Useful Information & Best Practices

Best Practice Tip - Not-For-Profit Checklist for Fundraising Events

Best Practice Tip - Not-For-Profit Sales Info

Best Practice Tip - Investment Policy

If your organization receives donor contributions, you are managing others' money. To ensure that your organization is following proper procedures for managing and using the funds, the organization should maintain an investment policy. The key components of a basic investment policy include:

  1. Detail of the board's philosophies, policies, and goals (both short-term and long-term)
  2. Identification of who has the right to transfer between investment accounts, set transaction amount limits, determine what kind of investments can be made, and who can authorize purchases and sales
  3. Addressing the investment goals, the targeted return of the investment portfolio, the amount of acceptable risk, and evaluation of the risk/reward of investment alternatives
  4. Requiring that investment returns and composition be analyzed at least quarterly to evaluate performance and adherence to the investment policy

Highlights of the Revised Form 990

Overview:

The recently redesigned Form 990 takes the spotlight in many discussions among leaders of not-for-profit organizations. Form 990 has not been significantly revised since 1979. The new revision is designed to better meet the IRS's tax compliance interests, and the transparency and accountability needs of the states, the general public, and local communities served by the organization.

Major Changes:

Major changes to Form 990 include a front page summary that provides a snapshot of key financial operating information, a governance section, and revised compensation and related organization reporting. The new form increases the number of schedules from two for the old form, to 16 schedules.

Why the Changes are Important:

In addition to fulfilling the new filing requirements, not-for-profit organizations should realize that the newly designed Form 990 will become a tool for the organizations to "tell their stories". These new Form 990s will provide various funding sources a much better picture of your operation and potentially help you promote your mission and your organization.