Where the Performing Arts in Loudoun County are Seen and Heard

 
  

 
 

NONPROFIT RESOURCES

WEBSITE SERVICES

An article onn why nonprofits might want to use WordPress to design their websites: http://wpmu.org/wordpress-for-non-profits-the-complete-guide/

LOCAL NONPROFIT SEMINARS PROVIDED BY:
Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce

The Loudoun Arts Council

GRANTS + :
The Foundation Center, Washington, D.C.  The Foundation Center holds the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature, a searchable database of the literature of philanthropy, and provides classes in grant searching and other resources.

Grants.gov  A source to find and apply for federal grants with email reminders that post newly available non-profits grants.

NONPROFIT REPORTS AND FORMS FROM ACROSS THE NATION: GuideStar.com  A great place to find out whether the nonprofit to whom you donate is using your monies wisely, but, for nonprofit managers, GuideStar.com provides a resource for comparison and evaluation and new ideas for nonprofit management.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Accounting -

The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits, Dropkin, Halpin, and La Touche

The Cash Flow Management Book for Nonprofits, Dropkin and Hayden

Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization: A Legal Guide, Hopkins

Fundraising:

Fundraising Management, Sargeant and Jay

Successful Fundraising for Art and Cultural Organizations, Hopkins and Friedman

Management:

Festival and Events Management, Yeoman, Robertson et al

Fundamentals of Project Management, Lewis

How Theatre Managers Manage, Collins

Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization: A Legal Guide, Hopkins

A Whole New Mind, Pink

Marketing:

Arts Marketing Insights, Bernstein

Creative Arts Marketing, Hill, O'Sullivan and O'Sullivan

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, Sullivan

 

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

To Nonprofit Managers, Staff, Board Members and Volunteers -

A sea-change in nonprofit management began with the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and since that time, regulations and reporting requirements for non-profits have increased 10-fold.  Worse yet, the IRS is specifically going after smaller nonprofits ($250,000 or less), as that's where they've found the most abuse.  But I believe the abuse is rarely intentional.  Rather, misstatements have come from a lack of knowledge of the intracacies of the new IRS requirements. The rules have changed so quickly and become so immense that nonprofits - who rely on volunteer Boards of Directors and volunteers - find it overwhelming to learn the law and alert their staff, board and volunteers to its intracacies. 

To give you a few examples of the changes: The new 990 requires narrative explanation (!); I'm sure the IRS agents aren't thrilled to have to judge more than numbers, but it's much harder on the nonprofits, as the 990 can no longer be left to the nonprofit treasurer or accountant and instead requires a full court press by all hands.  In addition the 990 also asks every organization whether they have a list of supporting documents signed by each of their board members (whistle blower, conflict of interest, etc.), even though only some of  these documents are actually required by law.  But woe betide the organization that checks the box "no"!  It used to be that organizations making $25,000 or less could submit a simple 990; that is no longer the case.  Every year the 990 grows thicker, making nonprofit management more and more difficult and costly, as organizations are spend additional hours preparing the 990 or are forced to hire an expert to assist.

The enormous burden placed on nonprofits in recent years is a central reason for my creating LoudounPerformingArts.com.  Below please find a list of resources for nonprofits gleaned from my work and coursework in arts management.

And may all your 990s have happy endings —

Meredith Bean McMath, Managing Editor

MS, Arts Administration