Housing Nonprofit Investigated Over Use Of Federal Funds

The United States Attorney's office is conducting an investigation to determine whether a now-defunct Portsmouth, Va.-based housing nonprofit misused hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds.

The organization, the Center for Community Development Inc., (CCDI) had worked in Portsmouth since 1990 to help renovate and provide homes to the needy. Bill Price, a spokesman for the Commonwealth's Attorney Earle Mobley, told The Virginian-Pilot that investigators were concerned about that amount of money that was used by the nonprofit.

“Based on the amount of money and that a significant portion was federal money, we asked the federal authorities to review it,” said Price.

The Center used $313,000 in federal funds from Portsmouth to renovate three properties, funds that the city eventually had to repay to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because the projects weren’t completed under the federal HOME program. In addition to the $313,000, CCDI received $256,000 from the city council between November 2011 and December 2012.

CCDI closed in February 2012 and the Internal Revenue Service had put about $43,000 in tax liens on at least one of its properties.

For his part, CCDI founder Maury Cooke said Monday that the group's executive director, Bruce AsBerry, had requested a federal investigation into Portsmouth's money-lending practices and that he believes the organization is a victim of racial discrimination.

You can read the full story in The Virginian-Pilot.

Ex-Kid's Charity CEO Convicted Of Sexual Assault

The founder and former CEO of an Atlanta, Ga.-based kid's charity was convicted on Friday on 22 counts of sexual assault of a child, according to a report on the website of NBC's Colorado affiliate.

Richard Lee Koca, Sr., was the head of Stand Up for Kids, a nonprofit that serves at-risk homeless youth, from its inception in 1990 until August 2012, when an alleged victim came forward. According to a report last year in The Denver Post, Koca was charged with assaulting a child under his protection in his home in Aurora, Colo. At the time, police believed there might have been other victims because of Koca's work with minors, though no others were ever identified.

A spokeswoman for Stand Up for Kids would not comment on the conviction, saying only that the organization is "praying for the family" of the child. The group's website does not list a current CEO, though it lists Kelly Fields as executive director of its Atlanta headquarters.

Prior to his time at Stand Up for Kids, Koca had spent 30 years as an officer in the U.S. Navy, and was posted in spots all around the world, including Panama. Police said that during his time in that country, he served as a Scout Master for the Boy Scouts of America. In addition, he also volunteered at an orphanage in England.

Newtown Shootings Donations To Be Distributed

The community foundation formed after deadly school shootings in Newtown, Conn., has released its initial recommendations about how to distribute the donations received since its inception.

The Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation raised $11.4 million with the help of the United Way of Western Connecticut in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 shootings that left 26 dead, including 20 children. The foundation initially decided to distribute $7.7 million of those funds to the families and survivors, and created a committee to decide how to divvy up the remaining money.

According to a report on NPR, that committee, headed by Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, announced its recommendations at a public forum Thursday at Newtown's Edmond Town Hall. They recommended the remaining $7.7 million be distributed as follows:

• The 26 families of the deceased would each receive $281,000.
• Two teachers who were injured would get $150,000 between them.
• The 12 surviving children who witnessed the shootings would get $20,000 each.

While some praised the plan during the public forum, not everybody was satisfied. Caryn Kauffman, who represents a coalition of victims of prior mass shootings, asked during the meeting why the funds were not going to all of the victims.

"The intent was to give the money to the victims. We're starting from a false premise and this process is re-victimizing the victims," she said, according to the NPR report.

The $7.7 million is expected to be distributed on Aug. 16. You can read the full story on NPR's website.

Poor Fundraising Derails $28M NJ Community Center

Plans for a $28-million Jewish community center have been halted after fundraising for the project ran dry. Only six more weeks of construction were required.

According to a report in The Times of Trenton, plans for the community center, which was being built by the Jewish Community Campus (JCC) Council of Princeton Mercer Bucks, are likely finished as the organization has been unable to secure more funds.

“We’ve been trying to get this back on track,” Howard Cohen, president of the JCC, said in an interview with The Times. “So far, we haven’t succeeded, which means short of a miracle or something else, we can’t continue.”

Planning for the new community center began in 2006 after the old JCC, which is now the Ewing Senior and Community Center, was sold. The Council secured approval from the borough of West Windsor to build the 77,000-square-foot community center in 2007, the construction of which was made possible by using the money from the sale of the old JCC and by borrowing $11 million.

Since the Jewish community in West Windsor had been talking about a new community center for many years, Cohen told The Times he expected that donors would line up to contribute. The donations were not as plentiful as anticipated, however, and construction halted in mid-October when the JCC could no longer pay the construction bills.

According to the New Jersey Jewish News, the JCC is not only short on its construction funds, it also lacks the money to pay back the $11-million loan it received at the beginning of the project. Approximately $6 million of that loan is due in December.

While the Council is attempting to restart the project, Cohen said that he is not optimistic. “At this point, I’m not sure what kind of help there really is,” he said. “The odds are not in our favor.” He also noted that the property could soon go into foreclosure.

You can read the full story in The Times of Trenton.

Russia: Nonprofits Violated 'Foreign Agent' Law

Russian prosecutors announced Tuesday that 215 nonprofits working in the country have violated a recently passed law that places heavy restrictions on outside organizations.

Russia passed a law in November that, among other restrictions, requires organizations to register as "foreign agents" if they receive financing from overseas and are deemed to be engaging in political activities. According to a report in The New York Times, Yuri Chaika, Russia's general prosecutor, said that the 215 organizations named in his report received 6 billion rubles, or about $180 million, over a period of three years yet had violated various aspects of the law.

He noted that 22 of the groups continued to use overseas funds, which is forbidden by the law, while an additional 17 received funding through foreign embassies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly accused foreign governments of using nonprofits to disrupt the country's political system but, in a statement on Tuesday, suggested Chaika show the groups some leniency.

“Analyze this practice to avoid errors and to see if any organization has been rated as a foreign agent, although it does not engage in politics,” he said, according to the news agency Interfax, The Times reported.

You can read the full story in The New York Times.

Making The Switch To Monthly Giving

Monthly giving programs are on fundraisers' radars these days as some nonprofits have found it to be a great source of revenue and engagement. That doesn't mean it's easy to switch to it when your nonprofit is already practicing annual giving.

During Fundraising Day in New York 2013, sponsored by the New York City chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Valerie Arganbright of Appleby Arganbright and Jason Lott of Human Rights Campaign, discussed the challenges organizations can face when switching from annual to monthly giving. They warned that adopting a new fundraising method means learning a new way of doing business, which means you should learn the following rules:

• Asking, who is the business owner for the monthly giving?
• Deciding how and when revenue will be recognized.
• A decision about monthly giving as the number one ask and one-time giving as the only other option.
• Consistent branding.

Arganbright and Lott also said that nonprofits should make the following considerations when evaluating the pros and cons of a monthly giving campaign:

• Monthly activation rates, particularly by channel;
• Decline and attrition rates;
• Average gift of new monthly donors by channel; and,
• Actual performance against budget.

The Top 10 Nonprofit Jobs That Employ The Most People

According to a recent study by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society, nearly 7.4 percent of the world's workforce are employed at some type of nonprofit. The report doesn't state what types of jobs are the most popular, but that's exactly the kind of data The NonProfit Times' Salary and Benefits Reports has handy.

The Reports, released by NPT annually, contain data collected from over 1,000 nonprofit professionals through a survey conducted by Bluewater Nonprofit Services. This information is invaluable to organizations that are unsure whether their compensation packages are in-line with similar agencies.

The Reports also provide useful glimpse inside the nonprofit workforce, which includes the jobs that employ the most people. According to last year's data, the 10 most popular positions were:

• Director Care Counselor -- 8.75 percent
• Personal Attendant/Home Health Care Worker -- 4.54 percent
• Case Manager, Mid-Level -- 3.59 percent
• Program Manager -- 3.35 percent
• Program Director -- 2.59 percent
• Senior/Adult Program Assistant -- 2.55 percent
• CEO/President/Executive Director -- 2.47 percent
• Program Coordinator -- 2.22 percent
• Teacher, Pre-School/Kindergarten -- 2.15 percent
• Teaching Assistant, Pre-School/Kindergarten -- 2.14 percent

We are currently in the process of collecting data for our 2013 Reports, and recently extended the deadline for participants to complete their surveys to July 26th. Those who complete on-time will have a chance to win a free iPad Mini and will receive a complete executive summary of the survey results.

Start the 2013 Salary and Benefits Survey today and help all nonprofits with their financial needs.

New Oregon Law Would Punish Charities That Spend Too Little

A recently passed law in Oregon is targeting nonprofits that spend too little on their mission, subjecting them to financial punishments.

According to a report in The Star Tribune, House Bill 2060, which was signed by Gov. John Kitzhaber last month, will eliminate state and local tax subsidies for organizations that spend less than 30 percent on program services over a period of three years. The bill not affect federal tax-exemption on contributions.

The law was previously reported in an earlier article in The NonProfit Times.

Jim White, executive director of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, told The Tribune that the law is the first of its kind in any state. "We're the first in the country, and we should be proud of that," he said.

The state's Office of the Attorney General has already identified 20 charities that all spend less than 30 percent of their budget on programs and services. All of the organizations on the list are based in states other than Oregon include a Troy, Mich.-based "Law Enforcement Education Program" that spends just 2.7 percent of its $2.2 million in annual expenditures on programs and services. The names of these charities were not revealed in the AG Office's list.

Oregon and other states had similar laws in past years that stopped charities from soliciting donations if they were spending too much on themselves and their fundraisers. Those rules were overturned in 1980 when the Supreme Court ruled they were a violation of a nonprofit's First Amendment Rights.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice indicated that the law is not in similar danger, as it does not restrict a charities right to fundraise.

You can read the full story in The Star Tribune.

The July 1 2013 Edition Of The NonProfit Times

Technology is front and center in the just-released July 1, 2013 issue of The NonProfit Times. From the latest trends in social media to the growing popularity of interactive maps, this issue has everything a nonprofit manager wants to know about new advances in technology, plus much more.

Here's a look at some of the articles you can expect to find:

Special Report

• Giving Beat GDP Before Inflation: Giving in the U.S. totaled $316.23 billion during 2012, up 1.5 percent when adjusted for inflation, according to the latest release of the Giving USA Report. Our special report takes a look at the finer details of the report and what it means for giving.

Articles

• BYOD: "Bring Your Own Device" Is A Growing Trend: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a growing trend. Find out what it means for your organization in this in-depth piece.
• Picture This: What Comes After Twitter?: Facebook and Twitter are the two kings of social media but there is a growing trend in the field that threatens to at least challenge their reign: Pictures.
• Groups Using Mapping To Show Service Impact, Donation Transparency: Interactive maps and geographic information systems (GIS) can help your constituents visualize abstract data.

Columns

• Executive Self-Quiz: According to Susan J. Ellis of Energize, Inc., top managers are rarely aware of even the most basic information about the corps of volunteers supporting the organization’s mission.
• Exquisite Tailoring: Do you puzzle over a response device asking for contributions ranging from $25 to $500? Which is better – listing the lowest amount first or listing the highest amount first? According to Herschell Gordon Lewis, the answer is...yes.

11 Ways To Get Your Employees To Meetings

What are the first words that come to your mind when you are called into a meeting? If you are like most employees, they are probably "boring," "waste of time," or other similar terms. Yet for all of the negatives, meetings can be quite fruitful.

Talia Y. Leman, in "A Random Book About the Power of Anyone," wrote that there are ways for nonprofit managers to make employees dread meeting less. Some of the ideas come from Ben Hirschfeld of the Lit! Solar Lantern Project, and others are Leman’s own:

• Remember the win/win. Find out what makes individuals tick and help them understand how participating will help them;
• Get on their calendars. Give advance notice, and send reminders;
• Make attendance matter. Prepare agendas to harness the value others bring;
• Make their role matter. Having significant roles with official titles helps them see their contribution as a priority;
• Make it fit. Match people with jobs that fit their skills and interests;
• Make it simple. Break down actions that forward team goals into manageable steps with clear completion dates;
• Double-team mission-critical tasks. Adding a backup or co-leader can make a difference in making people comfortable and getting the job done;
• Take care of the team. Snacks and meals can be helpful, as are practical details about locations, etc.;
• Keep it moving. Respect people’s time;
• Keep everyone in the loop. People like to be part of a winning team; and,
• Build team spirit and show appreciation. Even a simple “thank you” matters.

Exempt Magazine: Spring 2013 Edition

The new issue of our sister publication, Exempt Magazine, is now online for our readers to enjoy. Here's a look at some of the stories you can find within the pages of the Spring 2013 edition:

Articles

• Buy Sell, Or Stay Put: The NonProfit Times asked 100 nonprofit executives what they thought of real estate related debt. Just 25.3 percent said yes without any restriction if it will advance mission.
• Employees Are Not Grabbing Access To Retirement Plans: In a study of three-year trending data from the 2012 Nonprofit Salary and Benefits Reports, The NonProfit Times found that many employees are not taking advantage of their organizations' retirement plans.

Column

• Volunteers May Sue For Harassment Under Title VII: A federal District Court in Illinois has allowed a female volunteer for two nonprofit emergency ambulance services to sue for sexual harassment and discrimination under the employee protection provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Head to the Exempt Magazine website to read these articles in their entirety. In addition, you should head to our online store to purchase a print or digital subscription of Exempt to get full access to all of the articles in the magazine.

NPT Salary Report: High Salary Means Low Turnover

One of the keys to a successful nonprofit is being able to maintain a low turnover rate. That is, you must keep the talented employees at your organization for as long as possible. Not surprisingly, it turns out that paying your workers a competitive salary is one of the best ways to do this.

According to data from the 2012 Nonprofit Organizations Salary and Benefits Report, those positions receiving the highest annual pay and highest annual bonus pay also have the lowest turnover rates. The top 10 positions that have this distinction are:

• Print Shop Manager -- 13.9 years
• Artistic Director -- 13.8 years
• Librarian -- 13.7 years
• Chancellor/President -- 13.3 years
• Chief Information Officer -- 12.5 years
• Chief Administrative Officer -- 12.4 years
• Building Manager -- 12.4 years
• Mail Clerk -- 12.2 years
• Director of Nursing -- 12.1 years
• Executive Vice President -- 11.8 years

It's also no coincidence that a number of these positions also received high bonus pay. For instance, the Chancellor/President position had an 8.85 percent bonus pay rate, and the Executive Vice President was at 5.94 percent.

Of course, data changes every year and that's why The NonProfit Times is looking for more participants for the 2013 Nonprofit Salary and Benefits Survey. The completion date for the survey is June 28th and those who complete it will be entered for a chance to win an iPad Mini.

Complete the survey TODAY and help all nonprofits by providing them with imperative compensation data such as those detailed in this post.

Free Webinar: Turning Nonprofit Regulations Into Opportunities

UPDATE: The webinar is in two days but there is still time to register. Sign up today!

Nonprofit regulations are constantly changing and this year has been no different. From disclosure about credit worthiness to meeting the standards set forth by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) many nonprofit managers find themselves asking the following question: How do I ensure accountability and compliance in all facets of my financial management?

In our upcoming free webinar with Intacct Corporation, "Turning the Challenges of Meeting Nonprofit Regulations into Opportunities," you will get the answer to that question and many more. Joined by financial experts Jackie Tiso of JMT Consulting Group and Kirk Danilson of Intacct, this webinar will show how nonprofits can leverage their accounting systems to effectively meet and comply with ever evolving regulations and standards.

You will also learn:

• What key new regulations and standards you need to worry about;
• How to implement internal controls to ensure accountability;
• How to provide transparency into NonProfit effectiveness to the donor community; and,
• Why cloud financials makes accountability easier than ever with lower cost and increased ease of use.

Sign up for this free webinar today and turn the challenges of these regulations into opportunities to advance your nonprofit.

4 Important But Basic Financial Statements

Executives and board members alike generally don't get much joy from financial reporting. They would rather focus on how to best fulfill their organization's mission yet, in order for that to become a reality, the fact of the matter is that these sometimes tedious tasks are a necessary part of any nonprofit.

As Marci Thomas and Kim Strom-Gottfried explained in their book "The Best of Boards," all nonprofits have at least three or four financial statements that must be completed if the organization is to meet federal and state regulations. These statements, which must be read together to have a complete picture of the organization, were described by Thomas and Strom-Gottfried:

• Statement of Financial Position: Also known as a balance sheet, this statement reports the organization’s assets, liabilities, and net assets at a specific point in time (usually at the end of the organization’s fiscal year).
• Statement of Activities: This statement reports the results of operations (revenues and expenses) and change in net assets for the year.
• Statement of Cash Flows: This statement provides information about the cash receipts and disbursements of the organization that result from operating activities, financing activities, and investing activities.
• Statement of Functional Expenses: This statement provides information about the organization’s expenses by function and by natural classification.

North Carolina Nonprofits Could Soon Pay Sales Tax

The North Carolina state Senate passed a measure Thursday that would cap sales tax refunds, a measure that critics say could cost hospitals, universities, and other charities millions of dollars.

According to a report in The Charlotte Observer, the Senate bill would cap sales tax refunds at $7.5 million initially, with that number going down to $100,000 beginning in July 2017. The state House did not include such a cap in their version of the bill, so its fate will be decided when the two chambers enter negotiations. The measure has strong support from Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), the president pro tem of the Senate who argued that nonprofit hospitals and other large organizations are nothing more than businesses organized as nonprofits. Berger framed the bill as a way to invigorate the state's economy.

“Our compromise plan incorporates feedback from folks across the state, provides much-needed tax relief to North Carolina families of all incomes and propels our state from the bottom of national rankings to the 6th best business tax climate in America,” Berger said in a statement.

On the other hand, the N.C. Hospital Associate has come out strongly against the cap estimating that it would eventually force the state's numerous nonprofit hospitals to pay $220 million a year in sales taxes. The N.C. Center for Nonprofits also estimates that the bill would affect about 250 of its 1,600 members. Don Dalton, a spokesman for the Center, said in a statement that hospitals would also be forced to cut back on services.

“Our hospitals are already facing $780 million per year in decreased payments every year for the next 10 years for serving Medicare patients,” Dalton said. “The State has not yet chosen to expand Medicaid or provide alternative coverage options for the state’s poor. Hospitals will continue to serve these uninsured patients without adequate compensation.”

Reach Thousands Of Potential Customers With NPT's Resource Marketplace

Your company can be listed, for FREE, in The NonProfit Times' online Resource Marketplace. The Directory is a special feature on our newly updated website which draws 100,000 unique visitors every month and generates 420,000 page views.

To be listed, simply click this link, fill out the form the page links to, and email it to me at mary@nptimes.com or fax it to (973) 401-0404. It’s that easy.

If you’re looking to stand out from the crowd, you can choose from two enhanced listing packages -- the Silver and Gold packages, priced at $599/year and $1,195/year, respectively -- which include such additional features as linked email and website, complete company description, logo, and pop-to-the-top listing in the category you choose.

Don’t hesitate to call Mary Ford with any questions about this great opportunity to add your free listing to our online directory or about advertising in our print Resource Marketplace which runs in all 16 editions per year of The NonProfit Times. All print advertisers automatically get an enhanced listing online.

Once again, here is Mary Ford's contact information:

E-mail: mary@nptimes.com

Phone: 973-401-0202 x206

Webinar: Catching the Attention of the Smartphone Generation

UPDATE: Missed this webinar? You can view the event in its entirety by clicking here.

Should your organization really care about (and value) a Like, a Tweet, or a share? It may not seem like much right now, but these activities could be worth a fortune in the future.

In partnership with Avectra, The NonProfit Times is pleased to present a free webinar -- "Catching the Attention of the Smartphone Generation" -- on the value of social giving on June 6 at 2:00 p.m. EST. John F. Clese of Avectra, along with Dennis Chyba, president and founder of Adcieo, and Brittany Flower, communications and marketing manager at Susan G. Komen's Maryland affiliate, will discuss how your organization can reach the Millenial generation. Although they aren't in their prime donation years, it doesn't mean they aren't supporting your organization.

Here is some of the things you will learn from this webinar:

• Why your organization's future depends on engaging the next generation of donors known as the Millenials -- a group larger than the influential baby boomers. 
• Strategies to engage Millenials and attract them to your cause. 
• How micro-project fundraising and crowd-contributing are ready-made for the way this generation likes to engage and participate. 
• A case study on how to run a successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and leverage peer networks in the new digital giving landscape.

Register today so you can get your organization on the right track for the future.

3 Ways To Analyze Data

Prospecting for donors has some similarities to what the Gold Rush prospectors did in the the 19th century. Back then, it was enough to shake a pan of gravel in the water and look for what nuggets stayed behind.

Fundraisers are doing the same thing now when combing through data, but it's no longer good enough to use that old-fashioned approach.

Prospecting is a much more sophisticated process these days and, according to Helen E. Brown, Jennifer Filla and Debbie Sokolov, it can pay much bigger dividends than before. Speaking during the AFP 50^th International Conference on Fundraising, they said that fundraising can be improved through prospect research, and that consists of three main components: data analytics, relationship management and donor research.

Looking more closely, they are:

• Data analytics. This includes electronic screenings, data mining, donor modeling and graphing. It helps identify new prospects, segments donors and prospects quickly and efficiently, and, illustrates division/department/individual progress toward goals.
• Relationship management. This means prospect tracking. It makes sure no potential major donor gets lost between the cracks, measures activities to show the board and donors how close the organization is to its goals, and, provides continuity with donors even though staff changes.
• Donor research. This gives the organization the confidence to ask for a stretch gift, finds the links between donors, prospects and the organization, allows the organization to set up a personalized strategy around each major gift prospect, and, keeps the organization current on public events in a prospect’s world.

Do All Nonprofit CEOs Make $100K?

Executive compensation is a tricky subject for nonprofits. Since this information is available in an organization's Form 990, it's important that a CEO does not make more (or less, for that matter) than those at similar agencies lest it face public backlash.

Luckily, there's an easy way to fix this potential problem.

Get behind the numbers by participating in The NonProfit Times' 2013 Salary & Benefits Survey. In addition to the tantalizing data about average salaries ($107,561 for  CEO/President/Executive Directors) and salary increases, the survey goes several steps beyond, drilling down to details about benefits, bonuses and turnover rates to present a rich tapestry of key data and information.

The completion deadline for the survey is July 31, and those who finish on-time will be entered to win an iPad Mini. You can start the process, which takes no more than an hour, by visiting the survey application page.

7 Elements Of A Successful Fundraising Event

Every nonprofit wants a successful fundraising event but are they doing the right things to have one? According to one expert, this is not always the case.

During a recent international conference on fundraising, Vivian A. Smith of Liberty Quest Enterprises said that a diverse fund development program should include events, but urged organizations to incorporate them thoughtfully into their overall strategy. They should not, she said, be viewed as standalone initiatives used just to raise money.

To be successful, planners of an event must consider:

• Event Purpose. Is it just money, new prospects, increasing public awareness, gaining attention or some other objective?
• Prospective audience. Think of characteristics and demographics, as well as the size of the group and the kind of appeal that is appropriate.
• Type of event. It should meet the goals and reach the target market. It should be mission focused. Is there competition?
• Resources needed for the event. This includes staffing, leadership, volunteers, time, skills, budget and a contingency plan.
• Cost per dollar raised. This includes both direct an indirect costs.
• Evaluation. Think of event goals, net revenue, staff commitment and volunteer impact.
• Outcome. This is not just dollars raised at the time of the event. It can also serve as an opportunity to build team spirit among volunteers and staff.