Nonprofits Could Benefit from Stronger Relationships with Foundations
The Great Recession caused a perfect storm for nonprofits by raising client need at the same time as dollars from individuals, government and foundations declined. Stretched resources and poor portfolio performance resulted in fewer dollars to give. The situation is gradually easing, but there are still improvements to be made. Grantmakers for Effective Organization (GEO)…
How the Labor Market Impacts Sales Price
When considering business value, most company owners think about their tangible assets – namely, buildings, equipment, vehicles and inventory. It’s easier to attach a value based on age, condition, expected revenues and useful life. But what about intangible assets? Here, most people think about goodwill or the established reputation of the business. An assembled work…
How Do Other Nonprofits Communicate with Donors?
While social media provides exciting new channels to reach and engage donors and the community, this complex communications landscape offers both many challenges as well as opportunities. In a recent study, 81 percent of nonprofit participants ranked Facebook as their No. 1 social media site. Twitter was a close second, with YouTube following. Interest in…
Profile of a Dishonest Employee
The old saying goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But in the world of fraud, that may not be the case. Similar characteristics turn up time after time among fraud perpetrators, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ 2014 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud & Abuse, a biannual study of occupational…
How the Government Purchases Information Technology is Changing
When purchasing Information Technology products and services, the United States government considers many different factors, including value and security. They don’t always end up purchasing the newest systems, but is that because they are slow to adapt or do they have other difficulties in acquiring the newest and the best? Earlier this year, millions of…
Where’s the Incentive in Your Incentive Plan
Business owners often tell us that, in an ideal world, they would sell their businesses to their best, most loyal and/or most ambitious employees. Business owners frequently dismiss this option because their employees don’t have enough money to buy the business. Is this the right decision? Is there a secret ingredient that might allow you…
Exchange Traded Funds Grow in Popularity
Exchange traded funds have grown from $100 billion in 2002 to $1.7 trillion by the end of 2013. ETFs are similar to mutual funds – both ETFs and mutual funds can be thought of as a “basket” of stocks and other assets combined into a single product. The advantage of both ETFs and mutual funds,…
Are You Fueling Your Leadership Pipeline?
Good business starts with good leadership – and solid businesses continue best when a pipeline of good leaders is in place. But, how does a business cultivate such a pipeline? How can we attract and retain people with leadership potential in our companies? The answers are complex. Recognizing the need. Many companies fail to recognize…
Value of Charitable Remainder Trust Interests at Heart of Case
The IRS recently won a case concerning a charitable contribution deduction for two charitable remainder trusts. It came down to a decision of what distribution amount to use in calculating the values of the charitable remainder interests. The U.S. Tax Court ruled that the value of the remainder interest in a NIMCRUT (net income with…
IRS Must Provide Form 990 in Readable Format
The IRS must supply electronic documents in a readable format as a result of a case concerning Form 990 with the transparency group Public.Resource.Org. The finding by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California earlier this year may result in greater protection of sensitive taxpayer information. The court said that, under…