Work Opportunity Tax Credit: Hiring Veterans May Lower Your Payroll Taxes

Employers often overlook a federal tax break available to organizations that hire new employees from certain groups who have traditionally faced obstacles to hiring. While the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)  is more limited for not-for-profit organizations, it nonetheless presents payroll tax-saving opportunities that can prove especially valuable for organizations that are ramping up hiring. […]

Board Designation: Three Questions To Consider

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis have provided harsh reminders of how precarious a not-for-profit organization’s financial stability can be. Uncertainty about the future is prompting some organizations to consider the wisdom of making board designations of unrestricted assets. Here are a few questions your organization might want to consider before making that decision. […]

Influencer Marketing Comes to Not-For-Profits

As the COVID-19 crisis intensified earlier this year, pop singer Ariana Grande began taking to Twitter every week to share a list of organizations she was supporting to help provide relief to those hit hard. As a result, organizations such as The Bail Project, Fund for Families and The Mental Health Fund saw a significant […]

Key Changes to the Data Collection Form

All entities that expend $750,000 or more annually in federal awards must perform a Single Audit and complete Form SF-SAC (the Form) for every fiscal period during which they meet the reporting dollar threshold. The Federal Auditing Clearinghouse is the federal entity that collects the forms and reporting packages and maintains a database of completed […]

Landing Corporate Backing Requires a Game Plan

When the economy is good, corporations tend to be more generous with their donations to not-for-profit organizations, but the competition can be tough. Not-for-profits that make detailed, compelling pitches to corporations and provide support for their requests have the best chance at securing corporate backing.

Take Another Look at Telecommuting

These days, everyone seems to be working remotely from his or her home offices. If your organization has yet to turn to telecommuting, or offers it only on a limited basis, you might want to take another look at the option.

Managing a Successful 340B Discount Program

Most Americans are not aware of a little-known drug pricing program called the 340B Drug Discount Program (340B). The 340B program was created by the federal government in 1992 under Section 602 of the Veterans Health Care Act. However, its popularity only surged within the last five years when hospitals were required to register their offsite facilities which were using 340B drugs. Since its enactment in 1992, the 340B program has been expanded by Congress through various other laws which clarify or broaden the law, including guidance that allows hospitals and clinics to contract with outside pharmacies if they do not have one in-house.

Is Your Not-For-Profit Organization Ready for Endowments?

With baby boomers (the largest and wealthiest generation in U.S. history) expected to transfer trillions of dollars of assets in the next few decades, this could be the right time to launch an endowment. This article explains the two main types of endowments, describes the pros and cons and addresses managing assets and spending restrictions. “Quasi” endowments also are discussed.

Collaborative Activities: Are You Reporting Them Correctly?

More and more not-for-profit organizations are joining forces to better serve their client populations and cut costs. However, such relationships can come with complicated financial reporting obligations. As this article explains, an organization’s reporting requirements will depend on the type of relationship it enters, such as a collaborative arrangement, a merger or a new legal entity, or cessation of control without creation of a new legal entity.

The OMB Rule on Indirect Costs: What You Need to Know

Nonprofits need to get up to speed on their rights and responsibilities under the Office of Management and Budget’s new rule requiring agencies and other entities allocating federal dollars to reimburse organizations for indirect costs, also known as administrative or overhead costs. If they don’t learn the ins and outs of the new rule, not-for-profit organizations risk forfeiting reimbursement dollars. This article explains how reimbursement is determined and what nonprofits should be doing now to prepare for the change.

How to Improve Your Accounting Function

A not-for-profit’s accounting function is its financial backbone. Efficient accounting processes along with sound controls to monitor those processes will put an organization on the right track for financial stability and growth. One may ask are you satisfied with your not-for-profit’s accounting function or does it seem less efficient than you think it could be? Here are some suggestions for improving this important piece of your organization’s operation.

Outcome-Based Evaluation Puts the Proof in the Pudding

In the world of real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. In the world of not-for-profits and the entities that fund them, the mantra is results, results, results. Funders want to know that their funds are being spent responsibly and that the organization is accomplishing — or at least working to accomplish — what it said it would.

Should You Join Forces With Another Not-For-Profit?

Forming an alliance with a like-minded organization can be a smart strategic move for a not-for-profit organization, but it is important to think things through thoroughly before making the leap. The process begins with examining the organization’s motives and then determining whether a joint venture or a strategic alliance would be more appropriate. Once you have determined reasons for uniting goals, identifying and performing due diligence on the other organization becomes essential.

Benchmarking: Sizing Up Your Not-For-Profit Organization

The word “benchmark” may strike some as organizational lingo, but the practice of benchmarking often proves valuable for not-for-profit organizations. Not-for-profits that incorporate financial benchmarks into their operations are better at anticipating negative financial trends and may even see revenues climb, expenses drop and efficiencies improve.

Not-For-Profit Group Newsletter – Summer 2019

Our Not-For-Profit Group’s Summer 2019 Newsletter includes some Newsworthy Notes on the latest happenings in the Not-For-Profit industry.

Not-For-Profit Newsletter – Spring 2018

Do the Math: Deciding if You Need a CFO MARVA FLANAGAN, CPA Not-for-profits work hard to make the world a better place in one way or another. Their ability to pursue their mission depends greatly on their financial health and integrity. That is why it is beneficial for not-for-profits to employ a chief financial officer […]

Not-For-Profit Group Newsletter – Winter 2017

ORBA’s Not-For-Profit Group Newsletter is a quarterly publication focused on effective not-for-profit organization management. The Winter 2017 issue includes two articles: “The Not-For-Profit Organization’s Life Cycle: Mature Not-For-Profit Organizations Face Changing Priorities” and “Newsbits: Winter 2017.’”

Not-For-Profit Group Newsletter – Summer 2014

ORBA’s Summer 2014 Not-For-Profit Group Newsletter includes two articles: Footnotes Tell a Story: What Constituents Can Glean from Your Financial Statements by Joe Gassel, CPA, and Newsbits by Marva Harris, CPA.