankful to get an offer that the idea of asking for more seemed greedy,” she says. “But, remembering that class, I knew I should negotiate.”

She researched comparable positions and salaries. She knew she had the grounds to ask for more so she met with Wolley to discuss the offer and her options. He gave her the extra boost of confidence she needed to negotiate.

“Students need that push,” he says. “They need someone to tell them they can negotiate, they should negotiate, and they deserve to negotiate.” 

“(Wolley) really empowered me to do it,” she said. “He told me that — from a man’s perspective — it wouldn’t be a question of whether to negotiate and I should feel that way, too.”

He also provided her with a word of caution: she had to be willing to walk away if she didn’t get what she wanted.

“You aren’t negotiating unless you can walk away,” Wolley says. “Make your case, do your research, and, if they say no, move on to the next thing.”

“That was a really hard concept for me because I really wanted this job,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to walk away, but he told me I had to be willing to do that if I was going to negotiate.”

She picked up the phone and made the call. The woman on the other end told her to email them what she wanted.

Jefferies relied on her research and the cost-savings the church would receive from declining their health insurance. That, she said, should go toward her salary. She wanted extra paid time off, as well. She asked for what she really wanted and she got it — without any hesitation from the employer.

Wolley never had any doubts Jefferies would succeed in her negotiations — and can now use her experience as an example.

“Kennedy’s story provides a connection for other students to know that the things I’m talking about in class are real,” he says. “It’s affirming to see a student trust you, apply the lessons you’re teaching and succeed.”  

Because of those lessons, Wolley’s support, and her own courage to negotiate, Jefferies helped move the needle on the pay gap and change her own thinking in the process.

“I didn’t see the mentality of avoiding negotiation until it was pointed out to me,” Jefferies says. “Women have the ability to change the pay gap. So, why shouldn’t we?”

Leslie Wells joined the O’Neill School at IUPUI as its assistant director of communications in 2018. She previously spent more than a decade in broadcast news and three years as mediarelations manager at the Indiana Youth Institute.

Nov 25

4 simple steps to help attract the right corporate partners

By Sponsor Insight

By Kate Brierty, Consultant, Hedges

It might sound like the makings of a great nonprofit fairy tale that out in communities right now there is a large group of people actively looking for causes to support and nonprofits to fund. These people are in every town, available across the country, and can even share your story with global audiences.

This isn’t just a nonprofit fantasy but the current reality of Corporate-Nonprofit partnerships in the United States. Having an effective Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy has been a clear priority for many businesses over the past few decades. Companies have developed volunteer programs, provided resources for community groups, helped sponsor events, provided pro-bono services in their field of expertise, and even given direct financial support.

Recent studies show that corporate participation in this wide range of CSR activities is only growing:

  • The vast majority of corporations are thinking about community impact.
  • Companies are being held accountable for “doing good.”
  • More corporations are becoming funders.
    • Giving by corporations totaled $20.05 billion in 2018, which is an estimated increase of 5.4% over the previous year (Giving USA 2019)

This growing focus on effective CSR strategy has solid logic behind it. Studies over the past decade have shown that a strong CSR program can increase employee engagement, decrease turnover, increase productivity, attract applicants, increase sales, boost company reputation and a lot more. And, lucky for nonprofits, the easiest way for a company to design that strong CSR program is to align itself with an organization already doing amazing work. Corporations seem to have noticed that pursuing a partnership program with a nonprofit makes good business sense.

For nonprofits, this means there is a pool of potential corporate partners looking for the right nonprofit for them. It also means that if you are not currently engaging with these corporations, you are missing a substantial opportunity for partnership that could potentially provide support through provided services, access to resources, financial sponsorship, and whole new audiences to serve as your future volunteers, donors, advocates, board members, or staff.

However, there is a caveat — not all partnerships are created equal and not all of them will lead to that long list of positive results for both parties.

With so much opportunity, it’s important to be discerning and strategic with who and where you choose to engage.

So, how do you engage in ways that maximize benefits and minimize risks for everyone involved? There is no perfect answer but taking these four simple steps at the start can set up for the type of successful partnership that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between your nonprofit and a corporation.

#1: Start with clarity on your brand and purpose

Corporations are looking for nonprofit partners that will be a good fit for their mission, brand’s reputation, and business interests. That means they are going to prioritize aligning themselves with organizations that have already demonstrated a strong value add to the community and have a history of results. In order to show them you are that perfect community partner, start by getting crystal clear about the importance of your work and how amazing you are at doing it.

Make the time to sit down with your team and talk about the concrete things you want to message to partners:

  • What makes your organization such an integral part of your community?
  • How you would describe your mission to potential partners?
  • What companies would also benefit from your vision being reached? How you would describe your work to each of them?

Then consider your own purpose in approaching corporate partnership.

  • Are you looking for volunteers to help expand your program reach? Then you might not be looking for a small startup without employee hours to spare.
  • Are you searching for a partner to sponsor a new pilot program? Then you might be looking for someone with technical expertise to lend their services or someone with the ability to fund big projects.
  • Are you trying to expand your own audience through their employees and customers? Then you’ll probably want to be thoughtful about approaching partners with mutual interests that are more likely to have an audience that is responsive to your message.

There are a lot of amazing things a corporate partnership can do for your organization, but your resources and time are far too important to be spent fully engaging with any partnership offer that comes your way. Get specific about why you are putting your energy into a partnership so everyone on your team can easily say “yes” to the right opportunity and “no” to the wrong fit.

#2: Take time to build the relationship

Once you have message clarity, decide who needs to hear it. Many organizations already have some relationships built with potential partners. Maybe you have a local business that is consistently a table sponsor at your annual gala or your board member’s firm has mentioned how they’re looking for new ways to give next year. That’s great, but don’t jump to the ask just yet.

Building a true partnership with a corporation requires a bit more of a commitment from both sides than an annual donation or a single event sponsorship. Your approach needs to reflect that deeper commitment. Being a strong partner means you are sharing the message of your vision, mission and goals with corporate partners. Let your potential partners know what you’re about, so they can decide if your particular brand and impact works for them right now.

Then ask them to answer similar questions to confirm it’s the right fit:

  • Why is the nonprofit partnership a priority for them?
  • What missions are attractive to them and how are they uniquely positioned to benefit those missions?
  • Get technical and ask about the benefits they want beyond the good feelings. Are they looking for employee engagement opportunities? Are they hoping to strengthen their connection in the local community? Are they looking to invest in an innovative new program that will highlight their name?

You can’t craft a strong partnership (or even choose a strong partner) without both parties openly sharing what motivates them and what goals they have for the relationship. Start here with every potential partner!

#3: Have an idea of what you want, but be open to co-creation

While you should enter into your partnership conversations with an idea of what type of benefits are worthwhile, you should not approach your partners with a rigid list of options and corresponding partnership levels. Partners want this process to feel easy and to feel like you have an idea of where they might fit. Most partners also want to feel like the plan is a co-creation that includes their insights and wishes. There needs to be a balance.  

You and your team should consider your full range of opportunities and specifically name where partnership could be a benefit.

For example, if your program involves providing a lot of community trainings consider how partners could help you expand your reach by: providing free space, sponsoring transportation for participants, volunteering as trainers in their expertise, or holding an employee fundraising campaign to cover participant costs.

This is the time to get creative and consider how partnership could help you pilot new programs, reduce the burden on your staff, or reach entire new audiences. Just be sure all the partnership options you are creating would push you closer to your goals without creating more of a burden than it is worth.

By the time you create a plan with an identified corporation, you should know them well enough to understand what type of work your partner is looking to do and what benefits they are hoping to receive. The proposal you bring them should feel tailored to their expressed desires and needs. Then together you can talk about what appeals to them and make edits or adaptations until the proposal is a perfect fit for both teams.

Important note: Proposal perfection is not possible unless the right people have a voice in the design and decision-making.

  • Is your partner trying to create a workplace-giving option that will increase employee engagement? Then there is definitely a need for employees to help design that experience.
  • Are you looking for partnership that will decrease your program staff’s workload? Someone from the program team should certainly be a part of preparing the plan.

Ensuring you have the diversity of perspectives from these beginning stages will help you craft a much stronger partnership plan that is inclusive of the very people that will be making it all happen.

#4: Know your worth

For any corporate-nonprofit partnership to be successful, there must be mutual benefit. As we already mentioned, nonprofit partnerships and CSR programs can have enormous benefits for corporations. They are not simply doing you a favor. Working with the right partners should feel like you’re doing business together in pursuit of a shared vision.

A few dos and don’ts to help ensure you are building an equal partnership:

  • DO get to know some of the statistics about the benefits of a strong CSR program, and share the relevant ones in your partnership conversation.
    • Are they worried about attracting top talent? Share that Cone research from 2016 found that 58% of all job candidates and 79% of millennial job candidates consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work.
    • Are they trying to increase employee engagement? Let them know in 2019, Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship reported that 95% of companies with volunteer programs report a positive correlation between volunteer participation and employee engagement scores.
  • DON’T be shy about advertising the specific benefits your organization brings to the table.
    • Do you have a large number of community connections in the spaces where their employees live and work?
    • Are you a trustworthy connector for interns or future employees for their corporation?
    • Can you co-create social media content with them that will reach a wide audience?
  • DO ask for the specific benefits you are looking for from a corporate partner and DON’T be afraid to walk away if a partner isn’t a good fit.
    • Never design a partnership plan that won’t help you reach your goals.
    • Always avoid providing benefits that create more work than the benefits you receive in return.

The benefits for true partnerships between corporations and nonprofits are getting stronger every year. Once you find the right partner to work with you, both of your teams can start to see the real impact of those benefits. It’s not a fairy tale, it’s just good business.

Kate Brierty is passionate about asking the right questions to help individuals and groups have conversations and make decisions that will create real impact for the people they serve. In all her work as a consultant at Hedges, she is focused on pursuing meaningful results while keeping people at the center of her work.