- Heather Carpenter, Nonprofit Management Employment Alternatives (NMEA)
- Jennifer Chien, New Nonprofit Nexus
- Link to Presentation
Goals of this workshop
- Spend less time worrying about Nonprofit Operations
- Spend more time on program work and achieve your mission
Overview: 10 Steps to Success in Nonprofit Operations
Topics covered:
- Insurance
- Human Resources
- Financial Management
- Fundraising
- Board of Directors
Step 1: Review the organization’s insurance policies
- General Liability
- Special event forms
- Non-hired auto
- Directors and Officers
- Errors and Omissions
Step 2: Create a new hire packet
Training orientation procedures for new employees.
Step 3: Review employment records Organize records to include relevant information:
- employee attendance
- disciplinary warnings
- vacation requests
- employment hiring forms
- benefit enrollment forms
Step 4: Review the accounting books
- Resolve accounting/bookkeeping errors
- Incorporate Nonprofit Chart of Accounts and/or clean up the chart of accounts
- Hire an accountant on a monthly basis to review the financial books and provide Generally Accepted Accounting
Practices (GAAP) procedures.
Step 5: Create accounting/bookkeeping procedures and necessary forms
- To keep in compliance with GAAP procedures.
- Create reimbursement/check request
Step 6: Review vendor lease agreements and bill paying practices
- Implement any cost saving methods the organization can take with working with its vendors.
- For example, pay off a lease early to avoid having to pay an excess amount of interest.
Step 7: Review Database and File Saving Methods
- Create database entry procedures
- Train staff on those procedures
- Create a file saving procedure (e.g. NameofFileDateVerson.doc)
Step 8: Review Development Tracking
- Create procedures for grant writing and submitting grant proposals as well as cultivating the donor relationship
- Create fundraising calendar that includes grant deadlines, report dates, and renewal dates
Step 9: Board Policies and Procedures
- With board’s advice and input
- Create or revise board orientation binder and board job description
- Compile board minutes from all previous board meetings and place together in one binder, or one binder per year
- The board minutes are supposed to be available for the public at all times
Step 10: Plan for the rest of the 10 months of the year
- Review marketing practices of the organization including website, newsletter, and promotional materials. Plan steps for improvement of these materials.
- Print out Healthy and Secure Computing booklet from Compmentor and start technology inventory. Assess the computer and networking situation in your office.
- Plan how to templatize the organization’s event planning process so that events can be easily replicated, then create procedures for event planning.
- Hire a personnel attorney to start to review and provide recommendations for Personnel Manual to be in compliance with the state’s employment law.
- Organize the accounting paper files so they are ready for an accounting review or audit.
- Assess whether or not an office move is necessary. Then take steps to look for a new office space. (See the Nonprofit Operations Blog)
Where can I get more training and information about the topics covered today?
- New Nonprofit Nexus
- Nonprofit Operations Blog
- Monthly Nonprofit Operations brown bag lunch discussions - Starting Wednesday, September 20th