March 26, 1998 | Read Time: 6 minutes
All the Way to the Bank: Smart Money Management for Tomorrow’s Nonprofit
By Susan Kenny Stevens and Lisa M. Anderson
Non-profit organizations should not be so preoccupied with raising funds that they neglect the assets already in their charge, assert the authors of this book.
Ms. Stevens, founder of the Stevens Group in St. Paul, and Ms. Anderson, a consultant at the firm, lament that too many charities assume that attracting capital is more important than managing it.
“For most non-profits, income is the one thing over which they have least control,” write the authors. “Our goal is to help you manage what is within your control.”
They offer a crash course in financial services that are available to non-profit groups looking to increase their “net worth.” They begin by showing how non-profit groups can assess their finances using balance sheets, income statements, and accounting techniques such as ratio analysis. They also explain the nuances of recent changes instituted by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
The authors then cover how to establish profitable relationships with local banks, manage cash flow, save and invest excess funds, borrow money, and detect signs of financial trouble. A final chapter outlines what the authors consider to be successful characteristics of “tomorrow’s” non-profit groups — shrewd money management aside.
A glossary of terms and an index are provided. The book was supported by the Otto Bremer Foundation in St. Paul.
Publisher: The Stevens Group, Hamline Park Plaza, 570 Asbury Street, Suite 207, St. Paul 55104; (612) 641-0398; fax (612) 647-0434; 110 pages; $16.95; I.S.B.N. 0-9652208-7-7.
The Business of Special Events: Fundraising Strategies for Changing Times
By Harry A. Freedman and Karen Feldman
Too many fund-raising events flop because they lack solid financial planning, maintain the authors of this book.
“Unlike successful businesses, special events are often run by inexperienced people — frequently, these people are volunteers with good intentions but unrealistic expectations,” write Mr. Freedman, a fund-raising consultant based in Philadelphia, and Ms. Feldman, a journalist in Fort Myers, Fla.
They stress that to insure the success of any chili cook-off, dance party, or telethon, a non-profit group should never stray from crafting a comprehensive budget and setting realistic goals.
They cover how to choose an event appropriate to the organization, set up a management structure and delegate tasks by committee, tap into corporate underwriting and sponsorship, scout locations, promote the event in the news media, feed the crowd, and procure celebrity attendees.
The book is filled with budget worksheets, checklists, and sample documents such as seating charts, legal agreements, and press releases. Also included are a list of questions for use in evaluating the event’s success, and a bibliography of additional special-events resources.
Publisher: Pineapple Press, P.O. Box 3899, Sarasota, Fla. 34230; (941) 953-2797; fax (941) 953-2799; World-Wide Web http://www.pineapplepress.com; 160 pages; $21.95; I.S.B.N. 1-56164-141-3.
The Charity’s Guide to Charitable Contributions
By Pamela McAllister
This guide is intended for use by charity staff members or volunteers who may lack a background in law or accounting but who need to know enough about federal tax law to inform donors about their contributions and who want to stay in the good graces of the Internal Revenue Service.
Ms. McAllister, a Seattle-based lawyer who counsels tax-exempt organizations, begins by examining the fundamentals of charitable contributions, such as a charity’s eligibility to receive gifts. She then covers the regulations that affect contributions made in exchange for goods and services, commonly called premiums, as well as contributions of services, of gifts of $250 or more, and of property.
She explores how tax laws pertain to special events and provides an overview of planned giving. Other topics include what to tell volunteers about deducting out-of-pocket expenses and how to become familiar with state laws that govern charitable solicitations.
Some complicated topics, such as unrelated-business income tax, are touched on only briefly. Ms. McAllister stresses that the guide is meant to be a general reference and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice about specific situations.
Appendixes contain citations of relevant tax-court rulings, a suggested reading list, two documents from the I.R.S. that explain regulations of charitable contributions and how to determine the value of donated property, a form for non-cash charitable contributions, and an information return for charities that receive gifts.
The book is the first in a new series from Conlee-Gibbs Publishing entitled “Law and Tax Guides for Charities.”
Publisher: Conlee-Gibbs Publishing, P.O. Box 21085, Seattle 98111-3085; (800) 788-8665; fax (206) 783-0343; World-Wide Web http://www.exemptlaw.com; 140 pages; $29; I.S.B.N. 0-9661596-0-8.
The Foundation Directory 1998, 20th Edition
Editor, Elizabeth H. Rich; Assistant Editor, Amy R. Horowitz
This new edition profiles 8,642 private, corporate, and community foundations that hold assets of at least $2-million or that award $200,000 or more each year. It features approximately 1,000 entries that did not appear in the previous edition.
According to the Foundation Center, those 8,642 funds — while representing fewer than one-fifth of all active U.S. foundations — manage more than $247-billion in assets and donate over $12.4-billion annually, or 90 per cent of all foundation giving.
Individual entries provide the following information: address, phone number, financial data, type of foundation, types of support provided, application information, and a sampling of grants previously awarded. The entries are organized geographically by state. The information is also indexed in several ways, including by: donors, officers, and trustees; grant subject; and types of support given.
The Foundation Center also publishes The Foundation Directory Part 2, which covers over 4,900 medium-sized foundations that hold assets of at least $1-million and that give between $50,000 and $200,000 annually.
For further information, see tables on Page 18.
Publisher: The Foundation Center, Dept. NW6, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York 10003; (212) 807-3690 or (800) 424-9836; fax (212) 807-3677; World-Wide Web http://fdncenter.org; 2,068 pages; $215 cloth, $185 softcover; I.S.B.N. 0-87954-762-6 cloth; 0-87954-765-0 softcover; The Foundation Directory Part 2, 1,127 pages; $185; I.S.B.N. 0-87954-763-4; $20 discount when ordering both.
Nonprofit Mergers & Alliances: A Strategic Planning Guide
By Thomas A. McLaughlin
The stigma of corporate mergers, synonymous with fired workers and greedy bosses, has made many board members and executives of non-profit organizations wary of joining with another group with a similar mission, writes the author of this book.
But non-profit organizations should not avoid what can be a beneficial and necessary change, says Mr. McLaughlin.
“In many parts of the country today, there are simply too many non-profits,” he writes. “[T]he plain fact is that having an excessive number of non-profit organizations actually weakens the collective power of the entire field.”
Mr. McLaughlin, senior associate at the Boston-based accounting and consulting firm BDO Seidman, begins by making the argument for non-profit mergers and proceeds to offer practical guidance on how to execute them.
The book’s five sections examine the reasons to merge; how to apply a corporate-merger model to non-profit groups; how to find a like-minded partner with which to merge; how to carry out a successful merger; and how to form alliances with other groups, should an all-out merger seem premature.
Among his tips: Analyze the zip codes of people who use a charity’s services to determine which non-profit groups could make good partners, and set key dates in the merger process to coincide with the start of the organizations’ fiscal quarters.
The book includes a P.C.-compatible disk that contains relevant forms and worksheets.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Avenue, New York 10158-0012; (800) 879-4539; fax (212) 850-6135; 288 pages; $49.95; I.S.B.N. 0-471-18088-2.
