Posts Categorized: Director Duties

Data Breaches Aren't Just for For-Profits

What does the data breach that happened at Target last year have to do with your nonprofit?  You may remember that the breach enabled access to the credit and debit accounts of 40 million Target shoppers. This reportedly caused Target to incur $61 million in expenses. But Target’s insurance is expected to cover $44 million …

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Vendor Warning

Do you check references before you engage vendors for your organization’s fundraising events? If not, you should. The New York Times Haggler recently reminded us why. In a recent post, the Haggler investigated a company called CreditCardMachineRentals.com, which charged a nonprofit a wrongful late fee of $8,100 for returning borrowed credit card machines weeks late …

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Who's Protecting My Donation from a “Significant Diversion”?

Donors around the country are asking themselves that since The Washington Post published a series of articles reporting that more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations have reported a “significant diversion” of assets since 2008. A significant diversion is one that is more than the lesser of $250,000 or 5% of an organization’s gross receipts or total …

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Horror Stories from the Trenches

October 15, 2013 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Board, Director Duties, News

With Halloween quickly approaching, now is the time to face your non-profit demons. Do you consistently lose sleep worrying whether your non-profit is operating lawfully? Do you ever wonder whether you should be doing more as a director? Stop burying your head in the sand. Instead join Arthur Rieman, managing attorney of The Law Firm …

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To Disclose or Not to Disclose

August 6, 2013 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Director Duties, IRS, News

If someone requests that your nonprofit disclose its exemption documents, must your organization comply? In general, yes. An exempt organization must make publicly available its last three annual returns and its IRS application for exemption. Note, however, that an exempt organization, other than a private foundation, does NOT need to disclose the names and addresses …

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Choose Grant Recipients Wisely

How carefully does your nonprofit’s board choose grant recipients? If you don’t know, here is a wake-up call. One Fund Boston, the 501(c)(3) established to assist victims and families affected by the Boston Marathon bombings, recently approved payment of $480,000 to an individual who is now charged with defrauding the fund. There’s good news for …

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