Whether your nonprofit is newly formed or you’ve been operating for decades, there’s a wide variety of regulatory requirements that relate to your charity’s operations, from state filings and annual reports to fundraising registrations and tax management.
Harbor Compliance’s nonprofit compliance experts have partnered with thousands of charities to navigate requirements across the nonprofit lifecycle. We’re looking forward to the Nonprofit Day 2019 conference and meeting you at our presentation on Nonprofit and Charitable Solicitation Compliance during the event.
We’ll cover the many aspects of nonprofit compliance, including state filings, tax exemption, fundraising registration, board of directors compliance, and best practices for your nonprofit to conduct an end-of-year compliance check. In the meantime, here’s a preview of five frequently asked compliance questions you can be sure we’ll answer in our conference program...
1. How do we determine where we need state fundraising registrations and how does online fundraising figure into the mix?
Do you know your organization’s fundraising registration footprint? In today’s digital world, online and social fundraising channels are providing new ways to quickly and efficiently connect, engage, and sustain relationships with supporters. As a result, many charities have enlarged their fundraising footprint. We’ll discuss how this relates to the 41 states that require nonprofits to register to solicit donations from their residents.
2. What do you need to know about charitable disclosure requirements?
There are 25 states that require special disclosure language to be included in solicitations. How do nonprofits develop compelling campaign materials while meeting the various state requirements? We’ll discuss this and how charitable disclosures can be more than just necessary fine print. Learn how you can make them work to your advantage to build donor trust and reinforce your reputation as responsible fundraisers.
3. How should you prepare for state fundraising registration renewals and 990 filings?
If your nonprofit runs on a calendar year, spring can be a busy season for gathering financial information to report on your fundraising registration renewals, especially information from your IRS Form 990, which may be due at the same time. Each year, you’ll also want to check if your audit requirements have changed to ensure you submit the correct financial statements with your charitable registration renewals. We’ll cover some of the ways you can plan ahead for your due dates and any filing extensions you may decide to seek.
4. Are your directors on board with compliance?
How do board of director duties relate to compliance? You might be surprised. We’ll explain how nearly every function fulfilled by your board members can contribute to the overall compliance and good standing of your organization.
5. What should your annual compliance routine include?
Do you have an annual compliance checklist? If not, we can get you started with some best practices for your organization. Many organizations do a year-end compliance check to identify any operational changes that may impact their compliance activities for the coming year. And there are other dates throughout the year that are tied to important compliance deadlines, which your organization won’t want to miss.
Conference Handouts and More
We’ll address these questions in greater detail and cover many more nonprofit compliance topics during our program at Nonprofit Day 2019. Attendees at our presentation will also receive a free resource, our 2019 Annual Compliance Checklist for Nonprofits, which you can take back to your organization to help fine-tune your practices to align with current requirements.
Free Compliance Resources for Nonprofits
We’re looking forward to meeting you at the conference this fall, but don’t let that be the only time we chat! Whether or not you make it to our presentation, we hope you’ll visit the Harbor Compliance website. Be sure to check out the Information Center, which offers thousands of pages of free resources including nonprofit white papers, email series, ongoing fundraising registration webinars, and much more.
Our nonprofit compliance experts average more than eight years of experience in helping charitable organizations fulfill their missions and easily navigate the regulatory landscape. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch – you can contact us at 1-888-995-5895 or info@harborcompliance.com. Our goal is to make compliance accessible and worry-free for nonprofits of every size and type. See you soon at Nonprofit Day 2019!
Harbor Compliance is not an accounting or law firm and does not provide tax, financial, or legal advice.
A little more about the author, Sharon...
Sharon Cody, J.D., is a Partnership Manager for Harbor Compliance. Sharon develops strategic partnerships in the nonprofit sector to promote compliance best practices that enhance nonprofit impact. She previously served as a fundraising director for a public broadcasting media group, coordinating major gift campaigns and donor outreach events. Sharon also served as executive director of a health foundation and spent more than ten years in private law practice. She can be reached at scody@harborcompliance.com or 717-431-9162.