Nonprofit Knowledge Matters | 3 Rules for Small Nonprofits to Follow for Strong Internal Controls

“We’re a small nonprofit. What internal controls do we need to have in place?” When we created the Nonprofit Audit Guide to share financial audit requirements in all 50 states with charitable nonprofits, we noticed a shortage of information about internal controls written with an audience of small nonprofits in mind. So we were pleased to learn that the new book by Andy Robinson and Nancy Wasserman, The Board Member’s Easier Than You Think Guide to Nonprofit Finances, addresses this very topic, and delighted that they offered to share this excerpt for our newsletter because we think it really nails the important elements of strong internal controls for any size nonprofit:   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * If you’ve spent time in airports, you’ve undoubtedly seen unaccompanied minors. Maybe they’re off to see Grandma, or heading to summer camp, or shuttling between parents who live in different cities. Airlines have elaborate procedures for handing these children from one responsible adult to the next: from parent to check-in staff to gate agent to flight attendant to gate agent to Grandma. When they’re not on planes, the kids are herded from one secure holding area to another. Every movement and handoff is tracked. If the system fails, as it rarely does, it’s big news. Advertisement When we talk about financial controls, it might be useful to think about all the ways your organization can receive, hold, or spend money (grant payments, bank accounts, credit cards, and so forth) as unaccompanied children. Without appropriate procedures, and without designated people engaged throughout the process, money can be misdirected or embezzled. Read the full guest article on internal controls The golden rule of fundraising: Have a little respect While you are thinking about procedures that should be in place to ensure that your nonprofit’s internal controls are strong, don’t forget about the importance of putting accountability procedures in place in connection with your donors. When a charitable nonprofit is transparent and keeps its word to donors, the donor is more likely to trust and respect the charitable nonprofit. Maintaining the public’s trust is very important for the nonprofit’s ability to attract future donations. For ideas about how your nonprofit can be more “donor-centered” in its accountability practices, there is an article on that topic in the Nonprofit Knowledge Matters archives:Showing Respect for Donors. More resources from the National Council of Nonprofits: Financial management, including internal controls Cultivating a culture of transparency at your nonprofit All about gift acceptance policies Also from the Nonprofit Knowledge Matters archives: Three Ways Board Oversight Keeps Nonprofits Out of Trouble Help make our website a better resource for your nonprofit (and win!) The National Council of Nonprofits is working on building a new website for you, our readers who work for, volunteer for, donate to, and otherwise help nonprofits across the country make a difference in your community. To make that new website as helpful as possible to you, we're asking for about five minutes of your time to complete a short survey. As a special thanks, one person who has completed the survey will be randomly selected to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Thank you for helping us develop a better resource for the nonprofit sector. © Copyright 2013 National Council of Nonprofits. All rights reserved  1200 New York Avenue, NW | Suite 700 | Washington, DC 20005 | www.councilofnonprofits.org

Debunking Myths About the Affordable Care Act | 6 Quick Ways to Use Social Media for Branding| The Best Credit Card Processing For Small Business Owners

Debunking Myths About the Affordable Care Act As a business owner, it's important to understand how the Affordable Care Act may affect your business. As part of our ongoing blog series to clear up misconceptions, we're debunking another common myth: Business owners will be fined if they don't provide notification to their employees about the new Health Insurance Marketplace. > Read more http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/myth-vs-fact-myth-3-business-owners-will-be-fined-if-they-don%E2%80%99t-notify-their-employees-about-new-health-insurance-marketplace New Guidance on Information Reporting Requirements Under the Affordable Care Act Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, employers that are subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions must report certain information regarding the health coverage they offer their full-time employees. Here's what you need to know. > Read more http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/myth-vs-fact-myth-3-business-owners-will-be-fined-if-they-don%E2%80%99t-notify-their-employees-about-new-health-insurance-marketplace 3 Signs That Social Media Might Not Be the Right Fit for Your Small Business As a small business owner, do you sometimes wonder, “What should I be doing on social media?” It's a great opportunity to take a step back and consider whether it’s actually a good fit for your business. Here are some signs that social media may not be right for your small business. > Read more  http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/myth-vs-fact-myth-3-business-owners-will-be-fined-if-they-don%E2%80%99t-notify-their-employees-about-new-health-insurance-marketplace Hang out with SBA & Cover Oregon for Health Care Answers Not sure how the health care law may impact your business in Oregon? SBA and Cover Oregon are teaming up to bring you another Google+ Hangout so you can learn how to access health care coverage for your small business. When: September 17 | 12 -12:30pm PT Where: Watch from either SBA’s YouTube Channel or Google+ Page  > Read more  http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/myth-vs-fact-myth-3-business-owners-will-be-fined-if-they-don%E2%80%99t-notify-their-employees-about-new-health-insurance-marketplace 6 Quick Ways to Use Social Media for Branding While there’s no overnight success when it comes to converting social media followers to customers, some strategies can help you see results. Here’s how to make sure your social media efforts convey exactly what you want about your brand. > Read more Register for a Free Affordable Care Act Webinar Throughout September, SBA and Small Business Majority will hold a weekly Affordable Care Act 101 webinar. During each presentation, small business owners can learn about the law and what it means for their company and employees.     Thursday, September 19 at 2:00 PM ET: Click to Register Thursday, September 26 at 2:00 PM ET: Click to Register The Best Credit Card Processing For Small Business Owners Are you looking to accept credit cards from your customers? Is building your company's creditworthiness essential to you? Learn how to determine which merchant for credit card processing would be best for your small business. > Read more http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/myth-vs-fact-myth-3-business-owners-will-be-fined-if-they-don%E2%80%99t-notify-their-employees-about-new-health-insurance-marketplace Leveling the Playing Field for US Small Business Exporters This month, U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will bring together exporters around the country through a series of roundtables to help document trade barriers that disproportionately affect small business exporters in the European Union. > Read more  http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/myth-vs-fact-myth-3-business-owners-will-be-fined-if-they-don%E2%80%99t-notify-their-employees-about-new-health-insurance-marketplace

NYCON's Upcoming Events & Trainings

[Tomorrow!] Organizational Capacity Assessment Clinics for  Mid-Hudson Valley Nonprofits [Poughkeepsie] NYCON Staff Experts - September 18th, 2013     Reserve Your Time Slot In this 45-minute session our staff experts will help to answer your "big picture" organizational questions. Session topics may range from day-to-day operations, program development, legal or human resource issues, to administrative and governance challenges among others. A 45-minute session may not be enough to answer all of your questions of course - in fact it may just start a conversation. If, at the completion of the clinic session, you feel that you would like to continue working with NYCON there are options to help you do that. Funding is available for additional technical assistance, consulting, training or meeting facilitation and more from The Dyson Foundation's Mini-Grant Program or perhaps even their Nonprofit Strategic Restructuring Initiative, if your organization is contemplating a serious collaboration or merger with another entity. More information on available capacity building funding & resources. The Dyson Foundation Mini Grant Program enables nonprofit board, staff, and volunteer leaders to develop new skills by providing organizations with financial support to hire consultants to lead specific capacity building activities. Mini-grants may also be used to defray the cost of conferences, seminars, and other training opportunities for staff and board. Our Expert Staff Include  Michael West, Esq.   Meetings with Michael West, Esq. can cover topics areas related to nonprofit Legal, HR, Policy Development, Contracts or other topics that are compliance or accountability related. Please have your questions ready.  Audrey Grifel, Capacity Building Advisor Meetings with Audrey Grifel, Capacity Building Advisor, can cover topics related to general nonprofit governance, leadership, structural or operational issues including board recruitment and development, fund development and strategic planning issue. [Thursday!] NYS Grants Gateway Webinar #2: Best Practices for Governance & Policies [Members Only] September 19, 2013 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Register Here Are you in the process of becoming 'prequalified' with New York State in order to receive funding for a contract currently in place or for future funding for which you'd like to be considered? Your prequalification status may be delayed for multiple reasons. If your application is being held (or if you haven't been able to complete it) due to questions about any of the following reasons this webinar will be a great resource for you. Operational documents (charitable determination letter from the IRS, audit, IRS Form 990, Organizational chart, etc.) Governance Policies & Practices (internal controls, separation of duties, nepotism and other clauses in your bylaws and personnel policies) Other Documents or Governance Policies that you don't have and aren't sure how to create. In this session we will be focusing on best practices for nonprofit governance and policy creation as they relate to the Grants Gateway portal, the prequalification questionnaire and the online Document Vault. We will also be discussing the options and process for NYCON assistance available to you as a member.   Join us on Thursday, September 19th, 2013 from 10:30am to 12:00pm to learn what your organization needs to do by way of best Governance and Policy practices in order to become a prequalified nonprofit with New York State.Register Here Fundraising on a Napkin: An Interactive Workshop for Bigger, Better Fundraising  [Utica] Camp Finance: Rethink, Retool, & Reboot! Preparing for Better Days Ahead October 10th & 11th, 2013    New Paltz, NY  With Special Keynote Speaker Dan Pallotta Workshop Descriptions Online, Register Now!   Camp Finance is truly an experience you'll never forget! Our annual conference is almost here, and we have a few exciting announcements for you! Workshop Descriptions & Agenda Online Now. Click HERE!   Join us at the Mohonk Mountain House for Camp Finance 2013!    We are happy announce our current agenda and workshop descriptions for this year's Camp Finance. Also new, we have available a printable paper-based registration form for your convenience. Questions? Please contact our Membership & Marketing Associate, Amber Vanderwarker at (518) 434-9194 ext. 126 or email her atavanderwarker@nycon.org for further details or questions. We do expect this event to sell out the capacity of the Mohonk Mountain House, so please register soon!  What Funders Need to Know About the New York State Grants Gateway [Funders Only Webinar] October 16th, 2013 10:00AM to 11:30AM Presented by Doug Sauer, CEO, NYCON and Michelle Jarvais, CFO, NYCON Register Here   This free session is exclusively for funders and provides insights gleaned from NYCON's unique knowledge and perspective of the Gateway from work with hundreds of nonprofit members statewide.NYCON has also worked in partnership with the State of New York in developing webinar training content and a FAQ tool on the topic, has conducted webinars serving over 400 participants to date, and has gone through the Gateway process ourselves.       As a funder in New York you may be aware that many of your nonprofit grantees are in the process of becoming 'prequalified' with New York State. All nonprofits must now go through the "Grants Gateway" and become "prequalified" by NYS in order to receive funding for a state contract currently in place or for future funding for which they would like to be considered. This initiative aims at raising the governance and operational standards for state grantees while down the road making the contracting process easier and more efficient. There are bumps in the road however that may result in current contract renewals being delayed. As a philanthropic investor or local government grant source, you should know how this prequalification process affects your applicants, grantees and funding criteria strategies.  Register Now Beyond Collaboration: Exploring & Navigating Corporate Affiliations [October - December] A Series of Free Workshops Provided to Mid-Hudson Valley Nonprofits by the New York Council of Nonprofits with Support from The Dyson Foundation  Presented by Doug Sauer, CEO of NYCON, Dave Watson Senior VP of Legal Accountability and Compliance Services Locations: Middletown   Kingston  Hudson Perhaps now more than ever, community-based nonprofits are seeking ways to do business differently and are exploring whether affiliation may be a path to sustainability and growth.  Join NYCON's highly experienced staff experts in learning about the various forms, processes, potential benefits and risks associated with corporate affiliations,including merger, acquisitions, subsidiary relationships and shared service arrangements. Who Should Attend:    Board members Executive Directors/CEOs CFOs and other nonprofit leaders The "Beyond Collaboration" Workshops are provided as a part ofThe Dyson Foundation Nonprofit Strategic Restructuring Initiative. This initiative is available to help nonprofit organizations, libaraies or units of government based in the Mid-Hudson Valley (Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, and Ulster counties) move from the exploring the feasibility of strategic restructuring, to planning the restructuring and implementing the plan, to enhancing the restructured entity. Funding is available for additional technical assistance, consulting, training or meeting facilitation and more. If, after this session, your organization is contemplating a serious merger or restructuring, then we encourage you to take advantage of this valuable resource through The Dyson Foundation. Workshop Dates & Locations: OCTOBER 22nd 9AM-12:00PM - Middletown - Hampton Inn Register Here OCTOBER 23rd 9AM -12:00PM- Kingston- Courtyard Kingston Register Here DECEMBER 11TH 9AM- 12:00PM- Hudson - St. Charles Inn Register Here