Category: Nonprofit

Taxes can affect donations to nonprofits. The deductibility of most charitable gifts hasn’t changed since passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but some recordkeeping requirements have. Helping your donors who itemize deductions understand the rules and benefits of their g...

Does your not-for-profit organization have a conflict-of-interest policy in place? Do your board members, trustees and key employees understand how the policy affects them? If you answer “no” to either (or both) of these questions, you have some work to do....

A much-hated tax on not-for-profit organizations is on the way out. At the end of 2019, Congress repealed a provision of 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that triggered the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) of 21% on nonprofit employers that provide employees with tr...

State law typically specifies the minimum number of directors a not-for-profit must have on its board. But so long as organizations fulfill that requirement, it’s up to them to determine how many total board members they need. Several guidelines can help you arrive at the ...

Accounting for contributions and grants has often proven complicated for not-for-profits, especially when they come with donor-imposed conditions. But 2018 guidance from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) provided some much-needed clarification of earlier instru...

Many nonprofit organizations use fundraising methods that cross state boundaries. If your nonprofit is one of them, it may need to register in multiple jurisdictions. But keep in mind that registration requirements vary — sometimes dramatically — from state to state. So ...

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...