Nonprofit Resources
Four Expense Ratios and Measurements Your Church Should Monitor
Does your church track its expense ratios? This can help you identify key trends in the outflow of resources between years. It also provides the opportunity to compare with other churches and check the reasonableness of your expenses.
How to Be a Specialist in Supporting Your Support Team
Without support roles in the church, little or no ministry would take place. Your church should take care not to minimize the importance of these responsibilities. You can help ensure they are given their due by following a few key guidelines.
Nonprofit Issues Newsletter, Spring 2016
Learn how to create and implement an effective ERM strategy, correctly allocate joint costs, benefit from micro-donations, and assess the health of your church. Plus Newsbits on the FASB Not-for-Profit Financial Statements Project, new guidance on lease accounting, a phishing scheme involving W-2s, and more.
Minister’s Housing Allowance and Retirement Plan Contributions
The minister's housing allowance is a unique tax component that can provide substantial benefit to qualifying employees. However, many nonprofits don’t realize that including this nontaxable allowance when calculating retirement plan contributions could have significant consequences. Here's what you need to know.
Is Your Organization Managing Risk – or is Risk Managing You?
All entities make decisions based on risk every day. That means Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is a process that all higher education institutions, churches, schools, and ministries are already implementing. The question is: Is your organization managing the ERM process – or do you just react to risk after the fact?
Fraud Happened. Now What?
Unfortunately, the church has a long history of fraud as evidenced by biblical accounts, by two thousand years of church history, and by headlines in today’s news. Fraud can occur within any church. This article discusses key steps to take and key questions to ask for an appropriate and proactive response if fraud should ever occur within your church.
New Employee Benefit Plan Service Helps Nonprofits Assess Compliance
Many nonprofit organizations provide a retirement plan for their employees. But unless the plan is already required to have an independent audit, most organizations are unaware of the high standard of fiduciary responsibility the IRS and Department of Labor place on plan sponsors to oversee their benefit plans and operate them in accordance with regulations.
With Micro-Donations, Good Things Can Come in Small Packages
Donations to nonprofits plunged during the latest recession and have been edging their way to healthier levels ever since. But many contributors today can afford only small gifts in a still-tight economy. Enter the micro-donation.
Joint Costs: The Right Way to Allocate
With so much attention these days paid to fundraising ratios, many nonprofits feel pressure to minimize their fundraising expenses. This makes allocating joint costs — costs associated with activities that have both fundraising and other functions — appealing. But before you take that step, make sure you’re familiar with some frequently misunderstood accounting rules.
Ten Steps to Finalizing Your Annual Budget
No organization has an infinite supply of resources. Follow these steps to create a realistic and effective budget that will help your organization use the resources you do have in a way that accomplishes your goals and furthers your mission.