Wendy Biro-Pollard

It’s Tax Season For Nonprofits Too

April 7, 2009 by Wendy Biro-Pollard Leave a Comment

Just because your organization is a nonprofit does not mean that it can sit back and ignore the tax filing season. In particular, it’s very important for small nonprofits to understand that while they may not have had to file anything with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the past, they now may have a new form to file, called the e-Postcard (or Form 990-N).The Pension Protection Act requires small organizations that normally have $25,000 or less in gross receipts to file an annual electronic notice with the IRS. This means that many small organizations — like local sewing leagues, sporting clubs and food pantries — may need to file the e-Postcard to protect their tax-exempt status. There are, however, some exceptions to this filing requirement. For example, an organization that is part of a group return or is a church, its auxiliary or an association of a church is not required to file the e-Postcard.

The first e-Postcard filings were due in 2008. For many organizations that missed this deadline, there are only two years left to start complying with the new rule. It is critical to note that organizations that do not file for three consecutive years will automatically lose their tax-exempt status. If you work with a nonprofit organization — especially a small one that never had to file with the IRS before — check with your leadership team to see if they are aware of this new form. And help spread the word about the e-Postcard to other small nonprofits in your town.

How to File
The e-Postcard can only be filled out and filed online, but you do not need any special software to do so. You just need access to a computer and the Internet. Visit www.irs.gov/charities and click on “Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations” to learn more about the e-Postcard and to access the form.

It requires a few pieces of identifying information about your organization and should only take a few minutes to fill out. But it is important to take the time to do so in order to protect your organization’s tax-exempt status.

Know Your Deadline
Unlike personal income taxes, the e-Postcard does not have a universal deadline. Instead, it depends on the closing date of each organization’s tax year, so your deadline may be different from another nonprofit in your town.

The rule is that the e-Postcard is due by the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of the organization’s tax year. For example, if your tax year closes on Dec. 31, the form is due by the following May 15.

More Information

For the latest information for tax-exempt organizations, sign up for the EO Update, a regular e-newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, at www.irs.gov/charities. To get more information about maintaining tax-exempt status, go to the IRS Web-based training program, www.stayexempt.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Filed Under: Blog, Nonprofit Management Tagged With: e-Postcard, Nonprofits

Speed Up the Board Recruitment Process!

April 5, 2009 by Wendy Biro-Pollard Leave a Comment

Imagine getting excited about volunteering for something, and then waiting six or seven months before you actually get to do it. Can we accelerate the process by “pre-qualifying” candidates?

One of the most frustrating parts of board recruitment is the length of time — often months — between talking with a prospect and then bringing him onto the board . . . months during which the candidate usually becomes less interested. For instance, a person might be tentatively asked in January, discussed by the governance/nominating committee in February, have her name brought to the board for discussion in March, officially interviewed/asked in April, elected by the board in May, and her first board meeting is in July! Some boards invite potential recruits to observe a board meeting before deciding whether to join, which adds even more time.

To accelerate this process, some boards invite candidates to the board meeting at which they will be voted on. The hitch, of course, is that it makes it very difficult for a board NOT to approve someone who is already in attendance (albeit asked to sit in the hall for a few minutes).

Instead, think about “pre-approving” some candidates. Often a few names arise of people who are already known well by several other people on the board: perhaps a community leader, a mayor, a long-term activist, and so forth. In such cases, the board can have a preliminary discussion about the candidate and provisionally approve him or her as a board member. The full board then cedes to the governance committee the power to make a final decision on the candidate based on the outcome of the governance committee’s discussion with him or her. The committee members will interview the candidate, then quickly discuss among themselves how the interview went. If the committee members agree, the person can be immediately notified of his or her acceptance, and can attend the next board meeting.

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Filed Under: Blog, Board Development Tagged With: Board Recruitment, Governance committee, Volunteering

Tracking the Value of Volunteer Contributions

March 31, 2009 by Wendy Biro-Pollard Leave a Comment

I was cautioned early in my career, never to say that volunteers save money. Unless you are prepared to deduct all program expenses, it’s best to look at volunteers as enhancing services to clients and community and building organizational capacity.

Tracking volunteer hours is important to funders, good data for annual reports, and important when recognizing volunteer contributions.

The Independent Sector tracks the value of volunteer hours. The most recent figure is $19.51, which includes a 12 percent estimate for fringe benefit costs. This figure does not adequately account for individuals who provide specialized skills like attorneys.

By 2010, almost 64 million boomers are poised to retire. They represent a highly educated work force. As they begin knocking on nonprofit doors and offering more specialized skills, it is in your organization’s best interest to find a simple way to track the value of these hours.

One way is way is to utilize volunteer management software. My favorite is Volgistics. You determine the value of the job based on what the local market will bear, plug in the figure and the software does the rest. Volunteers enter hours through your website portal and they are downloaded into your database.

The Points of Light Foundation has created a free tool, a which makes it possible to estimate the appropriate wage rate for volunteer time based on the volunteer’s position.

The calculator is simple to use! You just need to search for the job description and enter the number of hours given by the volunteer. Repeat this process until all volunteer hours have been entered. The system will automatically calculate the total for each job category and for the total across all volunteer jobs.

Calculating the value of volunteer hours is just one step in measuring your volunteer program’s effectiveness.

For more information about tracking volunteer hours and determining their value, check out the following articles:

“Tracking Volunteer Time to Boost Your Bottom Line,” by Dennis Walsh, CPA.

“Pro Bono Work Pegged At $120/hour,” The Nonprofit Times, March 30, 2009

Articles and reports on this topic, EnergizeInc.com

Filed Under: Blog, Nonprofit Management Tagged With: Volunteer, Volunteer Hours

You Can Organize Volunteers with Free Online Tool

March 12, 2009 by Wendy Biro-Pollard Leave a Comment

What is VolunteerSpot?
VolunteerSpot is a free, online sign-up tool that makes grass-roots volunteering easier. Volunteer leaders now have the ability to easily and quickly mobilize and coordinate volunteers in their community, congregation or social network.

VolunteerSpot is the brain child of Karen Bantuveris, an Austin, Texas, management consultant who launched the website in the fall of 2008. “I got involved with volunteering through leadership positions in PTA and Scouts,” she said. “Anyone who has volunteered knows how difficult it can be to organize groups of people. There are a lot of phone calls, sign-up sheets and back-and-forth e-mails. Good people sometimes stop volunteering because it’s such a hassle.”

How does VolunteerSpot work?

There are three simple steps.

The leader creates a schedule of volunteer needs on the online calendar and invites people to sign up with an e-mail.
Volunteers click a link to see what spots are available and choose when and how they want to help.
VolunteerSpot sends automated confirmation and reminder messages which help everyone keep their commitments.

Because all of this happens in real-time, the schedule is always current. This significantly reduces coordination time and makes the process easier for everyone.

VolunteerSpot will always offer a free service to local-level volunteers. They will, however, charge corporations and groups wanting to brand the Web site, and will be adding premium features, such as hours tracking.

“We’re thrilled with the positive customer feedback and how fast we are spreading to new groups,” says Karen. “It feels good to already be helping so many people.”

Volunteer leaders have received a real gift from this free management tool. Karen’s goal is that grass-root groups and nonprofits from all over the United States will use their Web site to make a big difference in their communities.

Filed Under: Blog, Volunteer Management Tagged With: Grass Roots, Nonprofits, Volunteer Management

Giving Is Good For Your Health

March 9, 2009 by Wendy Biro-Pollard

During times of economic downturn, you may have to dig a bit deeper into your pockets to make charitable contributions. However, you can still end up better off. In addition to the tax breaks giving can bring, as it turns out, giving is also good for your health.

“Several studies over the years have found links between altruistic behavior and improved physical and psychological health,” says Dr. Ann Vincent, an internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic who researches the mind-body connection. “In general, I think altruism makes people feel better about themselves, which often translates into improved physical health. Other benefits that have been attributed to positive emotions include: enhanced creativity and ability to cope with stress and broadened cognition. In essence, thinking positively about ourselves is good for our physical and mental health.”

But the benefits of giving, whether in the form of volunteerism or making a donation, aren’t just a one-time deal. The more you give, the better you may feel, and that means finding ways to give back throughout the year. Generosity is also a wonderful survival skill to help you get through difficult times in your life.

“Recent studies have examined individuals who have survived trauma, natural disasters and being prisoners of war,” says Dr. Edward T. Creagan, an oncologist at Mayo Clinic. According to Creagan, people who seem to thrive in adversity have many characteristics in common, but especially a few:

A sense of connectedness. The recognition that family and community are crucial to survival.

A sense of altruism, somehow sharing of themselves to make the lives of others a little bit better.

An optimistic attitude and sense of humor.

If you have trouble motivating yourself to give time, money or goods, focus on how giving back can benefit you. “There is a ‘helper’s high’ that people sometimes say they feel in connection with altruism/philanthropy,” says Vincent. “But that initial euphoria is also sometimes followed by a longer-lasting period of improved emotional well-being.”

Philanthropy can also have positive effects that help people maintain or improve their physical and mental health. It often creates broader social networks, which can help people cope with stress and anxiety, and it can provide a sense of purpose and empowerment.

The emotional and physical benefits of philanthropy may be even more significant right now. Nonprofit organizations everywhere are increasingly looking for charitable individuals to partner with them in their goals for the future. Mayo Clinic, a not-for-profit organization, is one of the world’s premier medical treatment and research facilities and is currently conducting a campaign to transform patient care, research and education. The gifts Mayo Clinic receives now will help people today, as well as benefit future generations of patients and medical professionals.

For more information on how giving can make a life-changing impact, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/campaign.