Image by Richard Elzey via Flickr

Whew, what a week for us, we were without power for 4 days, even though we did not have much rain, and winds were no worse than some of the N’or-easter’s that come through. It was interesting “camping out” at home. Our hearts go out to those with real damage, flooding and trauma.

Here are my picks for the week:

1. Hurricane Irene and the Nonprofit Social Media Storm from NTen:

We know our friends over at the Red Cross have been expertly using social media for disaster response for years now, but this weekend, with Hurricane Irene set to touch down all along the east coast, we saw many other organizations and government entities reaching out via social media, as well.

2. Get the Most Value from Your Audit from Blue Avacado and Denise Walsh, CPA:

Many nonprofits have annual CPA audits, but the executive director and/or the board’s finance or audit committee may be unsure whether they are getting the most out of the audit. A worthwhile question for the board to ask might be: “Are we getting the most out of this significant investment of money and time?”

3. Foursquare (a geo-locating site where you can find information & friends)  can help promote your location & NPO: Five Types of “Tips” Nonprofits Can Post on Foursquare Venue Pages from Nonprofit Tech 2.0

…five different types of “Tips” that your nonprofit can post on Foursquare Venue Pages using your nonprofit’s Foursquare Page (not your personal Foursquare account) to both gain new followers and inspire the Foursquare community. That said, some things to keep in mind when posting Tips:

4. 7 Things Nonprofits Can Talk About on Facebook Besides Themselves from Social Strand Media:

…there are other things besides press opportunities and fundraising or awareness events that your fans are interested in learning more about. As I’ve talked about before, social media is about being social, so when you talk only about yourself or your organization, it gets old quickly. Spice it up. Here’s a list of 7 things a nonprofit can talk about on Facebook besides themselves…

5. This is a fun one…which persona are you? The Six Personas Of Social Media Sharing from John Haydon:

The New York Times partnered with Latitude Research to conduct a study to understand why people share content.

By conducting in-person interviews, “sharing panels”, and surveying over 2500 participants, they were able to define sharing six personas

Have a safe Labor Day Weekend!!

Related articles

• Around the web Aug 26 for NPOs (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• Around the Web Aug 19 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Summer has arrived in New England…finally. The heat is on…

1. From Frogloop, Who Is Most Likely To Support Causes Online? Social Media And Ethnicity By The Numbers interesting facts from Georgetown University Center for Social Impact Communication.

While it’s wise to view studies in which people predict their charitable behavior with some caution, this study provides super useful insight into how ethnicities perceive social media and its effectiveness in catalyzing cause involvement.

2. From Blue Avacado: Outsource Your Bookkeeping! What is the best way to manage accounting for a small NPO?

When is outsourcing a good idea?

Outsourcing tends to work the best when:

• A smaller organization doesn’t need a full-time bookkeeper, but needs more skills than the receptionist or office manager can provide
• An organization of any size can’t find a full-time person with the appropriate skills at a cost they can afford
• There have been multiple failures trying to hire a good full-time bookkeeper
• When temporary services are needed — e.g, if the bookkeeper is on maternity leave, or if there will be a vacancy of several months (perhaps to wait until a new COO is hired who will then hire the bookkeeper)

3. From The Chronicle of Philanthropy: 275,000 Groups Lose Tax Exemptions After Failing to File Paperwork With IRS

The Internal Revenue Service said today that 275,000 nonprofits have lost their tax-exempt status because they did not file legally required documents for three consecutive years. That move trims the number of tax-exempt groups by about 14 percent.

Many of the groups that lost their exemptions are charities, and donors to those organizations cannot claim a charitable deduction for gifts to the groups after the IRS makes the list official.

The IRS posted the names of the groups that lost their status.

Search the Database: Groups That Have Lost Their Tax-Exempt Status

Although the economy is getting better, donors are not too confident, but will increase giving if they hear a compelling story about how to help people impacted by the recession, the editor of The Chronicle of Philanthropy told a packed audience at the recent annual meeting of Women in Development of Greater Boston.

Your fans don’t go to your Facebook Page to read your latest post. They don’t go to your Facebook Page to like or comment on your posts either.

It All Happens In The New Feed

Facebook users stay connected to their friends (and Pages they’ve liked) by scrolling down their News Feed, which is the default view for all Facebook users after logging in at facebook.com.

Become a Fan of The Non-Profit Toolbox “like” us on Facebook

Related articles

• Around the Web May 20 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• Around the Web May 26 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

Jane B. Ford

Small nonprofits, especially those whose annual incomes are less than $25,000, face many challenges, not the least of which is figuring out what forms to file with the IRS.  It used to be that nonprofits whose income was less than $25,000 were exempt from filing.  Then the IRS required all nonprofits to file, allowing those whose incomes were less than $25,000 to file Form 990-N (which can be done by e-Postcard). Those organizations who failed to file by 2010 could lose their nonprofit status.

Fortunately, the e-Postcard is a simple form that can be done in ten minutes as long as the nonprofit has the following information:

• Employee Identification Number
• Your nonprofit’s legal name
• Any DBA names used
• Statement that your gross receipts normally are less than $25,000 annually
• Nonprofit’s mailing address
• Website address (if you have one)
• Name and address of one of your nonprofit’s principal officers

There is good news for nonprofits in 2011.  First, the IRS has raised the annual income for filing Form 990-N to $50,000 or less.  Second, the Urban Institute has created a web site that allows you, at no cost, to electronically file this form (http://efile.form990.org) . This site also offers 990 filing opportunities for larger organizations that can save time and avoid errors.

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1.  HOW TO: Use Facebook Questions for Your Nonprofit by NonProfit Tech 2.0. Want to ask questions on your page? This article explains the how’s and why’s.

2. 16 Ways To Get More Comments On Your Facebook Page by John Haydon.

Getting fans to comment on your Facebook Page can take a lot of time and effort. And it can sometimes be painful seeing other Facebook Pages who make engagement look easy.

But even the most active Facebook Page walls began from a standing start. And many of them got to where they are today by making it easier for fans to comment on their Page.

3. Twitter Community Organizing Rules for Non Profits from Beth’s Blog. A post by Robin Stephenson with ten rules to follow when using Twitter.

4. Say “No” to Money (to Make Money) from N-Ten, a post from CEO and Founder of give2gether, Arnon Shafir.  Something everyone should think about:

Say “no” to money. We dare you.

Believe it or not, sometimes saying ‘no’ to money helps the money pour in. Counter-intuitive? Yes. But does it work? Yes!

5.  Storytelling: Up Close and Personal from Frogloop.

Nonprofit campaigners and fundraisers need to take a step back and focus on re-connecting with their members – not treating them like ATM machines or clicktivism robots.

How can you start re-connecting with your members and potential supporters?  Tell your story.  And I don’t mean a boring one that’s been edited 10x by senior management and contains wonky policy messaging. Tell a real story. No red tape. No policy jargon.

Here’s some tips to think about as you experiment and go down your storytelling route.

We are so pleased with our line-up of speakers for the Mini-Conference on Tuesday, and as we have counted down, we have featured many of the talented and experienced people that will be there to talk to you and answer any questions you may have on a variety of topics.

Our #1 Reason to come to the Mini-Conference has to do with 2 of our outstanding speakers:

Timothy S. Bell

Tim Bell will be opening out Mini-Conference with a topic that we all may not want to hear, but we need to hear TAXES.

Tim is with Malloy, Lynch, Bienvenue, LLP, a local CPA firm located in Norwell and Brewster, MA.

Tim will be speaking about recent tax changes including: Massachusetts Form PC Filing Changes, IRA Charitable Rollover, What’s FIN 48 got to do with Form 9907, Small Employer Health Insurance Credit.

So if these are things you don’t know about, maybe you better come to the Mini-Conference tomorrow!

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Steve Dubin, President of PR Works

Steve Dubin of PR Works will be speaking about: PR – Visibility and Credibility for your organization.

Steve believes that PUBLIC RELATIONS provides a third-person credibility not obtainable through paid advertising. Editor-approved information is said to have 10 times the impact of traditional, paid advertising. In effect, the media blows your horn for you and, if well orchestrated, you can name the tune.

Find out from Steve how PR Works.

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We are so pleased with our line-up for our March 22 Mini-Conference at the Rockland Holiday Inn!

We hope you will be able to Join Us, 8:00am-12:30pm!

Along with some of the best on the South Shore: Susan Hammond, Jane Ford, Nadine Pfautz, Jacqueline Collins, and J. Keith Phifer we have some Recent additions:

Steve Dubin

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* Steve Dubin of PR Works recently agreed to join us to talk about: PR – Visibility and Credibility for your organization.

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Timothy S. Bell, CPA

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* Timothy Bell, CPA of Malloy, Lynch, Bienvenue LLP has agreed to speak about 2011 Tax updates, and be there throughout the conference with his partner Robert Lynch to answer questions.

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Learn more about Steve and Tim  and all of our speakers from our Speakers Page.

Find the Agenda for the morning on our event page.

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And we want to welcome our sponsors:

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(there is still room for more…contact Lisa (at) thetoolboxinc.com)

Next Mini-Camp set for Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Thank you all for helping us with the survey to decide what topics will be of interest to you at our March 22 Mini-conference!

This is what we will have:

• “The Ask” to help folks who are afraid to ask for donations (Jane Ford)
• “Yes, It Applies to You Also” – A discussion of various employment laws that apply to non-profits as they hire, fire and everything in between. (Nadine Pfautz)
• Managing expectations, How to Get More from Your Board (Susan Hammond)
• Building Your NPO’s Raving Fan Base (Lisa Morrisey)
• How to limit liability for the officers and directors of a non-profit (Attorney J. Keith Phifer)
• Using Facebook & Linkedin (Reiko Beach)

Hope you can attend!

Member Rate: $49

Non-member, early booking: $79 (bring a second person $49)

[Register here]

Susan C. Hammond

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post many boards lack an understanding of what it costs to operate the organization they have stewardship over.  This lack of financial intelligence stems from many factors not the least of which is insufficient orientation and overall poor financial literacy.

As a board chair or nonprofit CEO you can create a more financially intelligent board.  Consider the following five steps:

1. Understanding the organization’s financial statements. Many board members think because a Finance Committee exists there is no reason the rest of the board needs to understand the financial information.  Invite the outside CPA firm or the Finance Committee chair to explain.  Make sure both the audited (or reviewed) and the internal financial reports are explained.
2. Understanding the key metrics of the organization. Key metrics are operating and financial data that can quickly explain what is happening in the organization.  Without having to analyze the financial statements, they can indicate a problem is developing.
3. Benchmarking the organization against industry standards for similar organizations and nonprofit organizations overall.  Any significant variances need to be explained.  From the explanation the governing body can decide if and what action needs to be taken.
4. Comparing multiple period operating results and key metrics to see what trends are developing. Understand what a trend is indicating. At a minimum compare this year month and year-to-date to the prior year month and year-to-date.
5. Talking to the front-line staff about what they are seeing or experiencing. You would be surprised what the people in the trenches can tell the senior staff and board about the “business.”

If you are an active and financially literate board member what information do you review?

Susan C. Hammond (principal of scHammond Advisors) consults with nonprofit organizations on board governance, strategic planning, improving financial intelligence, and the formation of advisory councils.  She is a consultant, speaker, facilitator, and author.  She previously served as the CFO for a museum and other nonprofit organizations. Susan is the author of the Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board.

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