Category Archives: Charity Registration

Contests, Swag & Social Media: Nonprofit Radio’s 100th Show

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Courtesy of My Buffo from Flickr.

My 100th show is this Friday!

I’ll be giving stuff away throughout the show (1 to 2pm Eastern). My guest Amy Sample Ward, social media scientist (my appellation, she’s modest), procured Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) books and clothing and comp’d webinars. And I’ll give away consulting time.

I’ve arranged for lots of giveaways because I’m so grateful for your support of Nonprofit Radio for two years. I wouldn’t be at this milestone if you hadn’t been with me. Thank you.

There are lots of ways to win.
Start by posting a question on my blog for Amy. She’ll take your social media questions before the show and one person who posts here will win NTEN sunglasses and a copy of “Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications.” It’s 28 bucks on Amazon. And the glasses, you can’t touch those unless you’re an NTEN member.

Post a question for Amy before the show on the LinkedIn group and you’ll have a chance to win one hour of Planned Giving or Charity Registration consulting from me.

Enter both pre-show contests with two questions. The social web is enormous. You can generate two different questions.

Listen live and join the conversation on Twitter using the #NonprofitRadio hashtag. We’ll have Twitter-only contest questions.

You’d be smart to have the show’s Facebook page open too. The first one to post a certain phrase at the appointed time will win “Open Community: A Little Book of Big Ideas for Associations Navigating the Social Web.”

Keep the Nonprofit Radio LinkedIn group open, too. An hour of comp’d consulting will go out through there during the show. That’s in addition to the pre-show questions above.

If you listen to the archive, you’re not left out. I’ll have books, webinars and clothing for podcast listeners.

All the Nonprofit Radio regular contributors will be on talking about social networking. That’s Scott Koegler; Maria Semple; and Gene Takagi with Emily Chan.

I’ll have something to give away nearly every 5 minutes. I’m so damn grateful for your support.

We’ll have a good time! Listen live or archive!

Here is the survey for this week’s show. Please take a moment to answer the questions. Thanks.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

Nonprofit Radio’s 100th Show!

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Nonprofit Radio all set up and ready to go at Fundraising Day 2012 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square!
It’s on Friday, July 13th, 1:00pm Eastern.

I am so damn grateful to my listeners and supporters. The show is celebrating its second anniversary–100 shows!–because of you.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Some listeners, like Tom L. from California, can’t stand to be away from Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. He writes:

Hi Tony,

I was at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon yesterday all ready to tune in on your broadcast. Thought it sounded fun to listen while being in this remote spot. Unfortunately just a little too remote and no signal.

So I did the next best thing and listened to a prerecorded podcast session that I had downloaded for this trip!

I’m turning our 100th show over to Tom and every listener. You choose the questions. And we’re giving away cool stuff to those who listen live and archive.

My very special guest will be Amy Sample Ward. She’s a scientist of social media, contributing to Stanford Social Innovation Review, and a director at Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN).

What do you want to ask Amy? She’s agreed to take on all social media questions for listeners’ charities. What’s your question? She’s up to it!

It’s your turn to ask the expert, but let’s have your questions in advance. Comment here, use our LinkedIn group or Facebook page or Twitter.

The whole show is devoted to using social media and social networks to help you reach your supporters and draw them close to your work.

Our regular contributors will also be on hand talking about social media! Scott Koegler on technology; Maria Semple on prospect research; and Gene Takagi & Emily Chan on legal. All these areas relate to your social networks and the social media properties and our team will share their ideas, as they do every month.

We’ll also give out prizes to live and archive listeners. Amy donated a bunch of NTEN books and swag, and I’ll give away my book and free consulting hours, in Planned Giving and Charity Registration.

Check us out live on July 13th at 1 o’clock eastern. Or subscribe on iTunes to catch the archive.

IRS Filing Prompts Charity Registration Compliance

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Last week I used Mary J. Blige’s foundation as an example of a noncompliant charity and opened an explanation of why it’s important to register your charity in each state where it solicits donations.

Here’s a motivation I didn’t mention last week: IRS Form 990.

If you’re required to file Form 990 annually, rather than one of the shorter annual forms like 990-EZ or 990-N (the postcard), then you’re answering questions about whether your charity is complying with state registration laws.

The alternate forms for smaller charities (based on gross receipts and/or total assets) don’t inquire about that.

For 990 filers, take a look at Part VI, question 17. (Use the link above to view the form.) It asks you to, “List the states with which a copy of this Form 990 is required to be filed.” Submitting the form is a basic request in every state registration regimen.

If you’re required to register in a state, you are required to submit the 990. (I speculated last week that not having its 990 ready may be why Ms. Blige’s charity hadn’t kept up with its New York registration.)

Charities required to file Schedule G of the 990 (who’s required?) will have their interest piqued by Part I, question 3: “List all states in which the organization is registered or licensed to solicit contributions or has been notified it is exempt from registration or licensing.”

That’s straightforward reporting of your compliance with state laws.

To blatantly nitpick, there is another possibility beyond registration and notification of exemption. Many states allow you to decide for yourself that you’re exempt. You won’t get notified by those states.

This is all quite interesting. A federal agency’s form asking about your compliance with state laws. Might that information be shared with states? I don’t see evidence that it is now, but I have heard rumblings about greater cooperation between IRS and state charities bureaus.

To round out your 990 thrills, the form is signed under penalty of perjury by an officer. It best be filled out honestly.

Charity Registration In The News: Mary J. Blige Foundation

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Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now's logo
Performer Mary J. Blige’s, Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now is under investigation for not filing its annual charity registration with the New York attorney general, among other things.

The NY Post story doesn’t go into detail, but that’s not newsworthy. (Though I love their headline: “Mary J. Bilk.”)

A search of the the NY AG’s charity bureau database shows there hasn’t been a registration filing by the organization since 2009. The form for charity registration annual renewal is the CHAR 500. The Foundation requested multiple extensions for filing the federal IRS form 990, and those extensions are quite common.

The 990 is part of New York state’s annual renewal, so the failure to prepare the 990 may have led to the lack of filing of the New York renewals.

Here is a sample of other charities that made news by not keeping up with charity registration laws:

Georgia foundation
Connecticut police charity
New York charity caught by New Jersey attorney general (third from last paragraph)

You’ve got to keep up with registrations in each state where you solicit donations. (Here’s a video from an AFP conference to explain that if you’ve got a “Donate Now” button on your site, you are soliciting in many states.)

By not complying, you open your charity up to investigations and public scrutiny. And your board members, as fiduciaries, suffer the risk of personal liability for the organization’s failures to comply with laws. In a lot of states there are civil and even criminal penalties, including fines. Plus, it’s just bad business.

I offer compliance motivation to the Direct Marketing Association in this video.

If you want help getting into compliance, let’s talk. If you want to do it yourself, I wrote Charity Registration: State-by-State Guidelines for Compliance.

One way or another, get into compliance and keep up with renewals.

What I Believe

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Believe courtesy of Sidereal on Flickr.
I produce a lot of content for charities: this blog; Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio; speaking and training; “Fundraising Fundamentals” podcast for The Chronicle of Philanthropy; writing; commenting; and the Planned Giving and Charity Registration consulting I get paid for. Why do I do it?

After all, the only thing I have to do is consult. That’s my primary living. The other work is fun and builds credibility, but that’s not reason enough to spend the considerable time and money to produce it and promote it. So why? Why do more than consulting?

I believe two things.

1. Small- and mid-size charities need to improve. They need to become better at planning and delivering and measuring services and impact; better at fundraising; better at hiring and training and firing; at compliance; at finance; better at marketing and communicating; at board and volunteer management; better at exploiting technology and social media; better at managing donors and all their other assets.

2. Small- and mid-size charities deserve help to improve. They deserve it because they work hard, damn hard. And because they want to be better. But they can’t get better on their own. And they can’t afford and attract the help they deserve.

So I help them. I produce content–relying considerably on generous experts–to help small- and mid-size shops with the challenges they struggle with.

I try always to keep my work in line with these beliefs.