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goodWORKSconnect.org is an online community space and virtual resource center connecting the good work that nonprofits do in east central Illinois.


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    Donors Forum promotes philanthropy and a strong nonprofit sector in Illinois. At last count, more than 1,200 organizations and individuals belong, including grantmakers (foundations, corporations, and...
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Nonprofit Inclusion in White House Jobs Proposal Print E-mail
Monday, 08 February 2010

Action Alert: Donors Forum encourages you to call your Representatives and Senators to inform them of the benefits of providing tax credits to nonprofit entities and to secure their inclusion in future legislation.

Background: The White House proposal for a $33 billion job-creation bill acknowledges nonprofits as employers and significant economic drivers by providing tax credits to nonprofits, as it does for its for-profit counterparts. For more information, please view the official White House fact sheet by clicking here.

The main component's of the President's proposal was presented in a White House call and summarized by the National Council of Nonprofits:

1. Nonprofits of any size would get a $5,000 tax credit (applied to withholding taxes) for every new employee hired in 2010, retroactive to January 2010.

2. Nonprofits of any size that increase the hours or wages of employees making less than $106,800 can be reimbursed for the additional Social Security taxes incurred. The maximum benefit for any one nonprofit would be capped at $500,000.

While President Obama's proposal is beneficial to the nonprofit community, we must ensure that similar language is included in legislation crafted by Congress.

For additional policy updates from Donors Forum, click here.

Please share your responses by joining in the conversation on our FORUMS.

 
Making Skills-Based Volunteering Work Print E-mail
Friday, 05 February 2010

volunteer_image.gif

Striving for success during the recession can be daunting, but when you tap into the power of volunteering, everybody – the volunteers, nonprofits and the community – wins.

Nonprofits should know that volunteering is not just advantageous to them, but also to the volunteers themselves.  Here are some tips on how to recruit, manage and retain volunteers:

1.    Define the role
2.    Don’t waste your time on people who aren’t a good fit
3.    Get them motivated
4.    Be flexible
5.    Recognize their important contribution

Learn more about these tips in the full article, found here, by recent casualty of mass layoffs in the media industry and current volunteer Maya Roney Zioboro from Philanthropy Journal.

We’d like to hear from organizations and volunteers alike on our FORUMS.  Organizations, what do you do to retain your volunteers?  Volunteers, what keeps you motivated and passionate about your philanthropy projects?

 
Five Internal Controls for the Very Small Nonprofit Print E-mail
Wednesday, 03 February 2010

By Carl Ho, CPA from Blue Avocado

Segregation of duties can be difficult to implement in the organization that has perhaps three or fewer staff members or only a few active board members in an all-volunteer organization.

The following are the five most important, most do-able controls for small groups:

1.    Set the control environment
2.    Define clearly who is responsible for what
3.    Place physical controls
4.    Count all cash together
5.    Reconcile the bank statement

These controls, along with others, can be found in the full article, found here.

Does your organization use additional controls or do you have comments on those found in the article?  Please post your response on the FORUMS.

 
When Should You Hire a Director Of Development? Print E-mail
Monday, 01 February 2010

Here’s a common question: If we hire a director of development (a fundraiser), how long before that position pays for itself?

Certainly, funding is a legitimate concern, but other pertinent matters must be considered when hiring a director of development. Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether your organization is truly prepared for this move.

* Are we willing to spend time along with money?
* Is our board engaged in fundraising?
* Do we have a plan?
* Have we considered existing resources?
* Have we reviewed our results?

The full article, found here, offers some great advice about organizational readiness for having a Director of Development on staff. 

Does your organization have a Director of Development?  Tell us about your experience and how your organization made the decision to fill this position at our FORUMS.

 
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Latest Discussions

Re:Making Skills-Based Volunteering Work
Here at Champaign County Nursing Home, our volunteers are a requirement in order to make our home better for our residents. We have college affiliated students who come here because they are taking a class that requires their involvement with elders. Those volunteers are generally here for on...
Jim Hronek 8.2.2010 16:00
Nonprofit Inclusion in White House Jobs Proposal
Action Alert: Donors Forum encourages you to call your Representatives (http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml#il) and Senators (http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=IL) to inform them of the benefits of providing tax credits to nonprofit entities...
Kelsey Holsapple 8.2.2010 10:35
Re:Website Software
Sorry I am so late in answering this. I'm supposed to be our resident technology expert around here, but other responsibilities have kept me away for the past few weeks. As far as website software goes, there are tons of excellent free or cheap options at this point. It really depends upon wh...
Jared Dunn 7.2.2010 10:26
2009 Member Survey Results
In late 2009, a survey was circulated to all members of goodWORKSconnect.org and those who receive the monthly eblast. 186 folks responded. Attached is the summary of those responses. You will notice will probably not be a surprise... *reduced or LATE government support is a huge issue along...
Annie Hernandez 5.2.2010 10:50
Making Skills-Based Volunteering Work
Striving for success during the recession can be daunting, but when you tap into the power of volunteering, everybody – the volunteers, nonprofits and the community – wins. Nonprofits should know that volunteering is not just advantageous to them, but also to the volunteers themselves. Here ...
Kelsey Holsapple 5.2.2010 9:45
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