The Nonprofit Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Nonprofit Organization

Introduction

Part I: For Practitioners

Quick Start Guide to Forming a Nonprofit Organization

Chapter 1. The Decision to Incorporate

• Introduction to Incorporation
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Incorporation
• Nonprofits and Private Benefit

• Introduction to Incorporation
• Role of Incorporators
• Choosing a Corporate Name
• Choosing Corporate Purposes
• Choosing to Have Members or No Members
• Additional Provisions

• Introduction to Preparing Bylaws
• Legal Requirements of Bylaws

• Board Formation
• Organizational Officers
• Getting Good Board Members
• Keeping Good Board Members
• Board Responsibilities
• How Boards Function Effectively
• Holding High-Quality Board Meetings
• Relationship Between Board Members and Staff Members

• The Mission Statement
• The Vision Statement
• Examples of Mission and Vision Statements

• Introduction
• Purpose of Strategic Planning
• Making the Decision to Develop a Strategic Plan
• Benefits of Strategic Planning
• Costs of Strategic Planning
• A Sample Strategic Planning Model

• Overview
• Current Board Functioning
• A New System of Board Governance
• Conclusion

• Introduction
• Ethics in the Nonprofit Environment
• Accountability
• Conflict of Interest
• Disclosures
• Accumulation of Surplus
• Outside Remuneration
• Salaries, Benefits, and Perquisites
• Taxpayer Bill of Rights II—Intermediate Sanctions
• Codes of Ethics
• Conclusion

• Introduction
• How to Apply for 501(c)(3) Status
• Fees
• A Short History of Tax-Exempt Status
• Tax-Exempt Status Other Than 501(c)(3)

• General Liability Concerns of Nonprofit Organizations
• Liability of Officers, Directors, and Other Volunteers
• Civil and Criminal Liability
• Strategies to Minimize Exposure to Lawsuits
• Volunteer Protection Act
• Personal or Professional Individual Insurance Coverage
• Board Member Decision-Making
• Risk Management
• General Business Insurance
• Workers Compensation Insurance
• Unemployment Compensation Insurance

• Bookkeeping
• Audits/Fiscal Accountability
• Audit Report
• Review
• Compilation
• Budgeting
• Line-Item Budget
• Program Budget
• Expense Reimbursement

• Introduction
• Major Federal Laws Affecting Employers
• Sample State Laws Affecting Nonprofit Employers
• Standard Paperwork for Corporations With Employees

• Introduction
• Options, Advantages, Disadvantages, Legal Considerations
• Process in Hiring
• Firing
• Discipline Short of Firing
• Discipline Continuum
• How to Fire

• Introduction
• Benefits and Considerations of Volunteers
• Nonprofit Organization Volunteer Policy
• Volunteer Job Description
• Volunteer Recruitment
• Orientation
• Rewards
• Virtual Volunteering
• World Wide Web Resources

• Introduction
• The Unified Registration Statement
• State Regulation of Charitable Fundraising on the Internet

• How Much To Ask For
• IRS Substantiation Rules
• Sources of Funding
• Hiring a Consultant

• Introduction
• Researching the Grantor
• Sections of a Grant Application

• Legal Requirements for Lobbying
• Effective Strategies for Lobbying and Advocacy
• 501(h) Election
• IRS Regulations on Lobbying
• Contacts With Legislators

• Introduction
• Individual Political Activities
• Penalties
• Quasi-Political Activities

• Introduction
• Menu of Nonprofit Communications Tools

• Introduction
• What is the Internet?
• Equipment Needed to Connect to the Internet
• Practical Applications of the Internet
• The World Wide Web
• Deciphering a Web Address
• How to Find Resources on the Web
• Directories
• Web Rings
• Domain Names
• How to Register a Domain Name
• Developing Your Own Web Page
• Internet Etiquette (a.k.a. Netiquette)
• Problems With the Internet
• Useful Internet Resources for Nonprofits

• Introduction
• What is E-Commerce?
• Build, Buy, or Rent?
• Payment Service Providers
• Costs
• Handling Online Financial Transactions
• Customer Service
• Security and Privacy
• Charity Portals
• Online Shopping Malls
• Charity Auctions
• Online Communities
• Legal Issues

• Introduction
• The Coalition
• Structures of Coalitions
• Advantages of Forming a Coalition
• Disadvantages of Coalitions
• To Form a Coalition or Not
• How to Form a Coalition

• Office Equipment
• Staffing Patterns
• Stationery/Logo
• Filing Systems
• Computer
• Hardware/Software
• Credit Card Sales
• Computer Communications/Internet
• Postal Service Issues

• Introduction
• Federal Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT)
• Differences Between Nonprofits and For-Profits

• Sales and Use Tax-Exemptions
• Why User Charges May Not Be the Answer
• Justification for the Charitable Tax Exemption

• Education
• Planning
• Documentation
• Communication Discussion

• Factors That Trigger Merger Consideration
• How to Begin
• Steps to a Merger
• Budgeting
• Obstacles to Merger
• Legal Requirements

• Introduction
• Why Quality is Important to Nonprofit Organizations
• The Cost of Poor Quality
• Quality in the Nonprofit Organizational Context

• Total Quality Management
• Business Process Reengineering
• Benchmarking
• Outcome-Based Management
• Large Group Intervention

Chapter 31. Defining and Describing the Nonprofit Sector

• Defining and Describing the Nonprofit Sector
• Classification of Nonprofit Organizations
• Legal Definition of Charitable Organization and Tax Exemption
• Size and Growth of the Voluntary Nonprofit Sector
• Nonprofit Taxonomies
• Assets of the Sector
• Boundaries of the Sector
• Differences Between Nonprofit, For-Profit, and
• Governmental Organizations
• References

• Introduction
• Modern Roots of American Charitable Law and Organizations
• References

• Public Goods Theory
• Pluralistic Theory
• Market Failure and High Transaction Costs
• Externality Theory
• Contract Failure Theory
• Subsidy Theories
• Consumer Control Theory
• Theory of the Commons
• Are Nonprofits Altruistic or Self-Maximizing?
• References

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