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KindQuilts is Now a 501(c)(3)

by Admin

Last month the good word that a charity I helped found, KindQuilts, received its 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). I, along with the rest of the Board of Directors, have waited patiently and helplessly as we wondered where our paperwork was in IRS land.

KindQuilts-is-Now-a -501c3-440px
KindQuilts is a charity that collects cotton fabric. The material is cut into squares and then assembled into easy-to-make quilt kits. The kits are given to volunteer sewers who assemble the patches of fabric into quilts. After that, the quilts are collected and delivered to hospitals. The staff distributes the quilts to sick or injured children.

KindQuilts embodies anonymous giving. The quilters never meet the fabric donors or the patients. As a member of the board, we get to hand off the quilts to the hospital staff, but we never see the patients. The only connection is if the quilter attaches a label to the quilt, letting the recipient know who made it for them. We rest knowing that a quilt somewhere comforts someone, tonight.

KindQuilts-is-Now-a -501c3

Filed Under: charity, nonprofit, volunteer

Meaningful Friendships

by Admin

Meaningful Friendships

What a pleasure it was to attend and speak at Affiliate Summit West last week. I have attended the east coast version, Affiliate Summit East, in Manhattan many times but this was my first time at the Las Vegas venue. The speakers at Affiliate Summit are top notch. I was fortunate to meet many of them at a cocktail hour the night before the show opened. Others I listened to and met after their talks. Everyone I met was willing to teach and share information about his or her various areas of expertise. They were also helpful with insights on how they run their businesses, how they got started and what technologies helped them the most.

metrony Meaningful Friendships 440

The one thing they all had in common was that no one was there alone. Every industry expert I met knew, brought or had learned from someone else at the event. Most speakers attend every year and spoke about the others as family.

One of my favorite parts of the vent is their dedication to charitable work. Affiliate Summit donates to breast cancer research. Affiliate Summit has created a dailymile challenge. The organization donates $1 to benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer for each mile recorded by participants. Fitness for a good cause? Challenge accepted!

Last week affirmed the importance of networking for business. More importantly, it reminded me of the importance of make genuine meaningful friendships.

Filed Under: charity, donation

7 Things To Consider Before Giving To a Charity

by Admin

Public charities are what most people think of when they use the term “nonprofit organization.” They include youth sports teams, hospitals, disaster relief organizations, community groups and many more. There are 1,409,430 tax-exempt organizations in the United States including:

  • 948,769 public charities
  • 96,655 private foundations
  • 364,006 “other types” of nonprofit organizations, including chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations and civic leagues

(Source: NCCS Business Master File 12/2013)

Religious organizations and those with an annual budget under $5000 are not required to file for 501 (c)(3) status, but many do for the sake of credibility and transparency. There were an estimated 325,172 congregations in the United States in April 2014.
(Source: American Church Lists)

With so many options, it can be difficult to choose a nonprofit unless you have some sort of personal connection to a cause or organization. Even if you do have a reason to give, it is always wise to evaluate a charity for financial responsibility and good management practices.

1. What is the charity’s mission?
A nonprofit’s mission statement tells who they serve and how they accomplish their goal. The organization’s mission statement also appears in its bylaws as a brief two or 3-sentence synopsis. Every charity must state is purpose in the form of a mission statement when filing its 501(c)(3) application. Most charities include them mission statement in a prominent location on their website and literature.

2. Is the charity a 501(c)(3)?
Many people assume that because an organization is asking for donations of money or goods, that it is an established or legitimate charity. Occasionally, there are incidences where an individual or group forms for less than respectable reasons.

A 501(c)(3) certification provides certainty that the IRS recognizes the organization. It also ensures that your donation is tax-deductible.

Not all contributions to perfectly legitimate organizations are tax deductible. Gifts to an organization designated as tax-exempt under a section of the tax code other than 501(c)(3) may not be tax deductible. Donors can still give these organizations as long as they are aware of the tax status and are sure the organization’s mission.

3. Overhead costs
It is common to hear that 15% of the total budget is an acceptable upper limit for overhead expenses. Overhead is the percent of expenses that pays for administrative and fundraising costs. There is no single standard that applies to every nonprofit, although 15% is a good estimate.

Nonprofits spend varying amounts of their budget on expenses, depending on the nature of their operations. Some beneficiaries may be in remote areas of the world. That may result in high transportation costs, which may cause overhead expenses to exceed the 15% threshold even though the nonprofit is efficiently serving its intended recipients.

Evaluating-nonprofits-pie-chart

How Much is the CEO Paid?
The public and press frequently criticize nonprofit CEOs for high salaries. Recently a Nassau County state Supreme Court Judge threw out NY Governor Cuomo’s pay cap on organizations that receive at least 30% of their funding from New York State. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/state-judge-tosses-cuomo-pay-regulations-non-profit-salaries-article-1.1751778

CEOs generally have an MBA degree and valuable business experience. They are hired for their experience and expertise and are expected to find ways to run the organization efficiently. There is nothing wrong with paying them what they are worth, within reason, or do not expect to attract or retain them when they can make much more elsewhere.

Dan Pallotta’s TED Talk may change your views on money including beliefs in nonprofit compensation.

4. Is it relevant?
Is this nonprofits work relevant to you or someone you know? Are you a cancer survivor looking to motivate others patients. Maybe you want to inspire young women to go into math and science fields. Relevance may be the only factor necessary to motivate you to open your checkbook and give.

5. Impact is important too.
Does this organization have the impact it intends to or claims to? Are they making a difference? Donors want their time and money to have an effect. Think twice before giving to an organization that seems to have little or no impact on the issues listed in its mission statement. Remember, a new organization may need time before it reaches its intended recipients.

6. Who else donates to this organization?
May donors will simply look to see who else donates to a nonprofit. This is the reason why nonprofits list major gift givers in their brochures. Donors may be too busy or not know how to evaluate a charity. They feel a well-known donor’s gift is as good as an endorsement.

7. Charity ratings
The sheer number of organizations to give to is overwhelming. All tax-exempt organizations are required to file a 990 form each year. These are available to the public and are easy to find this information online. Visit one of these rating and information sites to see the breakdown of expenses.

http://greatnonprofits.org/
http://www.guidestar.org/
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/990finder/

Things-To-Consider-Before Giving-To-a-Charity

Filed Under: Blog, charity, giving, philantrohopy

2013 Charitable Giving Trends

by Admin

2013 Charitable Giving Trends

The 2013 Charitable Giving Report from software and services provider Blackbaud summarizes its 2013 charitable giving data for the nonprofit and education sectors.

Blackbaud tracks arts and culture nonprofits, along with education, environment and animal welfare, faith-based, healthcare, human services, international affairs, plus public and society benefit organizations. Findings in report summarize data from 4,129 nonprofit organizations and more than $12.5 billion in fundraising revenue.

“It was a very healthy year,” said Chuck Longfield, Blackbaud’s chief scientist and founder of The Blackbaud Index.

In 2013, overall charitable giving increased by 4.9%, ranging from 5.7% growth for large nonprofits down to 3.6% growth for small organizations. International Affairs organizations had the largest growth in overall giving with a 13.2% increase followed by environment and animal welfare organizations, with an 8.6% growth rate.

As it was in 2012, more than one-third of overall charitable giving occurs in the last three months of the year.

Summary of Overall Giving Growth

  • Giving to Small Nonprofits (Less than $1M*) increased 3.6%
  • Donations to Medium Nonprofits ($1M – $10M*) grew 3.8%
  • Large Nonprofits ($10M+*) experienced to largest jump, with an increase of 5.7%

*Annual total fundraising revenue

2013-Charitable-Giving-Report
Click to enlarge. (Courtesy Blackbaud)

Online Giving
The report also contains the online giving data from 3,359 nonprofits and over $1.7 billion in online fundraising revenue. In 2013, online donations accounted for 6.4% of all giving. Small organizations, with less than $1 million in yearly fundraising revenue, received 7.8% of their contributions online while large and medium organizations received 6.8%, and 5.4%, respectively.

Percentage of Total Fundraising Acquired Online Giving

  • Small 7.8%
  • Large 6.8%
  • Medium 5.4%

In 2012, online giving grew 10.7%. In 2013, the trend continued with overall online giving growing another 13.5%. Small nonprofits enjoyed the largest growth rate, 18.4%, followed by large charities with 12.7% growth and finally, medium organizations with 11.3% growth. Faith based organizations had the largest growth with an 18.1% increase.

Medical research groups raised 18.2% of their total fundraising dollars online, but healthcare nonprofits raise only 3.5% through online giving.

Online donations on #GivingTuesday, the national day of giving that occurred on December 3, 2013, increased a startling 90% over 2012 figures. Blackbaud handled over $19.2 million in online donations on #GivingTuesday last year. In 2012, the average #GivingTuesday donation was $101.60. It 2013 it was $142.05, a 40% increase.

Online Giving Growth by Sector

  • Faith-based organizations grew the most in 2013 with an 18.1% increase over 2012
  • Healthcare increased online giving 14.5%
  • Educational organizations increased online charitable giving by 14.4%
  • Environment and Animal Welfare online donations grew by 13.3%
  • The Medical Research sector had the smallest growth rate, a 4.9% increase

Filed Under: Blog, charity, nonprofit, philantrohopy

5 Amazing TED Talks on Altruism and Money

by Admin

5 Amazing TED Talks on Altruism and Money
TED Talks can change our lives for the better and many talks can change lives for the good of others. Find inspiration and watch these five TED Talks on altruism. Some of the statistics here will shock you, some may make you laugh. All of these talks are amazing and will reshape how you feel about money and altruism.

From Dan Pallotta’s views on salaries and missions to Paul Piff who has some eye opening videos on the effects of money. These TED Talks explore our views on philanthropy, altruism and how money is used to help others. Watch these and you may look at nonprofit work with a new view.

Peter Singer: The why and how of effective altruism
A growing movement called effective altruism combines empathy with impactful and effective altruism. We understand that everyone can suffer in the same ways.

Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong
This TEDTalk is amazing! Check your views on money and charitable donations at the door. We have a belief system that keeps nonprofits small due to our views on money including beliefs in compensation, money spent on advertising, and the idea of taking risks.

Paul Piff: Does money make you mean?
Not exactly related to charity, but absolutely an absolutely fascinating talk on pro-social behavior.

Harish Manwani: Profit’s not always the point
Through good times and bad, define what you stand for. How do we make money and do good at the same time?

Sasha Dichter: The Generosity Experiment
Be a Yes Man and say “yes” to every request. Try it! Microfinance and invest impacting to solve social problems

5-Amazing-TED-Talks-on-Altruism-and-Money-440

Filed Under: altruism, Blog, charity Tagged With: TED Talk

Financial Transparency for Nonprofits

by Admin

Financial Transparency for Nonprofits
Financial Transparency for Nonprofits is crucial for charities. Individual and large donors want to know how their money is being spent and if it is making an impact that truly benefits the intended recipients. Charitable Organizations are required to annually report & file as required by the IRS with 990 series forms. More transparency is needed for donors and other stakeholders for a nonprofit to thrive.

Filing information as well as reviews and other background information is available through organizations such as Guidestar.org and Charity Navigator.org. Charity Navigator’s rating system rates nonprofit’s organizations that file a Form 990 on the basis of their financial health, accountability, and transparency. This and other online tools can be used to assess a 501(c)(3) organization’s overall health and impact.

The main areas and reasons for financial transparency are:
Provide information for the grant process. Potential donors should be able to download gift letters, see other major sponsors, download current and past IRS 990 forms and view operating expenses. Having this information easily available will make it easy for donors to give.

Sharing data to prove that grants are making an impact. The benefits here are that nonprofits and other foundations can learn about other projects that are delivering a positive impact. Sharing can also start a conversation about the challenges facing society and what ideas are making a difference.

Impact. Stakeholders want to know if their donations of money or in-kind goods are reaching those in need. High or rising operating expenses can be an indicator of poor management.

Sharing best practices. Top organizations share ideas, successes and failures with other charities operating in their area of interest. Organizations can learn from each other’s mistakes.

Filed Under: Blog, charity, nonprofit, Transparency

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