Organizations should be gearing up to file the Massachusetts “Return of Property Held for Charitable Purposes” (State Tax Form 3ABC). If you are a Massachusetts-domiciled charity that owned real or personal property as of January 1, you must file Form 3ABC by March 1 of that year to receive a local tax exemption for the fiscal year that begins the next July 1.
Topics: Massachusetts, non-for-profit, Non-profits, Form 3ABC, nonprofit, form PC, 3ABC
Summer started early for university campuses across the country. Many closed their campuses well in advance of the end of the semester in efforts to protect students and faculty from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Topics: non-for-profit, Non-profits, nonprofit, Mark McCarthy, CCR, Construction, Construction Cost Review, Coronavirus, COVID-19
On March 27, President Trump signed into law a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) includes tax and non-tax provisions to assist individuals and not-for-profit organizations.
Topics: accounting, Non-profits, NFP, Patrick Quinn, COVID19, Coronavirus, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, COVID-19
Repercussions from the COVID-19 virus affect almost every facet of your not-for-profit’s operations, from the delivery of your services to managing your workforce. Many cultural organizations and educational institutions must grapple with the public health safety measures that may have temporarily shuttered their operations. Protecting your employees and staff from contracting the highly contagious COVID-19 virus may be resulting in new policies around meetings, and remote work arrangements. To help protect your staff still on the premises, you may be called to increase the frequency and scope of your cleaning services.
Topics: accounting, Non-profits, NFP, Mike Burns, COVID19, Coronavirus, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, COVID-19
Directors and Officers (D&O) coverage plays a vital role in an organization’s risk mitigation strategy, but for some not-for-profits, the insurance coverage may go under the radar. Executive leaders and board members should understand the basics of D&O coverage so they can carry out your fiduciary duties, as well as protect personal and organizational assets. The following provides a primer for what a not-for-profit’s C suite and board should know.
Topics: Non-profits, Not-for-Profits, NFP, D&O Insurance, Raul Socha, Directors & Officers Insurance, D&O Coverage
Chief financial officers (CFOs), boards, and donors all want to see their not-for-profit organizations manage their financial resources well. They want as many dollars as possible put toward the programs and activities that further the organization’s mission. In other words, they want overhead and operating costs to be lower than program-related expenses. The question not-for-profits must ask is: are they setting the bar for overhead expenses too low?
Topics: Non-profits, Not-for-Profits, NFP, operating environment, tracy mcdonald, operating costs, overhead costs, Overhead Caps
Not-for-profit organizations must be vigilant and careful shepherds of their monetary resources. Sometimes sound financial management takes some outside-of-the-box thinking. Not-for-profits do not have the same avenues to offset rising operational costs that for-profits might. They cannot, for example, raise additional revenue through price increases, product or packaging enhancements, or even service line extensions.
Topics: non-for-profit, Non-profits, nonprofit, Mark McCarthy, CCR, Construction, Construction Cost Review
The one-year countdown to the mandatory 403(b) plan document restatement deadline is officially underway. All organizations that sponsor 403(b) retirement plans must restate their plan documents by March 31, 2020, using either the IRS’s pre-approved document or an individually designed plan document.
Topics: retirement plans, Non-profits, NFP, 403(b) programs
Data can say a lot about which processes work and which don’t, but with the volume of information a not-for-profit organization is collecting on a daily basis, that message can easily get lost in the shuffle. Robust data analytics programs help to separate the story from all the numbers.
Analytics programs help to do the heavy lifting when it comes to information processing, distilling volumes of data into real time, and actionable insights. When a data analytics program is properly constructed, it can support risk management efforts, budget decisions, and strategic planning. Data analysis helps identify areas of key risk and fraudulent activity. It can be used to evaluate a program’s ability to meet its targets and highlight any inefficiencies. Data analytics can also play a role in donor management, picking up trends in contributions and charitable giving that may not be immediately obvious to a not-for-profit’s board or management team.
Topics: non-for-profit, Non-profits, nonprofit, data analytics, Scott Moody, analytics
The risk of significant financial fraud may be lower for not-for-profit organizations than it is for for-profit entities, but its impact can be just as paralyzing.
Not-for-profit organizations represented only 9 percent of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ study of 2,690 fraud cases in its 2018 Report to the Nations. Regardless of the incidence, there’s an obvious financial impact from fraud. Total fraud cases in the 2018 Report to the Nations resulted in estimated losses of $7.1 billion, which the ACFE acknowledged is only a fraction of the true cost of global fraud. The study concluded that the median cost of fraud to not-for-profit organizations was $75,000, but these costs do not include the cost of attorneys, forensic accountants, and other specialists who will be called upon to assist with the investigation.
Topics: fraud, non-for-profit, Non-profits, John Mulvaney, nonprofit, nonprofit fraud