Category: Nonprofit

So much of our experiences in the last few months have been out of the ordinary. So many intense, long work-days with short turn-around projects, presentations, and meetings—working diligently to meet the needs and challenges before us. One of the things that strikes me as truly extraordinary during the recent months working remotely is how much time I have invested in acquiring new skills, delving into topics and technologies for which my expertise was initially fairly elementary (or a brand new subject area), and generally learning as much as I could in a very short timeframe. I have had the opportunity to read multiple books and watch numerous webinars on new topics to increase my knowledge and expertise at the start of 2020, something I would not have expected to have the time to do this year. I had proposed a professional development plan for myself and for those whom I supervise at the start of the year, but what we’ve done so far in terms of growth and development has far exceeded any of my expectations and specific plans. When I review the robust (truly extraordinary!) numbers of individuals who have participated in programs and course offerings hosted by my organization over the last few months, I am certain that I am not alone in ramping up efforts to learn and develop during this unprecedented time.

The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector has always had a special focus on professional development. In fact, since the outset of the Standards for Excellence initiative in 1998, the program’s benchmark related to written, board-approved personnel policies has stated that “employee growth and development” should be featured in each nonprofit’s employee handbook, along with other important topics like “basic elements of the relationship (e.g., working conditions, telecommuting (if applicable), employee benefits, vacation, and sick leave). The policies should address orientation to the organization, employee evaluation, supervision, hiring and firing, grievance procedures… confidentiality of employee, client, and organization records and information.” Many nonprofit leaders are likely looking at professional development with a slightly different lens these days and encouraging their team members to take advantage of opportunities for growth in ways that may not have been outlined in detail at the start of the fiscal year. Given the changing landscape of our work environments, we have to stay flexible and responsive to new needs, and make sure our staff are learning the new skills they need to be successful in this new “normal.”

The Standards for Excellence educational packet on Personnel Policies, Employee Orientation, Compensation, and  Evaluation includes a helpful Model Employee Handbook. The Model Employee Handbook, just updated and re-released in 2020, provides a comprehensive set of personnel policies including topics such as career development, workplace practices, leave policies, benefits, and insurance coverage, communication, compensation, and much more. The Standards for Excellence Model Employee Handbook also includes a comprehensive section on forms and additional information that can be customized and implemented in any nonprofit organization.

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a Licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

We share our sincere wishes for your continued good health and patience as we all navigate these challenging and uncertain times.

News headlines in the recent past have been filled with stories of candidates for political office using nonprofit organizations as backdrops for their campaigning efforts without asking for permission and in some cases, while harming people in the process. To many, these graphics are disturbing. To others, the graphics are sickening, grotesque, or worse. 

What happens if a political candidate approaches your organization with a request to hold a campaign event, such as announcing their candidacy on the front lawn of your organization’s headquarters?  What should you do if a group of candidates reach out to you because they would like to do a campaign commercial and wish to engage some of the individuals who you serve while they are receiving services from your organization?  Does it matter if the candidate for office is connected with your organization?  What if the candidate is a current or former board member or volunteer? Does it make a difference if the candidate is one of your major donors?

We know that in some instances, candidates shoot their pictures first and ask permission later. We know in other instances, candidates capture their images featuring nonprofits in a way that creates the perception of implied endorsement without even talking with the nonprofit about their intentions. Interestingly, it should not matter if the candidate is connected with your organization or not when you are determining if you should align your organization with a partisan campaign. Nonprofits exempt under Section 501(c)(3) must avoid situations where they are or appear to be endorsing political parties or candidates for elected office.

Your nonprofit’s facility, signage, mission, and work are important assets of the organization. We need to do all that we can to foster the public’s trust in our organizations and when political candidates or parties want to advance their campaigns by using your “good name or brand”, we can all suffer. Certainly, there is a potential problem associated with loss of reputation, but there is an even greater risk associated with loss of our very tax-exempt status. 

As nonprofit leaders, we need to do ALL that we can to avoid any and all situations that create the appearance of partisanship in our organizations.  We need to ensure that our organizations are not giving permission (explicit or implicit) to candidates or political parties for any of our assets to be used as instruments in the partisan political process. We need to avoid situations where we are supporting or fighting against political candidates, political parties or partisan activity.   Since its release in 1998, the Standards for Excellence code has stressed the importance of avoiding partisanship in all manners and states,  “In promoting public participation in community affairs, charitable nonprofits must be diligent in assuring they do not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.”

The IRS (instructions for Schedule A of the Form 990) states that “All charities.. are absolutely prohibited from intervening in a political campaign for or against any candidate for an elective public office. If a charity does intervene in political campaigning, it will lose both its tax-exempt status and its ability to receive tax-deductible contributions.”

When candidates ask permission of nonprofits before they act, nonprofits can be in the best position to determine what is partisan and what is not and to act accordingly.  In some cases, candidates reach out to nonprofits to rent or lease their space for campaign or election related needs and there are a series of factors that the nonprofits must consider as they are determining to move forward or turn down the request in order to avoid partisan activity[1}

When candidates act first and use a nonprofit’s likeness, building, logo, or services as a prop for campaigns, in a way that implies the organization’s support, the nonprofit should act to  disavow or disassociate itself from the campaign or candidacy.  According to guidance from the IRS, to be effective, disavowal just be made “in a timely manner equal to the original actions…[including] steps to ensure that such unauthorized actions do not recur.” [2]

For more information on avoiding situations where your nonprofit appears to be engaging in partisan politics, we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet  Advancing the Mission through Public Policy.  We also encourage you to check out the resources published through the Bolder Advocacy effort at the Alliance for Justice on related issues.

The Standards for Excellence educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

We share our sincere wishes for your continued good health and patience as we all navigate these challenging and uncertain times.

[1] IRS Revenue Ruling 2007-41, in Situations 17 and 18, provides a full discussion about whether activities such as renting space, selling or renting mailing list or selling paid advertising counts as partisan political activity.  There are a variety of factors considered including: whether the good, service or facility is available to candidates in the same election on an equal basis; whether the good, service, or facility is available only to candidates and not to the general public; whether the fees charged to candidates are at the organization’s customary and usual rates, and whether the activity is an ongoing activity of the organization or whether it is conducted only for a particular candidate. For more information, review the Internal Revenue Bulletin linked above.

[2] Internal Revenue Service 2002 CPE Text Election Year Issues-Attribution and Disavowal. This discussion was focused on organization leaders, but it appears to provide assistance for this topic as well.

We are living in unprecedented and uncertain times. For many of us, the normal cycle of work and life has been turned completely upside down. Nonprofits of all sizes are wrestling with more challenging and difficult decisions than they ever have before.

To weather the current situation, we must engage in our organizational best thinking, from staff and board leadership. Every resource at our disposal should be deployed to meet the challenges. Nonprofit staff members cannot and should not be expected to do this alone. As the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector states, “Nonprofits depend upon effective leadership to successfully enact their missions and programs. Effective leadership consists of a partnership between the board and management, each of which plays an essential role.”

At this crucial time, nonprofit boards should be engaged and leading in a way that will help the nonprofits they serve survive the current challenges and the tough times that lay ahead. Here’s how:

Meet as Often as Needed
Many nonprofits are having to quickly adjust their strategies in response to the current climate. This means that the board of directors might need to meet more frequently than usual. The Standards for Excellence code encourages nonprofit boards to “meet as frequently as needed to fully and adequately conduct the business of the organization. At a minimum, the board should meet four (4) times a year.” We know that many boards are increasing the frequency of their board meetings—and, as a matter of necessity, holding remote board meetings using various technologies where all members can hear and be heard, or understand and be understood.

Know What is Expected of You as a Board Member and do That
This is the time for board members to lean into their responsibilities of governance and fiduciary leadership for the organization, honoring the public’s trust in the organization and its leadership, so that the organization can continue to serve future generations in their communities.

Each board of directors should have clearly stated expectations for their responsibilities which as the Standards for Excellence code states, should address, at a minimum, “attendance at meetings, participation in fundraising activities, committee service, and involvement in program activities.” There is no time like the present to remind board members of their crucial responsibilities. And if you do not have formal board member job descriptions, now is a great time to establish them.

If you’re unsure of how to do this, our Standards for Excellence educational resource packet Board Member Responsibilities is a great place to start. This packet includes discussions and resources on board members’ governance, fiduciary, and legal responsibilities, bylaws, policies, board member expectations and evaluations of members’ performance, meetings and attendance

Help Your Nonprofit Fundraise and Connect with Resources
Nonprofits need their board members to step up and help raise funds and develop the resources, especially in situations where budgeted income is no longer expected or anticipated due to the economic climate. Despite the environment, this may be the single most important moment for board member involvement in raising resources for their organizations.

Know the Best Practices for Nonprofit Boards
The full series of Standards for Excellence educational packets include sample policies, tools, and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management. They can be accessed by contacting a Licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

We thank each board member for your continued support of the nonprofit sector share our sincere wishes for your continued good health and patience as we all navigate these challenging and uncertain times.

Buying supplies, equipment, and mission-critical resources have always been an art as well as a science for many nonprofits. Nonprofit leaders strive to be the best stewards of their resources and work diligently to get the most for their money while having just the right amount of inventory on hand at all times.

In these times, when we’re all in the midst of the pandemic, the purchasing needs have likely changed dramatically for a lot of nonprofits. For nonprofits providing around the clock care and services to individuals in need, their purchasing needs have likely increased dramatically.  Items that were not on the “regular” procurement lists, such as hard to find personal protective equipment (“PPE”) of all types, are suddenly on the purchasing list.   And, not only do we need to find ways to pay for the items, but we need to find suppliers willing and available to help us obtain these crucial items.  These nonprofits have been working hard to make the connections and do the research to buy the items needed to keep their staff and the people they serve safe and healthy.

For some nonprofits like ours, we have been working in a remote environment for more than two months and now face a future reality where we will eventually be moving back to our office environment in a way that promises to be “anything but normal.”  Like nonprofits around the world, my colleagues have been working to source personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and equipment for health screenings.  Some of these items will be straightforward and simple to procure.  Other items will be trickier to obtain.

As I sat on my computer a few nights ago, I was genuinely tempted to buy hundreds and hundreds of one particular product needed in these times.  I had to intentionally check myself and asked, what’s the purchasing policy at our organization?  How does our process for making purchases inform how decisions should be made about what to purchase and how to determine the best vendor to select?  I know that a good purchasing policy serves as a tool for maximizing available resources of funds, personnel and time and generally cover topics like:

• Researching sources
• Selecting vendors (addressing when competitive bidding should be employed)
• Negotiating prices
• Using consultants
• Documenting the selection process
• Separating responsibilities for the various steps in purchasing
• Using staff time efficiently
• Considering community or environmental conditions (such as buying local or buying from sources that are reflective of our mission)

These are trying times and nonprofits are making heroic efforts to secure the items they need to have on hand immediately to keep their staff, volunteers, and the people they serve safe and healthy, and strong purchasing policies can provide some important insight for our organizations.

For more information on purchasing policies for nonprofits, we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet Financial Policies and Internal Controls which includes helpful resources and discussion around purchasing and also provides a model purchasing policy.

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools, and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a Licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

We share our sincere wishes for your continued good health and patience as we all navigate these challenging and uncertain times.