Fundraising activities are regulated by state law. Many states require charitable nonprofits as well as any paid professional "fundraising counsel" or consultant hired to assist the nonprofit with fundraising activities, to register with the state before the nonprofit or professionals solicits any donations. Additionally, many states require nonprofits that enter into agreement to share the revenue from sales activity with another organization to file with the state to disclose that fundraising activity. All in all - it's complicated!
Outside Resource
Blue Avocado contributor and CPA Dennis Walsh gives us a complete, handy compliance guide, and even better: Five sample forms to make sure your wording is right.
The board of directors is responsible for hiring, and establishing the compensation (salary and benefits) of the executive director/CEO by identifying compensation that is "reasonable and not excessive," but that also is attractive enough to retain the best possible talent to lead the organization.
Translate your annual operating budget into a detailed cash flow projection over the course of a fiscal year with the templates below.
Cash Flow Template (Propel Nonprofits)
Cash Flow Projection Template (Nonprofit Finance Fund)
Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations — Form 990-N (e-Postcard) - Most small tax-exempt organizations whose annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less ($25,000 for tax years ending after Dec. 31, 2007 and before Dec. 31, 2010) are required to electronically submit Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard, unless they choose to file a complete Form 990 or Form 990-EZ instead.
Analyzing Financial Information Using Ratios - Nonprofit leaders seeking to understand their organization's financial situation usually start by reviewing the financial reports. Beyond understanding the reports, much can be learned from analysis of the information and interpretation of what it is telling you. For a more technical financial analysis, rations can be used to deepen understanding and interpretation.
From the Nonprofit Quarterly, this guide is a summary of the eight key business principles that should guide financial leadership practice.
An Executive Director’s Guide to Financial Leadership
Accepting payments by credit card is not difficult or expensive. TechSoup's A Few Good Methods for Processing Credit Cards provides tips and tools to process credit card transactions, both on- and offline, for organizations of all sizes.
As board members, we have twin responsibilities: to ensure that our organization is making efficient, appropriate use of funds and to ensure that we are reporting our overhead correctly. This article provides eight key ideas to know about overhead. (Blue Avocado)
A Board Member's Guide to Nonprofit Overhead
This NP Engage article walks through seven steps to developing a policy to manage the use and replenishment of reserve funds. Once an appropriate target amount has been determined for operating reserves, the board needs to draft a policy that establishes the fund and sets forth guidelines for using it.
7 Step Policy Guide to Nonprofit Operating Reserves