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| | Karmas Become Dollars For Mobile Charities By Kate Rogers Sixth graders from low-income families who attend Eberhart Elementary School on Chicago’s South Side needed Net Book computers to increase their technology skills. Donors across the country made this happen on Feb. 19, without donating a dime. Through the use of a simple iPhone app, CauseWorld, which partnered on the project with New York City-based DonorsChoose.org, consumers checked in at restaurants, clothing stores and supermarkets on the app, turning their retail therapy into dollars donated. In other words, there was an app for that. Nonprofits are upping their tech game by creating smart phone apps, which enable donors and constituents to give or volunteer in quick and simple ways, without the limits seen in text-to-give campaigns. More importantly, charity apps bring something different to the table; they combine education and fun.
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| Finance …
FIN 480 is not an expensive port wine Of all the federal government entities that find themselves facing calls for contraction, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is standing tall, rolling right along, as vigilant of the nonprofit sector as ever. As always, nonprofits will have to be sure of adhering to a dizzying array of regulations in order to maintain their tax-exempt status.
For example, ASC 740-10, formerly and still commonly known as FIN 480, clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an organization's financial statements in accordance with FASB Statement No. 109. Dennis Morrone and Daniel Romano, partners in Grant Thornton, caution that there are certain areas in which the IRS could intervene and revoke an organization's exempt status retroactively. They include: - Material organizational changes. Changes in an organization's character, purpose or method of operations.
- Private benefits. The provision of substantial monetary or nonmonetary benefits to the private interest of an organization or individual.
- Private inurement. Receipt of an organization's income or inappropriate use of assets for personal gain by an insider.
- Lobbying.
- Political campaign activity.
- Unrelated business activity (UBIT). This can include: Which of the organization's activities and income are not subject to unrelated business income tax, and whether an expense is deductible from unrelated business revenue in arriving at net taxable income.
| Management …
Strategic partnerships and ‘what’s in it for me?’Business leaders have learned that being good to the nonprofit sector and those it serves can be good for the bottom line. Some nonprofit leaders have learned the same thing. What managers in the philanthropic sector must also know, however, is that going to business leaders with a hand held out or a picture of a poor child are not in themselves going to have the for-profit community falling all over itself to perform good works. At the Social Capital 2010 Conference in Washington, D.C., recently, Jay Aldous of Social Capital, John Egan of Coca-Cola North America, Bryan McCleary of Procter & Gamble and Nathan Shore of Macy's offered insights into how changes in business are affecting strategic partnerships. The advice boiled down to three main pieces of advice. They are: - Lead with your issues. Companies are seeking to align with issues, and an organization's issues are probably its most valuable assets. An organization needs to be selling impact, not need or worthiness.
- Be aware of the importance and power of advocates. This means knowing who advocates are: consumers, employees and participants. An “impact accelerator” is critical for sustainability, execution and resource generation.
- Remember relevance and trust. Organizations must stand for something. More than for or against, "join" with us. Target audiences, and know that target messages are required.
| Donors …
Prospect screening and capital campaignsGetting the most out of any campaign requires plenty of thought and preparation. It is no different for capital campaigns, and in their book “Building Fundraising Momentum in a Recession,” Lawrence Henze and Katherine Swank discuss the advisability of prospect screening, trying to determine which prospects are most likely and capable of giving For a capital campaign, the screening possibilities include: - Pre-campaign screening. This time frame is an ideal starting point for a major prospect screening effort. The demands of the forthcoming campaign make it essential to analyze the potential existing in the organization’s database, and it is likely to be the easiest time to secure the necessary budgetary funds to underwrite the project.
- Mid-campaign screening. It can be good for two reasons. Great successes achieved in the first two years of the campaign can embolden leadership to consider an updated screening project based on new major giving profiles produced in the early phases of the campaign. Or, at mid-point the organization has not identified a sufficient number of mid-range prospects to complete the campaign pyramid.
- Post-campaign screening. It provides good current data on donors, and it helps in an analysis of segments of the campaign that outperformed or underperformed.
- “New Directions” screening. If there is a new fundraising initiative based on an existing program, there could be the necessary data to identify additional prospects.
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