|
Nonprofit Service:
Start One, Do it.
| Course
Number |
LWN801
4528 |
| Objectives |
At the end of the course, participants will
know and understand the basic processes of nonprofit 1)
incorporation, 2) tax-exemption 3) organization, 4) Finance, and 5)
Planning. |
| Credit Hours and Fee |
3.0 CE Credit Hours with a fee of
$24.00 |
| Instructor |
Rudolf Klimes, PhD (Indiana University),
MPH (Johns Hopkins University) |
Welcome to this 3-contact-hour Continuing
Education course with instant online processing and certification
24/7. Study the course below, take the 12-question multiple-choice
TEST, register and pay online. If you
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You may retake the
test once.
| Incorporation |
Tax-exempt |
Organization |
Finance |
Marketing |
|
Definition
Non-profit organization means any corporation,
trust, association, cooperative, or other organization which:
(1) is operated primarily for scientific,
educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the
public interest;
(2) is not organized primarily for profit; and
(3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand
its operations. For this purpose, the term "non-profit
organization" includes (i) most colleges and universities; (ii)
many hospitals; and excludes (iii) State, local, and federally recognized Indian
tribal governments; and (iv) those non-profit organizations
which are excluded from coverage of this definition.
Prior approval means securing the awarding
agency's permission in advance to incur cost for those items that
are designated as requiring prior approval.
Generally this permission will be in writing. Where an item of cost
requiring prior approval is specified in the budget of an award,
approval of the budget constitutes approval of that cost.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a122/a122_2004.html
There are also similarities between nonprofit organizations and
businesses. Both have missions, plans, income, expenses, staff and
engage in production or service. Both need to manage their finances
and market their products or services.
So
many methods that are appropriate in businesses may also be
appropriate in nonprofits. Some parts may be different, but some may
work the same. There is a constant interaction and exchange of ideas
between them.
This course deals mainly with the unique characteristics of
nonprofits that are nor found in business organizations.
1. Incorporation
Nonprofit organizations
are vital to the renewed prospects of the USA and the improved
quality of life of its residents. Below are the initial steps
required to establish a nonprofit organization.
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http://caag.state.ca.us/charities/
2. Tax-exemption
Once a nonprofit organization is up and running, it
must maintain good standing. On-going requirements (if applicable)
include renewing the organization's business license, reporting
income, and paying taxes. License renewals and payments will depend
on the type of organization, and the date of your original business
license application.
Here are additional steps and resources to help maintain an
organization's operations:
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http://brc.dc.gov/nonprofit/groworg/groworg.asp
Life Cycle of a Public Charity
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| During its existence, a public charity has numerous
interactions with the IRS – from filing an application for
recognition of tax-exempt status, to filing the required
annual information returns, to making changes in its mission
and purpose. The IRS provides information, explanations,
guides, forms and publications on all of these subjects –
they are available through this IRS Web site. The
illustration below provides an easy-to-use way of linking to
the documents most charities will need as they proceed
though the phases of their “life cycle.” In
addition to the following illustration, you can also
download a
graphical depiction of the life cycle, which includes
functioning links back to our site.
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http://www.ezec.gov/Fundseekers%20Guide%20to%20the%20Galaxy/Technote16%20How%20to%20Apply%20for%20501(3)c%20Status.pdf
Nonprofit
Association
A nonprofit
association is an unincorporated association of natural persons for
religious, scientific, social, literary, educational, recreational,
benevolent or other purpose not that of pecuniary profit. These associations
may include any lodge, order beneficial association, fraternal or beneficial
society or association, historical, military, or veterans organization,
labor union, foundation, or federation, or any other society, organization,
or association or degree, branch subordinate lodge, or auxiliary thereof.
The unincorporated association may register with the Secretary of State a
facsimile or description of its name or insignia and by re-registration
alter or cancel it. The
Registration of Unincorporated Nonprofit Association form is available
in PDF file
http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/other/bp_other_uanp.htm
4.Finance
Education Links for NonProfit
Organizations
We have organized the information on our website to make it possible for
you to find information quickly and easily.
Please note that not all of the links provided at this site are located
within the Department of Education's World Wide Web Server.
- Funding Opportunities
Includes information about Grants and Contracts, including a guide to
the Department's programs and a grants primer.
- Laws
and Regulations: Education Department General Administrative Regulations
(EDGAR)
Contains the administrative requirements for managing projects funded by
discretionary grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.
- Federal
Register Announcements
Contains documents published in the Federal Register by the U.S.
Department of Education, including grant announcements, requests for
comment, proposed and final regulations and priorities, and notices of
meetings and information collections.
- U.S.
Department of Education Budget
This table contains budget summaries by program area.
-
Partnerships
Includes information on the Department's initiatives concerning
partnerships.
- Volunteer
Opportunities
Describes volunteer opportunities provided by the America Reads
Challenge.
- School-to-Work
Provides seed money to States and local partnerships of business, labor,
government, education, and community organizations to develop
school-to-work systems which will prepare youth for the high wage, high
skill careers of today's and tomorrow's global economy.
- Search the U.S. Department of
Education site
Search the entire U.S. Department of Education site, ED's phone
directory, and collections of major legislation, press releases,
statistics, and research.
- U.S. NonProfit
Gateway (http://www.usa.gov/Business/Nonprofit.shtml)
http://managementhelp.org/finance/np_fnce/np_fnce.htm
5. Planning
http://www.gettingattention.org/
http://www.marketingfornonprofits.org/
Strategic Planning in Smaller Nonprofit
Organizations
The workload for nonprofit organizations has increased, and all the
while resources have grown scarcer. No longer-as if they ever could-can
nonprofit organizations assume their funds will arrive automatically from
generous donors, nor can they assume they will have dozens of capable
volunteers available to work. Increasingly, funding organizations and even
individual donors want to see evidence that their gifts will be put to good
use. One piece of evidence they often demand is a strategic plan. So, what
is a strategic plan, and how can an organization prepare one? This short
guide is designed to help board members and staff of smaller nonprofit
organizations develop strategic plans that can help them strengthen and
sustain their organizations' achievements.
This guide contains some suggested steps and methods organizations can
use to complete these steps. You will need a comfortable room with
tables and chairs and space to move around. It also helps if the room is one
that has plenty of wall space that can be used to tape sheets of
paper that will come out of the strategic planning process. Supplies
needed include at least one 27 x 33 inch easel pad, markers for writing on
the large sheets of paper, masking tape, 4 x 6 inch pads of Post-it notes
(one per person), and felt-tip pens (one per person).
What is Strategic Planning?
Most of us know that planning is a way of looking toward the future and
deciding what the organization will do in the future. Strategic
planning is a disciplined effort to produce decisions and actions
that guide and shape what the organization is, what it does, and why it does
it (Bryson, 1995). Both strategic planning and long range planning cover
several years. However, strategic planning requires the organization to
examine what it is and the environment in which it is working. Strategic
planning also helps the organization to focus its attention on the crucial
issues and challenges. It, therefore, helps the organization's leaders
decide what to do about those issues and challenges.In short, as a
result of a strategic planning process, an organization will have a clearer
idea of what it is, what it does, and what challenges it faces. If it
follows the plan, it will also enjoy enhanced performance and responsiveness
to its environment.
Who Should be Involved?
Each organization must carefully decide who should be involved in strategic
planning. There are several key roles to be played in a strategic planning
process including
- Planning Process Champion. This is usually a key member of
the board of directors or the executive director. The person must be
someone who believes in strategic planning and will help keep the
process on track. This person does not have to be an expert in strategic
planning, but s/he should be someone respected by board and staff
members.
- Plan Writer. Someone must assemble the planning group's
decisions into a cohesive document. This person takes notes during
planning meetings and uses them to prepare a plan, often in the form of
several drafts for review by the entire planning group. Writing the
plan, however, is more than simply compiling a record of planning
meetings. The plan writer must also insert options and next logical
steps into the drafts at each stage of the planning process.
- Planning Process Facilitator. This person may be from
outside the organization, though this role also can be played by a
member of the board. The facilitator's main responsibility is to plan
each meeting's agenda and to ensure the group stays on track.
- Planning Team. The planning team's members are those who
are most directly involved in laying out the issues and options for the
future of the organization. This might be the entire board of directors
plus the executive director. It might also be a committee of the board
plus the executive director. Key staff beyond the executive director may
also be involved. It might also include one (or more) representatives of
people served by the organization. What is important to remember is to
ensure that the people who are fairly representative of and respected by
the organization's leadership are included on the planning team
- Board of Directors. The board of directors will ultimately
adopt the plan and will use it to guide its decisions and actions. If
the entire board is not involved directly in the planning process, it
must at least approve a planning process and be kept informed of its
progress. The process of developing a strategic plan is a special
opportunity to engage the board of directors in an active role in
shaping the organization's future.
- Staff. Staff members, particularly the executive director,
have expertise and information that should be tapped during the planning
process. Since they will be the ones who will carry out the plan on a
day-to-day basis, they should be informed and, to whatever extent is
appropriate for the organization, involved. Larger organizations often
rely on representation from staff, while smaller organizations may
include only the executive director on the planning team.
- Clients. Those who benefit from the organization's
services are sometimes involved in the planning process. Each
organization makes its own choices about whether to include clients on
the planning team or whether to consult them in some other way.
Getting Started
Each organization needs to decide for itself when the time is right for a
strategic plan. It is sometimes easier to describe when the time is not
right than when it is. For example, when the roof has blown off the
building, an organization should replace it, not start strategic planning.
The organization should get its crisis resolved, preferably by acting
strategically, and then begin planning. Something less than a
"roof-blown-off" crisis, however, usually prompts organizations to begin
strategic planning. Some organizations find the loss of a significant
funding source or, conversely, the opportunity to obtain a new source of
funds, an impetus to plan. Other organizations recognize that their clients
are changing and, therefore, they ought to prepare for these changes. And so
on. There are as many reasons for starting a strategic planning process as
there are nonprofit organizations.After deciding to engage in
strategic planning, the organization should take the following initial
steps:
- List some of the main issues that face the organization.
This need not be a complete list, nor does it have to be fully
organized. However, knowing some of the concerns of the organization
will help those who will be asked to be involved in planning to prepare.
- Decide when the plan should be adopted by the board.
Developing and drafting a plan will take a few weeks to a few months.
The board should set a future board meeting to be the target date for
adopting the plan.
- Set aside some time for the planning process. Members of
the board and staff who will be involved in planning should agree to
take time for the planning process. This could involve a few hours a
week for three to four weeks or it could involve a single day or
weekend. The plan writer, of course, will spend more time than others as
s/he will be preparing a document that represents decisions made at
planning meetings. I recommend that the total time frame from starting
the planning process to adopting the plan not stretch out for more than
three months for a small organization.
- Decide if a facilitator would be helpful. Some
organizations find that an individual who is not directly involved with
the organization's regular work can help them with their planning
process.
- Decide who should be involved and how they should be involved
in planning. See the list on pp. 1-2 for suggestions about the major
roles.
- Find a place for the planning meetings to occur. It is
often helpful to meet someplace other than the standard meeting location
for the organization because a different setting can help members of the
group step out of their usual patterns. The planning location should be
comfortable, include tables or other surfaces for participants to write,
and have room to move around. Having the ability to provide refreshments
for planning participants is also needed. Some organizations use large
sheets of paper to record ideas, so having a planning location that
permits hanging paper (using masking tape or other nondestructive
adhesive) on the walls is ideal.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/ricpubs/volunteerism.html
6. Library
Explore some of these sites to gain a rounded view on the
topic.
http://www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/georgetownlawcle_040609.pdf
http://caag.state.ca.us/charities/
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/05eonta.pdf
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a122/a122_2004.html
http://managementhelp.org/org_thry/np_thry/np_intro.htm
http://managementhelp.org/org_thry/np_thry/np_intro.htm#anchor247079
Ethical Issues: integrity, regulations, services.
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