nonprofit operations

Volunteer San Diego goes out of business?!?!

Nov 15th

Posted by Heather Carpenter in nonprofit operations

No comments

I was shocked to find out that Volunteer San Diego shut its doors and laid off seven staff members.  I don’t know much about the details of this closing other than they ran out of money.  This is disappointing..for many reasons. First, VSD had very little competition and served a legitimate need in the community by matching volunteers with local nonprofits.  Second, VSD provided needed trainings and capacity building for nonprofits in managing volunteers.  Third, VSD won national awards for their efforts–they were good at what they did.  The major issue with VSD was getting funding to cover staff costs and operations. This is unacceptable but an unfortunate trend that keeps happening.

In the last ten years I’ve seen funders (foundations, corporations, individuals) stop funding organizations like VSD because it isn’t trendy.  Funders are obsessed with seeing the return on their dollars that needed infrastructure and capacity building organizations get pushed aside.   I’ve seen popular nonprofit management support organizations and nonprofit university programs go out of business due to lack of funding.  Some might argue that this is the natural life cycle of organization, however I disagree.  There will be a clear void in San Diego nonprofits with the closing of VSD and will be difficult for other organizations to take up the slack.  When will funders and the general public see the need to fund infrastructure and capacity building? Few foundations like the Community Foundation of New Orleans, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, and the Boston Foundation get it and provide general funding to infrastructure organizations.

It’s going to be ok — the IRS is just cleaning house

Jun 10th

Posted by Heather Carpenter in nonprofit operations

No comments

One of the first things I did when I worked as an Operations Manager for nonprofits was to review the organizational database.  In some cases, I spent six months to a year cleaning the database making sure the records were up to date and accurate.

This is exactly what the IRS has been doing — and I’m happy about it.  I think it is great that the IRS added an e-postcard filing system for small nonprofits.  I also think it is about time that the IRS clean its database.  Yes, there may be a few organizations that slip through the cracks that didn’t realize their tax exempt status has been revoked — if so, that is sad — because these organizations don’t know how to manage their paperwork to run a proper nonprofit organization.  Oh, and I realize there are some mistakes that the IRS has made on the list.  But instead of freaking out that there are $275 fewer nonprofits in the USA, let’s focus on the fact that the IRS is cleaning “house” and keeping track of the real nonprofits out there.

Take 10 Minutes a Day for Nonprofit Operations – technology inventory

Jul 12th

Posted by Heather Carpenter in #nonprofit

No comments

It is important that nonprofits keep an inventory of technology products and a log of
what goes wrong with each product as well as what is done to fix the problem. This inventory is helpful for the technology consultants or volunteers who come in a fix your computers and this inventory is important for insurance purposes if your equipment was ever stolen or lost in fire, flood or other disaster.

The technology inventory should include: Vendor/manufacture name, Model Name, Type of Operating system, Processor, RAM, Hard disk, Monitor, Network type, User Name, Date of purchase, and Item function. Tech Atlas provides a free technology inventory worksheet.

This and other helpful tips available in my Free Toolkit -- Setting up a Nonprofit Office

Take 10 Minutes a Day for Nonprofit Operations – technology inventory

Jul 12th

Posted by heathercarpenter in #nonprofit

No comments

It is important that nonprofits keep an inventory of technology products and a log of
what goes wrong with each product as well as what is done to fix the problem. This inventory is helpful for the technology consultants or volunteers who come in a fix your computers and this inventory is important for insurance purposes if your equipment was ever stolen or lost in fire, flood or other disaster.

The technology inventory should include: Vendor/manufacture name, Model Name, Type of Operating system, Processor, RAM, Hard disk, Monitor, Network type, User Name, Date of purchase, and Item function. Tech Atlas provides a free technology inventory worksheet.

This and other helpful tips available in my Free Toolkit — Setting up a Nonprofit Office

Three VERY IMPORTANT Manuals for Nonprofit Organizations

Apr 6th

Posted by Heather Carpenter in #nonprofit

No comments

Many times I've blogged about the importance of nonprofit operations. Ever so often accounting, human resources, and technology practices get pushed aside in a nonprofit organization because program work is prioritized as being more important. This is fine and dandy until a crisis occurs, like someone embezzles money from the organization or a disgruntled employee sues the organization. These types of things happen more often than not. That is why it is important to put the proper operations policies and procedures in place ahead of time to prevent these horrible things from happening.

Whether you run a new nonprofit or your nonprofit has been around for years, I recommend that EVERY nonprofit implement and actively use these three manuals in their organizations:

  1. Accounting manual
  2. Employment manual
  3. General operations manual

The accounting manual will keep an organization in compliance with nonprofit specific Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), as well as protect its financial assets, and ensure that proper internal controls are in place. The contents of a nonprofit accounting manual generally includes:

  • · Division of Duties
  • · Cash Receipts Procedures
  • · Cash Disbursements Procedures
  • · Reconciliations
  • · Petty Cash Fund
  • · Purchases
  • · Fixed Asset Management
  • · Payroll
  • · Financial Reporting
  • · Grant Compliance
  • · Fiscal Policy Statements

Sample Nonprofit Accounting Manual
Steps for Creating an Accounting Manual

The employment manual will help protect an organization against employee lawsuits and grievances. This manual will also help nonprofit employees understand key employment policies as well as the benefits available to them and mandated by California employment law**. The contents of an employment management generally includes, but is not limited to:
  • · Employment Policies
  • · Leave from Work and Other Benefits
  • · Vacation and Sick Leave
  • · FMLA
  • · Other state mandated policies
  • · Conditions of Employment
  • · Compensation and Other Administrative Matters
  • · Grievance Policies
  • · Verification of Receipt
  • · At Will Employment Statement
**Always involve a personnel attorney in creating or revising your employment manual

Sample Employment Manual
Creating an Effective Employment Manual for Your Nonprofit
Personnel Policy Manuals

The operations manual will document critical organizational information and general operating procedures. This manual will also improve operational efficiency. The contents of an operations manual generally includes, but is not limited to:
  • · Security Culture/Procedure
  • · File Saving Procedure
  • · Back Up Procedure
  • · Marketing and communications Procedures
  • · New Hire Procedure
  • · Emergency/Evacuation Procedure
  • · Fundraising Filing Procedure
  • · Human Resource/Personnel Filing Procedure
  • · Events Procedures

Operations Manual Template
Operations Manual Example
Operations Best Practices

I provided links to templates and examples so you can easily revise and personalize these manuals to your own nonprofit organization. The important thing is to involve the staff and key board members in the entire process from start to implementation.