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Management - Accounting / Finances

FAQs About Applying for Tax Exemption

The Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group

Nonprofit Financial Center - Nonprofit Resources

QuickBooks Accounting Software

How to Read the IRS Form 990 & Find Out What it Means

Nonprofit Audit Preparation Checklist from the Nonprofit Financial Center

CSFullerton Certificate Program: Financial Planning & Management for Nonprofits

Criteria for Nonprofit's Operating Reserves

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance from MostChoice.com - get a free quote

Sample Financial Policies & Procedures Handbook

*Nonprofit Resources Featured Books - Accounting / Finances*







	*Corporate Transparency – Using Your Website to Communicate Everything About You*

For-Profit vs. Non-Profit
There has been a huge debate over the years over whether or not nonprofit organizations should be run more like for-profit companies and I have to say, I jumped on pro-business bandwagon long ago. It just makes sense that you can run a nonprofit efficiently and business-like and still keep you heart intact.

When it comes to the corporate world, all you ever hear about lately is “corporate transparency” – making it as easy as possible for people to find out the inner workings of your corporation. It took several large-scale for-profit corporate scandals to start this new movement but plenty of nonprofits have made headline news with their own scandals.

Your Corporate Transparency Strategy
It’s to your advantage as a nonprofit organization to implement your own Corporate Transparency Strategy. As a nonprofit organization, certain documents are already public record and the public has the right to have access to them; as part of your new strategy, you can make those public records REALLY accessible by placing them on your website and adding even more information about your inner workings. The more information you have readily available, the easier it is for that donor, volunteer, or consumer to make the decision to work with you.

Strategy Components
Financial Information
Post financial information online including your Form 990 for the past 2-3 years and your most recent audited or reviewed financial statement or your annual report if you have one. If this seems too overwhelming, start slowly by posting basic financial information like income and expenses displayed as pie charts showing how much income was received (possibly broken out by sources) and expenses allocated to each program and overall administration. In this example, the nonprofit has both pie charts and a link to their latest Form 990’s as downloadable pdf documents. http://www.proindependence.org/get_involved_annual.htm

Important Documents
Post other important documents relating to your nonprofit organization like your IRS determination letter, any accreditations, certifications, etc. Your strategic plan is also a great item to have online. Many larger institutes like colleges/universities and government entities do this already and it’s just as appropriate for smaller nonprofit organizations.

Policies & Procedures
Develop policies and procedures that you post in employee or board member’s areas on your website and let people know on your main website that you have certain policies and procedures in place. Here is an example of a Whistleblower policy for your employees and a sample Accounting Policies and Procedures for you board member’s area - and Investment Policies example -

Conclusion
In today’s climate people are expecting (and even demanding) greater accountability from both for-profit and nonprofit entities; developing your Corporate Transparency Strategy for your nonprofit will not only help you become more organized and prepared for potential donors (especially federal grantors who will require specific policies and procedures to be in place), but can also increase your credibility in the nonprofit community

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E-nomad Enterprises provides online marketing consulting to nonprofit organizations in Southern California. Services include nonprofit website makeovers, nonprofit web design, web site analysis, webmaster services, email marketing campaigns, reciprocal link programs, search engine optimization, and online marketing plan development. Nonprofit organizations can also find a directory of nonprofit resources including fund development resources, nonprofit management resources and nonprofit marketing resources.