Blogs - AcctTwo Shared Services

Change Management Is A Mindset

By Merilee Howell

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Here's an article by Shani Harmon and Renee Cullinan. They founded Stop Meeting Like This to change the way the world works. We were recently asked to share our approach to change management with an organization driving multiple simultaneous transformation efforts. When we did, they were quite disappointed to learn that we weren’t going to share the “7 easy steps to change management.” They wanted a simple recipe, but we believe that catalyzing change in human systems is an art, not a science. Step-by-step methodologies look good on paper, but rarely, if ever drive long-term sustainable change. Here are a few things we’ve learned over the years about ...

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IRS Nears Finish Line for Nonprofit Income Reporting Rules

By Lynda Reich

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The IRS is nearly done with proposed rules that require nonprofits to report income streams separately, an agency official said. The agency is “getting very close to the finish line,” Stephanie Robinson, an IRS attorney, said Friday at a TEGE Exempt Organizations Council conference. The 2017 tax law required nonprofits to separately report each flow of income unrelated to their main purpose. Prior to the overhaul, tax exempt organizations could group income from things like basketball tickets, rental property, and corporate partnerships all in one bucket. Robinson said the process should be faster going forward. “Once the proposed reg is published, I ...

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Working Narratives: Movements and Storytelling Are a Strategic Must

By Brenda Jacinto

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Here is a story from Working Narratives about their work after Hurricane Florence and their narrative around it. After a disaster, it’s easy to find pictures of victims and 20-second interview clips. Following that, there’s the gathering of data—about the storm, the damage, the cost, the rebuilding. What goes missing are the longer-term, individual stories from the hearts of communities, the emotional rollercoaster the survivors go through. A church and a nonprofit have partnered to gather those storm stories. The nonprofit, Working Narratives , has partnered with Spring Garden Missionary Baptist Church to record the stories of those individuals who dealt ...

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6 Steps for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaigns That Get Results

By Lynda Reich

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The peer-to-peer model is a great approach for extending your fundraising reach. In fact, “ The Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Thirty ,” which ranks the 30 largest U.S. peer-to-peer campaigns, found that these campaigns raised more than $1.39 billion in 2018. But when you look at some of the creative and sophisticated events and campaigns out there , planning your own nonprofit’s peer-to-peer campaigns may seem intimidating. It doesn’t have to be! No matter the size of your organization or the type of campaign your organization takes on, some thoughtful prep and a few best practices will go a long way toward realizing your peer-to-peer fundraising goals. ...

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Center Yourself to Make the Most of 2020’s Innovations

By Merilee Howell

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A s we venture full steam ahead into 2020, the world around us feels chaotic in many ways. Through it all, YOU — the social good community — stay committed to your important work, regardless of the environment in which we find ourselves. Amid such constant change, it’s more important than ever to center yourself on your goals and commit to the best practices that will carry you through changing times. In this article, I’m sharing a few core practices our sector should commit greater focus to in 2020 in order to navigate this change and make the most of the technological innovations reshaping our sector. Examine Effectiveness Each and every action ...

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Social Media Best Practices for Nonprofits

By Brenda Jacinto

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Social media channels are great tools for nonprofit organizations to utilize. Whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn or any other platform, staying connected with your donor base and volunteer network isn’t just beneficial, it’s necessary. When used correctly, social media can greatly amplify your organization’s efforts at building bridges to your communities and engaging with your stakeholders. Here are a few tips to help any nonprofit looking to branch out into the digital world: Engage Donors on All Platforms Use all platforms where donors may be active. This will require research based on who your nonprofit is interacting with. ...

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Getting Over Your Personal Hurdles in Major Gifts

By Sandy McClure

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There is no doubt that your job as a major gift officer can be difficult. There are a number of threats to your psyche that come from either the organization or the donor: A manager who insists on high performance without giving you the tools to do your job. A program department that does not give good program information. A donor who is difficult to deal with. A steady stream of “no’s” that you face as you try to fulfill your donor’s interests and passions. And the list goes on. But there is a group of internal threats — let’s call them hurdles — that you face as well. These are blocks and fears that sit inside your heart and mind. And if ...

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Nonprofit Trending Now

By Lynda Reich

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Here is a good video series to keep up with what is trending in nonprofit news! #NPPTrendingNow Ep 123: 365 Days of Monthly Giving Welcome back to #NPPTrendingNow, a weekly video series where NonProfit PRO Editor-in-Chief Nhu Te breaks down the top three coveted stories of the week. This week, we share why now is the best time to launch a major giving campaign, how to overcome personal hurdles and why monthly giving is a year-long activity. Have a great weekend! We will catch you next week for the next episode of #NPPTrendingNow. Here is the link to the series

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7 great ways to share God’s love this Valentine’s Day

By Sam Paredes

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Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a great article by Tricia Brown on how we can spread our love! Tradition holds that Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who was imprisoned for ministering to persecuted Christians and for performing wedding ceremonies for soldiers who weren’t supposed to marry. Today, Valentine’s Day is most often seen as a day to celebrate love. That’s great if you have a partner with whom to share a special date, a box of chocolates and a bunch of roses. However, it is a reminder to some people of what they feel is missing in their lives. How can you show love to your church and community this Valentine’s Day? Help the elderly connect. ...

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6 Financial Management Tips For Churches

By Brenda Jacinto

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Churches, like most nonprofit organizations, rely on the generous donations of its members. The manner in which those resources are managed can be the difference between a healthy financial statement and one that sets off alarms. The financial viability of a Church rests on its ability to manage its money. This creates the need for churches to figure out the best way to manage their limited financial resources. Church leaders are often challenged with ensuring there is continued funding to support ministry programs and fixed operating costs. This can be difficult because the financial needs of a church can be significant, and juggling limited resources ...

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Two guaranteed ways to thrive this busy season

By Merilee Howell

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Now that we’ve fully stepped into the new year, busy season is picking up speed. During this period of longer work hours and takeout dinners, it can be challenging to address your own needs when your day-to-day priority is your clients. This imbalance might not be noticeable at first, but it can have a cumulative effect as the weeks pass by. Instead of being a time when we realize our greatest potential, busy season can leave us feeling stuck and overwhelmed. Does this sound familiar? Before you know it, it’s June and you’ve somehow lost half of the year. Here’s the thing: If you don’t take time for your wellness, you will take time for your future illness. ...

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FASB proposes changes to not-for-profits’ reporting of gifts-in-kind

By Lynda Reich

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FASB on Monday issued a Proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) designed to improve transparency in how not-for-profit organizations present and disclose contributed nonfinancial assets. Also known as gifts-in-kind, contributed nonfinancial assets include fixed assets such as land, buildings, and equipment; the use of fixed assets or utilities; materials and supplies, such as food, clothing, or pharmaceuticals; intangible assets; and/or recognized contributed services. The Proposed ASU, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958) , would require not-for-profit organizations to present contributed nonfinancial assets as a separate line item in the statement ...

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Golden Rules of Goal Setting: Five Rules to Set Yourself Up for Success

By Sam Paredes

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The Five Golden Rules 1. Set Goals That Motivate You When you set goals for yourself, it is important that they motivate you: this means making sure that they are important to you, and that there is value in achieving them. If you have little interest in the outcome, or they are irrelevant given the larger picture, then the chances of you putting in the work to make them happen are slim. Motivation is key to achieving goals. Set goals that relate to the high priorities in your life. Without this type of focus, you can end up with far too many goals, leaving you too little time to devote to each one. Goal achievement requires commitment, so to maximize ...

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Improving Donor Loyalty with a Winning Sustainer Program

By Sandy McClure

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Sustainer programs have grown substantially over the past few years, especially for those organizations that took advantage of generating new donors before, during and after the 2016 elections. In this article, I’m going to address two questions: Why has sustainer giving become so popular? How can you create a winning sustainer program? Why Has Sustainer Giving Become Popular? It’s all around us: subscription programs, small amounts taken automatically from bank or credit card, from desktop, laptop, tablet, smart phone. It’s easy. It’s convenient. In general, people in the U.S. have become more comfortable making automatic payments, and donors ...

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Setting and Achieving Goals for Your Church

By Brenda Jacinto

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Let’s be honest for a second. Are your church’s goals measurable? Maybe. Maybe not. In order to reach the goals you’ve set for yourself and your church body you must create well-defined plans and steps to lead to the attainment of those goals. That begs another question. What are your initiatives to reach these goals? Thinking about your initiatives will allow you to provide clarity and determine which path you need to go down to reach your goals. Let’s say you want to increase attendance at your evening service or in small groups on Sunday morning. You should be tracking attendance for each throughout the year in your church management software. You ...

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3 Areas Nonprofits Need to Focus on for Operational Security

By Lynda Reich

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As the pace of technology adoption quickens, so does the likelihood of cybersecurity breaches and data leaks that could have damaging impact on an organization’s ability to operate. While these threats are of concern to every sector, nonprofits, in particular, have unique facets that must be taken into account. One of the most underdeveloped areas of technology cohesion is the backend technology that nonprofits rely on to run their operations. While there is an ample amount of options for nonprofits to manage donors and volunteers , there needs to be more investment around fraud protection, data and identity breaches, and security and access to sensitive ...

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It’s not too late to resolve to improve

By Merilee Howell

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The first month of the year is over and, for several reasons, I’ve not committed to any goals in 2020. Has that happened to you? I always try to set goals around learning — one for fun and one to enhance my career. Let’s apply that adage, “It’s better late than never.” The digital revolution has changed my communications profession. Dedication to learning is not optional. It’s mandatory for me to keep up. As a CPA, you are also in a constant race to outpace change. Technological developments fuel workplace changes and challenge you to stay on top of every skill set. To thrive in the digital era, you need to “unlearn” some old routines and develop some new ...

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Even If Your Goals Seem Out of Reach, Stay Motivated With These 6 Strategies

By Sam Paredes

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Here's an article from Stephen Key on the Entrepreneur website! I’ve been working on one project in particular for what seems like forever now -- and I’m growing frustrated. I have nothing to show for my hard work. The project feels as if it has come to a standstill. Day after day, nothing changes, and I find myself wondering, how long can I keep this up without giving up? Self-doubt has crept in. I know walking away isn’t the answer, but these negative feelings are starting to eat away at my creativity. Staying motivated is even harder when it comes to challenging projects that seem to drag on and on. That doesn’t mean we should shy away from them, though. ...

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Employee or independent contractor: What’s the difference?

By Brenda Jacinto

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Classifying workers as either employees or independent contractors is important. The correct worker categorization has a profound impact on businesses because it affects not only how workers are paid, but how the government gets paid. Because of the latter reason, this is an issue that will not be going away any time soon. In fact, it’s been thrust into the forefront more than ever due to changing economies, technological revolutions and recent legislative actions. What’s the difference between the classifications? Why does it matter? The IRS has long had a voice in the categorization discussion. In 1987, based on an examination of cases and ...

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