New York Nonprofits is the monthly newsletter of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc. Select articles are available only to NPCC members (using their assigned password). To receive a print edition of New York Nonprofits and to view select articles, you must be a member of NPCC. To join NPCC, visit www.npccny.org/howto.htm for membership information.

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July 2010, Volume 27, No. 7

The 2010 New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards
Nonprofit Outsourcing Clearinghouse Program
Bill to Strengthen Nonprofit and Government Partnerships
Fire Inspection Fees
Health Care Reform & Nonprofits
HealthPass
NPCC’s 2010 Salary Survey
Loans to Employees
BoardServeNYC
Bylaws That Work
Nursing Mother Guidelines
GAO on Reimbursement
Competency Survey
Collaboration Prize
Catalog Choice
Nonprofit Taglines
New NPCC Members
Space Ads
Workshop Calendar

June 2010, Volume 27, No. 6

The New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards
NPCC 2010 Salary Survey
ReadyTalk: New Lower Rate
NYS Charities Registration Cure Program - June 30 Deadline
IRS 990-N: Not Too Late
Form 941 & the HIRE Act
NGen Leadership Award
ED & Board Fiscal Seminar
Fenton Forecast
Fundraising Day NY
Disability Advisor

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The 2010 New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards

The fourth annual New York Times Nonprofit Excellence Awards recognized Sadie Nash Leadership Project, God’s Love We Deliver and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest on June 24 as the area’s best-managed nonprofits. The Awards, presented at TheTimesCenter in midtown, honor and encourage outstanding management practices among New York’s large and diverse nonprofit community. A two-hour Best Practices workshop preceded the presentation. Diane McNulty, executive director of Community Affairs and Media Relations for the Times noted, “It is a day of learning, new ideas and accomplishments, and a celebration of innovation and productivity.”

Sadie Nash Leadership Project: Gold Prize for Overall Management Excellence. Cecilia Clarke, executive director and founder; Courtney Killingsworth, board co-chair. Sadie Nash promotes leadership, activism and service among young women with programs centered on achievements of women, use of role models, service-based learning and community organizing. www.sadienash.org God’s Love We Deliver: Silver Prize for Management Excellence. Karen Pearl, executive director; Michael Sennott, board chair. God’s Love We Deliver improves the health and well-being of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition. www.glwd.org New York Lawyers for the Public Interest: Bronze Prize for Management Excellence. Michael Rothenberg, executive director; Christopher Tahbaz, board chair. New York Lawyers for the Public Interest advances equality and civil rights, with a focus on health justice, disability rights and environmental justice, through the power of community lawyering and partnerships with the private bar. www.nylpi.org

Doug Bauer, board member of Philanthropy New York, noted that great and thoughtful philanthropy requires great and thoughtful nonprofits, and expressed delight that Philanthropy New York is a partner in the Awards. Michael Clark, NPCC’s president, said that he views the Awards through an educational lens both in bringing the public’s attention to well-run nonprofits and in bringing nonprofit leader’s attention to best practices as outlined in the Awards central guiding document, Seven Areas of Nonprofit Excellence. Clark thanked NPCC’s partners in the program, Philanthropy New York and the Times, noting that neither had to do this, but that it is a joint labor of love.

Hildy Simmons, chair of the Awards Selection Committee, reported that 89 qualified applications were received last fall. These were reviewed and winnowed down to ten semi-finalists. These ten groups then submitted another application, which resulted in six finalists. The Selection Committee conducted site visits to the six finalists, leading to the Ceremony. As Doug Bauer noted, “The Selection Committee is like James Brown — the hardest working committee in the nonprofit biz.” Simmons added that there are no losers among the finalists and that everyone should be very proud to have been included. She urged groups to apply for the next round and learn from the process.

Jack Rosenthal, senior fellow with The Atlantic Philanthropies, conducted interviews with the nominees about both their programs and their management strategies. If one thing was most obvious about all the winners, it was that a strong and dynamic partnership exists between the chief executives and their board chairs. And, all fully embraced metrics and evaluation in tracking results of their organizations.

During the last two years of economic downturn, God’s Love We Deliver was able to serve about 25% more people while at the same time reducing around 2.5% of non-personnel expenses. Some positions were kept vacant, but there were no layoffs, and managers collectively came up with a list of 99 items for cost reduction.

In an effort to reduce its expenses, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest approached every vendor and negotiated reductions wherever it could. This included their landlord, as their lease was about to come up for renewal, and fortunately the commercial real estate market was in their favor.

Sadie Nash Leadership Project, an eight-year-old group, reported moving cautiously about scaling up and replicating its program in other cities. While it had launched one in Newark, the group came to the conclusion that it wasn’t feasible for them to produce one in Westchester, as they had been asked to do, so they conducted an extensive train-the-trainer for the Westchester group.

A question from the audience to the three executive directors — “What personal characteristics carry you through? — brought a variety of answers: “A strong team of partners and collaborators.” “Being an executive director, contrary to what many say, doesn’t feel like loneliest position: you have your staff, your board, and your community, so use them.” “A happy staff is a strong staff.” “Maintain a sense of humor.” “There’s almost no problem that hasn’t been dealt with before by someone somewhere. Talk to your community.” “You don’t have to have every idea, you just have to listen to every idea.” “Like a shark, you have to keep moving, but don’t keep moving just for moving’s sake.”

On the subject of board chairs and executives, board chairs noted that personal relationships and chemistry help make things work more smoothly. You have to be able to have honest and respectful conversations not only in good times but also in bad times. There are three jobs of a board chair: to tend to the life of the rest of the board, to be a partner of the executive director, and to be an ambassador for the organization.

The Awards included cash prizes of $25,000 for Gold, $10,000 for Silver, and $5,000 for Bronze. Winning organizations also receive scholarships for Programs in Social Enterprise for Nonprofit Professionals of The Institute for Not-for-Profit Management Program of Columbia Business School. Ray Horton, director the programs presented the awards along with Hildy Simmons.

Additional financial and in-kind support in the past year was provided by The Clark Foundation, the Fund for the City of New York, the Surdna Foundation, McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, Social Enterprise Programs in Executive Education at Columbia Business School, The New York Community Trust, New York Life Foundation, Google Inc., The Venable Foundation, Wells Fargo, Community Resource Exchange and the Altman Foundation.

More about the Awards, including the semi-finalists, the Selection Committee members, highlights of the winners’ best practices, and Seven Areas of Nonprofit Excellence, is at www.npccny.org/info/awards.htm.

 

Nonprofit Outsourcing Clearinghouse Program

NPCC is launching a Nonprofit Outsourcing Clearinghouse Program designed to explore the potential value of outsourcing back-office functions to help nonprofits save money and improve management quality. In order to help you, we need your help. To help identify nonprofits’ most pressing management needs and to help identify groups that may be interested in free one-on-one consultation, we ask that you complete a brief survey.

The purpose of this program is to help small to midsized nonprofits assess their need for and capacity to outsource one or more of their management functions, such as: information technology; bookkeeping and financial management; marketing and communications; fundraising; purchasing; real estate management; risk management; legal services; and employment and human resources.

Fifty nonprofits that choose to enroll in the program will receive free assessments to help them take stock of current in-house and other back-office services arrangements, the adequacy of available services to meet their organizational needs, current costs of such services, and potential savings available through outsourcing one or more such services. They will also receive help in selecting appropriate potential outsourcing services and providers.

A free, publicly searchable database of outsourcing providers serving the NYC area, with baseline pricing, available discounts, annual delivery capacity, and quality and customer satisfaction profiles also will be made available, as will a free Nonprofit Guide to Outsourcing Services with criteria for assessing an individual nonprofit’s needs and potential for outsourcing, as well as for vetting and selecting such services. Tools for monitoring financial savings and quality impact over time will also be available.

Groups that express interest in the free, customized consultations will be asked to complete a more in-depth Request for Participation application at a later date.

To complete the initial survey, go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/OutsourcingClearinghouse.

If you have any questions about the program, contact Marcia Brown, director of programs at NPCC at 212-502-4191, extension 27 or mbrown@npccny.org.

 

Bill to Strengthen Nonprofit and Government Partnerships

In mid-June, U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (MN) introduced the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act (HR 5533), which seeks to improve the relationship between nonprofits and the federal government by improving coordination, communication and data collection.

The U.S. collects and reports current economic performance indicators for nearly every other industry, but does not know basic facts about the nonprofit sector such as how many individuals work for charitable nonprofit organizations, how many federal dollars flow to nonprofits through state and local governments, or even how much public support is given each year to distinct charitable activities. This legislation will finally provide access to these data and help both nonprofits and policy makers establish better partnerships to serve local communities.

The bill would establish the U.S. Council on Nonprofit Organizations and Community Solutions consisting of 16 leading voices from across the sector. The council would produce a report and convene an annual summit on improving the relationship between government and our sector. It would create a working group on nonprofit organizations and the federal government composed of cabinet members and other leaders from agencies such as the IRS, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Corporation for National and Community Service which would help coordinate efforts between the two sectors. The bill would also require federal agencies to increase collection of data on nonprofits, with $5 million going to the National Science Foundation for research grants to nonprofits. The bill spells out a number of proposals such as more accurate counts of employees and better tracking of government funding to nonprofits.

The bill can be found at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h5533ih.txt.pdf.

 

Fire Inspection Fees

NPCC’s Government Relations Committee is supporting New York City Council Bill 176, which would repeal Local Law 41 of 2009. Local Law 41 imposed fire inspection fees upon nonprofits that own their property.

We believe Local Law 41 was viewed as a temporary measure and should be repealed as it drains from affected nonprofits resources that would otherwise be used for public purposes. In particular, social service organizations are exceptionally strapped for funds and many are largely dependent on City funding that does not, to our knowledge, provide coverage for the fees being imposed. New York City has no tradition of imposing such fees, and they are inconsistent with its historic support of a broad-based nonprofit sector that, in addition to providing key services, is one of the important engines for the City’s economy.

We encourage nonprofit members who own property to contact their Council member to ask them to support Council Bill 172.

 

Health Care Reform & Nonprofits

Many small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that provide health insurance coverage to their employees now qualify for a special tax credit.

Included in the health care reform legislation (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama on March 23), the credit is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. In general, the credit is available to small employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees. The credit is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ low and moderate income workers.

Small-employers may qualify for the credit if they have 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTE) with average wages of $50,000 per employee per year and pay at least half of the cost of single coverage for their employees. The maximum credit for tax-exempt organizations is 25% of premiums paid in 2010, and that percentage will rise to 35% beginning in 2014. Since the eligibility formula is based on FTEs instead of the number of employees, some organizations may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individual workers.

The maximum credit goes to smaller employers – those with 10 or fewer FTEs – paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less.

More information about the credit, including tax tips, guides and answers to frequently asked questions, is at www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=223666,00.html.

The National Coalition on Health Care has a “small business tax calculator” that helps businesses and nonprofits determine if they are eligible for the small business tax credit that is part of the recently enacted health care legislation reform. The calculator includes a function that adjusts the credit percentages for nonprofit employers. It’s at www.smallbusinessmajority.org/tax-credit-calculator.

 

HealthPass

HealthPass New York is a nonprofit that offers small New York City-area businesses (between two and fifty employees, both non- and for-profit, as well as sole proprietors) a way to offer its employees choices in their health insurance and ease in administering their plan.

HealthPass was established to help companies offer health care benefits to their employees by providing a product that offers employees the kinds of choices available to large organizations in a way that is very simple for the employer — one enrollment form and one bill. Employees have more choices and employers do not have to make the difficult choice of selecting one plan that meets the needs of some employees but not others.

An organization that uses HealthPass may offer its employees individual plan choices and the option of selecting from 20 different benefit options offered by five carriers: EmblemHealth, GHI, HIP, Oxford, and Guardian. A variety of HMO, PPO, EPO and POS options offer different doctors, hospitals and out-of-pocket costs.

HealthPass has prepared several outlines of the key provisions of the Health Care Reform Act and its impact on small businesses, along with several other documents summarizing the impact and timeframes of the Act. They are available at www.healthpass.com/health-reform1.html. For more information about coverage available from HealthPass, go to www.healthpass.com.

NPCC will offer a workshop on health care and the reform legislation on August 18. See the workshop calendar for details.

 

NPCC’s 2010 Salary Survey

NPCC has published the results of its 2010 Salary Survey undertaken on behalf of its members. The Survey, with over 470 responses, is the preeminent and largest survey of New York City-area 501(c)(3) nonprofits.

“This valuable survey is a useful tool for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations seeking to comply with the IRS intermediate sanctions rules and for board and finance committees doing salary comparisons of highly compensated staff members,” notes NPCC president, Michael Clark.

Completed responses for the survey were received from 470 NPCC member nonprofits and are included in the analysis. Salary data were asked for four top positions: executive director, deputy director, development director, and chief financial officer. In addition, salary data for administrative assistants were requested.

Aggregated salary data are arrayed in three ways: by budget size; by organization type (arts, health, education, etc.) within budget size; and by number of full-time staff.

The survey also polled nonprofits about recent salary increases or decreases in addition to projected salary increases or decreases.

Almost 40 percent of respondents reported annual operating budgets less than $1 million; just over 32 percent had annual budgets between $1 and $4.9 million; 12.6 percent reported budgets between $5 and $9.9 million; and 15.7 percent reported budgets between $10 and $90 million.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents came from health and human services groups; public/societal benefit organizations accounted for 20% of respondents as did arts/cultural/humanities groups. Eighteen percent of respondents had one or two full-time staff members, and at the other end of the spectrum, 5.5 percent had 200 or more full-time staff.

The 2010 NPCC Salary Survey results are available for no charge to NPCC members at www.npccny.org/members_only/2010SalarySurvey.pdf. Thanks to all the members that participated and helped make the survey possible.

Sample Findings on Executive Director/CEO Salaries

At organizations with annual operating budgets between $500,000-$599,999, the median salary of an executive director is $80,000; for those with budgets between $1 million and $1.5 million, the median salary is $102,000; those with budgets between $5 and $6 million, the median salary reported is $162,000.

When arrayed by sub-sector (arts, health, education, etc.), median salaries for executive directors at organizations with annual operating budgets between $400,000-$699,999 are: $87,333 for arts and cultural groups; $85,000 for health and human services; and $74,650 for public and societal benefit organizations.

Median salaries for executive directors at organizations with annual operating budgets between $2 million and $4.9 million are: $140,000 for arts and cultural groups; $161,300 for education groups; $135,000 for health and human services organizations; and $167,500 for public and societal benefit groups.

Salary Increases & Decreases

An interesting finding on salary decreases is that more executive directors recently took pay cuts as compared to the other staff. Over 10% of respondents reported that current salaries of executive directors had decreased compared to the previous fiscal year, which contrasted with 5% of deputy directors/COOs; 7.6% of CFOs; 5% of development staff, and 6% of administrative assistants. Most respondents — about 41% — projected that salaries would increase the following year; but 30-35% reported that salaries would remain the same.

Almost 33% of arts and cultural respondents reported that current salaries had decreased from the previous fiscal year and 40% hoped to increase salaries the coming year; 37.5% of education respondents had a salary decrease, and 51% hope to increase salaries next year; almost 40% of health and human service respondents had a salary decrease, and 36% hoped to increase salaries; 36% of public and societal benefit respondents reported a salary decrease, and 50% hoped to increase salaries next year.

 

Loans to Employees

At his recent NPCC seminar on personnel practices, labor relations attorney Allen Breslow noted that employers should not advance pay to employees because they may not be able to recoup the payments. Breslow believes that a fair number of nonprofits have a practice of advancing wages to their employees. New York State law has always stated that there are only limited circumstances when an employer can make deductions from wages from their employees, for example, for pension plan or insurance premium payments.

The inability of an employer to deduct such payments from an employee’s pay was reinforced under a new New York State Department of Labor ruling, released in January, stating that an employer who lends money to an employee (salary advance) may not deduct any amount of money for repayment from the wages of the employee — even if the employee signs an authorization for such deductions. Employers can only be repaid by receiving money directly from the employee or through litigation. More importantly, an employee who fails to reimburse money lent by the employer cannot be fired as a result of the failure to repay the advance or overpayment.

The employer may request that an employee repay the money provided that the employer also makes it clear that the employee’s refusal will not result in any disciplinary action. To avoid a possible misunderstanding, the request and advice should be in writing. If the employee refuses, the employer cannot retaliate. Commencing a civil action against the employee to recover the money is not discipline or retaliation. Breslow noted that a firing at a later date, regardless of how badly the employee behaved, will probably be claimed to be retaliation. It may be possible for an employer to charge the amount of the overpayment to the employee’s sick leave account, as sick pay is not considered wages.

Breslow’s recommendation: “Never advance employees pay.”

Attorney Allen Breslow specializes in labor, benefits and employee relations law, and offers his services to NPCC members at a reduced cost. For more information contact him at abreslow@breslowlaborlaws.com or 631-543-1191. This article should not be construed as providing legal advice. If legal advice is required, the service of a competent professional should be sought. Legal advice can and should only be rendered on specific facts.

 

BoardServeNYC

United Way of New York City has an initiative to help find and train new board members for local nonprofit organizations. BoardServeNYC will train volunteers in nonprofit governance each year and then connect those volunteers with nonprofits seeking new board members.

The service is free to participating nonprofits. Board candidates are pre-screened and have received relevant training. Live recruitment events provide an opportunity for face-to-face interviews with multiple candidates, as well as networking opportunities with other nonprofits.

Any registered 501(c)(3) organization located in the five boroughs of New York City is welcome to participate, if they have the capacity to make board service rewarding, the commitment of the executive director or board chair to participate in the orientation, and the ability to actively engage in, and follow through with, the matching process.

For more information and to complete an application, go to www.unitedwaynyc.org/?id=36.

 

Bylaws That Work

Lawyers Alliance for New York has just published Bylaws That Work: A Manual for New York Nonprofits. The guide is designed to help New York nonprofits prepare new or revised bylaws.

It offers a general legal overview, questionnaires to help those developing bylaws, and sample bylaws for nonprofit corporations (with and without members). Topics include corporate structure, directors and officers, membership, procedures for reviewing, amending and filing bylaws, and basic information commonly covered in bylaws. It also includes worksheets and sample bylaws to help guide the process.

The publication costs $45, and is available online at www.lawyersalliance.org/publications.php or by calling 212-219-1800.

 

Nursing Mother Guidelines

New York State law requires employers to provide nursing mothers “reasonable unpaid breaktime” or paid breaktime as well as a private place to express breast milk. It also requires employers to notify such an employee, upon her return to work following the birth of a child, of her rights. The guidelines are at www.labor.state.ny.us/formsdocs/wp/LS702.pdf.

 

GAO on Reimbursement

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released Nonprofit Sector: Treatment and Reimbursement of Indirect Costs Vary among Grants, and Depend Significantly on Federal, State, and Local Government Practices (GAO-10-477), a report that analyzes how indirect cost terminology and classification vary; how indirect costs are reimbursed; and if gaps occur between indirect costs incurred and reimbursed, steps taken to bridge gaps. GAO reviewed policies and documents governing indirect costs and interviewed relevant officials of federal agencies and 17 nonprofits. GAO also reviewed research on nonprofits’ indirect costs.

The report recommends OMB bring together federal, state, and local governments and nonprofits to propose ways to clarify and improve understanding of how indirect costs should be treated, particularly for grants passed through governments to nonprofits by clarifying the definitions of indirect costs and administrative costs and their relationship to each other. The report also cites a report from our friends at FMA (Fiscal Management Associates). The GOA report is at www.gao.gov/Products/GAO-10-477. The FMA report is available at www.fmaonline.net/media/AdministrativeManagementCapacity.pdf.

 

Competency Survey

American Humanics is seeking the input of nonprofit executives, human resources leadership and responsibilities, academics and others. Their survey will determine the competencies needed in effective managers and leaders. In addition to strengthening nonprofit management and leadership, one of their goals is to encourage a conversation about standards in nonprofit sector professional development.

The survey is at www.humanics.org/revalidation.

 

Collaboration Prize

The Collaboration Prize is a national award presented to nonprofit organizations that collaborate effectively to gain greater impact. In 2011, it will award a total of $250,000 to the collaborations that best exemplify the impact that can result from working together. Each of the eight finalists will receive $12,500 and the winner will receive an additional $150,000.

The Prize is designed to identify and showcase models of collaboration among nonprofit organizations. Recognizing the impact that can be achieved from working together, the Prize shines a spotlight on collaborations among two or more nonprofit organizations that cooperate to demonstrate innovative and effective responses to challenges or opportunities.

The application deadline is July 16. For more information, go to www.thecollaborationprize.org.

 

Catalog Choice

Catalog Choice, a nonprofit working to reduce the number of unwanted catalog mailings, is holding a competition to “discover, recognize, and reward efforts to move nonprofit fund-raising efforts in a paperless direction.” The competition will award a $5,000 first prize and a $1,000 honorable mention for the best digital fund-raising campaign by charities that compete in categories based on the size of their budgets.

Additional awards will be given for the most innovative paperless fund-raising campaign, and charities of any size may compete for those prizes, which also come with a cash award. The contest will weigh three factors: Did the appeal produce measurable return on investment? How easy is it for other groups to copy the idea or approach and get good results? Is the appeal a satisfactory replacement for direct mail? The deadline for entries is September 15. More information is at www.paperlesschoice.org/contest.

 

Nonprofit Taglines

The 2010 Nonprofit Taglines Awards is accepting applications. With three new categories this year—Special Event, Fundraising Campaign and Program (product, service or other program) taglines—in addition to Organizational taglines, you can enter up to four taglines in this year’s round.

Entrants will receive a free copy of the fully-updated 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Report in late fall. Previous winners and reports are at www.gettingattention.org. The deadline is July 28. Go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/2010-nonprofit-tagline-awards.

 

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The 2010 New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards

The presentation of the 2010 New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards will be held on Thursday, June 24 from 2-5:30pm at TheTimesCenter in midtown Manhattan. Now in its fourth year, the awards honor and encourage outstanding management practices among New York’s large and diverse nonprofit community.

The six finalists are: Achievement First, God's Love We Deliver, Habitat for Humanity-New York City, MOUSE, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and Sadie Nash Leadership Project.

The awards, honoring nonprofit management excellence rather than program content, will be presented at an event at TheTimesCenter and will include a Best Practices Workshop. A total of $40,000 will be awarded to three organizations, with $25,000 going to the Gold Prize winner for Overall Management Excellence, $10,000 to the Silver Prize winner and $5,000 to the Bronze Prize winner for outstanding performance in nonprofit management. Each of the winning organizations will also receive scholarships toward tuition at the Social Enterprise Programs in Executive Education at Columbia Business School. Additional financial and in-kind support in the past year was provided by the Surdna Foundation, McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, the Fund for the City of New York, The New York Community Trust, the Altman Foundation, The Clark Foundation, The Venable Foundation, Wells Fargo, Community Resource Exchange, New York Life Foundation, and Google Inc.

To reserve a seat for the June 24 Awards Ceremony, go to www.nycharities.org/event/event.asp?CE_ID=4422. For more information on the awards, go to www.npccny.org/info/awards.htm.

 

NPCC 2010 Salary Survey

NPCC has published the results of its 2010 Salary Survey undertaken on behalf of its members. Our Salary Survey, with over 470 responses, is the preeminent and largest survey of New York City area 501(c)(3) nonprofits.

“This valuable survey is a useful tool for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations seeking to comply with the IRS intermediate sanctions rules and for board and finance committees doing salary comparisons of highly compensated staff members,” notes NPCC President, Michael Clark.

Completed responses for the survey were received from 470 NPCC member nonprofits and are included in the analysis. Salary data were asked for four “top” positions: executive director, deputy director, development, and chief financial officer. In addition, salary data for administrative assistants was requested.

Aggregated salary data are arrayed in three ways: by budget size; by organization type (arts, health, education, etc.) within budget size; and by number of full-time staff. In addition, participants were asked about recent and projected salary increases or decreases.

The results are available at www.npccny.org/members_only/2010SalarySurvey.pdf.

 

ReadyTalk: New Lower Rate

Using ReadyTalk, NPCC members can host audio teleconferences for as low as 3.9¢ per person per minute and web conferencing for just 7¢ per person per minute. There are no set-up fees; you will be billed every month just for the number of minutes you use. ReadyTalk offers reservationless and toll-free teleconferencing, meaning you won’t need to schedule a call. Your account is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with free technical support and training. Audio conferences can hold up to 96 participants and an interface allows you to access a log of who was on the call. Also available for additional fees is a web conferencing feature for webinars.

For details or to sign up, visit www.readytalk.com/npcc. For questions, contact NPCC’s representative Josh White at 303-209-1526 or josh.white@readytalk.com.

 

NYS Charities Registration Cure Program - June 30 Deadline

Most 501(c)(3) nonprofits in New York State are annually required to file a report (CHAR500) with the State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau. The Charities Bureau requires an annual filing, “whether it is an annual report with financial data and a filing fee, or a filing claiming exemption from reporting requirements and filing fees.”

The Attorney General is offering a “cure” period for charities not properly registered with the Charities Bureau or delinquent in filing annual financial reports. Through June 30, the Attorney General will waive financial penalties if organizations file required forms and pay required fees. The program is an opportunity for organizations to become compliant with the registration requirements without incurring penalties. All organizations required to register with the Charities Bureau are eligible to participate. A completed application must accompany the filings and be postmarked on or before June 30, 2010. For more information, instructions and forms, go to www.charitiesnys.com/reg_cure_prog_new.html.

 

IRS 990-N: It's Not Too Late

If a nonprofit has missed the May 17 deadline to file its IRS Form 990-N, it should still file it ASAP. IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman has issued a statement that it “will do what it can to help them avoid losing their exempt status.” (Online at www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=223609,00.html.)

Form 990-N is a new filing requirement for most small nonprofits with annual gross receipts of $25,000 or less. Its requirement was included in the Pension Protection Act of 1996, and it states that any group required to file would lose its tax exempt status after failure to file for three consecutive years.

Commissioner Shulman urged those that have yet to file to do so, even though the May 17 filing deadline has passed. Upcoming guidance will offer relief to these small organizations and provide them with the ability to keep their tax-exempt status.

Filing a 990-N is easy and takes just a few minutes to file online. It asks eight simple questions and requires no financial information like the regular 990. More information is available at at www.npccny.org/info/gti11.htm.

 

Form 941 & the HIRE Act

The IRS has released Form 941, the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, revised for use beginning with the second calendar quarter of 2010, as well as instructions. The form can be used by eligible employers to claim the special payroll tax exemption that applies to many new workers hired during 2010. The payroll tax credit was created by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (Pub. L. No. 111-147), and applies to employers who hire unemployed workers after February 3, 2010, and before January 1, 2011.

The form is at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f941.pdf. To read more about the act, go to NPCC’s May newsletter at www.npccny.org/newslet.htm#c. The IRS has more information at www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=223577,00.html and at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-10-44.pdf.

 

NGen Leadership Award

Independent Sector is accepting nominations for the inaugural American Express NGen Leadership Award, created to honor an outstanding nonprofit leader under 40 years who has had a transformative impact on addressing society’s critical needs. Nominations will be accepted through Monday, June 14. Self-nomination is not admissible.

To be eligible, a leader must work for a U.S.-based nonprofit or non-governmental organization and have had a transformative, measurable impact within his or her field, beyond just one organization. Nominations will be evaluated by a selection committee of nonprofit leaders; finalists will be asked to submit answers to brief essay questions and those responses will be posted on the IS website for public voting by NGen program participants.

To nominate an outstanding under-40 nonprofit leader, go to www.independentsector.org/ngen_leadership_award.

 

ED & Board Fiscal Seminar

A one-day fiscal best practices update, training and immersion experience for executive directors and board members of small to mid-sized nonprofits will be held on Friday, June 25 from 8:30am to 4pm at the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park (6th Avenue at 43rd Street). The conference is cosponsored by Bank of America, NYSSCPA and N. Cheng & Co. P.C.

Join your fellow board members and executive directors for a day exploring nonprofit finance. NPCC president Michael Clark will keynote the conference, and you can get answers to the questions you have always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Although many speakers are accounting professionals, their information will be geared entirely towards non-accountants.

The $50 fee includes a continental breakfast and lunch. A complete conference schedule and registration is at www.ncheng.com/NYC%20Conference. Or contact Tony Manalo at 646-896-2921 or rsvp@ncheng.com.

 

Fenton Forecast

Fenton has released 2010 Fenton Forecast: Leadership and Effectiveness Among Nonprofits, its first annual opinion survey based on interviews with 1,000 Americans on their perceptions and attitudes about charitable giving, the causes they are most passionate about, the leadership attributes of high-performing nonprofits, and their perceptions of 50 well-known nonprofit organizations.

The survey revealed how nonprofits can best communicate news and information about their issues. When asked which sources of information they deem the most credible, respondents ranked traditional news outlets the highest. Social media sites like Facebook ranked near the bottom for credibility. Yet when asked how they choose to share their opinions on the causes they care about, respondents ranked Facebook as their number one method.

The findings point to both the challenges and opportunity social media presents, particularly the need to package and promote content that will establish credibility, and be compelling enough to inspire sharing – and action – among online communities.

View the survey results at www.fenton.com/fenton-forecast.html.

 

Fundraising Day NY

The Association of Fundraising Professionals will hold Fundraising Day in New York on Friday, June 11 in midtown Manhattan. Workshops are on a variety of topics from fundamentals to advanced fundraising, including direct mail, internet and technology-related; research; major gifts; and corporate and foundation. Sessions include Organization Effectiveness and its Fundraising Impact, Brandraising, Powering Up Your Research, Your Board and Hard Times, and much more.

The cost for the full-day seminar, including lunch and a keynote speech by Geoffrey Canada of Harlem Children’s Zone is $390 for non-AFP members.

To read more details or to register, go to www.afpnyc.afpnet.org.

 

Disability Advisor

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has a new tool to help employers ensure that their employment policies and practices do not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities.

The interactive, online Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor helps employers determine which federal disability nondiscrimination laws apply and their responsibilities under them. Users answer a set of relevant questions that generates a customized list of federal disability nondiscrimination laws that likely apply, along with easy-to-understand information about employers’ responsibilities under each of them.

The advisor is online at www.dol.gov/elaws/odep.htm.

 

Welcome New NPCC Members new 501(c)(3) members joined between April 21 and June 29, 2010 Africa Yoga Project Inc • Alliance of Ethics and Art • Birdsong • Camp Brooklyn Fund • Center for Special Populations • Community Service Coalition Org. • Emergency USA: Life Support for Civilian Victims of War and Poverty • Hester Street Collaborative • Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy • Long Beach Latino Civic Association • Margert Community Corporation • North Shore Rescue Squad • Nourishing Kitchen of New York City • Peace Boat US • Resilience Advocacy Project • Two Sides Sounding • TZDAKA-VCHAYIM

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New York Nonprofits
Copyright © 2010
Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc.
1350 Broadway, #1801, New York, NY 10018
Daniel J. Myers, writer & editor & website
212-502-4191, extension 21
dmyers @ npccny.org
fax 212/502-4189
www.npccny.org

Select articles may be reprinted in print form only (they may not be reprinted in any medium other than print) with the express permission of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc.

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New York Nonprofits is a monthly publication of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc. (NPCC). NPCC was established in 1984 to help nonprofits meet common challenges and problems, to serve as a meeting ground, and to strengthen the nonprofit sector as a whole. NPCC has over 1,700 members in the New York metropolitan area, ranging from all volunteer groups to major institutions. Membership in NPCC provides a place where your voice is heard and adds to the collective voice of the nonprofit community. Dues for 501(c)(3) nonprofits (that are not grantmakers) are based upon the organization's annual operating budget, and are as follows: Operating Budget . . . . . . . . .Dues $0 - $124,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 35 $125,000 - $249,999 . . . . . . . . . $ 100 $250,000 - $499,999 . . . . . . . . . $ 250 $500,000 - $749,999 . . . . . . . . . $ 350 $750,000 - $999,999 . . . . . . . . . $ 475 $1,000,000 - $4,999,999 . . . . . . .$ 675 $5,000,000 - $9,999,999 . . . . . .$1,200 $10,000,000 + . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,500 Grantmaking Member . . . . .$3,000 (requested) . . . $1,500 (minimum) The following memberships are for those who are not affiliated with a 501(c)(3) organization: Corporate Member . . . . .$3,000 (requested) . . . . $1,500 (minimum) Individual Sustainer . . . . . . . . $1,000 Individual Member . . . . . . . . .$100 Student Member . . . . . . . . . .$15 (with valid, current ID) Please visit www.npccny.org/howto.htm for more information on NPCC membership. Board Officers: John Craig, Chair; Michael Clark, President; Vice Chairs: Ian J. Benjamin, Gregory Cohen, Carol Kurzig, Robert J. Vanni; Shin Richard Miyoshi, Treasurer; Merble Reagon, Secretary; John Temple Swing, Founding Chair. Board Members: Fran Barrett, Richard Burns, Miriam Buhl, Pamela E. Green, Gregory King, Sandra Lamb, Charlene Laniewski, Rhonda A. Lewis, Ilene Mack, Carolyn McLaughlin, Cao K. O, Caroline Kim Oh, Stephanie Palmer,  Isaiah Sheffer, Michele Smalley, Emily Smith, Peter Wilderotter. Staff & Consultants : Michael Clark, President Peter Swords, President Emeritus Marcia Brown, Director of Programs Katie Martin, Membership & Outreach Director: Aditi Davray, Associate Director, Special Projects Alison Kincaid, Program Associate Molly Knol, Executive Assistant Jon Small, Senior Consultant, Government Relations Copyright © 2010 Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc. New York Nonprofits is published twelve times a year. Select articles may be reprinted in print form (they may not be printed in any medium other than print form) with the express permission of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc. Daniel Myers, editor, writer, & design, New York Nonprofits Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc. 1350 Broadway, Suite 1801 New York, New York 10018 phone: 212-502-4191 fax: 212-502-4776 www.npccny.org