For Further Reading: Power Questions

Andrew Sobel and one of my favorite fundraising authors, Jerold Panas, offer an outstanding book for anyone in full time or volunteer fundraising: Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business and Influence Others.

Building relationships for your business start with thought-provoking, deep questions that keep the focus on those you are meeting with. These questions help you dive deep and ensure a mutually respectful and appreciative relationship in both directions.

In this book the authors quote a seasoned executive who says, "I can always tell how experienced and insightful a prospective consultant, banker or lawyers is by the quality of their questions and how intently they listen. That's how simple it is."

Simple? Perhaps.

Common? Not yet.

This book goes on to offer hundreds of examples of excellent, open ended questions that help you deepen any of the key relationships in your life.

Have you picked up the book yet?

Have you started reading?

What do you think?

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Death, Taxes and 990 Filings

In a 1789 letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, Benjamin Franklin wrote, "..In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." 

Today, I would add another element to that centuries old quote: 990 filings. 

Is your nonprofit a Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-recognized 501 (c) (3) organization? Being a registered nonprofit in your state is not the same thing as being an official tax exempt nonprofit at the federal level. 

Assuming your nonprofit is IRS-recognized, are you filing your 990 forms each year? Doing so is as absolute a requirement as filing your own income taxes each year. It is not optional. There is no grace period. This simply must be done. 

Since so many nonprofits are run entirely by volunteers, is this hard to remember? Sure. However, the nature of your nonprofit (all volunteer versus paid staff) does not change the requirement that the proper paperwork be filed each year to maintain your status.

Recently, one very well meaning treasurer of an all volunteer nonprofit received a postcard in the mail reminding him of the availability of electronic filing of his organization's 990. He thought this mailing would come annually to remind him to get the filing done. The mailing was one time to announce the IRS transition to simpler filings for smaller organizations. Because the annual 990 filings were not done, this organization may have to go through an extensive and complicated process to re-apply for nonprofit status. 

This does not have to be your nonprofit's story. Simply set a remind to make sure your form 990 is properly filed by the 15th of the 5th month following the end of your fiscal year.  For example, if your fiscal year ends with your calendar year, your 2013 990 is due by May 15, 2014.

If your annual gross receipts are under $50,000 per year, you may find more information filing your Form 990 electronically here. For other organizations, visit www.irs.gov and search on the term 990 in the upper right hand search box.  

What works well for your annual filings for the small nonprofits you are associated with? 
 
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