Monthly Archives

May 2018

Mid-Year Budget Review

By | Abila, Accounting, Accounting Software, Budget, CPA, Grant Management, Internal Controls, MIP Fund Accounting, Nonprofit | No Comments

Let’s face it. Stuff happens. And, though you may wish your hard-fought and well-planned budget was settled, the National Council of Nonprofits says it best, “Budgets should not be ‘written in stone’ because the financial position of the nonprofit may change during the year.”

How is your nonprofit’s budget performing? Have you reviewed it since it was created and implemented? Is your revenue on target? Have any of the following occurred at your nonprofit? …

  • A shift or pivot in strategy or direction
  • Unforeseen events (natural disaster, legal, economic)
  • Organizational structure change (such as consolidations)
  • A change in funding received versus projected funding (such as receiving more or less from planned grant funding or fundraising activities)

A successful budget is one that is carefully crafted and implemented by a thorough budget team, then cautiously monitored and continuously updated throughout the year to reflect the inevitable changes affecting your nonprofit.

Download our Budget Checkup tool to put your Nonprofit budget to the test.

To learn about best practices when it comes to effectively monitoring and reviewing your budget throughout the year, download Budget Checkup: Critical Components of the Nonprofit Budget Review Process.

Feel like you have a pretty good understanding about the importance of the budget review process, but still relying on spreadsheets or an outdated solution? Join a live webinar, “Budget Lifecycle: Key Components to Budget Creation and Support” on Wednesday, June 7, for an in-depth review of how a true fund accounting™ solution can help you improve budgeting, so you can focus on your cause.

Looking for new nonprofit software to track your budget?  Answer these 5 Questions to Measure Fund Accounting System Effectiveness.

 

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting is a technology firm empowering nonprofit and government organizations with effective software, consulting & training that can help you with your accounting needs. We are committed to finding the most affordable technology, the most powerful solution, and providing expert support. By leveraging technology and superior reporting, our team helps to free more of your time to devote to the important work of your mission. We bridge people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We are passionate professionals who choose to work in the nonprofit sector for the same reason you do – helping others. Please contact us online or call 206-605-3113 for more information.

 

Responsible Data Collection for Nonprofit Organizations

By | Abila, Accounting, Accounting Software, Cloud, Data, Internal Controls, MIP Fund Accounting, Nonprofit, Technology | No Comments

Many people were shocked to discover the amount of data that Facebook and its partner organizations collect and share about their users. What’s surprising isn’t the amount of data collected and shared, but the public’s ignorance of how rampant data abuse is throughout the online world.

Have you ever had advertisements that seem to follow you online? That’s due to data collection from your browser history. Companies such as Google note which websites you’ve shopped or browsed recently and make educated guesses on behalf of their advertisers on which ads to display on your pages. So-called “remarketing” or “re-targeting” is just one example of how you are inadvertently leaving a detailed data footprint wherever you go online.

Social media websites such as Facebook may be in the news because of their disregard of how sensitive people are to data collection and sharing, but your company could be next on the list if you aren’t careful. Take time now to review your nonprofit’s data collection habits, security, and sharing guidelines, and make changes if needed to safeguard your donor and member privacy.

Create and Display Data Privacy Policies

Data privacy policies should be written and displayed prominently on your website. Some websites request that users accept them as part of their terms and conditions of using the website.

Privacy policies include:

  1. Details on how data is collected, shared, and stored
  2. Users’ abilities to stop data collection or access records
  3. Where to send complaints, questions, comments
  4. How IP addresses, cookies, and external links are used
  5. Any other information related to data use and collection

The Council of Nonprofits has a good privacy policy which you can review as a guideline to help you create your own. It includes the major points most nonprofits should cover in their privacy policies.

How Data Is Used

Most people recognize that some data is collected anytime they visit a website. Few object to simply recording IP addresses of people who visit a site but do disagree with who sites share their data with – they want control over who sees their personal information.

As part of your data privacy policy, be specific about how data is shared. Consider limiting shared data only to necessary third-party vendors, such as mailing companies who help you package donor mailings, or some other third party you manage and control. Selling user data may be a tempting way to make extra money, but it can quickly sour any trust built with your member base.

Improve Data Security

Even if you only collect a few data elements when people register for your site or make a donation, you must make all efforts to safeguard that data from hackers. Small nonprofits are actually at greater risk than larger ones because criminals know that small organizations lack the resources to counter against a cyberattack. They are more likely to pay the ransom when data is hijacked and may lack a dedicated IT resource to protect against attacks.

Take the time now to improve data security. Simple steps such as updating software, creating strong passwords, and adding virus protection software to your organization can act like locks on the front door of a house – not much if someone is truly determined to break in but enough of a deterrent that the average thief walks away for easier pickings elsewhere. Consider working with a cyber security expert to enact greater safeguards against intrusion if you handle highly sensitive data.

Although nonprofit organizations aren’t in the business of collecting and selling data like Facebook and other big companies are, they must maintain a basic level of trust with the public in order to continue their activities. Protecting data and providing transparency into your organization’s data privacy and security is one way to enhance that trust.

 

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting is a technology firm empowering nonprofit and government organizations with effective software, consulting & training that can help you with your accounting needs. We are committed to finding the most affordable technology, the most powerful solution, and providing expert support. By leveraging technology and superior reporting, our team helps to free more of your time to devote to the important work of your mission. We bridge people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We are passionate professionals who choose to work in the nonprofit sector for the same reason you do – helping others. Please contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.

How to Improve Employee Retention by Improving Corporate Culture

By | Abila, Accounting, Corporate Culture, HR, MIP Fund Accounting, Nonprofit | No Comments

We’ve all seen the statistics: it costs several thousand dollars, and several weeks or months of lost productivity to fill vacancies. Nonprofits face additional employee retention challenges in a strong economy with low unemployment. Retaining skilled employees becomes more challenging in a strong, robust economy.

There is no one size fits all program you can put into place to improve retention. Instead, consider building a sustainable corporate culture that encourages people to feel loyal to your organization.

What Is Corporate Culture?

Corporate culture is the overall tone, mood, feeling and method of work that occurs within an organization. While difficult to define, it is easy to spot. A productive, positive corporate culture leads to loyalty, low turnover, and high productivity. A negative corporate culture leads to disgruntled employees, poor productivity, high turnover, and myriad other problems.

 

Improving Corporate Culture

The Harvard Business Review lists several methods to improve corporate culture.

 

  1. Clarify the organization’s vision. Nonprofits who successfully retain employees have a clearly defined vision for their organization. Pathway to Stop Diabetes, an initiative of the American Diabetes Association, has a clearly defined mission: “Our visionis simple yet revolutionary: find a new generation of brilliant scientists at the peak of their creativity, then provide them with the freedom, autonomy, and financial and professional resources to set them on the road to breakthrough discoveries.” A defined vision helps unite and clarify the work of everyone at a nonprofit, enhances company culture and is a central point around which all conversations can revolve  .
  2. Hire the right people. We know, it’s easier said than done, but hiring people who believe wholeheartedly in the vision is an important step toward building organizational culture and reducing turnover. Look for people with a demonstrated work history aligned with your mission. People’s actions speak louder than words when it comes to demonstrating their values, and their work history is the record of how they implement those values in their careers.
  3. Develop guiding principles. Guiding principles are the shared statements that reflect how to implement the mission and vision of an organization. They also document how you expect employees to behave, treat one another, and do their work. Guiding principles should include the ideas and concepts you would like to inculcate throughout the organization. A corporate culture that accepts and honors diversity, for example, might have as its guiding principle tolerance for all races, creeds, religions and sexual preferences; a corporate culture that values innovation might have as a guiding principle the embracing of creativity and the time needed to generate creative ideas.
  4. Build a compelling narrative. Narratives are stories and every nonprofit have its own unique story. Marley’s Mutts, a nonprofit animal rescue in Bakersfield, California, builds on the narrative of the founder’s battle with end stage liver disease and the role that Marley, his dog, had in helping him overcome hopelessness. That bond between dogs and people is what inspires all of Marley’s Mutts actions and programs including their prison outreach, special needs children’s outreach, and rescuing so-called unadoptable dogs from shelters around the world.
  5. Promote connections. People are less inclined to leave an organization if they feel strong connections to it and to others who work there. Millennials are often cited as lacking loyalty, but in fact, they simply have a low tolerance for boredom and the lack of interest in their work. Build connections to the organization through promoting challenging projects, increasing responsibility, and improving chances for advancement.

 

Building a strong corporate culture to improve employee retention takes time and effort. Make it a concerted effort among your leadership team, human resources, and managers to enact positive changes that build culture and improve loyalty.

 

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting is a technology firm empowering nonprofit and government organizations with effective software, consulting & training that can help you with your accounting needs. We are committed to finding the most affordable technology, the most powerful solution, and providing expert support. By leveraging technology and superior reporting, our team helps to free more of your time to devote to the important work of your mission. We bridge people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We are passionate professionals who choose to work in the nonprofit sector for the same reason you do – helping others. Please contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.

5 Tips to Accomplish Goals with Your Consultant

By | Abila, Accounting, Accounting Software, MIP Fund Accounting, Nonprofit | No Comments

At some point in your nonprofit work, you may need to hire a consultant. Whether it’s a technology consultant  retained to help you choose the right fund accounting software for your organization, or a marketing consultant to  assist in building a great website, consultants are a smart way to expand your team with the expertise  required to complete a project.

Consultants are experts in their field. They are seasoned professionals who choose to work with a variety of organizations rather than spend their time with just one. They are truth-tellers whose main objective is to help you solve a problem.

There are several tricks to finding a terrific consultant and achieving successful project goals together. Here are our top steps to accomplish your goals with your consultants and to work successfully together.

 

Tips to Work Together with Consultants

 

  1. Build a good rapport with your consultants so you can trust and have confidence in their suggestions. Communications must be clear and understandable; while consultants are experts, they shouldn’t speak in such lengthy jargon that you can’t understand what they are trying to say. Speak up if you don’t understand anything and be sure to ask plenty of questions. Consultants are there to help you, and they should be able to answer your questions in ways that you understand.
  1. Set expectations in writing. Although you may have discussed the nuances of your project, it is easy to forget the details once the work begins or other projects take center stage. Having expectations, goals, milestones, and dates in writing with your consultant ensures that there is no ambiguity around the work undertaken, the definition of when a project is complete, and other details of the project.
  1. Establish communication channels and preferences at the start of the engagement. Consultants should be flexible about the method and frequency of communications. Some people prefer instant messages while others prefer telephone communications. Make sure your preferences are known at the start of the project. Also discuss frequency of communications; how often will the consultant check in with you? Do you require progress reports or other reports for your Board or supervisors? Clarify communication expectations in writing early in the project to avoid frustration on both sides.
  1. Identify people in your organization with whom the consultant should work. Establishing who the consultant should communicate with inside your organization is equally as important as establishing the method and frequency of communication. To ensure the consultants always have someone available, identify one to three people that the consultant can contact for questions and a discussion of issues.
  1. Discuss boundaries. Consultants are not employees. At some point in the project, their work ends, and yours begins. They will pass on their recommendations to you to implement. Have a plan in place to initiate their recommendations as soon as they are accepted. If you do not have a plan for implementation, you may have a great document from the consultant that sits on a shelf gathering dust.

Consultants add a great deal of value to an organization, but you can only benefit from their expertise if you communicate well, trust their judgment, and establish who will take their work on to the finish line.

 

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting is a technology firm empowering nonprofit and government organizations with effective software, consulting & training that can help you with your accounting needs. We are committed to finding the most affordable technology, the most powerful solution, and providing expert support. By leveraging technology and superior reporting, our team helps to free more of your time to devote to the important work of your mission. We bridge people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We are passionate professionals who choose to work in the nonprofit sector for the same reason you do – helping others. Please contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.