An organization that is implementing or revisiting its major gifts program should take advantage of that initiative as an opportunity to weave in best practices and other preventative measures that promote legal compliance and help avoid lawsuits. Some of the considerations should include preventing donor intent disputes and communication problems, seeking the help of experts […]
Author: Emily Chan
Major Gifts – Part I: Tips for Implementing a Major Gifts Program
“A major gift is not something that donors do on a whim or a lark, or on the spur of the moment…. And in all likelihood, they do not materialize without a great deal of time, talent, or effort attached…. Making the major gift is a very special expression on the part of the donor, […]
Compensation Strategies and Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations – Part Two
“Best Practices in Nonprofit Compensation” The laws regarding nonprofit compensation are another element that can make compensation a disliked topic in an organization. The penalties are severe and there are no precise formulas for generating a compensation plan. With public charities, the IRS mainly focuses on certain individuals such as directors and key employees. Excess […]
Compensation Strategies and Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations – Part One
Compensation decisions for nonprofits can be difficult because organizations are often balancing twin aims of recruiting and retaining highly skilled and highly valued individuals, and complying with laws that prevent unfair or unreasonable compensation. Recently, I participated in two events regarding nonprofit compensation that address these dual concerns. Below are some of the tips that […]
Waiting for ‘Superman’
Davis Guggenheim, director of An Inconvenient Truth, addresses another thought-provoking topic—American public education reform—in his recent documentary, Waiting for ‘Superman’. Waiting for ‘Superman’ follows the stories of five young children who despite entering different grades, being of different backgrounds and attending different public schools throughout the country, all find themselves in the same situation: hoping […]
Social Media Policy Resources for Nonprofits
When Facebook was down last week due to technical problems, numerous news stories such as “FACEBOOK IS DOWN: Can Life Go On?” in the SF Gate and “Facebook Down, Like Buttons Vanish, Internet Implodes” in TechCrunch sprouted almost instantaneously all over the internet. Comedic as they were, they also served a dose of reality that […]
Not Just a Resume Booster: Tips for evaluating a nonprofit before joining the board of directors
Today is your lucky day. You received an offer to join a board of directors of a nonprofit and you readily accept. You cannot be more excited. It seems like a perfect fit. It has a mission you care about and you cannot help but think how great it will look on your resume. But […]
7th Annual Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp, 2010
This year, I had the pleasure of attending the Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp event at the UC Berkeley campus for the second year in a row. This year’s Boot Camp had over 70 presenters and was the first year with a shift beyond the nonprofit sector. Below are my tweets, and my favorite tweets from […]
Public Support Tests – Public Charities: An Update
Satisfaction of one of the public support tests under Section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code is one way that an organization can qualify as a public charity rather than a private foundation. There are two types of public support tests under Section 509(a)(1) for organizations seeking public charity status under this Section – the […]
Finding the Right Transparency
Today, more than ever, the public and government agencies are demanding nonprofits to be transparent. But concerns about having a realistic picture of internal operations, where money is going, and the effectiveness of the programs are countered by concerns of overburdened staff, increased administrative costs, and an invitation to singled-out and damaging criticism. Transparency is […]