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Nonprofit Auctions: A Complete Compliance Guide and Sample Forms
Auctions are known for two characteristics: they raise money (sometimes a lot), and they are a ton of work. Blue Avocado contributor and CPA Dennis Walsh gives us a complete, handy compliance guide, and even better: five sample forms to make sure your …
Transgender Employees: A Respectful and Legal Workplace Approach
Dear Rita: I manage a small team of employees in a close-knit office. Recently one of my employees told me in private that “he” is becoming a “she.” I’m not sure how to deal with this. Do I call the employee “him” or “her”? I think when the other emplo …
DIY: Make a Bylaws Cheat Sheet
“What does it say in the bylaws?” “Does anyone have a copy of the by-laws?” “I know I got one when I started on the board but . . . ” Here’s a new idea: a Bylaws Cheat Sheet. Even if there is a copy of the by-laws handy, it’s tedio …
Ask Rita: Do We Need Insurance for Our Volunteers?
Dear Rita: I recently read an article that said it was a good idea to have insurance for volunteers. I thought volunteers had immunity in both federal and state laws. Should I be doing something to protect my nonprofit? Signed, Curious in California …
How to Deal with an Office Bully
Dear Rita: I have a really awful co-worker — Gossip Greta — who is making me miserable. She goes out of her way to be rude to me and badmouths me behind my back. Once I made a minor mistake and she started yelling at me, calling me “stupid” and “inco …
How to Have a Board Meeting By Telephone
Your board meeting is Thursday evening. On Wednesday you start getting the calls. One board member is home recuperating from surgery. Another is traveling. Yet another can’t spare the time to drive in for the meeting. Can they call in via conference ca …
Ask Rita in HR: Do we really have to do performance evaluations?
Dear Rita: I just started as the first HR Manager for an environmental nonprofit that has grown to 65 employees, although at least 35 of them are summer staff. I was somewhat shocked to discover that there are no performance evaluations in the files! W …
What Are My Nonprofit’s Obligations Under the Affordable Healthcare Act?
Dear Rita: I am the executive director of a nonprofit with 15 employees. We have never been able to afford to provide health insurance benefits for our staff. I’m confused about our obligations under the Affordable Healthcare Act. I heard that em …
Conflict of Interest . . . or Conflict of Loyalty?
"Conflict of loyalty" is a useful concept and term that gives us another dimension to work with than simply conflict of interest:In our legitimate desire to avoid conflicts of interest in nonprofits, we typically make two oddly opposite mista …
Hiring Job Candidates with Criminal Convictions: Unlock the Possibilities
Like many employers, you may follow a default position of not hiring job seekers who have a past criminal conviction, but such a one-size-fits-all policy can not only get you in trouble with the law, it could also eliminate some excellent candida …
