Blogs

Preparing Your Donor Strategy for the Unexpected

By Sam Paredes
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The COVID-19 pandemic took everyone by surprise. But those nonprofits that had an emergency response marketing plan in place have been able to navigate these uncharted waters more effectively than other organizations. Such plans facilitate quick decisioning and provide a cohesive series of predetermined steps to follow, which can help organizations more effectively manage their resources and stay on message. Now is the perfect time for every organization to develop a rapid-response marketing plan by building on recent experiences and lessons learned from managing their response to the COVID-19 impact. Follow these steps to be prepared for the next unexpected ...
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Storytelling for Major Donors

By Sandy McClure
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You probably don’t need to be convinced of just how important storytelling is to successful fundraising. It goes without saying. Still, I was reminded of this recently while   reading a blog by Seth Godin.   Seth isn’t a fundraiser, but his remarks about the power of storytelling are spot-on. As he says, “It’s a story that causes us… to take action and tell others.” Similarly, in researching how the human brain responds to stories, Chip Heath and Dan Heath conclude in their book,   “Made to Stick,”   “A credible idea makes people believe. An emotional idea makes people care.   The right stories make people act.” As fundraisers, we see it time and ...
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3 Strategies Every Nonprofit Should Use for Year-End Fundraising in 2020

By Brenda Jacinto
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Nonprofits lost   billions of dollars when coronavirus upended their fundraising and operating plans this spring . Now, we’re more than halfway through 2020, and many nonprofits are in sink-or-swim territory. Budgets are tight, and this year-end fundraising has to work in order for many to stay afloat next year. Whatever a nonprofit’s plans to generate financial support   may   have been, it should be reevaluated — not next month, next week or tomorrow — today! There’s no time to waste in creating a fundraising strategy and approach that will give your nonprofit the resources it needs to maximize its impact in 2021. Organizations must be agile, innovative ...
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Nailing down your work-from-home policy

By Sam Paredes
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Did you ever see the “ Casual Friday ” episode on the HBO hit comedy, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”? That’s when Larry David’s friend visits the estate planner Larry recommended and is shocked to find the attorney wearing jeans and a denim shirt in his office. “This is how we dress on casual Friday, but we would never treat you casually,” the attorney explains to Larry’s skeptical friend, played by Ed Asner. “I want you to be on cutting edge whenever you’re handling my business,” the friend sneers. “... A lot of money is involved. You look like a cowboy. … You just lost my account. You go wrangle somebody else’s.” During the early days of the pandemic, most people ...
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New FAQs address PPP loan forgiveness issues

By Christopher Grady
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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with Treasury, released guidance Tuesday answering 23 frequently asked questions regarding the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans. The FAQs, published in a new   10-page document , are divided into four sections addressing different aspects of the process and calculations PPP borrowers should use to determine how much of their loan is forgivable. Following is a brief description of each section and highlights from the guidance provided. FAQ sections and highlights General loan forgiveness:   This section contains three FAQs. The first one clarifies that sole proprietors, independent ...
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Connection Counts: 5 Ways to Increase Donor Engagement and Donations

By Brenda Jacinto
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Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still feeling the weight of loss of life and livelihood. As governments on all levels debate how to open their economies back up — a daunting task made even more so with the latest surges in the numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths — questions remain on the pandemic’s impact on charitable giving. Many nonprofits face severe cutbacks on earned income and will implement budget cuts to survive. Like the last recession, there are organizations that are taking a hit in donations, and there are other organizations exceeding their goals. Those organizations that provide services to mitigate needs that are intensified ...
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How to Post a Sage Intacct Idea

By Kate Johnson
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Last month we had a handful of search queries that centered around how to post a Sage Intacct idea. We wanted to share how to do it in three simple steps! Step 1: Login to: https://community.intacct.com/ Step 2: You’ll see a section called “Recently Voted Ideas” on the homepage. Click on “Post and Idea” or visit: https://community.intacct.com/community/ideas/editIdea.apexp Step 3: Post your idea!! Don’t forget to tell other Sage Intacct users about it. The more votes it gets, the more likely it will be implemented in the next Sage Intacct release. Let us know your newest ideas
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Simplified accounting rules issued for small businesses

By Sam Paredes
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Proposed regulations ( REG-132766-18 ) issued Thursday update various tax accounting regulations to adopt the simplified tax accounting rules for small businesses enacted by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97. For tax years beginning in 2019 and 2020, these simplified tax accounting rules apply for taxpayers with inflation-adjusted average annual gross receipts of $26 million or less (known as the gross receipts test). Taxpayers classified as tax shelters are prohibited from using the simplified rules even if they meet the gross receipts test. A taxpayer is considered to meet the gross receipts test and be permitted to use the ...
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Imagine Getting A Jaw-Dropping Gift Online

By Cassy Paredes
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Imagine one Thursday you pull a report to get an idea of where your budget stands for the month. You’ve already checked Sunday’s offering, so you know what to expect there. But to your surprise, you see an astounding total for the week, several times larger than it was when you checked on Monday. You scan the gift amount column and quickly discover a jaw-dropping individual gift. It must be an error! You contact the unfamiliar giver. Turns out, she’s been viewing your online services since quarantining began and saw the online giving option promoted there. You welcome her, thank her for her generosity and ask if she accidentally typed in too many zeroes. ...
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How Nonprofits Can Maximize Impact With Limited Budgets

By Kate Johnson
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A Balanced Solution for Impact We’ve been studying this problem over the last several years through our partnerships with Daya, Georgia Works and other similar nonprofits. When it comes to designing an “optimal” service portfolio, there are two key decisions any nonprofit should make: (1)   What is the right combination of services to offer ? And (2)   how to allocate limited resources on different client-facing activities?  While all nonprofits share a common goal of maximizing social impact (by using quantifiable indicators), in practice, many nonprofits focus on output instead of impact. While output metrics are certainly important,   they don't measure ...
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Volunteer Interview Questions

By Sam Paredes
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Volunteers are the labor engine of a church and are an invaluable resource. A screening process is essential to placing volunteers in the most appropriate volunteer roles. Interviewing is an important part of the   volunteer application process  which is why volunteer interview questions are so important! A personal interview is one of the best ways to get to know an applicant and can help to ensure that the volunteer is matched to the best job for their skill set, interests, and personality. Another advantage of interviewing volunteer candidates is that it helps the organization get to know the volunteer. The volunteer also becomes connected to the ...
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Social Fundraising: Tips to Raise Funds

By Brenda Jacinto
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Fundraising for nonprofits has never been more essential than it is today. That’s why   virtual fundraising ideas   have become a top search topic for SEO. Still, what’s great about fundraising in today’s world is that you don’t only have to rely on the people on your list. You could prospect and ask for support from those who may have an interest in your cause. And social media is an excellent tool to promote the work you do. A platform that many nonprofits use, of course, is   Facebook . However, nonprofits also use other platforms, including Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. But there's one mistake many nonprofit marketers make, and that's focusing on ...
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Why Zoom meetings really do leave you exhausted

By Kate Johnson
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Marc Staut recalled the disappointment felt by some of his CPA firm clients as they introduced new information systems about a year ago. The project planning went fine. So did training the client firms’ professionals. The rollout may have been a bit aggressive in its scheduling, but it, too, went off without a hitch, and the new systems were in place, just waiting to be put to use. None of the firms’ professionals touched them. “It turned out they were just exhausted,” said Staut, the chief innovation and information officer for Boomer Consulting Inc. “They had spent so much time trying to learn some of these new ideas, some of these concepts, that they ...
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IRS Provides Guidance on Reporting Qualified Sick and Family Leave Wages Paid

By Sam Paredes
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Employers must report the amount of qualified sick and family leave wages paid to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The IRS has issued Notice 2020-54 to provide guidance to employers on how to report this on Form W-2. Here are key points in the guidance to be aware of: Employers will be required to report these amounts on Form W-2, Box 14, or in a statement provided with the Form W-2. The guidance includes optional language employers can use in the Form W-2 instructions for employees. The wage amount employers are required to report on Form W-2 will provide self-employed individuals who are also employees with ...
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Got Bored Kids? Here Are 20 Fun Activities For A Pandemic Summer

By Kate Johnson
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Midway through summer, many working parents have exhausted their arsenal of “fun activities,” and kids are getting bored to say the least. To make matters worse the unfortunate spike of Covid-19 cases across the country has made traditional camp options sparse. As a result, many busy parents have yet one more task on their overflowing list of to dos – curate a fresh, new list of Covid-19 friendly activities that the kids will love. Not to fear - budget travel and lifestyle expert Lindsay Myers offers a wide array of interesting, Covid-19 friendly activities (organized by category) that working parents can incorporate into their   pandemic summer planning ...
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Solve Church Problems By Asking A Simple Question – Why?

By Brenda Jacinto
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Churches love and support their members, volunteers, and employees. Showing that support involves learning to be problem solvers! Organizations that are good at problem solving use tools to help them determine the best solution. There are many creative ways to solve problems and one   quality tool   that is commonly used in problem-solving is called the   5 Whys . We will demonstrate an example of 5 whys. The 5 Whys tool involves an exercise that identifies a problem and asks the question   why?   five times. This exercise allows you to quickly drill down to the root cause of a problem by asking why until you fully understand the source of the ...
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Three Lines Model for risk management gets major update

By Sam Paredes
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A new model for governance and risk management issued Monday by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) makes major updates to the Three Lines of Defense model that has been popular for years. Called “ The Three Lines Model ,” the new approach is designed to help organizations identify structures and processes that best assist the achievement of objectives and facilitate strong governance and risk management. In the previous model, the three lines of defense were represented by management control as the first line, risk and control monitoring as the second, and independent assurance through the internal audit function as the third. The new model is ...
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5 reasons borrowers shouldn’t rush their PPP forgiveness applications

By Christopher Grady
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Borrowers who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act are asking their CPAs if and how they will qualify for PPP loan forgiveness. There is uncertainty over some of the program details. Organizations — especially small businesses — worry about meeting the maximizing loan forgiveness requirements. While you may be anxious to apply for forgiveness, here are five factors affecting the forgiveness application process.   Most lenders are not ready to process forgiveness applications. Many are developing technology tools such as “forgiveness portals” or will leverage other ...
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Flowcharting – A Quality Management Tool For The Church Administrator

By Brenda Jacinto
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Running the day-to-day operation of a church can be challenging and   making decisions   is an everyday occurrence The process of making decisions can have an impact on the experience of members, church volunteers, employees, and even church finances! This is why it is so important to use decision-making tools to ensure that all decisions are made with data and objectivity.   Flowcharts are one of those tools! There are   seven common quality management tools   that organizations use to make decisions and monitor quality initiatives.   All tools are used for problem-solving and different tools are used for different types of problems.   Once ...
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15 Common Leadership Communication Problems (And How To Correct Them)

By Kate Johnson
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One of the biggest challenges of being a leader is communicating effectively with a variety of stakeholders. Even the most competent leaders can sometimes have difficulties communicating with their clients, teams and supervisors. However, honing your communication skills and learning how to get your message across clearly is the key to successful leadership. To help, we asked members of   Forbes Coaches Council   what common communication problems they see among business leaders. Here are 15 issues they've spotted and how they recommend correcting and overcoming them. Forbes Coaches Council members discuss some of the most common communication ...
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