Information is Power When You Ask Good Questions

Consider walking through the grocery store, reflecting on what seems like thousands of options in salad dressing.

Clever packaging may catch your eye, but I bet you’re also interested in the ingredients, the calories, the price, and of course, past experience tells you what tastes you have enjoyed or care to forget.  Although you may be grateful to Publix, Whole Foods or Trader Joes for carrying so many choices, you do not assume each is “good” simply because it is available.

People are different. Consumers are different. Donors are different. We make choices based on that perfect combination of what’s most important to us. Most of us look for a combination that addresses value, our personal taste, and our expectations—whether we’re talking about a salad dressing or a charitable donation.

Last week we published a post about nonprofit trust and transparency.

The Giving Partner allows nonprofits in Southwest Florida to share in-depth information about their financials, leadership, programmatic impact, needs and strategies.  But the availability of such rich data points and stories for hundreds of organizations is only part of the story. We have the power to make informed choices when we use the information to compare, ask, and get engaged before we give.

You’ll see a “Reviewed by Your Community Foundation” icon by each organization in The Giving Partner that has disclosed key information annually. The “Reviewed” icon is not an endorsement for the organization. It’s certainly not our role to rate nonprofits or to say who is “good” or “bad.”

Donors, businesses, the media and funders can make informed choices by doing a few things:

1. Look to see if the nonprofit has an updated profile in The Giving Partner. Remember that the “Reviewed by Your Community Foundation” icon isn’t a seal of approval.

2. Find out what is most important to you. Does the organization provide specific stories and data that demonstrate it is making an impact? Do its IRS Form 990s and audits indicate financial health? Is the board committed, showing up to board meetings and making personal donations to the organization? Can the nonprofit articulate its goals for the future? Are standard policies in place? These are just a few questions you can research in The Giving Partner.

3. Ask questions. If there is something you want to learn more about, reach out to the organization and ask. Good organizations always have accessible and knowledgeable people who are happy to talk with you and provide more information.

It’s important that nonprofits and donors alike feel empowered to connect with each other about choices in philanthropy. It starts with information but doesn’t end there.  The Giving Partner is a launching point.

-Susie Bowie
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

We all have a role in building nonprofit trust

 

It’s a clear day for nonprofit transparency in Southwest Florida

A few years ago, when we first introduced The Giving Partner to our community, we passionately shared the reason for our investment: to help donors and others make more informed decisions about their giving and to meet a growing demand from donors for transparency.

Now, equipped with three years worth of data and new efficiencies The Giving Partner has created for nonprofits and for those who make choices in philanthropy, we continue to keep the big picture in mind.

And the big picture goes back to one key word: trust.

• Can you—as a donor, citizen philanthropist, funding institution, or business—trust that you have good knowledge of the local nonprofit marketplace before you decide where you will give your time, talent, or treasure?
• Can you trust that the organizations you invest in are committed to disclosing information that should be available to the public?

A barrage of commentary recently emerged from a recent article about four national cancer charities accused of fraud.

When stories like this and the infamous Tampa Bay Times piece published in June 2013 called “America’s Worst Charities” are unveiled, donors begin to question our entire sector. Are other “bad players” close to home? How do we know?

An organization with a published profile in The Giving Partner is not “endorsed” by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. But each organization does answer key questions that help us understand how committed and engaged the board is, how healthy its financials are, what operational and strategic planning processes are in place, and whether or not it’s achieving real results that help our community.

The fact that organizations are providing these data points on a public platform moves our community one step above the rest in retaining the trust we need from donors in order to accomplish the good things philanthropy can do.

Sure, some local nonprofits only complete profiles in The Giving Partner so they can be eligible for grants, opportunities like the Giving Challenge, and access to pro bono consultants, but the number one reason strong nonprofits complete and update a profile leads back to that one word: trust. They know we all have a vital role in establishing and maintaining trust.

There are calls for the IRS to maintain better oversight over charities. There are calls for new watchdog groups to form. I’m grateful that in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, we’re making information available through our own efforts.

We’re on a path that distinguishes our community, thanks to more than 400 nonprofits committed to transparency; to media partners that spread the word including Sarasota Magazine, iHeart Media and Herald-Tribune Media Group; and to funders including Sarasota County Government, the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, The Patterson Foundation, Manatee Community Foundation and others that insist on using The Giving Partner in their processes.

-Susie Bowie
VP of Philanthropic Education
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

We’ve Had a Little Facelift

 

Today we’re happy to reveal a fresher look for The Giving Partner. Our technology partners at GuideStar are committed to making data a bit easier on the eyes, and they have been working with us to upgrade our site to “Donor Edge 4.0.”

Now you can search for nonprofits alphabetically, and it’s also easier to find nonprofits sorted by keyword using the advanced search criteria right on the home page of our site.

With more than 430 updated profiles for nonprofits serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and Desoto counties, The Giving Partner will be even more accessible for donors searching for meaningful information about local organizations to inform their giving.

Our new home page features images from three nonprofits representing some of the diverse missions donors support:

• Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, our beautiful local botanical garden providing oasis of inspiration and tranquility while furthering the understanding and appreciation of plants, especially epiphytes.
• The Friendship Centers, promoting health, dignity and quality of life throughout the journey of aging with services in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Desoto and Lee counties.
• Links to Success, a largely volunteer-led organization providing resources, services, experiences and guidance to prepare youth in Desoto County for post secondary education and careers.

We thank each of them for embracing nonprofit transparency, always staying on top of updates and information to make their Giving Partner profiles reflect the current state of their leadership, financials, needs and programmatic impact.

We would love to share your stories of success as well. E-mail us at Susie@CFSarasota.org with your photos, and we may feature them on The Giving Partner home page, The Giving Partner blog or on our Facebook page.

Is A Conflict of Interest Policy Really That Important?

Short answer: it is.

The enthusiastic follow-up: yes, yes, yes.

Remember That Board Member Duty?

We cannot forget that charitable nonprofits exist for the public good and are not owned by an individual or group of individuals. Each nonprofit board member must exercise the “duty of loyalty,” placing the interests of the nonprofit before personal or professional concerns when serving, therefore avoiding potential conflicts of interest.

It’s Not that Complicated

We hear from all sorts of well-meaning folks who (unintentionally) complicate the concept of conflict of interest. In a basic example, it’s the kind of thing that should stop a board member from voting on an issue when there may be financial benefit to herself, her spouse, her family, her company or another organization where she may serve as a volunteer leader.

Who Wants to Know, Anyway?

When your organization files its IRS Form 990 each year, the Internal Revenue Service asks you to indicate whether or not your organization has a conflict of interest policy. You don’t have to say “yes.” But if you don’t, it looks a little shady, yes?

Local organizations in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and Desoto counties with a presence in The Giving Partner are also asked if they have conflict of interest policies right on their profiles.

Surprisingly, 32% of nonprofits with profiles indicate they do not have a conflict of interest policy.  We are pretty sure that some of them may have adopted a policy years ago, perhaps when founded, but current leadership does not remember or can’t find the document. In any case, we can do better than this.

A new development in the State of Florida will make conflict of interest junkies jump up and down. The recently approved changes to the Solicitation of Contributions Act require 501(c)(3) nonprofits to adopt a conflict of interest policy and to provide annual certification of compliance with the policy by all directors, officers, and trustees of the organization.

Two Simple Actions for Nonprofit Boards Everywhere

• Adopt an organizational conflict of interest policy that is frequently reviewed by board members and staff members.
• Require board and staff members to complete a simple disclosure form each year certifying that they have reviewed the conflict of interest policy and sharing conflicts and potential conflicts of interest.

It is very likely–especially in this community–that your board members may have conflicts from time to time. Many caring individuals and their businesses are deeply intertwined in the work of more than one charitable organization. The conflict of interest policy will provide the necessary guidance to ensure that board members disclose conflicts and potential conflicts and do not vote on related issues if they arise in the boardroom.

And Finally…

The best charitable organizations out there focus on what is best for the missions they are upholding every day. They protect the charitable intent of the donors and funders who make their missions possible. So upholding a good, trusty conflict of interest policy is just natural.  And to add to the glory of it all, it’s not rocket science.

The National Council of Nonprofits has an excellent set of conflict of interest resources, including sample policies and sample annual disclosure forms.

 

#InformedGiving Tuesday

We love the #GivingTuesday movement, encouraging everyone to find a way to give on Tuesday, December 3 and share their acts of giving with others.

And here in Southwest Florida, we have even more to love, since donors, funders and citizen philanthropists are empowered to make informed choices about their giving.

Thanks to GuideStar, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Patterson Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Manatee Community Foundation, and more than 350 nonprofit organizations serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and Desoto counties that have brought The Giving Partner to life, people who want to make a difference have access to in-depth knowledge about local organizations on one online platform.

Many times, giving is an emotional decision–a choice we make based on a connection to a story, to a trusted individual sharing a compelling story, or to an issue we have experienced first hand.

We may not know what other organizations are addressing the mission we want to support. We may not know the right questions to ask. And sometimes, we may not feel as if we are in a position to ask them.

The Giving Partner allows us to better understand what organizations are impacting the populations we care most deeply about while also discovering who is making the work happen, what success measures are in place, how the financial history is recorded, and what needs the organization has.

In philanthropy, we can give to feel good and give based on good information.

So on today’s special day, #GivingTuesday, we encourage you to visit www.thegivingpartner.org, use the advanced search feature, enter a keyword, and discover the nonprofits in our community addressing the specific missions important to you.

Click on one of the nonprofit profiles returned in your search results.  You can:

• Access the organization’s website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds
• Discover the organization’s top 5 needs
• Understand the variety of programs & services offered, along with long and short-term successes
• Find out who is leading the organization on the board and staff
• Understand how engaged the board is through meeting attendance and personal giving
• Discover how strategic the organization is with written, board-adopted plans and policies
• Review the 3-year financial history of the organization

Don’t let your adventure end there. Use your new knowledge to engage with the organization and determine if it is a good fit for you.

Organizations that have taken the time to develop profiles in The Giving Partner have made an incredible investment in public awareness through transparency.

Accessing this tool, filled with so much rich information, donors will make an investment in what is most important to them.  Understanding all of the choices for giving, we become more empowered to make decisions that most closely reflect our personal values, commitments to excellence, and the ultimate good we would like to see with our charitable investments.

Happy #GivingTuesday!  Happy #InformedGiving Tuesday!

We remain grateful for so many excellent local nonprofits, working hard every day to make positive changes in our community.

-Susie Bowie
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

5 Things Nonprofits & Foundations Can Be Grateful For All Year Long

During the week of Thanksgiving, we are more open in expressing gratitude for the greatest and smallest of good things.

While we may be vocal with our appreciation this time of year, we have so much to be thankful for every day.

1. Generous donors.
   First and foremost, the work we are able to do to help our community is made possible through generous donors.  “Generous” donors are those who trust our nonprofits and foundations with their legacies, their major gifts, their recurring monthly donations, or their single contributions of $10 or $25.  Thanking them year-round by relaying stories of the positive difference we are making–made possible by them–is an important way to boost our organizational stability and reaffirm their commitment to it. We can also thank them by continuing to instill trust in the nonprofit sector as a whole and in our individual institutions.  Special thanks to the nonprofits demonstrating transparency, updating their profiles in The Giving Partner on a regular basis.

2. Strong leaders.
   Organizational leaders are our board members and our executive staff. But they are also the program assistants, development associates, marketing directors, volunteer managers and others who lead with fortitude, determination and courage within their roles. We can express our gratitude by affording all of our team members opportunities for ongoing professional development.

3. Daring and caring media partners.
   Southwest Florida is home to media partners who regularly showcase their generosity with many thousands of dollars of in-kind support for nonprofit organizations and foundation-led initiatives.  Make no mistake, space in publications is not “free” for our media friends. Additionally, reporters and editors frequently cover the stories our nonprofits and foundations address through philanthropy–homelessness, human trafficking, the arts, conservation, education, and many other issues.  Kudos to the Herald-Tribune Media Group, Clear Channel, Sarasota Magazine, The Observer Group, SNN Local News 6, the Venice Gondolier, Bradenton Herald, and all of the media partners who strengthen our voices for positive change.

4. Dedicated volunteers. Volunteers sort food, answer telephones, transport homeless animals, teach adult literacy courses, mentor kids aging out of foster care, table events at the local farmer’s markets, evaluate scholarship applications, lead special events committees, serve on your board of directors. They deliver a full spectrum of services without receiving compensation for their time and talents. We could not deliver on the promises to those who depend on our organizations without them. What gratitude we owe volunteers! And many, yes many, are also donors.

5. Investments in capacity building.
   The Council on Foundations, Southeastern Council of Foundations, Florida Philanthropic Network and other organizations deliver incredible resources to help foundations build their capacity, advocate, take care of their grantees, innovate in philanthropy. We are grateful for the contributions of their staff and boards. Locally, nonprofits have the gift of associations such as a strong local chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Florida Public Relations Association. The Patterson Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County are each heavily invested in helping nonprofits beyond the dollar–whether it’s facilitating collaborations, providing access to professional consultants, or offering free trainings and workshops.  Foundations and donors are grateful for the organizations who make excellence and continuing development a priority.

Let’s not be shy about expressing our gratitude throughout the year.

For many, hearing the simple message of “I appreciate you” provides the fuel to charge forth with renewed energy and commitment to the mission.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

-Susie Bowie
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

New Study Underscores Value of Nonprofit Knowledge Bases Such as DonorEdge

A recent article in the New York Times by Wealth Matters columnist Paul Sullivan discussed how and why people are making their charitable giving decisions.

Sullivan’s perspective and highlights of the recent U.S. Trust report he cites shed even more light on the importance of tools like GuideStar‘s DonorEdge platform, implemented here in Southwest Florida as The Giving Partner.

Increasingly, donors are sharing that tax incentives and tools for giving may not be as important to them as understanding which organization(s) are the best matches for their passions and charitable goals.

While financial advisors may focus on the technical aspects of the donation vehicle when working with individuals and families, many donors wish to focus their conversations largely on their charitable interests as well as family goals, the U.S. Trust report says.

This is a common experience with our donor development team here at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Vehicles for giving are important to donors, but many donors wish to talk more about maximizing their charitable investments by partnering with organizations that can address their aspirations for environmental preservation, better health care, access to human services and education, experiences in the arts, and a myriad of other “creating a better world” goals.

The U.S. Trust report shares that donors also wish to have a greater understanding of how their gifts are making a difference. We second that.

The Giving Partner is a tool to help donors make more informed decisions about giving, and the hefty program section of each nonprofit profile contains the long and short-term success measures of the organization’s programs and services, how success is measured, and examples of success.

For advisors who may have more knowledge about giving vehicles than knowledge about local organizations, The Giving Partner is a perfect aid to help them gain a better understanding of the nonprofit choices in our local market, and to also understand their financial history, management and governance structures–in addition to the priceless information about programmatic impact.

Donors can go directly to the tool to do the same.

As we move more deeply into an era where donors view themselves as charitable investors, community foundations and nonprofits share responsibility to equip them with current, in-depth knowledge about who is doing what and the difference it is making.

Special thanks to GuideStar for its vision in making this tool available and to the many nonprofits and donors in our local community who make The Giving Partner possible in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and Desoto counties.

The Giving Partner is a partnership among four foundations:  The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Patterson Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, and the Manatee Community Foundation.

-Susie Bowie
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

Board Members: Your Honorary Communication Kings & Queens

Have you crowned your board members yet?

These Kings and Queens of Communications are–or should be–your organization’s number one messengers. To uphold the royal crown, each board member should be…

• A donor, making at least one financial gift that is meaningful to her each year, without being asked.
• An ambassador, talking about your organization in her various networking circles of friends, family, colleagues and business associates.
• An informant, always holding up her antennae for news, events and discussions that could influence your organization’s mission and work in the community.

Your staff or board chair should help equip your board members with several pieces of bling for their communication crowns:

1. Good stories about what your organization is accomplishing.
   It’s great to share a few compelling stories about your organization’s success with board members. It is even better to let them witness the creation of good stories by observing your programs in action. Offer those opportunities and expect board members to make the time to show up. You will notice that it becomes easier for them to speak about your organization from the heart.

2. Your organization’s greatest needs.
   Keep your board members up to speed about your greatest funding needs so they can speak intelligently with potential donors, funders and supporters in a unified voice. Since your most pressing needs may change from month to month, consider including an item in each board meeting’s consent agenda listing your 5 greatest needs.

3. Your organization’s profile in The Giving Partner and GuideStar.
   Everyone can view your organization’s profile online at www.thegivingpartner.org and at www.guidestar.org. Do your board members know what members of the public are reading there? Both locations include lots of information about your organization, including their names as the guys and gals in charge. We frequently encounter board members who are surprised by what we know about their organizations because they have never seen the profiles.

Encourage your board to share your organization’s news (as appropriate) on social media. You might send them sample messages they can customize to make things super easy.

Consider having board members rotate turns at board meetings sharing an example of how they talked about your organization to others over the last month–two minutes or less. (Thanks to Northern Trust’s National Director of Philanthropic Services Marguerite Griffin for this great suggestion.)

What success stories do you have from your board member Communications Kings and Queens? We would love to share them.

-Susie Bowie
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

What a Giving Circle Wants to Know About Your Profile in The Giving Partner

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with individuals in a giving circle who are in the process of developing their funding priorities and considering potential nonprofit grantees.

Giving circles are growing in popularity, creating a flexible structure in which groups of individual donors pool their resources and have meaningful conversations together about the intentions and outcomes they wish to see in their joint philanthropy.

The group creates its own mission focus, reviews potential grantees, and makes a joint decision about who they wish to fund. By working in a focused group, they discover commonalities and fascinating discussion points while making a larger impact with their “together gift.”

In yesterday’s discussion, we talked about the wealth of information available through The Giving Partner and how profiles can be used to establish thoughtful dialogue with the nonprofits they consider supporting.

The group was fabulous. Giving circle members shared some amazing questions that provide valuable insights into what is important for them. Like foundations, businesses, and individual donors, every giving circle is unique and has different approaches, questions and interest areas.

Here is what they wanted to know:

• Why don’t the profiles for all organizations addressing our giving circle’s interest area come up in an advanced search using The Giving Partner?
  We have some work do to here, friends! The advanced search draws on an organization’s name, mission area, mission statement, and the keywords entered in the profile behind the scenes. Each organization can choose its own keywords in the keyword field (statements & search criteria section). Does your nonprofit help a certain population or have a program keyword that is important? Re-visit this and list those words in the special keyword section. You want to be included in a search when donors are looking for you!

• How important is 100% board giving?
  Many foundations and donors believe that an organization might not be ready for funding from outside sources until all board members are making personal monetary contributions. I saw lots of nods in agreement from those around the table. The amount an individual board member gives is not as important as 100% participation. This data point is provided in the governance section of each profile.

• When organizations do not list specific items with dollar amounts in the needs statement section, is it because the agency is afraid to be bold in articulating its needs, or because there is no agreement about its greatest needs?
  This seems to come up continuously in conversation with donors. Donors are looking for organizations to articulate specific needs with a range of dollar amounts so they can better understand how a gift might be put to work at the organization.

• What sources did nonprofits use for the statistics they share in the program section?
  Another great question. In one specific nonprofit profile the group was reviewing, the organization provided some compelling numbers to make the case for its key program, but there were no citations about where the statistics originated and whether they were local or national. Smart, inquiring donors and giving circles want to know.

• How often can the organization update its profile in The Giving Partner?
  Some out-of-date information was included in The Giving Partner profile we were viewing together. Some individuals in the giving circle sat on the board of the organization or were otherwise involved and recognized this. Keeping profiles loaded with the most current information is so important. The giving circle learned that organizations can update profiles as frequently as they wish.

One final question from the group: “How can we make sure the organizations we care about have profiles in The Giving Partner?” Thanks to the great work of 350 nonprofits, many profiles are available, but others are waiting to be created.

The Giving Partner has helped us discover organizations new to us and new to donors. We want everyone to be represented.

Orientations take place every other month, and the next session is Friday, October 18. Organizations that would like to develop profiles in The Giving Partner and those who want a refresher are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Kaci Carroll at KCarroll@CFSarasota.org.

-Susie Bowie
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

Your IRS Form 990 is More than Numbers, and Donors Are Looking

On Friday the Community Foundation of Sarasota County hosted a free workshop about every nonprofit board and staff member’s favorite topic, the IRS Form 990.

Since your treasured 501(c)(3) status means that your organization’s assets are the property of the public, it is the job of the staff and board to be good stewards of those assets and to be transparent with an annual information return.

Organizations with gross receipts over $200,000/assets over $500,000 must file the standard Form 990. Those with gross receipts under $200,000/assets under $500,000 must file the Form 990EZ. And those with gross receipts under $50,000 must file the Form 990-N.

Thanks to our friends at Cavanaugh & Co, LLP who developed and led the session, understanding the form 990 in all of its glory was extremely helpful from the point of view of a donor.

The Form 990 focus is on transparency, but like your Giving Partner profile, it can be a splendid storytelling tool if used to the max.

Here are 5 key takeaways from the workshop:

1. Invest some time in sharing your impact on the Form 990. Use the daylights out of Schedule O to write about the program accomplishments of your organization. (Tip: You already have this text prepared for the program section of your Giving Partner profile. Repurpose your time and efforts!)

2. Involve your team in the IRS Form 990 preparation. The numbers may come from your treasurer, your CFO or your accountant, but you can put the skills of your grant writer, the “English major” on your board, or the marketing/development team to work on the narrative portions of the IRS Form 990.  (Tip: Give your draft 990 to an “outsider” who can review it for clarity and impact before you file.)

3. For Pete’s sake, get those policies! The IRS wants to know if you have a Whistleblower’s policy, Document Destruction policy and Conflict of Interest policy. We also ask about them in The Giving Partner.  (Tip: We have sample policies if you need them.)

4. Small nonprofit? Consider kicking it up a notch. If your organization has gross receipts under $50,000, you are only required to file the 990-N—the “postcard” that does not include financial information. Think about filing the 990 EZ instead. It will take a little longer, but this form will provide a donor with much more information about your organization.

5. Emphasis on good governance is big. Nonprofit board members should not be engaged in activities related to your organization that materially benefit them (or their families) financially. Disclosure is important. Board members should review your IRS Form 990 before it is filed.

Many thanks to Steve Spangler, CPA and to Dave Hochsprung, CPA, partners at Cavanaugh & Co, for taking the time to share with us.

For a copy of their presentation, e-mail Susie@CFSarasota.org.

-Susie Bowie
Community Foundation of Sarasota County