All posts by Erin Mirante

3 ideas for recruiting nonprofit volunteers

Erin MiranteAugust 9, 20180 Comment

Most charitable not-for-profits have a never-ending need for volunteers. But finding new ones can be time-consuming — and volunteer searches aren’t always successful. Here are three recruitment ideas that can help.

1. Look nearby

Is your nonprofit familiar to businesses, residents and schools in the surrounding community? People often are drawn to volunteer because they learn of a worthwhile organization that’s located close to where they live or work.

Start to get to know your neighbors by performing an inventory of the surrounding area. Perhaps there’s a large apartment building you’ve never paid much attention to. Consider the people who live there to be potential volunteers. Likewise, if there’s an office building nearby, learn about the businesses that occupy it. Their employees might have skills, such as website design or bookkeeping experience, that perfectly match your volunteer opportunities.

Once you’ve identified some good outreach targets, mail or hand-deliver literature introducing your nonprofit as a neighbor and describing your needs. Consider inviting your neighbors to a celebration or informational open house at your offices.

2. Fine-tune your pitch

By making your pitches as informative and compelling as possible, you’re more likely to inspire potential volunteers to action. Specifically, explain the:

• Types of volunteer jobs currently available
• Skills most in demand
• Times when volunteers are needed
• Rewards and challenges your volunteers might experience

When possible, incorporate photographs of volunteers at work — along with their testimonials. And make it easy for people to take the next step by including your contact information or directing them to your website for an application.

3. Reach out to your network

Develop a system for keeping those closest to your organization — major donors, board members and active volunteers — informed of your volunteer needs. These individuals often are influential in their communities, so a request from them is more likely to get people’s attention. They may even frame a request for assistance in the form of a challenge, with the solicitor being the first to volunteer their time or funds, of course.

Remain in pursuit

No matter how precise or thorough your initial recruiting efforts, remember that one-time or sporadic efforts are insufficient to attract a steady supply of volunteers. To get the resources you need, make volunteer recruitment a continuous process that draws on several strategies.

Changes ahead for 401(k) hardship withdrawal rules

Erin MiranteAugust 1, 20180 Comment

Many employers sponsor 401(k) plans to help employees save for retirement. But sometimes those employees need access to plan funds well before they retire. In such cases, if the plan allows it, participants can make a hardship withdrawal.

If your organization sponsors a 401(k) with this option, you should know that there are important changes on the way next year.

What will be different

Right now, 401(k) hardship withdrawals are limited to only funds an employee has contributed, and the employee must first take out a plan loan from the account. The employee also cannot participate in the plan for six months after a hardship withdrawal.

However, important changes take effect in 2019 under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA). First, employees’ withdrawal limits will include not only their own contributed amounts, but also accumulated employer matching contributions plus earnings on contributions. If an employee has been participating in your 401(k) for several years, this could add substantially to the amount of funds available for withdrawal in the event of a legitimate hardship.

In addition, the BBA eliminates the current six-month ban on employee participation in the 401(k) plan following a hardship withdrawal. This means employees can stay in the plan and keep contributing, which allows them to begin recouping withdrawn amounts right away. And, for you, the plan sponsor, it means no longer having to re-enroll employees in the 401(k) after the six-month hiatus.

What remains the same

Some things haven’t changed. Hardship withdrawals are still subject to a 10% tax penalty, along with regular income tax. This combination could take a substantial bite out of the amount withdrawn, effectively forcing account holders to take out more dollars than they otherwise would have to, so as to wind up with the same net amount.

The BBA also didn’t change the reasons for which hardship withdrawals can be made. According to the IRS, such a withdrawal “must be made because of an immediate and heavy financial need of the employee and the amount must be necessary to satisfy the financial need.” This can include the need of an employee’s spouse or dependent, as well as that of a nonspouse, nondependent beneficiary.

The agency has said that the meaning of “immediate and heavy” depends on the facts of the situation and assumes the employee doesn’t have any other way to meet the need. Examples offered by the IRS include:

• Qualified medical expenses
• Tuition and related educational fees and expenses, and
• Burial or funeral expenses.

The agency has also cited costs related to a principal residence as usually qualifying. These include expenses related to the purchase of a principal residence, its repair after significant damage, and costs necessary to prevent eviction or foreclosure.

Further guidance

If your organization sponsors a 401(k) plan that permits hardship withdrawals, be sure to read up on all the details related to the BBA’s changes. Our firm can provide more information and further guidance.

10 best practices of a nonprofit/donor relationship

Erin MiranteJuly 26, 20180 Comment

The Donor Bill of Rights was designed about 25 years ago as a blueprint of best practices for not-for-profits. Some critics have since asserted that the rights are out of date or not comprehensive enough. However, revisiting the list’s basic principles can help you build solid relationships with donors — and even boost fundraising.

10 rights

Here are the rights and what they might mean for your nonprofit:

1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, how it intends to use donated resources and its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes. This information is the bedrock of your outreach efforts and should be clear to your board, staff and anyone reading your organization’s materials.

2. To be informed of who’s serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities. You must be transparent about who serves on your board, their responsibilities and the decisions they’re making.

3. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements. Make your nonprofit’s financial data easily accessible to constituents, potential donors and charitable watchdog groups.

4. To be assured gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given. Donors expect that you’ll minimize administrative expenses so their funds are available for programming and that you’ll honor any restrictions they’ve placed on gifts.

5. To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition. In addition to thanking donors, provide them with the substantiation required for a federal tax deduction and information about the charitable deduction rules and limits.

6. To be assured that donation information is handled with respect and confidentiality to the extent provided by law. Post your organization’s privacy policy on your website and be clear about what information you’re gathering about donors and how that information will be used.

7. To expect that relationships between individuals representing organizations and donors will be professional. Staff and board members should be trained in proper donor interaction — both off- and online.

8. To be informed whether fundraisers are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors. Again, transparency about your operations is critical.

9. To have the opportunity for donors’ names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share. Donors, not your nonprofit, get to decide whether their information can be shared. Make it easy for donors to opt out of email and other lists.

10. To feel free to ask questions and receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers. Open dialogue between your nonprofit and your donors fosters respect and deepens relationships.

3 keys to a successful accounting system upgrade

Erin MiranteJuly 16, 20181 Comment

Technology is tricky. Much of today’s software is engineered so well that it will perform adequately for years. But new and better features are being created all the time. And if you’re not getting as much out of your financial data as your competitors are, you could be at a disadvantage.

For these reasons, it can be hard to decide when to upgrade your company’s accounting software. Here are three keys to consider:

1. Your users are ready. When making a major change to your accounting software, the sophistication of the system needs to align with the technological savvy of its primary users. Sometimes companies buy expensive software only to have many of its features gather virtual dust because the employees who use it are resistant to change.

But if your users are well trained and adaptable, they may be able to extract added value from a more sophisticated accounting system. For instance, they could track key performance indicators to generate more meaningful financial reports.

2. The price is right. You’ll of course need to consider the costs involved. As holds true for any technology purchase, project leaders must set a budget and focus the search on products and vendors offering only the functions your company needs.

But don’t stop there. Explore add-on services such as free trials, initial training and ongoing support. You want to get the most value from the software, which goes beyond the new and improved features themselves.

3. You need to integrate. This is the concept of networking your accounting system with your other mission-critical systems such as sales, inventory and production.

For most companies today, integration is essential to maximizing the return on investment in accounting software. So, if you haven’t yet implemented this functionality, an upgrade may be highly advisable. Just be aware that a successful companywide integration will call for buy-in from every nook and cranny of your business.

Typically, if a company doesn’t need any major accounting process changes, it probably doesn’t need a major accounting software change either. But if upgrading both will help grow your business, it’s absolutely a step worth considering. We can provide further guidance and info. Contact our team today!

When it comes to revenue, nonprofits need to think like auditors

Erin MiranteJuly 12, 20180 Comment

Auditors examining a not-for-profit’s financial statements spend considerable time on the revenue figures. They look at the accounting methods used to record revenues and perform a detailed income analysis. You can use the same techniques to increase your understanding of your organization’s revenue profile.

In particular, consider:

Individual contributions. Compare the donation dollars raised to past years to pinpoint trends. For example, have individual contributions been increasing over the past five years? What campaigns have you implemented during that period? You might go beyond the totals and determine if the number of major donors has grown.

Also estimate what portion of contributions is restricted. If a large percentage of donations are tied up in restricted funds, you might want to re-evaluate your gift acceptance policy or fundraising materials.

Grants. Grants can vary dramatically in size and purpose ― from covering operational costs, to launching a program, to funding client services. Pay attention to trends here, too. Did one funder supply 50% of total revenue in 2015, 75% in 2016, and 80% last year? A growing reliance on a single funding source is a red flag to auditors and it should be to you, too. In this case, if funding stopped, your organization might be forced to close its doors.

Fees for services. Fees from clients, joint venture partners or other third parties can be similar to fees for-profit organizations earn. They’re generally considered exchange transactions because the client receives a product or service of value in exchange for its payment. Sometimes fees are charged on a sliding scale based on income or ability to pay. In other cases, fees are subject to legal limitations set by government agencies. You’ll need to assess whether these services are paying for themselves.

Membership dues. If your nonprofit is a membership organization and charges dues, determine whether membership has grown or declined in recent years. How does this compare with your peers? Do you suspect that dues income will decline? You might consider dropping dues altogether and restructuring. If so, examine other income sources for growth potential.

Once you’ve gained a deeper understanding of your revenue picture, you can apply that knowledge to various aspects of managing your organization. This includes setting annual goals and preparing your budget. Contact us for help interpreting and applying revenue data.

Is your inventory getting the better of you?

Erin MiranteJuly 10, 20180 Comment

On one level, every company’s inventory is a carefully curated collection of inanimate objects ready for sale. But, on another, it can be a confounding, slippery and unpredictable creature that can shrink too small or grow too big — despite your best efforts to keep it contained. If your inventory has been getting the better of you lately, don’t give up on showing it who’s boss.

Check your math

Getting the upper hand on inventory is essentially one part mathematics and another part strategic planning. You need to have accurate inventory counts as well as the controls in place to regulate quality and keep things moving.

As is true for so much in business, timing is everything. Companies need raw materials and key components in place before starting a production run, but they don’t want to bring them in too soon and suffer excess costs. The same holds true for finished products — you need enough on hand to fulfill sales without over- or understocking.

If you’re struggling in this area, re-evaluate your counting process. One alternative to consider is cycle counting. This process involves taking a weekly or monthly physical count of part of your warehoused inventory. These physical counts are then compared against the levels shown on your inventory management system.

The goal is to pinpoint as many inventory discrepancies as possible. By identifying the source of accuracy problems, you can figure out the best solutions. Of course, you can’t conduct cycle counting once and expect a cure-all. You’ll need to use it regularly.

Use technology

With all this data flying around, you need the right tools to gather, process and store it. So, investing in a good inventory software system (or upgrading the one you have) is key. As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out” — imprecise information coming from your current system could be leading to all those write-offs, inflated costs, missed sales and lost profits.

As always, you get what you pay for: Investing in a new software system and then paying ongoing maintenance fees (which are usually recommended to keep it running smoothly) could seem like a bitter pill to swallow. But, in the long run, strong inventory management can pay for itself.

Another way to use technology for inventory purposes is as a communication tool. Knowing which products are hot and which are not will go a long way toward developing correct purchasing and stocking levels. Consider using online surveys, email contests and even social networking (such as a Facebook page) to keep in touch with customers and gather this info.

Show some tough love

In an ideal world, every company’s inventory would be its best friend. But don’t be surprised if you have to regularly show yours some tough love to keep it from making a mess of your bottom line. Let us help you identify the best metrics and methods for managing your inventory.