Category: Nonprofit

The Minnesota Legislature recently passed a tax bill that conforms or partially conforms several Minnesota tax laws to changes made under prior Federal tax bills. Below is a link to a listing provided by the Minnesota Society of CPAs (MNCPA) of the items that now conform or...

Borrowing isn’t just for businesses. Many not-for-profits borrow money for major capital purchases, new program funding and even to manage current cash flow. But if you’re hoping to borrow, it’s important to understand that there are likely to be obstacles ahead, inclu...

Time flies when you’re having fun — and running a business. Although it’s probably too early to start chilling a bottle of bubbly for New Year’s Eve, it’s certainly not too early for business owners to start doing some strategic planning for next year. Here are som...

When you receive a personal gift from a friend or family member — even if it’s not something you particularly want — you accept the gift and thank the person. The same isn’t always true of gifts given to your not-for-profit. Gifts should be examined, and, possibly, r...

You may think that only large, well-endowed not-for-profits require the advice of a nonprofit investment advisor. But even smaller nonprofits with modest endowments — particularly smaller nonprofits that don’t have in-house financial expertise — can benefit from hiring...

How well do you listen to your not-for-profit’s supporters? If you don’t engage in “social listening,” your efforts may not be good enough. This marketing communications strategy is popular with for-profit companies, but can just as easily help nonprofits attract and...

Many business owners reach a point where managing the financial side of the enterprise becomes overwhelming. Usually, this is a good thing — the company has grown to a point where simple bookkeeping and basic financial reporting just don’t cut it anymore.  If you can re...

Your not-for-profit has likely grown and evolved since it was founded. Have your bylaws kept pace? Bylaws are the rules and principles that define your organization — and, if you haven’t revisited them recently, they may not be as effective as they could be....

If you’re like most business owners and executives, you may not actively search for fraud risks — until there’s an incident and you’re facing possible losses. Although publicly traded companies must conduct fraud risk assessments, privately held businesses don’t ha...

Accounting software typically sells itself as much more than simple spreadsheet or ledger. The products tend to pride themselves on being comprehensive accounting information systems — depending on the price point, of course.  So, is your accounting software living up to ...

Not-for-profit organizations don’t lose as much to occupational fraud as for-profit businesses do. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE’s) 2018 Report to the Nations, nonprofits lost a median amount of $75,000 during the 21-month study perio...

Not-for-profits with multiple sources of support generally are less likely to have budget shortfalls and are better able to grow and expand their services. If you’re looking for new funding sources, consider cause marketing. Made possible via a partnership with a for-profi...