Does a successful nonprofit organization benefit from forming a separate organization (usually an Auxiliary or Foundation) to focus on the important tasks of community outreach, fund raising, and public/donor relations? You’ve probably noticed some tax exempt organizations, including colleges, hospitals, and even museums, have a completely separate organization that focuses solely on those outside functions and not the mission of …
Foreign Operations for a Domestic Nonprofit
I’m sometimes asked if it’s legal for a domestic (US based) nonprofit organization (NPO) to conduct business and operations in a foreign county. The short answer is yes. That said, like most items relating to compliance and nonprofits, there are exceptions along with several important concepts and issues that need to be kept in mind. Read on to find out …
Fiscal or Calendar Year end, what’s the Difference and why should I Care?
Organizations define a 12-month period on which they will consistently report financial statements and tax and other information returns to various federal and state regulatory agencies including the IRS and Department of Revenue. A calendar year is January 1 through December 31. A fiscal year is some other 12-month period. Any combination will do as long as it’s a full …
Why maintain an Asset List and what is Capitalization anyway?
It’s true that a nonprofit organization’s (NPO) tax exempt status usually means there are no tax consequences to expensing or capitalizing new purchases. But it’s important to track major assets and know when to expense or capitalize. When a new item (furniture, equipment, buildings, etc) is purchased the NPO must either expense the item in the current period/year or capitalize …
Foreign Qualification (conducting nonprofit business outside of your home state)
Qualification Process – to do business in state which is outside of incorporated state. 1. State level certificate of authority form. Usually filed with Secretary of State office. a. The form usually requires the basic info of the nonprofit entity – name, address, directors and officer names, purpose/mission, and certificate of good standing from home state. b. Filing fee usually …
Governance Considerations for Mid Size and Maturing Nonprofits
As a nonprofit organization moves past the startup phase, cash flow begins to stabilize and Net Assets continue to grow, it’s important to keep an eye toward the future. Read on to learn of some standard tools that can help guide a successfully maturing nonprofit organization. Even if your organization already has a loyal donor base and enjoys successful fundraisers, Endowment …
Guidelines for Accepting Donations
Donations In Kind Recording in-kind donations of goods and certain professional services provides a means of recognizing and valuing contributed services and property at their fair market values at the time of contribution. Recordable transactions must have a verifiable fair market value. According to GAAP, donated professional services are recorded only if the service provided requires specialized skills and is …
Charitable Contributions for Businesses
Can businesses make cash and property (in kind) contributions to charitable organizations? Are they deductible? And how is the deduction actually taken? These are common questions to a common situation facing many small business owners and leaders of non profit exempt organizations. Like most tax questions, the answer requires more than just a yes or no. Yes, all types of business organizations …
Governance Issues for Boards of Directors
So you’ve been asked to serve on a local non profit board and you’re wondering what all it might entail. Or maybe you are already on a board and have a feeling it could/should be run a little different, but you don’t have anything to compare it against. Well fear not and read on. There is a plethora of available …
Silent Auction Fundraisers
Silent Auctions are a common fundraising activity for non profit exempt organizations (NPO). They typically include two separate transactions, and it’s important to handle and track them correctly. Here are some helpful guidelines for accepting donations of goods (commonly called ‘in-kind’) and receipts for the winning bidder. Part 1 – Donors of in kind goods to a silent auction …
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