Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on their finance department staff. Their services are critical to day-to-day operations and essential to safeguarding and stewarding the allocation of financial assets to meet the mission of the organization. Investing in improving and increasing finance department staff skills, capacity, and professional development are actions that “speak louder than words,” and will improve operations and performance while demonstrating a culture of staff appreciation.

Ben and Mike answer questions from subscribers about converting from 501(c)(4) to 501(c)(3) status, communicating the financial condition of an organization with significant restricted funds on the balance sheet, how much unrelated business income tax (UBIT) is too much, and considerations when opening a bank account in a foreign country outside of the United States.

Ben and Mike discuss the private benefit rule that applies to 501(c)(3) organizations, addressing how the private benefit rule is broader than the private inurement and excess benefit transaction rules, examples of how the private benefit rule applies to specific programs, how to assess whether private benefit is "incidental,” and more.

As with many employment policies, enforcing the terms of a sabbatical policy can raise difficult issues and should always be approached with caution and applied uniformly. Potential disciplinary options for employees who don’t comply can include warnings, suspension, or termination. Repayment (i.e. “clawback”) of paid leave and/or forfeiture of other benefits could also be possible if clearly set forth in the organization’s policies. However, going forward you may wish to consider changes to make your sabbatical policy more flexible and easier to administer.

Ben and Mike answer questions from subscribers about adding an Immediate Past President position, Board giving requirements, when related organizations must have consolidated audits, and preparing to receive restricted funds and comply with restrictions by donors and grantors.

This template employee offer letter agreement provides basic terms and conditions that are generally recommended for nonprofit organizations when hiring full-time salaried “W-2” staff who qualify as “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This sample document covers areas such as such as the employee’s initial title, duties, and salary, workplace expectations, outside business activities, confidentiality obligations, and more.

Ben and Mike discuss the areas covered by SE4N’s Nonprofit Management Annual Reminder Checklist, how this checklists compares with and complements other management tools and resources, assigning responsibility for using the checklist each year, and more.