 |
| March 2007 | ||||
| PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: | ||||
Welcome
to our Ventures in Philanthropy E-Newsletter |
||||
|
What
does fundraising certification mean for nonprofits? Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE |
 |
|||||
| While
as yet there is no licensing of fundraising professionals, most states
do require nonprofits (not individual fundraising employees), as well
as fundraising consultants and professional solicitors who advise
on fundraising programs to register with the state regulatory authorities. Registration notwithstanding, organizations that engage fundraising professionals and fundraising consultants should make sure these fundraisers adhere to a strict code of ethics. AFP (The Association of |
|||||||
|
Fundraising Professionals) members must sign a code of ethics each
year when they renew their membership. AFP is the largest organization
of fundraising professionals in the world, with approximately 27,000
members. The Association was instrumental in developing a Donor Bill
of Rights and recently, fundraising organizations all over the world
adopted a uniform ethical standard, an effort coordinated by AFP. Nonprofits who engage fundraising professionals, whether staff or contracted consultants, should be aware of the AFP Code of Ethics and encourage their fundraisers to become members of this or another professional organization that abides by a code of ethics, such as AHP (Association of Healthcare Professionals), or CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.) In addition to these professional organizations, another hallmark that many employers look for is certification of fundraisers. CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) International awards the designation of CFRE, and AFP awards the designation of ACFRE (Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive.) The CFRE program is awarded to professionals who have five years of experience in the field as a full time professional, have passed a rigorous exam process and have never had an ethics violation filed against them. The ACFRE designation is awarded to fundraising professionals who have at least 10 years experience in the field as a full time professional meet the CFRE requirements, have held the CFRE designation and been recertified at least once (the CFRE designation must be renewed every three years). In addition the ACFRE candidate must pas an extensive written exam, present a portfolio showing examples of their work, and successfully compete a three-hour oral exam by their peers. ACFRE’s are awarded a lifetime designation, which does not need to be renewed, but like the CFFE designation, may be revoked for ethical violations. |
|||||||
A
Creative Way to Save Money: |
|||||||
|
Thinking outside your routine is uncomfortable, but in the long run
it can have great benefits. Nowhere is this truer than when it comes
to your money management. While you probably put a lot of energy into
finding new ways to raise money, you may be overlooking out-of-the-box
options for saving money. One such option is to leave your state unemployment
system. Doing so could save you thousands of dollars a year. Is it Legal? Not only is this option legal, it is available only to nonprofit
organizations. The IRS notes that “the states are required
to provide nonprofit organizations, or groups of such organizations,
with the option of reimbursing the state for unemployment compensation
payments attributable to the service with the organization in lieu
of paying contributions under the normal tax provisions of the state
law.” 1 Is it Safe? Many nonprofits are hesitant to leave the state program due to the serious risks involved. For instance, in a year when a nonprofit loses funding and runs into unanticipated layoffs, the dollar amounts of filed claims could potentially devastate an organization. But there is a safe alternative: You can join an unemployment administration program. Such programs are safer than self-insurance and more affordable than state plans. In an unemployment administration program, you do not subsidize the high rates generated because of turnover in the for-profit industry. So with this alternative, you can pay less than you would with the state while taking away the unforeseen risks of being self-insured. Are Nonprofits Using This Option? First Nonprofit Mutual Insurance Company decided to see how many nonprofits use their option to withdraw from the state program. With the support of the United Way, they surveyed a sampling of nonprofit organizations. The survey revealed that very few nonprofit organizations were using this option- either because they knew nothing about it or because they thought it was too risky. 2 Based on the survey, First Nonprofit Companies formed the First Nonprofit Unemployment Saving Program, LLC, to educate nonprofits about using this option. Last year this program saved nonprofit organizations a total of $282,879 off their total unemployment costs. How Can You Take Advantage of This Opportunity? First Nonprofit Companies established two separate programs to help you in this dilemma. The Bonded Service Program is a fully insured product that takes the risk away from self-insuring but typically is less costly than the state run program. The second is the Unemployment Saving LLC Program, which allows organizations to control their own reserve and pay their claims out of that reserve. The reserve sits in an interest bearing account and as the state sends the bills for the organizations claims, they are paid out of that account. This program is less expensive to start up, but if the claims go above the reserve, then the organization does have to pay the difference up to the stop loss insurance limit. This limit is there for large claims. The quoting process is quite simple. There is a one-page application that is required, and then some additional paperwork that the state supplies to each organization. This opportunity can be a goldmine for organizations that are looking for ways to help out financially strapped programs. The money saved is unrestricted income, unlike other money that is raised through donations and grants that are usually earmarked for specific purposes. What if We are Already Reimbursing? First Nonprofit Companies can also help those organizations that have decided to self-insure. First, the state still sends the bills out for claims, and routinely these statements are incorrect. Unless you have a fulltime staff member there to research, follow, and audit every claim, you may still be paying more than you should. The administrative time spent on these claims can be tedious, and the expert claims support that comes with each program allows those staff members to focus on their intended, day-to-day job duties. To get your free quote and to analyze your options, contact Dave Kulikowski of First Nonprofit Companies. He can be reached at (800)-526-4352 ext. 3026 or at dkulikowski@firstnonprofit.com. Footnotes 1 IRC Section 3309 (a) (2) 2 The survey concluded that 819 Illinois nonprofits were paying unemployment taxes of $11,800,000 and that they could reduce their annual unemployment costs by more than 50% or $5,900,000. Written by Cecilia Piazza with contributions from Dave Kulikowski |
|||||||
| News
From the Road |
|||||||
| Linda
Lysakowski recently presented two workshops, The Development Plan
and Communicating with Your Alumni for the Association for the
Advancement of Collegiate Business Schools (AACSB) in Boston, Massachusetts
and two workshops for the Utah Nonprofit Association on the Development
Plan/Role of Volunteers in Development and Capital Campaigns,
both in St George, UT and Salt Lake City Utah. Speaking of training, CAPITAL VENTURE has developed a Training Catalogue, which is available by email. We offer a wide variety of workshops for groups such as AFP chapters, statewide associations, national organizations, Dioceses, United Ways and Centers for Nonprofits. If you would like to receive a copy of our offerings, please contact cvlinda@cox.net. |
|||||||
UPCOMING
PRESENTATIONS |
|||||||
March
20, 2007 Junior Achievement Worldwide Capital Campaigns Fort Worth, TX Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE |
April
10, 2007 AFP International The Development Plan Audioconference Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE |
||||||
March
24, 2007 AFP International Conference Writer's Workshop Dallas, TX Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Margaret Guellich, CFRE |
April
24, 2007 PA Federation of Museums & Historical Organizations The Development Plan Bethlehem, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE |
||||||
| **************************************************************************** | |||||||
CONTACT
U
S |
||||
CAPITAL
VENTURE |
||||
Advancing
Philanthropy through Consulting and Training for Nonprofits |
||||
Offices
in Nevada, Pennsylvania & Virginia |
||||
Corporate
Office: |
Philadelphia
Office: P.O. Box 2001 Jenkintown, PA 19046-2001 215-938-1140 voice 215-938-1150 fax |
|||
| Lehigh
Valley Office: 1870 Franklin Way Quakertown, PA 18951 215-538-1116 voice/fax |
Virginia
Office: P.O. Box 151 New Hope, VA 24469 540-363-0188 voice/fax |
|||
Nevada
Office: |
||||
To
unsubscribe from our newsletter list, please email back with
REMOVE in the subject line. Thank you. |
||||