All Nonprofits Organizations Must File 990 Tax Returns. Don’t Be Left Behind.
By Thomas R. Reich PhD
You know that tax-exempt nonprofits do not pay federal taxes, but did you know they do have to file an information 990 form with the IRS?
What is a 990?
IRS Form 990 is the tax document that tax-exempt nonprofit organizations file each year with the IRS. The 990 allows the IRS and the public to evaluate nonprofit organizations and how they operate.
Beginning with tax returns filed in 2009 for 2008, nonprofits must file the new Form 990 that requires more disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, compensation of board members and staff, and other details having to do with financial accountability and avoidance of fraud.
Nonprofit Does Not Mean Tax Exempt.
A common misconception is the notion that an organization is exempt from paying taxes simply because it has been organized as a nonprofit. Unfortunately, this particular misunderstanding could leave an organization facing tax debt with both the IRS and their state franchise tax board.
Who Files 990 Tax Returns?
1) Private foundations must file a form 990-PF.
2) Larger nonprofits with gross receipts of more than $50,000 must file a form 990 or 990-EZ.
3) Smaller nonprofits with gross receipts of less than $50,000 must file 990-N.
When is the 990 filed?
You must file your 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF by the 15th day of the 5th month after your accounting period ends. Therefore, if your fiscal year ends on December 31, the 990 is due on May 15 of the following year.
All of this detailed and intricate information can easily create confusion. Your friends at CharityNet USA are the experts you know and trust, and assisting you in preparing the right 990 forms is among the fine services we provide.
Do not risk problems with the IRS, let CharityNet USA help you today, before the deadline approaches. Our prices are reasonable, our knowledge of the 990 tax laws is unsurpassed and your 990 form must be filed soon. Call us today 407.857.9002 or send us an email info@bizcentralusa.com.
7 Free Pinterest Tools; Things to get You Noticed!
Pinterest is fast becoming one of the biggest social media sites in the world and this means it is important to find its uses to expose your busines. The Pinterest tools contained in Pinterest can let you easily share any photos you find on the almost any website and socialize with anyone in the world through Pinterest. It makes sharing easier, and you can gain exposure with many more people who share your interest.
Pinterest is not just for image-sharing, u can even study your social activity and find out your score on Pinterest, so you’ll know how well your message is getting out, or by using a simple web application, find out how your social activity can potentially benefit you.
Here you will find 7 useful tools you can use with your Pinterest from analyzing your pinterest activity to study your score and influence, pinning quotes, adding additional button as well as activity column on Pinterest page.
1. Pinpuf
Pinpuff is a Pinterest tool where you can calculate your Pinfluence, a measure of your popularity on Pinterest and it also provides the value of your every pin. To get started with your analytics on Pinpuff, go to the website http://pinpuff.com/ and fill in your email and your Pinterest username, then click on the button ‘Calculate your Pinfluence’.
You will be redirected to your pinfluence page, where you will find your pinterest analytics.
In the score page, you will be presented with your total score at the right hand sidebar next to your Pinterest profile image. You will also get to know an estimation of your pin valuation as well as cost per click. Apart from that, you will see your reach score based on your follower and activity score. It is just for fun but gives you an idea of how you are doing getting attention with your pins!
There’s also a virility score, and you can also find out the total followers, pins, repins and likes of each board you created in Pinterest.
2. Pinreach
Similar to Pinpuff, Pinreach is a Pinterest tool that also provides you with analytics to study your influence on Pinterest except without the value estimation you can find in Pinpuff. It does however have othe features to offer.
To use Pinreach, visit the website and click on the ‘Sign Up’ button and fill up the registration form together with your Pinterest username.
When registration is completed, you will be redirected to your analytics page. There are four tabs available on Pinreach to study your Pinterest activity in details.
Analytics
The first tab ‘Analytics’ is where you will be able to see your total pins, repins, likes, followers and more from the right sidebar, and you will also see graph of your score as well as activity changes since you last login to Pinreach.
Boards
Boards will show you the total number of pins, repins, followers and comments based on boards you created on Pinterest.
Pins
The Pins tab will show you a collection of your popular pins on pinterest.
Influential Followers
This tab will let you know who are among your followers has a strong influence on Pinterest. You can also click on their image to find out their Pinreach.
3. Pin A Quote
Pin A Quote is a Pinterest tool that allows you to post a quote to Pinterest. Although this is just a small part of what you can get from Pinstamatic, Pin A Quote makes it easy with their bookmarklet – you can simply post a quote by highlighting a text on any website much like how you Pin an image from a site.
To grab the bookmarklet, visit the Pin A Quote homepage, drag the button ‘Pin A Quote’ to your browser’s bookmark bar, and it is ready for use.
To pin a quote to Pinterest, all you need to do is simply highlight any sentence or quote you found on any website, then click on the Pin A Quote bookmarklet. A form will appear, fill it up and post it to your Pinterest.
4. Pin Search
Pin Search is an extension for Chrome browser and is a Pinterest tool that will let you easily find more related photos and information of a photo you found on Pinterest.
To start using, head over to the Pin Search extension page on your Chrome browser and click ‘Add to Chrome’.
Once added to Chrome, open the Pinterest website and you will see an additional ‘Search’ button at the bottom of the ‘Comment’ button, when you hover over any images on Pinterest.
Clicking on this ‘Search’ button will direct you to a Google’s search results page that is related to the image you selected.
5. Recent Activity Expander
Also an extension for Chrome, Recent Activity Expander is a Pinterest tool that will add an extra column on the left side of your Pinterest page, and list down all recent activity related to your account. It allows you to see who has followed and repinned your items since your last login.
To start using, head over to Recent Activity Expander‘s Chrome extension page and add it to your Chrome. Once added, open Pinterest website and you will see your Recent Activities in a column on the left.
6. Pinterest Right-Click
Pinterest Right-Click is an extension for your Firefox browser, it adds an additional right-click item to your right-click menu so you can pin any photos you found on the Internet.
To get this Pinterest tool, open the Pinterest Right-Click extension page on your Firefox and install.
Now when installation is completed, you can search or browse any images from your Firefox, and when you find any photos you want to pin to Pinterest, right-click on the image and select ‘Pin image’.
When you selected ‘Pin Image’, as usual a popup window will appear for you to fill up the details of the image, which board you want to post the image to etc. Once completed, select ‘Pin it’.
7. Pinterest Pro
Pinterest Pro is another Pinterest tool for Chrome extension that comes with 3 main features to enhance your Pinterest experience: ‘Pin to Pinterest’ accessible by the right-click menu, image zooming and ‘Popular Pin Dropdown’.
You can have these features on your Chrome browser by installing Pinterest Pro from the extension page. To pin a photo, just select ‘Pin to Pinterest’ by right click. A new tab will appear; fill up with the details of the image and it will be posted on your Pinterest board.
When you browse a Pinterest page, you can enlarge every pinned image without having to click on that image. Simply hover over any image with your cursor and the image will be enlarged.
The third feature is the Popular Pin Down button you can find at the top-right corner of your browser. Click this button to check out the latest popular content on Pinterest without having to load the website.
Conclusion
Now with these 7 tools, you can start to analyze your social activity on Pinterest and do more research on how to reach your audiences or grab more influence that would be beneficial for Marketing your product, service or event.
8) Do at least one thing that will publicize your product each day with Social Media to Drive Visitors Home
Other things to do on a regular basis:
1) Contact 5 people a day that could help you publicize your product
2) Give the social media network a hook to use to grab their audience (in the end you and your product do not matter to that media outlet, to the organization giving you the publicity, it’s how you can add interest to their show or blog, even their tweet stream, remember this!)
3) Research what various factions of the Social Media to Drive Visitors Home can put in their heading or intro;
“Coming up________” that will help their audience to stay tuned in or check back. What about you or your product would cause this reaction think of catchy phrases, make it easy to promote you or your product.
4) Again, you need to come up with hooks, what makes this Social Media to Drive Visitors Home or interviewer’s audience tune in to his or her show or blog. If it pushes you or your product at the same time, that makes it a win win, that is what we are looking for!
5) Hook = “Could you go to jail for linking the wrong website?” or “have you checked your Facebook picture for malware, XYZ co knows why you should” or “Is your health drink, healthy?”
5 Ways to Create a Hook for the Social Media Network
First: create interest
1) How to do; “How do you Tweet a Question?”
2) Counter a Myth; “Parents want a quick fix to poor study habits-could drugs be the wrong answer?”
3) Make a prediction; “Why the US will soon experience dramatic food shortages” –or—“Why food prices will continue to rise”
4) Ask a Question, “Can you give the media a question they can use?” or “What are cats thinking?”
5) Give them a timely hook, a reason they need to have information about your product now; Tax advice at tax time, new business start up advice in January, new kind of tomato plant in the spring
Create an effective publicity plan
1) Who is your core audience
2) What does that core audience read or watch
3) When will your topic be timely; time of year, anniversary, create a holiday around your product, look in the book Chase’s Calendar of Events for listing of 10,000 holidays
4) Is there a predictable news event that can be spun to your product and sent to theSocial Media to Drive Visitors Home, release of a movie, elections, release of monthly employment figures or farm reports
Avoid the “I’ll wait till it comes out to publicize the product” approach
1) When a new or updated product is released, the publicity must already be in place, The Social Media Network; Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn announcements kicking for weeks before the product hits the street.
2) Again do interviews blogs and email blasts, and consistent social media network exposure before the release date as well, to create anticipation of the new or improved product.
3) Listen to your core interest group, you may find improvements or hooks you never thought of before the product even comes out.
You want the influential bloggers
Get publicity and exposure on blogs that reach your core audience, not just your personal blog. The top 500 bloggers sites have over 100,000 visits per month, this is a resource you need to tap into!
Main ways to get valuable coverage on blogs:
1) Offer to write an article, this is called a “guest Post” free.
2) Offer the blogger the opportunity to interview you
3) Offer the blogger mention or a posting on your blog
4) Offer the blogger a free product so they can review it
5) Offer to run a free advice column in their blog Social Media to Drive Visitors Home
6) Offer copies of your product as prizes
Find blogs that get a lot of traffic
1) Give them timely hooks Social Media to Drive Visitors Home
You must have a strategy, YouTube should part of any social media networking plan
1) What could your core audience be looking for?
2) How can you set up your video so your core audience can find you?
3) Video must be no longer than 2 min.
4) Better to have 40 videos, each 90 second tips than to have 6 videos, each 15 min speeches.
The YouTube videos should contain:
1) Hi I am _____________
2) I am important to you because _______________
3) Here is what we are doing for you
4) End with find me here and follow me on twitter
5) Ask for a response from them through your social media network
If this seems like too many questions for you to answer alone, we can help to use Social Media to Drive Visitors Home. Beyond our normal business serves. We can help set up your social media network and blog to work with your Website. We can even help with videos and building a digital image.
3 Must Do’s in Your Social Media Network; Making Your Organization Relevant in Social Media
By Thomas R. Reich PhD
Are you really doing the right things with Social Media to grow your organization? It might be because you are trying to use the new medium of Social Media like you used the old medium of advertising, mainly to talk to your audience. To be successful with Social Media you must involve your audience and talk with them, not to them. I have observed 3 big mistakes our clients made before learning how to be successful in the social Media arena:
1) You forget to have a strategy in how to work with your entire online network.
Having a strategy for Social Media marketing goes a long way, and integrating that plan into an overall internet marketing plan is essential to success in your online marketing. You may want to include some or all of the following in your plan:
a) The number of times of the day or the week you will update the different Social Media channels. Some may be each day others may be once a month but make a schedule and stick to it!
b) Decide what kind of followers you want in each channel. Do you want quantity or quality? There are arguments for each and it depends on your mission, all a function of good planning.
c) It is important to set a realistic goal for the number of respondents to your marketing activities that are converted to your website and then to action, it is important to plan benchmarks to measure results.
2) Social Media is not just about you, don’t forget about others.
If you only promote yourself without giving value back on Twitter and Facebook, you will lose followers fast! Sites like Twitter and Pinterest where your followers are not your real life friends but thousands of people interested in what you have to say as promised by your intro are looking for additional content. Facebook and LinkedIn may be more forgiving through your business pages, but not as forgiving as you may think if all you do is advertise and self promote.
Limit self-promotional posts to twice per week, and divide the remainder of your content between engaging updates free from links, sharing relevant links your readers will enjoy and (polite and friendly) replies to other users. By following a structured plan like this, and staying on that plan to a schedule, you may find you have more friends that like you instead of just fans that “Like” you.
3) Possibly the biggest mistake you can make on Social Media is forgetting to update.
When you don’t update on a Social Media site it is probably the worst offence of all, it says you don’t care, and amounts to doing absolutely nothing! Even if you make some of the mistakes above, at least you have a presence, at least you can learn from your mistakes as you go along. In order to make any progress at all you must stick to the schedule we discussed above. Whether it’s a daily Tweet, a weekly LinkedIn update or a monthly blog or video update, stay on plan! You may want to post more and in some cases where the followers are growing very fast, you may want to post hourly, we all want that problem! A good social media manager can help you decide on a good strategy for the frequency of your updates.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM online from BizCentralUSA
Key Note Speaker: Thomas R. Reich, Marketing Coordinator
Join us for a fun and fact filled free webinar; one that will expose you to a world of Graphics and Branding. among other things discussed will be: Logo design and the difference between Logo and Brand! How color can effect your business, how important matching the look and feel of your website to you printed material and social media. We will look deep into the Brand and just what it means! Then we will touch on tips and tricks in many areas of marketing so new even the experts will want to attend. This is a must see for any business interested in increased marketing presents; You will benefit greatly from the knowledge if only to enlighten you on what may be available for your company. As usual this fact filled webinar is FREE.
Can you afford to miss a learning opportunity like this? As always this webinar is free!
As always, feel free to contact Tom Reich for any marketing related questions at tom@bizcentralusa.com.
Please Register for this information – packed Webinar, even if you can not attend at the listed time, we will send all registrants a link to the recorded version of the live event the following day.
Your One Stop Shop for all of your Business Needs,
BizCentralUSA.com (407) 857-9002
All this and more will be answered by resident marketing expert, Thomas R. Reich.
This webinar is free and as always, if you register and are unable to make the live webinar we will send a recorded version to you after the event!
Title:
Branding and Graphic Design
Date:
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Time:
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
10 Ways to Include Free Pinterest Account Features in your Organization’s Marketing Plans!
By Thomas R. Reich PhD
1) COMPANY REPRESENTATION: Encourage your partners and employees to create a Free Pinterest account and share of your brand on their Pin Boards.
2) LINK UP: Linking your Facebook and Twitter accounts with your Free Pinterest account enables you to sync all networks. In terms of following, Twitter and Pinterest are virtually the same, and you don’t have to follow someone to ‘repin’ or ‘like’ their pins. Linking up also allows you to share you pins on other social networks, which means a larger reach for your brand on a Free Pinterest account
3) LIKING & REPINNING: In order to place another user’s pin on one of your boards, you must ‘repin’ it! In doing so, you give the credit to who it came from which helps build relationships with other Free Pinterest account users
4) PIN DAILY: Upload relevant, useful media from your website or find pictures that represent or pertain to your brand. The ‘pins’ that you add to your profile should somehow related to your brand and target market on your Free Pinterest account, and should be organized into ‘pin boards.’ If you own a clothing store, an example of some pin boards could be ‘Men’s Jeans,’ ‘Women’s Jeans,’ ’Accessories,’ etc
5) BE AUDIENCE APPROPRIATE: According to MGD Advertising, as of April this year, 87% of Free Pinterest account users are women with the majority of ages between 25 & 54. If your brand pertains to clothing, children, or wedding dresses (among many other things, obviously), you’re golden—but if you sell chainsaws, lawn mowers, and tool-belts, Pinterest probably won’t work for you nearly as well, unless you relate those products to the interests of your boards.
6) BE ORIGINAL: Adding your own pictures to your Free Pinterest account helps with link-building & awareness of what you provide. Although repinning is absolutely valuable, having original content on your Pinterest is just as important as having original content on your blog.
7) SHARE THE LOVE: Frequently like, share, and repin people’s content! This will allow others to notice your brand, and when they see you are being generous to them on your Free Pinterest account, they will return the favor. According to Inc.com, getting to know those who have popular pins is hugely important to building your network across all major social media networks.
8) USE THE ‘PIN IT’ BUTTON: Enable a ‘Pin It’ button on your website and/or blog so your visitors can pin your content to their Free Pinterest account!
9) Sales Tool: one of the main reasons people use Free Pinterest accounts is to help guide their decisions on what to buy and it augments the selection of what to choose from.
10) Link-Building: If a user likes something they find on Free Pinterest account, the link to your website is available for them to click on and meander around.
11) Visuals: People love pictures. People love videos. Free Pinterest accounts are made up of both! This one is a no-brainer.
I am warning you though; A Free Pinterest account is most definitely addictive, so watch out and enjoy! I bet you cant pin just one!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM online from BizCentralUSA
Key Note Speaker: Thomas R. Reich, Marketing Coordinator
Join us for a fun and fact filled free webinar, one that will expose you to a world of free marketing. Among other things discussed will be: Social media for strategy, an ever expanding marketing tool; you will touch on the basics of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Then we will touch on tips and tricks in many areas of marketing such as websites and blogging so new even the experts will want to attend. This is a must see for any business or nonprofit interested in increased marketing presents! You will benefit greatly from the knowledge if only to enlighten you on what may be available for your organization. As usual, this fact filled webinar is FREE.
Can you afford to miss a learning opportunity like this? As always this webinar is free!
As always, feel free to contact Tom Reich for any marketing related questions at tom@bizcentralusa.com.
Please Register for this information – packed Webinar, even if you can not attend at the listed time, we will send all registrants a link to the recorded version of the live event the following day, to watch at their leasure.
Your One Stop Shop for all of your Business and nonprofit needs,
BizCentralUSA.com / CharityNetUSA.com (407) 857-9002
All this and more will be answered by resident marketing expert, Thomas R. Reich.
Title:
Marketing Strategies for social media, Website and Blogs; the untapped Free Resource! with Thomas R. Reich and Howard Walker
Date:
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Time:
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
Mission Based Marketing: An Essential for Charities and Churches + All New FREE Webinar
By Melanie M. Swift MNM
When consulting nonprofit administrators and talking about Mission Based Marketing, I have found that many individuals involved in nonprofit operations, especially those in small grassroots organizations, carry the belief that their organization is not a business. I suppose the term “business” lends a for-profit connotation, and makes many nonprofit leaders feel that it violates their charitable mission. It has been my goal to make these emerging leaders aware that increased organizational capacity can only be generated if they begin to undertake administrative tasks that were once found only within for-profit entities.
With the increased competition that is becoming apparent within the sector, one such critical task is adequate marketing of the organization. Market-driven nonprofit organizations are implementing a variety of market strategies in order to fulfill their mission, meet their programmatic goals, and achieve long-term financial stability through Mission Based Marketing.
In the nonprofit sector, Mission Based Marketing incorporates focusing on the needs of your constituents and planning to satisfy those needs over time. Program services to clients are the primary reason that nonprofit organizations exist. Therefore, it is critical to know how to plan Mission Based Marketing programs. To become highly effective, begin with understanding your program’s target markets. You’ll need to identify what groups of potential clients exist, what their needs are, what groups you’d prefer to serve, and what programs you might develop to meet their needs through Mission Based Marketing.
Business Plans
Market Research
SWOT Analysis
Strategic Plans
Website Development (A must in today’s technology-driven world!)
Search Engine Optimization
Social Media Marketing
Corporate Branding
Keep in mind that an essential aspect of Mission Based Marketing is continuously developing a positive self-image for the organization. The relationship between price and perceived value is nowhere more evident than in the nonprofit sector. Thus every organization must find ways to make clients believe your programs or services have the most value.
Careful Mission Based Marketing planning allows a nonprofit organization to position itself best to compete for all kinds of support, including funds, by looking systematically at Mission Based Marketing, image, constituents, competitors, resources, strengths, and weaknesses, and then devise strategies to gain more favorable position in the competitive marketplace. Ultimately, adequate Mission Based Marketing will help your organization to meet its strategic goals, whether they are to increase revenue, expand your client base, or promote your organization in a new market.
Not to oversimplify how to create a strategic plan, but by placing all the parts of a plan into three areas, you can clearly see how the pieces fit together. The three pieces of the puzzle are:
Where are we now?
Where are we going?
How will we get there?
Each part has certain elements to show you how and where things fit it.
Where are we now?
As you think about where your organization is now, you want to look at your foundational elements (mission and value) to make sure there has not been a change. More than likely, you will not revise these two areas very often. Then you want to look at your current position or your strategic position. This is where you look at what is happening internally and externally to determine how you need to shift and change You should review your strategic plan regularly through the use of a SWOT. These elements are as follows:
Mission statement: The mission describes your organization’s purpose in a good strategic Plan — the purpose for which you were founded and why you exist. Some mission statements include the business of the organization. Others explain what products or services they produce or customers they serve. Does your mission statement say what you do? Why does your organization exist?
Values and/or guiding principles: This clarifies what you stand for and believe in. Values guide the organization in its daily business. What are the core values and beliefs of your company? What values and beliefs guide your daily interactions? What are you and your people really committed to?
SWOT: SWOT is an acronym that stand for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These elements are crucial in assessing your strategic position with your organizations starategic plan. You want to build on your company’s strengths; shore up the weaknesses; capitalize on the opportunities; and recognize the threats.
Where are we going?
The elements of the question Where are we going? help you answer other questions such as What will my organization look like in the future? Where are we headed? What is the future I want to create for my company? Because the future is hard to predict, you can have fun imagining what it may look like. The following elements help you define the future for your business:
Sustainable competitive advantage: Sustainable competitive advantage explains what your are best at compared to your competitors. Each company strives to create an advantage that continues to be competitive over the time. What can you be best at? What is your uniqueness? What can your organization potentially do better than any other organization?
Vision statement: Your vision is formulating a picture of what your organization’s future makeup will be and where the organization is headed. What will your organization look like in 5 to 10 years from now?
How will we get there?
Knowing how you’ll reach your vision is the meat of your strategic plan, but it’s also the most time consuming. The reason it takes so much time to develop is because there are a number of routes from your current position to your vision in a strategic plan. Picking the right one determines how quickly or slowly you get to your final destination.
The parts of your plan that layout your roadmap are listed below:
Strategic objectives: Strategic objectives are long-term, continuous strategic areas that help you connect your mission to your vision. Holistic objectives encompass four areas: financial, customer, operational, and people. What are the key activities that you need to perform in order to achieve your vision?
Strategy: Strategy establishes a way to match your organization’s strengths with market opportunities so that your organization comes to mind when your customer has a need. This section of a strategic plan explains how you travel to your final destination. Does your strategy match your strengths in a way that provides value to your customers? Does it build an organizational reputation and recognizable industry position?
Short-term goals/priorities/initiatives: Short-term goals convert your the strategic objectives into specific performance targets. You can use goals, priorities, initiatives interchangeably. In this book, I use goals to define short-term action. Effective goals clearly state what you want to accomplish, when you want to accomplish it, how you’re going to do it, and who’s going to be responsible. Each goal should be specific and measurable. What are the 1- to 3-year-goals you’re trying to achieve to reach your vision? What are your specific, measurable, and realistic targets of accomplishment?
Action items: Action items are plans that set specific actions that lead to implementing your goals. They include start and end dates and appointing a person responsible Are your action items comprehensive enough to achieve your goals?
Scorecard: A scorecard measures and manages your strategic plan. What are the key performance indicators you need to track to monitor whether you’re achieving your mission? Pick 5 to 10 goal related measures you can use to track the progress of your plan and plug them into your scorecard.
Execution: In executing the plan, identify issues that surround who manages and monitors the plan and how the plan is communicated and supported. How committed are you to implementing the plan to move your organization forward? Will you commit money, resources, and time to support the strategic plan.
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/400866258
Developing a Strategic Business Plan with Melanie Swift
How do you determine if your ready to apply for a 501c3, are you jeopardizing your organization by not having one? What are the advantages and protections of having a 501c3? How can a 501c3 open new fundraising doors and allow more freedom in your organization? Join us for this free webinar, and find a fact filled discussion on one of the most important issues facing our industry today, 501c3!. All of this information and much more is yours in this FREE webinar
We invite you to spend a valuable hour with CharityNet USA and our Director of Nonprofit Services Melanie Swift and discover another way we can help your nonprofit organization cannot only overcome, but grow during the current economic conditions.
As the past shows: the economy will recover, resources will catch up with us and finances will level out. Don’t wait for recovery to happen, get started growing your nonprofit now. When America recovers, your nonprofit will not only be in the game, but you will be an MVP!
Contact Marketing Coordinator Thomas R. Reich for more info at tom@Bizcentralusa.com or call him at (407) 857-9002 ex 510
Webinar Registration
Wednesday,Sept 12, 2012
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm online from CharityNetUSA
Key Note Speaker: Melanie Swift
Top 10 Website Design Tips: Tricks to make Your Website Shine!
By Dr. Thomas R. Reich
1.Keep the website design clutter-free and simple:
It is not necessary to add all types of cool Photoshop effects on your site in website design; these effects can result in cluttering the page and may actually overwhelm the users who are looking for the information you are providing. Keeping the website design design simple by:
Making sure visuals & text in website design complement each other, not overpower each other.
Optimization of images is essential, so that they download quickly.
Develop focal points by placing important information for the user in key spots above the line in your website design (the area above the line where you have to scroll the screen for more information).
Organize all pages in a manner that is easy for users to find information they are searching for.
2. Create visual communication that gets your message across:
It is important to project the image of your product, service or mission with the very colors of your website design. For example, a website selling biodegradable goods can utilize the color green, while a company selling shoes for little girls might use pink as the main color on their website design.
Visual items catch more attention than plain text in website design. To make navigation easier, you might use visually moving or color changing buttons instead of text links to an item you want the visitor to click on. Alternatively, use pictures or thumbnails as links in the website design, rather than text links.
Gain visitors attention by using such visual tools as arrows, color changing text or pictures that change when clicked right within the page they are on. An example of this might be a colorful section of a salesman holding a price list and the words “click here”, when clicked, the price list appears within the area of the page where the salesman holding the price list had been.
3. Provide rich content in website design:
For visitors to want to stay on your website, the page they are looking at must be visually interesting and satisfy some need. Visuals bring the user to the site but content is what keeps them on the website.
Keep the content updated; never leave dated content passed the event date for instance.
Keep the language in your text as conversational as possible & keep it lively, interesting, and informative.
Good content should make interesting reading while remaining short and concise; most visitors do not have the time or patience to read lengthy content, this is an important part of your website design.
Try creating interaction with users within your website design, by using feedback & comment forms, by doing this your visitors will feel connected to you.
4. Maintaining narrow text may help keep content simple and easy to read:
If the text layout on your page in the website design is narrow (in column form), visitors will be more likely to scroll sideways to read the text, rather than read full page content. This is the reason why most newspapers use narrow columns. Such layout makes text easily readable and more appealing. It also helps when readers are visiting from a mobile phone or even a tablet.
5. Keep website design consistent:
Keep the website design consistent across the site so visitors can easily find important information, and know they remain on your website.
Use same color combination in all pages.
Keep main link locations consistent throughout the website design, usually across the top of the page.
Do not use different fonts across the website design, consistent fonts make a consistent website.
Try to use fonts that are easily readable, ones that are clear, bold and distinct.
6. Make visitors want to come back:
There are millions of websites; most visitors get overloaded with choices, so we must help increase the odds that your visitors will want to return to your site. To accomplish this you must provide them with the information they are looking for, quickly and easily, and keep your website design on target. You must become an information source for your specific product, service, or mission.
7. Stick to conventions:
In website design has conventions that are standard design elements, basic website design elliments most surfers expect to see. As an example, visitors are accustomed to finding RSS, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn links in certain format (the bird for Twitter, LN for LinkedIn and so on) within most websites. If you use non-standard links in your website design, chances are your visitors will miss the important links entirely, defeating your well-meaning efforts.
8. Provide easy navigation within your website design and its blog:
Keep the navigation clear and easy to make the visitors stay on the site while locating important links. Check and double check to see that all the links in your website design open what they were intended to open. If one link malfunctions, does not work or links to the wrong page or site, your visitor will likely leave forever!
9. Test browser compatibility on multiple browser formats:
Make sure that the site opens properly in all the browsers as part of the website design process (Google, Explorer, Firefox and any other browser you can test it on). Do not just test the site on your usual browser, test on many browsers on several different computers. Correct all problems so that your website design looks perfect in all browsers and all computers, both wide screen and square, large and small before you launch the website design to the public. Now is the time to insure there are no compatibility issues. Make sure to test your new website design on smart phones as well as tablets, and don’t forget Mac phones, tablets and computers.
10. Test the usability of your website design, how do others react to the new site when seeing it for the first time?
You may think that your new website design is fantastic and easy to use, but you need to make sure visitors to your site feel the same. A usability study should done with other people looking at your site for the first time, this may uncover problems in the website design process, easily addressed before launching and promoting your site to the public. You may find what you designed as an easy to understand feature, is not so easy for your average user. Perform usability tests, as part of your website design process, on a regular basis to make sure the site is up to date with no errors. Update your website design frequently, to make the experience of visiting your website a continuing pleasure!
A common misconception in the field of philanthropy is the notion that an organization has tax exempt status simply due to the fact that it has been organized as a nonprofit. Unfortunately, with very few exceptions, this particular misunderstanding could leave an organization who thought they had tax exempt status, to now face tax debt with both the IRS and their state franchise tax board.
Nonprofit tax exempt status is a concept of state law and not necessarily tax exempt. A nonprofit organization, in its simplest variation, is any organization for which those who control or support it do not earn a profit. Choosing to incorporate as a “nonprofit” or “nonstock” corporation may, in fact, come with certain privileges, such as eligibilityfor state and federal tax exempt status, however this tax exempt status is far from automatic. It may be best to liken tax exempt status to a driver’s license- if you choose to request the privilege, you must apply, pass the test, and then, most importantly, follow the rules. For those organizations that choose not to pursue this privilege of tax exempt status, payment of annual corporate taxes is required.
Nearly all organizations that are nonprofit wish to have tax exempt status as well, so the terms are often confused. Many charitable organizations, for example, are nonprofit organizations and are recognized by the federal government as having tax exempt status. But becoming nonprofit and becoming an organization with tax exempt status are different processes, done at different times, and by different government agencies. To apply for federal tax exempt status, you need to have been granted nonprofit status first. Further, not all nonprofits are eligible for tax exempt status.
The road to tax exempt status, for most nonprofits, is paved with compliance. Organizations must be familiar with all processes and procedures, and be prepared for detailed reporting. In addition to the provision of particular clauses in the organizing document that precedes an extensive application process with the IRS, charities must be mindful of state and local tax exempt status and the registration requirements. Additionally, organizations that have been granted tax exempt status must be aware that that not all income received is eligible for tax exempt status, and be mindful to pay required taxes on any unrelated business income.
As I mentioned, there are a few rare exceptions to the rule.Some organizations are automatically recognized as having 501(c)(3) status (tax exempt status) without filing a formal application for recognition of the exemption. These groups include:
Subordinate organizations that are covered by a group tax exempt status; however it’s important to note that group exemptions require a unique application process. Existing 501(c)(3) organizations cannot simply choose to add other organizations to theirs and create a group.
Churches, parts of churches, or associations of churches
Organizations that are not private foundations and normally have gross receipts of not more than $5,000 total per year.
Even though these groups automatically have tax exempt status, they may choose to file anyway, in order to have the official letter of determination on file. This often makes it easier to solicit contributions and ask for state tax exempt status.
There are a total of 27 tax exempt status existing under the federal tax code for different purposes, and some community organizations might find one of them more appropriate than others. For example, a group that is involved in heavy lobbying or political advocacy work would be unable to apply for 501(c)(3) status, as it isn’t allowed under that statute. So a group heavily involved in social welfare that wants to lobby extensively for political candidates, for example, might find 501(c)(4) tax exempt status (which deals uniquely with social welfare organizations) more appropriate for their purposes.
Therefore, before deciding to become 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, it’s a good idea to sit down and study other possibilities with an expert. Together you can decide on the type of tax exempt status that best meets your needs. That way you won’t be trying to push a square peg into a round hole.
Wednesday Aug 22, 2012
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm online from CharityNetUSA
Key Note Speaker: Melanie SwiftHow do you determine if your ready to apply for a 501c3, are you jeopardizing your organization by not having one? What are the advantages and protections of having a 501c3? How can a 501c3 open new fundraising doors and allow more freedom in your organization? Join us for this free webinar, and find a fact filled discussion on one of the most important issues facing our industry today, 501c3!. All of this information and much more is yours in this FREE webinarWe invite you to spend a valuable hour with CharityNet USA and our Director of Nonprofit Services Melanie Swift and discover another way we can help your nonprofit organization cannot only overcome, but grow during the current economic conditions.As the past shows: the economy will recover, resources will catch up with us and finances will level out. Don’t wait for recovery to happen, get started growing your nonprofit now. When America recovers, your nonprofit will not only be in the game, but you will be an MVP!Contact Marketing Coordinator Thomas R. Reich for more info at tom@Bizcentralusa.comor call him at (407) 857-9002 ex 510Register Now!
Your Friends in the Struggle,
CharityNetUSA
Title:
501(c)(3) Tax exempt Benefits with Melanie Swift
Date:
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Time:
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
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In today’s world of nonprofit grant funding, competition is stiff. Overall, available grant funding has greatly diminished and organizations must use every accessible resource to their advantage. A grant writing service can assist you in obtaining grants and ultimately grant funding, but you must do everything in your power to adequately prepare. Melanie M. Swift, MNM, Director of Nonprofit Services for CharityNet USA, has prepared a list of the top 10 things your nonprofit must have well established prior to the commencement of a grant funding campaign.
Mission– Know your mission in and out. Be prepared to describe your organization’s specific mission and know how you work each day to fulfill that mission. Be sure your mission statement reflects your purpose, your unique method of delivery, and your organization’s core values.
History– What inspired your organization’s founding? What have been the major milestones since? Has your organization received any recognition for its efforts? Be able to provide success stories to demonstrate your capabilities.
Funding– How have you sustained your organization thus far? Who are your major contributors? How do you fundraise? It is extremely important to funders that potential grant funding recipients be able to demonstrate past fiduciary responsibility.
Need– Can you show that there is really a significant need for your organization’s programs within the
community you serve? Research statistical data on the problem you address as well as the degree of other efforts being made to combat the same problem.
Governing Capabilities– Are you able to promote members of your board or staff as responsible, knowledgeable, nonprofit professionals? Be prepared to describe their education and experience. Convince me that they are competent leaders.
Objectives– Know the difference between a goal and an objective. You must be able to provide targeted, measurable objectives! Identify objectives that are realistic and attainable, which is a necessity in order to receive grant funding.
Methods– Do you really know, step-by-step, how you will meet your objectives? Are you aware of everything and everyone that will be involved, down to the smallest detail? It is essential that the questions of Who-What-When-Why-How be answered for each proposed activity.
Evaluation– How will you evaluate the success of your proposed project? Take the time to develop a scientific plan for evaluation that describes who will be involved, at what intervals, and what costs will be incurred.
Sustainability– You must think past the grant award period. Exactly how will you continue to fund this project once the grant funding runs out? Funders seek out projects that will exist into perpetuity.
Budget– Learn to develop a precise line item budget. Know the difference between an operating budget and a project budget, and learn how to allocate your administrative costs within each program. This activity requires significant board involvement.
Our Director of Nonprofit Services, Melanie Swift, has laid out the steps involved in the strategic preparation for undertaking a grant campaign, so you’re prepared for the legwork that goes into getting grant funding in this blog. Now learn the importance of a clarified mission and vision, an existing tax exemption, a strategic plan, a qualified Board, and a unique method for service delivery. In addition, discover the power of forthright financial information. Howard Walker has been a Federal Grant Grader for the U.S. Government and continues to consult with them annually. Howard will give you real world insight into the preparation and mindset needed to apply for and win a grant in today’s economic environment.
Howard Walker, Nonprofit Consultant for CharityNet USA, will be conducting a FREE Webinar: “Making Sure Your Nonprofit is Grant Ready” Wednesday, August 8th, 2012.
Join us for a webinar on making sure your nonprofit is “grant ready”. If you are you getting ready to apply for a grant, or even thinking about it, then you can’t miss this opportunity to learn more about grant funding.
If you would like more information on the full range of services offered to set up and service a charity, foundation or church please contact CharityNetUSA by visiting www.CharityNetUSA.com or by calling 407.857.9002. Please follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook to receive free daily tips and tricks as well as notification of our FREE Award Winning Webinar series!
All Nonprofits Organizations Must File 990 Tax Returns. Don’t Be Left Behind.
Nonprofit Does Not Mean Tax Exempt.
Do not risk problems with the IRS, let CharityNet USA help you today, before the deadline approaches. Our prices are reasonable, our knowledge of the 990 tax laws is unsurpassed and your 990 form must be filed soon. Call us today 407.857.9002 or send us an email info@bizcentralusa.com.
