Nonprofits: Are you Actively Seeking Mobile Donations?
Mobile giving took a big leap in 2014. Almost 10 percent of all donations were made through mobile devices. When the number of people who receive the notice via mobile but donate on a desktop are included, the percentage climbs to 17.6 percent, according to a study by the fundraising software firm Blackbaud. That translates…
Unintended Consequences
Stephen Manicek sat quietly and stared out the window of his car as it sat parked in the parking lot of Manicek Microtek. Until a few minutes ago, he had been president of Manicek Microtek, one of the country’s largest telecommunications parts distributors. Now he was out of a job and felt he was a…
Are Real Estate Appraisals Too Conservative?
What goes up must come down – nowhere is that more true than in banking and real estate. Bubbles have led to busts more than once with housing prices sinking faster than rocks. This happened in New England in the late 1980s and again nationwide during the Great Recession. Home prices had been in a…
Is Cash Flow Still Important?
In past issues of this newsletter, we have suggested that cash flow is “king” for a closely held business. But with low interest rates, abundant private equity capital and an improving economy, some may question whether our emphasis on cash flow is outdated. While this is a valid perspective, we still find that in the…
Do You Focus Enough on Existing Donors?
Cultivating new donors is an expensive proposition. If it’s easier to get more business in the for-profit world from an existing customer than a new one, how does that translate into donor retention practices? Not as much as nonprofits would hope, according to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, an association that does annual fundraising effectiveness…
Forecasting- What is it and how is it done?
Federal agencies put together their budgets at the end of each fiscal year for the next year. Once that budget is approved, it becomes their forecasting report. Forecasting reports differ slightly from agency to agency. In general they represent the list of goods and services that the agency will be spending their budget on throughout…
Mistreatment of Student Loan Borrowers Results in Major Fine
Discover Bank, which handles millions in student loans, has been fined $2.5 million and ordered to repay $16 million to consumers for illegal student loan-servicing practices. The Illinois-based bank overstated the minimum amounts due and denied consumers information about student loan interest they had paid and needed for federal income tax deductions, according to the…
Buying Out Your Partner
MMS, Inc., a computer service business, had survived recent industry turbulence through the persistent efforts of its owners, Ralph McMillan and Janet Shaw. In fact, MMS had enjoyed good cash flow for the past three years and its future looked rosy. Successfully meeting these challenges made Ralph (age 59) more anxious than ever to leave…
How Seniors Can Avoid Healthcare Fraud
Senior citizens are often targeted by con artists, and a high percentage of the crime is either healthcare or health insurance fraud. Seniors are particularly targeted because many have accumulated a nest egg, typically have excellent credit and have good private health insurance or Medicare. Medicare fraud, particularly in the form of unneeded medical equipment,…
Four Ways to Help Overwhelmed Employees
In today’s post-recession world, most companies are trying to do as much as they can without adding resources – and that often applies to personnel. Jobs have been combined and duties expanded to the point that employees are often struggling to do all the work they’ve been assigned. A struggling employee is an unhappy employee…