The Center for Ethics, Governance, & Accountability

Many non-profits, particularly those who receive grants from state and local governments, have fiscal years that begin on July 1 and end on June 30. If yours is one of those, it’s not at all too early to begin to put your organization’s affairs in proper order.Why? Because most non-profits are fighting for their lives and competing vigorously for precious, limited, funding dollars. Your organization needs every competitive funding angle it can find. Several easy ways to ‘tidy up’ by year end include:1.    Be sure your organization has a concise statement of its purpose. If a prospective funder asked anybody on the staff or anybody on the board to explain the mission of the organization, could everyone do it with ease? If not, or if you are not sure, then spend some time on this very important basic issue. 2.    Make sure your financial statements are in order. Do you have a board meeting scheduled between now and your fiscal year end? If not, schedule one and make sure your board understands and approves your fiscal year-end reports.  3.    Make sure you provide your financial information in a timely manner to your accountant. Does your organization have a finance committee or an audit committee? If so, be sure to call a meeting and go over the financial reports with the committee members. Does your organization conduct an annual audit? If so, make sure the information is provided to the auditors in a proactive manner because the audited figures are the ones you will want to use for your IRS Form 990. 4.    Regarding the IRS Form 990, take note that your Form 990, filed in 2009 for fiscal years ending in 2008, will be the first filing under the newer and stricter IRS rules. Now would be a good time to make sure your organization is up to date on its understanding of the new regulations. 5.    If you have reports and audits and Form 990s that are complete and speak well for the accomplishments of your organization, do not hesitate to provide an overview to prospective funders.It does not appear that free-flowing funding for non-profits will resume any time in the near future. While this may be merely stating the obvious, all non-profits are encouraged to conduct their affairs proactively and to remain in strict compliance with the new IRS regulations. Actually, it is not difficult to do. It’s just like most things in life: you have to be committed to making it happen. In today’s funding competition, your organization needs all the assistance it can get. Make it happen.