HR Workforce Solutions
By Nonprofits, For Nonprofits
Being on a nonprofit board can require you to wear many different hats and one of the most important aspects of being on a board is learning the budget approval process. Some board members come equipped with a business background—comfortable dealing with budgets and numbers. On the other hand, some may not have the same appreciation or knowledge base when it comes to understanding the financials.
Since each nonprofit organization has a different approach when it comes to handling their budget, there can be some confusion or differences of opinion amongst board members. Educating your board on the proper key terms, types of budgets and the different approaches, is key to ensuring the best decisions are being made on behalf of the organization.
Here are a few key terms to understand when learning the basics of a budget and some specific terms used when discussing nonprofit budgets:
These terms will help your board increase its financial literacy by reducing the mystery of nonprofit budgets, financial reports and auditing. Since a budget plays such a vital role in a nonprofit’s ongoing financial viability, it’s important your board members can fully understand and approve such budgets.
A subsidiary of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits) – a statewide alliance of more than 10,000 nonprofits that serves as the voice of the nonprofit community, CalNonprofits Insurance Services (CIS) has been helping California nonprofit organizations with their insurance needs since 1984. Offering exclusive, cost-saving insurance products ranging from general liability coverage to employee benefit programs, more than 900 nonprofit organizations have chosen CIS as their preferred insurance broker.
CalNonprofits Insurance Services has become the one-stop insurance solution for nonprofits in California since its inception and continues to gain momentum. Not-for-profit organizations have unique insurance needs that differ drastically from any for-profit business and CIS understands those needs better than anyone else – constantly researching new products and services to ensure they have solutions to fit whatever benefit needs are out there.
Developing exclusive, cost-effective plans and discount programs that benefit their clients and keeps nonprofits’ insurance dollars at work within the sector is their missions work. “CalNonprofits Insurance Services is unique because we are a social enterprise subsidiary of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits),” said Colleen Lazanich, CEO at CIS. “Revenue generated through CalNonprofits Insurance Services stays in the nonprofit sector and strengthens the nonprofit communities in California.”
Dedicated to serving California nonprofit organizations for over 30 years, CIS has the expertise to help nonprofits determine the best insurance coverage needed to protect their unique needs. To learn more about CalNonprofits Insurance Services, visit https://calnonprofitsinsurance.org/!
Competencies are designed to help individuals grow in their roles and their organizations. However, when competencies are poorly defined or applied incorrectly, they can undermine a nonprofit’s talent management process.
According to the Stanford Social Innovation Review, 1 in 4 senior nonprofit executives will leave their organizations within the next 2 years. These departures can result in a loss of productivity and require the use of organizational resources in order to fill the position. The time and energy spent recruiting and looking for a replacement can equal an employee’s salary depending on the position. These retention rates can have an effect on the managerial level as well. Research shows that managers believe that finding employment elsewhere is the only way they will grow faster.
To reduce turnover, nonprofits can create a talent management process that defines and uses competencies that will help individuals grow in their roles and organizations. When defined and used properly, competencies can help identify particular skills, capabilities, and experiences needed for employees to perform at their best and to encourage future growth.
Here are 4 common mistakes nonprofit organizations make when defining and using competencies:
1. To use competencies properly when assessing an individual’s performance.
A performance assessment of an individual should be based primarily on how well they are doing against their agreed upon goals and target for the year. Competencies enable this performance and act as a guide for individuals to understand the skills they need to develop to improve their performance over time. Organizations that do this right use the performance assessment to identify the competencies for each individual to work on.
2. Only thinking of competencies in relation to the work of the individual and organization.
Most nonprofits, that have identified and defined competencies, use a list of job-related competencies. These are generally relevant for everyone in the organization (e.g. communication, dependability, workload management) and can include ones that are specific to certain roles. However, many nonprofit organizations forget that they need to have a set of leadership competencies along with the job competencies — to encourage organizational success.
3. Failing to tailor competencies that are both organization-specific and future oriented.
Some nonprofits have a starter set of competencies that they work with that were either pulled from an HR website or another resource. However, most organizations have not considered if these competencies will enable the organization to achieve strategic priorities. While starter lists provide a good foundation, there needs to be a set of competencies that are specific to their work and encourages future success.
4. Not defining competencies that make them user friendly for development purposes.
While many organizations have a short definition for each competency, only a few have taken the time to create a more elaborate definition for each one. This would provide a better understanding of what it means to progress from an early stage to an advanced stage for each competency.
Nonprofit organizations that approach identifying and using competencies with leadership development in mind avoid many of these pitfalls. In addition, getting the competencies right and using them for development purposes gives nonprofits a better chance at increasing retention and job satisfaction among emerging leaders.
It’s June once again, and for many of you that means the year-end closing of the books on June 30th—which means the AUDITORS will soon be coming!
Presented by Jay Azar, Lindquist, LLP Director of Not-for-Profit Practice Services, this on-demand webinar reveals how your organization can better prepare for the year-end audit and make the process more beneficial for you.
Jay provides expert TIPS on:
Watch the webinar recording today and learn how you can get the most out of your upcoming audit.
This webinar series is part of UST’s efforts to educate the nonprofit sector. For more learning opportunities, tips and legal updates just for nonprofits, sign up for our monthly e-News today!
Thousands of nonprofits have registered to solicit donations but don’t always understand state requirements and whether or not they apply to their organization. This nonprofit-exclusive webinar will explain the essentials of fundraising registration as well as review valuable information meant to help ensure that you’re registered before filing your next Form 990.
Presented by Affinity Fundraising Registration and hosted by Maia Lee, this on-demand webinar highlights crucial details you need to know to raise funds legally in any state with information not found in any book or website. Maia is the Director of Sales & Marketing for Affinity Fundraising with more than 10 years of nonprofit marketing and development experience.
This educational webinar will help you:
For access to more learning opportunities, tips and legal updates just for nonprofits, sign up for our monthly eNews today!
Having recently joined UST as a Marketing Project Specialist, Chelsi is excited to be part of a company that strives to help and be an advocate for nonprofit organizations. While she isn’t currently doing any volunteer work herself, she does donate blood regularly and has already participated in corporate volunteer events during her off hours – I think it’s safe to say she’s a good fit.
Chelsi started dancing competitively at the age of three and stayed active in the dance community for the next ten years. She moved from Utah to California when she was nine and later went on to obtain a degree in Health Administration at CSUN. Before taking a position at UST, Chelsi was a Marketing Specialist within the healthcare arena.
Outside of the workplace, she enjoys living an active lifestyle that includes running, yoga and hiking as well reading, DIY projects and binge watching Netflix. She says she loves to bake and is a die-hard Dodgers fan (tough loss this year). Most of all, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and says her favorite childhood memory was time spent having tea and playing dress up with her Grandmother.
When asked which TV show her life emulates, she answered Gilmore Girls, sharing “Growing up with a single mom, our lives were full of ups and downs but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.” Her favorite holiday is Christmas and apparently she especially loves to bake during the holidays – I guess that means extra holiday pounds for the rest of the team though I don’t think anyone will be complaining.
Help us in welcoming Chelsi to the UST team via Twitter @USTTrust or Facebook @ChooseUST with the hashtag #MeetUSTMondays!
Exit interviews can be an extremely effective tool when done properly. By gathering meaningful information from a departing employee about their experiences with your organization, you can make improvements that could increase retention.
Presented by Glassdoor and hosted by Christopher Lee, this on-demand webinar highlights the proper execution of exit interviews and their impact on the business. Christopher is the HR Manager for Epsilon with more than 10 years of experience helping businesses to meet their goals through employee relations, performance management and organizational development.
You’ll learn why the exit interview is so important, not only for the organization but also for the exiting employee, current personnel and future staff.
Watch the webinar recording today!
Want access to more learning opportunities, tips and legal updates just for nonprofits, sign up for our monthly eNews today!
Utilizing State-Specific Unemployment Claims Administrators, Who Help Protest Unemployment Claims and Attend 100 % of Hearings, UST Participants Save More than $27.8 Million in Unemployment Claims Costs.
Santa Barbara, CA (August 14, 2017) – The Unemployment Services Trust (UST), a program dedicated to helping nonprofits reduce paperwork burdens and protect assets, today announced it has identified $26,219,466.13 in unemployment claims cost savings plus an additional $1,592,247.82 in errors that are refunded to UST participants.
Since 1972, 501(c)(3) nonprofits have possessed the exclusive ability to opt out of the state unemployment tax system and instead pay dollar-for-dollar for their own unemployment claims—as allowed by federal law. UST provides nonprofits the tools they need to exercise their unique tax-exemption status in a safe and cost-effective manner, through dedicated administrative support, e-Filing capabilities and expert claims advice.
UST participants are able to efficiently combat improper unemployment claims, meet important deadlines and prepare for claims hearings by utilizing their state-specific claims representative—helping them to avoid costly penalties while offsetting the administrative headache. UST’s claims administrator equips more than 2,200 participating nonprofits with the guidance and resources they need to confidently manage their claims process.
“In a sector where employee bandwidth and funding is often stretched, it’s beyond rewarding to know that UST provides such significant savings to our nonprofit members,” says Donna Groh, Executive Director of UST. “We know this money filters right back into the nonprofit community and that’s what the UST program is all about—strengthening nonprofits’ missions.”
501(c)(3) nonprofit employers with 10 or more employees can submit a free Unemployment Cost Analysis form to readily determine whether their organization is overpaying in state unemployment taxes. Those who enroll in the UST Program will receive instant access to expert claims advice.
PT Barnum’s quote, “There is no such thing as bad publicity” is not the case when an employee comes forward with a claim of harassment or hostile work environment and, to make matters worse, discusses the company’s handling of the situation on social media or in the press.
If you’re a company like Uber, you can hire the former Attorney General to manage the issue. But if you’re not, what can you do to get things under control? And how could your company have avoided the issue to begin with?
Presented by ThinkHR, this on-demand webinar highlights the latest best practices and tools to prevent harassment and discrimination claims.
You’ll learn the key components of respectful workplace cultures for prevention as well as practical ideas for conducting investigations into claims of improper conduct to help resolve issues when they arise.
Watch the webinar recording today!
This webinar offers 1 HRCI and SHRM-approved credit. Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.
UST maintains a secure site. This means that information we obtain from you in the process of enrolling is protected and cannot be viewed by others. Information about your agency is provided to our various service providers once you enroll in UST for the purpose of providing you with the best possible service. Your information will never be sold or rented to other entities that are not affiliated with UST. Agencies that are actively enrolled in UST are listed for review by other agencies, UST’s sponsors and potential participants, but no information specific to your agency can be reviewed by anyone not affiliated with UST and not otherwise engaged in providing services to you except as required by law or valid legal process.
Your use of this site and the provision of basic information constitute your consent for UST to use the information supplied.
UST may collect generic information about overall website traffic, and use other analytical information and tools to help us improve our website and provide the best possible information and service. As you browse UST’s website, cookies may also be placed on your computer so that we can better understand what information our visitors are most interested in, and to help direct you to other relevant information. These cookies do not collect personal information such as your name, email, postal address or phone number. To opt out of some of these cookies, click here. If you are a Twitter user, and prefer not to have Twitter ad content tailored to you, learn more here.
Further, our website may contain links to other sites. Anytime you connect to another website, their respective privacy policy will apply and UST is not responsible for the privacy practices of others.
This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for our site is subject to change.
UST maintains a secure site. This means that information we obtain from you in the process of enrolling is protected and cannot be viewed by others. Information about your agency is provided to our various service providers once you enroll in UST for the purpose of providing you with the best possible service. Your information will never be sold or rented to other entities that are not affiliated with UST. Agencies that are actively enrolled in UST are listed for review by other agencies, UST’s sponsors and potential participants, but no information specific to your agency can be reviewed by anyone not affiliated with UST and not otherwise engaged in providing services to you except as required by law or valid legal process.
Your use of this site and the provision of basic information constitute your consent for UST to use the information supplied.
UST may collect generic information about overall website traffic, and use other analytical information and tools to help us improve our website and provide the best possible information and service. As you browse UST’s website, cookies may also be placed on your computer so that we can better understand what information our visitors are most interested in, and to help direct you to other relevant information. These cookies do not collect personal information such as your name, email, postal address or phone number. To opt out of some of these cookies, click here. If you are a Twitter user, and prefer not to have Twitter ad content tailored to you, learn more here.
Further, our website may contain links to other sites. Anytime you connect to another website, their respective privacy policy will apply and UST is not responsible for the privacy practices of others.
This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for our site is subject to change.
A study by the John Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies (@JHUCCSS) has found that nonprofits are a significant and growing source of jobs and economic activity worldwide.
The study, The State of Global Civil Society and Volunteering: Latest Findings from the Implementation of the UN Nonprofit Handbook, found that if both paid staff members and volunteers are counted, nonprofits employ 7.4 percent of the total workforce—on average—in 13 nations for which this information was available.
Furthermore, because nonprofits are growing so quickly, it was found that their economic activity is outpacing that of the national average of economic growth in many of the nations studied.
Does this ring true at your nonprofit and in your community? Does it make a difference? Let us know!
Want more about the findings? Read this overview.
Read more about the study’s findings here.