Nonprofit Salary And Benefits Report

IRS regulations call for compensation comparables

The IRS is pushing to get more accurate information regarding nonprofit executive compensation. Form 990, which most 501(c)3 organizations must file annually, reflects the increased interest from IRS. The NonProfit Times and Bluewater have compiled the most current salary and benefits information available for the nonprofit sector.

Select your report above to purchase and download your copy of the nation's most comprehensive reports on 252 nonprofit positions from entry level to the executive office including base salary, bonus practices, total cash compensation, salary increases, employee turnover, and more.  As an added bonus, the readers of this blog have access to a special discount.  Simply enter the coupon code NPTblog10 upon check-out and you will get a 10 percent discount on any of the reports.  Alternatively, you can follow this link and the discount will automatically be applied to your purchase.

Indiana Nonprofit Defends Political Contribution

A nonprofit in Portage, Indiana is defending a $500 contribution to the local Mayor's re-election campaign.  An article on PortageCommunity.com reported that Bert Cook, executive director of the Portage Economic Development Corp (PEDCO)., said they did not consider the participation in a Sept. 19 golf outing as a campaign contribution to incumbent Democratic Mayor Olga Velazquez, but as a chance to network with the city's business and community leaders.

Cook further explained to PortageCommunity that even if the money was supposed to be a political contribution, his accountants told him that it is legal for the organization to spend up to 20 percent of its yearly total expenditures on lobbying.  PEDCO receives almost half of its annual funding from tax dollars, but the contribution came from organization's marketing budget, which contains only private contributions, according to Cook.  Velazquez has a seat on PEDCO's board of directors, though Cook says she is not on the executive committee, which has a say in the decisions the organization makes.  Cook says he will re-evaluate the decision to attend the fundraiser, and probably will avoid similar events in the future.

Lobbying has long been a source of discomfort for nonprofits.  Many organizations aren't confident they are allowed to lobby, and lobbying rules are complex and often require disclosure.  You can learn more about nonprofit lobbying by visiting our website.  You should also be sure to read the rest of the PortageCommunity aritcle.

Tax Hikes And Giving

For all the discussion about how a cap on the charitable deduction would affect giving, it seems like proposed tax hikes by the Obama administration might have an even bigger impact.  According to a study by the Center on Philanthropy (CoP) at Indiana University, itemized giving would decline if the Bush-era tax cuts are allowed to expire after next year.  Giving by households would have seen a decline in giving by 1.6 percent in 2009 and 2.4 percent in 2010 if both policies had been in effect.  Total itemized giving would have declined by 0.4 percent in 2009, 1.3 percent in 2010.

These numbers may represent a relatively small direct impact on giving but Patrick Rooney, executive director of CoP, explains that the numbers become more significant when you take into consideration "the weak economic climate, funding reductions and increased demand for services" that are already impacting nonprofits across the country.

The Bush tax cuts were extended through 2012 for all taxpayers last year.  The Obama administration still argues that those tax cuts should be eliminated for households making more than $200,000.  This puts the president on yet another collision course with Republican, and some Democratic, lawmakers who believe that the tax cuts should be made permanent for all households.  You can get the full scoop on the CoP study in The NonProfit Times.

A "Modest" Postal Rate Increase?

The NonProfit Times featured an article in yesterday's NPT Weekly Newsletter that had some important news when it comes to direct mail.  Though some mailings, like standard mail letters, will be seeing a decrease in price next year, rates on a whole will increase by 2.1 percent on Jan. 22, 2012.  In the article, a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service (USPS) said that the increase is "modest," and that it won't hinder nonprofit mailings.  Indeed, it doesn't appear that nonprofits are that upset about this increase, especially since it does not exceed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based on inflation rate.  Anthony Conway, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, had this to say about the proposed increases:

“The changes reflect the CPI for October, so the USPS has every right to increase mailing service charges.  Nonprofits are now prepared to deal with these increases as they can be predicted based on where the CPI is. This is not bad compared to other increases and at least they are not trying for an exigent increase again.”

The proposed rates are definitely not as severe as they have been in the past.  In 2007, the USPS proposed changes that increased the price of flat mailings by 30 to 40 percent.  More recently, the USPS had proposed an increase of 5.6 percent due to "exceptional circumstances," but that proposal was turned down by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). 

What do you think about the new rates?  Are they justified, or do you think that they will negatively affect your nonprofit?

Crisis Presents Opportunity For Nonprofits

The economic crisis has presented a unique opportunity, at least according to a columnist from The San Francisco Chronicle.  C.W. Nevius wrote in a column on Saturday that the city of San Francisco must encourage nonprofits it supports to either close or merge with another agency.  The city spends about $500 million a year funding local agencies, many of which provide shelter for the homeless, job training, and violence prevention. 

Although Nevius acknowledges these are worthy causes, he says that there is too much overlap among nonprofits in San Francisco.  For example, there are 10 agencies providing the exact same services as Homeless Employment Collaborative, which gives job training to the unemployed.  Money could be saved by simply having similar organizations merge together.  While it might seem difficult to get many of these nonprofits to accept such a proposal, Nevius reminds readers that it has been done before.  In 1967, Haight Ashbury Free Clinic (HAFC), which was on the verge of closing because of financial difficulties, merged with Walden House after a gentle nudge by the city.  Walden helpef HAFC get out of debt and gave them a medical presence.

San Francisco has been pushing these types of mergers for three years now, though not much has become of it as of yet.  You can read the full SF Chronicle piece over at their website.

Preparation Is Key For Capital Campaigns

Preparation is important for almost any big event.  If you don't do the proper work beforehand, it will likely come back to haunt you on the big day.  This is especially true for capital campaigns.  According to a recent nonprofit management tip from The NonProfit Times, organizations must do extensive preparation before heading into a capital campaign.  You can't just decide to run a campaign without doing some major prep work, and we're not just talking about deciding what the goal is.  There's a lot more involved:

• Emphasize personal participation. Tell your board members that you expect a capital campaign gift from each of them. The same goes for any volunteer who would like to solicit others.
• Create a realistic financial plan. Outline what resources you will need. Costs might be greater than you anticipate -- so make sure you budget a little wiggle room.
• Set a fundraising goal. Once again, be realistic. It will just be icing on the cake if you surpass the goal.

Want to know more?  Read the full article here.  You can also read more articles about capital campaigns on our management tips page.