September 2008 Entries
Two weeks ago, the IRS released the newest version of Form 990-EZ, which is the short version of its tax form and is for nonprofits with less than $1 million in 2008 revenue. The new form and its instructions are similar to the earlier version of the Form 990-EZ, but its updated schedules correspond with the new Form 990, which also takes effect in the 2008 tax year.
The filing threshold of the longer Form 990 was previously set at $100,000, but that threshold has been considerably raised. For the 2008 tax year, groups with less than $1 million in revenue...
posted @ Wednesday, September 24, 2008 4:28 PM |
Despite the common assumption that donors judge charities based on the organization’s overhead costs, a recent study of wealthy donors indicates otherwise. This survey, which was carried out by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy, looked at how the nation’s wealthiest donors choose which charities to support, how they find information about those organizations, how they judge their donation’s impact, and the roles they wish to play at that nonprofit.
Thirty-three individuals who give away an average of $1.5 million every year were interviewed for this study. Many of these people had built businesses in finance, technology,...
posted @ Monday, September 22, 2008 3:18 PM |
The annual Philanthropy Midwest Conference will be held in Kansas City at the Overland Park Convention Center on November 10th and 11th, 2008. This two day conference will have 25 workshops that will discuss subjects such as fundraising, marketing, nonprofit management, volunteers, grant writing, and nonprofit trends.
The featured speaker is Heather McLeod Grant, the co-author of Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits. The second keynote speech will be given by Cal LeMon, who will address emotional and spiritual health and avoiding burnout in high stress nonprofits.
The conference is sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and is...
posted @ Wednesday, September 10, 2008 2:27 PM |
Still worrying over the current economic situation and how it may affect your ministry? We understand the needs many people are facing so we have compiled some basic steps we would recommend that you look into to help sustain or even strengthen your fundraising.
1) Consider how you can use the latest technology to your benefit.
Online giving continues to increase in popularity. Want help on getting started in the online world? Check out our article New Fundraising Tool for Nonprofits
2) Look for ways to increase and improve your communication with donors
Donors give first and foremost because of a relationship. They continue...
posted @ Thursday, September 04, 2008 3:07 PM |
The Internet has made donating to charity more convenient for donors and also has reduced nonprofit operating costs. However, one must be careful as there are risks associated with using a credit card online and there are scams appearing to be charities. The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) gives the following five tips for donating online.
Know the Nonprofit. Research the charity before giving to it. Look at their mission statement and their annual report. AIP says a nonprofit should not spend more than 40% of their income on administrative expenses. Also, at least 60% of your donation should directly support...
posted @ Thursday, September 04, 2008 1:29 PM |