Nonprofit Management All-in-One For Dummies

Nonprofit Management All-in-One For Dummies

by Beverly A. Browning, Sharon Farris, Maire Loughran, Alyson Connolly, Shiv Singh, Stephanie Diamond
Released May 2023
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781394172436

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Book description

Learn the ins-and-outs of managing, funding, and handling the accounting for a nonprofit

Nonprofits are not like other businesses. They’re special. It doesn’t matter if you’re launching a career as part of a multi-million dollar organization or a volunteer running your local little league, you’ll need special know-how to navigate the accounting practices and funding needs of a not-for-profit. Nonprofit Management All-in-One For Dummies is your guide for know-how on making a nonprofit organization operate properly. This beginner-friendly reference helps replace your shelf of nonprofit how-to books with a single reference to answer your questions on how to manage a mission-focused organization, build budgets, and raise funds while staying within the confines of the laws governing nonprofits. You'll also find advice on valuable skills like marketing that benefit your organization.

  • Learn how to run a nonprofit organization
  • Find funding for your organization and stay tax compliant
  • Get a grasp on nonprofit accounting principles
  • Market your organization and fulfill your mission

This 5-books-in-1 Dummies guide is excellent for volunteers who step up to run a nonprofit that’s near and dear to their hearts or would-be professional non-profit managers who need advice on how to manage and grow an organization.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  5. Book 1: Bringing Your A-Game to Nonprofit Management
    1. Chapter 1: Journeying into the World of Nonprofit Organizations
      1. What Is a Nonprofit Organization?
      2. Embracing and Sharing Your Inspiration
      3. Honing Your Mission Statement
      4. Imagining Your Future with a Vision Statement
      5. Finding the Resources to Do the Job
    2. Chapter 2: From the Top: Examining the Nonprofit Management Structure
      1. Managing a Nonprofit: A Bird’s-Eye View
      2. Appreciating the Governing Board’s Role and Responsibilities
      3. Redefining the Nonprofit Founder's Role
      4. Adding an Advisory Board
      5. Expanding to Take on an Executive Director
    3. Chapter 3: Strategic Planning: Embracing the Ongoing Process
      1. Understanding the Importance of Planning
      2. Making Your Organization’s Strategic Plan
      3. Putting Plans into Action
      4. Planning for Programs
    4. Chapter 4: Evaluating Your Work: Are You Meeting Your Goals?
      1. Knowing the Importance of Evaluation
      2. Working Through the Evaluation Process
      3. Conducting Your Evaluation
      4. Analyzing Results and Putting Them to Work
    5. Chapter 5: You Can Count on Me! Working with Volunteers
      1. Knowing Why People Volunteer
      2. Designing a Volunteer Program
      3. Searching for Volunteers
      4. Interviewing and Screening Volunteers
      5. Managing Your Volunteers
      6. Showing Appreciation for Your Volunteers
    6. Chapter 6: Working with Paid Staff and Contractors
      1. Determining Your Staffing Needs
      2. Getting Your Nonprofit Ready for Paid Employees
      3. Preparing to Hire
      4. Making the Hire
      5. Onboarding a New Hire
      6. Managing Employees
      7. Working with Independent Contractors
  6. Book 2: Fundraising for Your Good Cause
    1. Chapter 1: Developing Your Case Statement: Winning with Words
      1. Stating Your Case
      2. Making the Case Compelling
      3. Developing a Case Statement: A Step-by-Step Guide
      4. Giving Life to an Outdated Case Statement
      5. Sharing Your Case Statement
    2. Chapter 2: Creating a Fundraising Plan
      1. Drafting the Perfect Fundraising Plan
      2. Avoiding Plan-Busters like the Plague
      3. Budgeting Your Fundraising Efforts
      4. Using Affordable and Functional Fundraising Software
    3. Chapter 3: Mining for Donors
      1. Finding Your Stakeholders
      2. Recognizing Your Bread and Butter: Individual Donors
      3. Doing Business with Corporate Donors
      4. Finding Foundations That Care
      5. Asking Your Board All the Right Questions
      6. Checking Out Potential Donors
      7. Researching on the Internet
      8. Keeping Track of Your Organization’s Donors and Their Contributions
      9. Maintaining Confidence: The Issues and Ethics of Handling Personal Data
    4. Chapter 4: Meeting Your Donor with Grace and Grit
      1. Evaluating the Importance of a Visit
      2. Preparing to Meet Potential Donors
      3. Examining the Giving Relationship between the Donor and the Organization
      4. Considering Your Donor’s Context
      5. Cultivating the Initial Donor-Organization Relationship
    5. Chapter 5: Cultivating Major Givers
      1. Seeking a Major Gift Today for Tomorrow
      2. Finding the Holy Grail of Fundraising: The Major Gift
      3. Recognizing Major Donors for Their Contributions
    6. Chapter 6: Making the Major Gift Ask
      1. Pushing through the Fear by Focusing on the Greater Goal
      2. Choosing the Right People to Make the Ask
      3. Developing the Mechanics of Asking
      4. Moving Beyond “No”
      5. Rating Your Yes-Ability
      6. Following Up after “the Ask”
  7. Book 3: Applying for and Winning Grants
    1. Chapter 1: Grant-Writing Basics for Beginners
      1. Orienting Yourself on Grant-Seeking Basics
      2. Recognizing the Purpose of a Funding Development Plan
      3. Sleuthing Out Funding Sources
      4. Getting Acquainted with Grant Submission Requirements
      5. Making a List and Checking It Twice
      6. Tracking Your Submission Status
      7. Jumping for Joy or Starting All Over?
    2. Chapter 2: Preparing for Successful Grant Seeking
      1. Grant-Seeking Readiness Priorities for Nonprofits
      2. Creating a Grant-Funding Plan
      3. Increasing Your Chances for Grant-Seeking Success
      4. Waiting Patiently for Next Steps
    3. Chapter 3: Venturing into Public-Sector Grants
      1. Looking for Local Funding First
      2. Analyzing the Types of Federal Funding Available
    4. Chapter 4: Navigating the Federal Grant Submission Portals
      1. Navigating the Grants.gov Website
      2. Understanding Grant Applicant Eligibility
      3. Registering as an Organization on Grants.gov
      4. Viewing Tutorials in the Grants.gov Workspace
      5. Accessing Application Package Instructions
      6. Reviewing Some of the Mandatory Government Grant Application Forms
    5. Chapter 5: Researching Potential Private-Sector Funders
      1. Finding Foundations and Corporations with Grant-Making Programs
      2. Scouring GuideStar for Foundation Funders
      3. Using Candid’s Online Grant-Research Database
      4. Scoring a Match to the Funder's Grant-Making Criteria
      5. Knowing Whom to Contact First
    6. Chapter 6: Finding Federal Grant Opportunities That Fit Your Needs
      1. Dissecting the Notice of Funding Availability (Over and Over Again)
      2. Scrutinizing the Review Criteria
    7. Chapter 7: Winning with Peer Review Scoring Factors
      1. Complying with the Technical Review Requirements
      2. Understanding the Peer Review Process
      3. Writing to the Peer Review Requirements
      4. Validating Needs and Implementation Strategies
      5. Using Third-Party Evaluators
    8. Chapter 8: Preparing Preliminary Documents
      1. Complying with Mandatory Application Package Requirements
      2. Drafting a Cover Letter (If Requested)
      3. Shuffling Through Funder Information Requests
      4. Knowing What the Feds Want in a Form (SF-424)
      5. Saving the Abstract or Executive Summary Narrative for Last
      6. Crafting the Table of Contents When Required
    9. Chapter 9: Sharing Your Organizational History and Developing the Narrative
      1. Adhering to the Funder’s Guidelines
      2. Creating Organizational Capabilities as a Grant Applicant
      3. Sorting Out Relevant Programs and Activities
      4. Presenting and Validating Your Target Population for Services
      5. Validating Your Statement of Need with a Compelling Narrative
    10. Chapter 10: Incorporating Best Practices to Build the Program Design Narrative
      1. Reviewing the Components of a Good Program Design Section
      2. Starting with a Purpose Statement
      3. Plotting Goals and SMART Objectives
      4. Providing a Comprehensive Implementation Plan
      5. Confirming Narrative Content Connectivity in Your Logic Model
      6. Creating the Evaluation Plan for Your Program Design
    11. Chapter 11: Preparing Project Management Plans and Sustainability Narratives
      1. Presenting the Project Management Team’s Credentials
      2. Articulating Qualifications
      3. Connecting Accountability and Responsibility to the Implementation Process
      4. Demonstrating Federal Compliance in the Personnel Selection
      5. Writing the Sustainability Statement
    12. Chapter 12: Creating a Budget That Includes All the Funding You Need
      1. Understanding Budget Section Basics
      2. Plotting Ethical Expenses
      3. Projecting Multiyear Expenses for Grant-Funded Programs
      4. Building Credibility When You’re a New Nonprofit
    13. Chapter 13: Checking Off the Mandatory Requirements for Compliance
      1. Triple-Checking All Required Components
      2. Assembling the Proper Attachments in the Right Order
      3. Meeting Submission Requirements
    14. Chapter 14: Waiting on the Grant Maker’s Decision
      1. Keeping Accessible Copies of Electronic Files
      2. Staying Connected and Providing Updates to Your Stakeholders
      3. Tracking the Status of Your Submitted Application
      4. Handling Funding Status Communications from Grant Makers
      5. Handling Multiple Grant Awards
      6. Failing to Get a Grant Award
  8. Book 4: Being Smart about Nonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting
    1. Chapter 1: Starting with Basic Bookkeeping and Accounting
      1. Understanding Accounting and Bookkeeping
      2. Choosing Your Accounting Method
      3. Running Numbers on Your Assets
      4. Keeping an Eye on Your Assets
    2. Chapter 2: Setting Up the Chart of Accounts for Nonprofits
      1. Identifying and Naming Your Nonprofit’s Main Types of Accounts
      2. Coding the Charges: Assigning Numbers to the Accounts
    3. Chapter 3: Recording Transactions and Journal Entries
      1. Choosing Your Basis of Accounting
      2. Navigating the Accounting Process
      3. Recording Journal Entries
      4. Posting to the General Ledger
      5. Reaching the Trial Balance
    4. Chapter 4: Balancing the Checkbook: Donations and Expenses
      1. Getting the Lowdown on Your Checkbook Register
      2. Adding and Tracking Nonprofit Donations
      3. Subtracting Your Expenses
      4. Tie It Together: Balancing the Checkbook
      5. Smoothing Out and Avoiding Errors
    5. Chapter 5: Balancing Cash Flow: Creating an Operating Budget
      1. Understanding the Importance of Having a Budget in the Nonprofit World
      2. Getting Off to a Good Start: Preparing to Create an Operating Budget
      3. Coming Up with an Operating Budget
    6. Chapter 6: Staying in Nonprofit Compliance
      1. Understanding Why Being Compliant Is Important for Your Nonprofit
      2. Staying in Compliance: The How-To
      3. Following Accounting Standards
    7. Chapter 7: Accounting for Payroll and Payroll Taxes
      1. Setting Up Payroll Accounts for Nonprofit Employees
      2. Deducting the Right Amount of Taxes
      3. Calculating Specific FICA Payroll Taxes and Deductions
      4. Paying Quarterly Payroll Taxes with Form 941 and Electronic Funds Transfer
      5. Completing End-of-Year Forms
    8. Chapter 8: Doing the Accounting for Tax Form 990
      1. Choosing the Right Form: Which One Do You Need?
      2. Knowing What Happens If You Don’t File Form 990
      3. Understanding the Minimal Requirements: Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
      4. Filling Out Form 990-EZ
      5. Filling Out Form 990
      6. Completing Form 990-T (Reporting Unrelated Business Income)
    9. Chapter 9: Analyzing the Statement of Activities
      1. Understanding the True Meaning of the Statement of Activities
      2. Evaluating the Data
    10. Chapter 10: Reporting Financial Condition on a Statement of Financial Position
      1. Grasping What the Statement Says about Your Nonprofit
      2. Creating and Reading a Statement of Financial Position
      3. Evaluating the Numbers
    11. Chapter 11: Eyeing the Statement of Cash Flows
      1. What the Statement of Cash Flows Can Tell You about Your Nonprofit
      2. Understanding How to Create and Use a Statement of Cash Flows
      3. Analyzing Cash Flow Indicators
    12. Chapter 12: Organizing the Statement of Functional Expense
      1. Classifying Functional Expense
      2. Using the Statement of Functional Expense to Calculate Ratios
    13. Chapter 13: Closing the Nonprofit Books
      1. Understanding the Need to Close Your Nonprofit’s Books
      2. Adjusting, Closing, and Reversing Entries
      3. Completing the Notes to the Financial Statements
      4. Putting Last Year Behind You and Looking Forward
  9. Book 5: Speaking on Behalf of Your Nonprofit
    1. Chapter 1: Getting Started with Public Speaking
      1. Dealing with Issues That Stand in Your Way
      2. Improving Your Body Language
      3. Adjusting Your Pace: Perfecting the Pause
      4. Supporting Your Breath
      5. Boosting Confidence through Preparation and Training
      6. Honing Your Delivery
      7. Dealing with the Audience (and Hecklers)
    2. Chapter 2: Crafting a Captivating Speech
      1. Planning and Preparing
      2. What’s Your Point?
      3. Hooking Your Audience
      4. Supporting Your Point: The PIE Method
      5. Writing in Your Own Voice
      6. Show, Don’t Tell: Painting a Picture in the Audience’s Mind
      7. Crafting Your Narrative: Story Time
    3. Chapter 3: Using Visual Aids
      1. Augmenting Your Speech with Slides
      2. A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words
      3. Mastering Essential Slide Show Skills
      4. The Do’s and Don’ts of Audio
      5. Using Video … If You Must
    4. Chapter 4: Practicing Your Speech
      1. Practicing Out Loud
      2. Recording and Critiquing Yourself
      3. Mark My Words: Adjusting Your Script for Emphasis
      4. Slowing Down: Speed Kills
    5. Chapter 5: Overcoming Performance Anxiety
      1. Staying Loose: Tension Can Ruin a Speech
      2. Chin Up and Don’t Slouch
      3. Using Your Body to Battle the Fight, Flight, or Freeze Response
      4. Cutting Yourself Some Slack
      5. Shifting Your Focus to the Audience
  10. Book 6: Spreading the Word through Social Media Marketing
    1. Chapter 1: Launching SMM Campaigns
      1. Defining Social Media Marketing
      2. Discovering the Types of SMM Campaigns
      3. Recognizing What Makes a Good SMM Campaign
      4. Creating Your SMM Roadmap
      5. Participating: Four Rules of the Game
      6. Keeping Your Supporters Engaged
      7. Monitoring Conversations
      8. Responding to Criticism
    2. Chapter 2: Developing Your SMM Voice
      1. Figuring Out Why You Need an SMM Voice
      2. Defining SMM Voice Characteristics
      3. Distinguishing between SMM Voices and Brand Voices
      4. Outlining SMM Voice Objectives
      5. Choosing the Owner of Your Organization’s SMM Voice
      6. Crowdsourcing SMM Voices with Guidelines
    3. Chapter 3: Finding the Right Platforms
      1. Choosing Social Media Platforms
      2. Evaluating Your Resources
      3. Assessing What Each Social Network Offers You
    4. Chapter 4: Practicing SMM on Your Website
      1. Focusing on the SMM-Integrated Website
      2. Making the Campaign and the Website Work Together
      3. Rethinking Your Website
      4. Tips and Tricks for Website SMM
  11. Index
  12. About the Authors
  13. Connect with Dummies
  14. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Nonprofit Management All-in-One For Dummies
  • Author(s): Beverly A. Browning, Sharon Farris, Maire Loughran, Alyson Connolly, Shiv Singh, Stephanie Diamond
  • Release date: May 2023
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781394172436