Akilah Massey

20 Tips for Your Form 990-PF

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

Tax season will be here before we know it, and regulators estimate that at least 25% of all IRS Form 990-PFs have errors. Is your private foundation’s annual tax return among them?

Below are tips for private foundations from our primer Filing the Form 990-PF.

Part I

  • Column c—Most foundations should leave this column blank. Only private operating foundations and foundations with income from charitable activities use this column.
  • Line 2—If the foundation is not required to attach Schedule B, be sure to check the box.
  • Line 18—Reflect the foundation’s share of payroll taxes (e.g., Social Security, Medicare) here. Allocate any portion paid for the production of income to column b, and include only the charitable portion in column d.

Part IV

  • Column b—Be sure to indicate whether each security sold was purchased or donated.
  • Line 2—Make the best use of capital losses by using them to offset gains and decrease the excise tax on net investment income. Since losses cannot be carried backward or forward to other years, consider whether to strategically sell appreciated assets in the same year you will have losses.

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Remote But Not Far Away

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

Exponent Philanthropy’s main office is in Washington, DC, but Membership Manager Linda Zimmerman works from her home in Vermont and has for more than a decade. A handful of other staff members also work remotely.

We know that many funders are working this way too.

  • Family members have moved away, and the board is working in several cities.
  • A small foundation’s sole staff person works from her home office.
  • A philanthropic couple is busy with grantmaking to nonprofit leaders across the world.
  • An employee comes into the office three days a week but spends the other two working from home.

After all, telecommuting has grown almost 80% since 2005. Better networking technology, social networking services, videoconferencing solutions, and cloud computing mean it’s easier than ever before to work remotely. I think it’s safe to say that working remotely is a new normal. 

With that, we’ll all have to figure out ways to make it work for us. I don’t have the answers, but I do have ideas that remote workers or telecommuters – and those who work with them – can consider.

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A New Way to Connect: Live Online Chats

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

From in-person programs to our Directory of Foundation and Philanthropy Advisors, we’re always looking for ways to help you learn from and connect with colleagues and advisors.

We’re pleased to introduce Exponent Philanthropy Live Q&A, a new way for you to get the information you need by posing your questions to experts—live! These online chats take place on the first Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. ET.

Here’s how they work:

  • Mark your calendar. We’ll hold an Exponent Philanthropy Live Q&A on the first Thursday of each month. Save the date! 
  • Request a reminder. By going to the Exponent Philanthropy Live Q&A page before the event, you can request that a reminder be sent to your email the day before, hours before, or even a few minutes before the event starts.
  • Send in a question. You can submit a question at any point before the event starts. This will help to be sure your question is answered, or, if you have a question for our guest but can’t join that month’s event, we’ll get an answer for you. Just check back for the transcript afterward.
  • Join us live. On the day of the Live Q&A, we’ll be joined by our guest for that month. Type your questions into your chat box, tell us who you are—full names are great but initials work too—and our guests will type an answer right back. If their response prompts another question, ask that one too!
  • Read the transcript. After the Live Q&A has ended, the transcript is available on our site for anyone to read and share.

Here’s an example from May 1 Live Q&A with guest experts Mark Larimer of Foundant and Perla Ni of Great Nonprofits. We discussed ways to use data in grantmaking. Continue reading →

Building a Tech Savvy Board

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

In my previous post, I shared why technology professionals can be a valuable addition to any organization’s board. But even without a technology expert among your ranks, there are ways to move your board toward being tech savvy.

Raise the profile of tech at your organization. Does your board realize the benefit of considering technology at the board level? Are board members missing the potential cost and time savings of smart technology decisions?

Consider a board-level tech committee. If your board is not used to talking about technology at its meetings, a technology committee can set direction and make recommendations to the larger board. A committee can also troubleshoot operational issues, research technology that may facilitate or streamline your work, and think about what technology the organization requires to run well.

Retain the expertise of a tech consultant. If your board were undergoing a strategic plan or wrestling with a thorny issue, you’d probably seek the services of an outside expert. Technology should be treated the same way. If your board needs basic tech know-how, an outside consultant can bring board members up to speed on the technology sector and answer questions.

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Are You Overlooking This Type of Professional for Your Board?

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

Quick. Imagine your ideal board members sitting around a table. Who is there and why?

Most of us agree that board members should be committed to the organization, and good leaders. It may be helpful to include an attorney to draft a conflict of interest statement. A CPA who serves as treasurer. But what about a technology professional?

I recently had the chance to attend the Nonprofit Technology Conference, and at the session “What’s Your Board’s IT IQ?” I was challenged to consider a professional that’s often left off the list: the information technology (IT) professional.

Presenter Leon Wilson of the Michigan Nonprofit Association and Highway T told us that just 1% of directors in for-profit corporations have a tech background. We don’t have stats on foundations or other nonprofit organizations, but we can assume they’re similar.

And there’s really no reason for this gap.

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8 Sources of Data to Inform Your Giving

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

Data has found its place in philanthropy as two important trends converge: a movement toward impact, and a surge of digital information from government, regulatory, and nonprofit organizations.

Exponent Philanthropy member Fran Sykes and fellow trustees of The Pascale Sykes Foundation use a mix of state data on school achievement and information from other government agencies to set the foundation’s funding priorities. She notes, “Every state has KIDS COUNT®. Every state has stats from its departments of labor, employment, corrections. Every state has stats on public school academic achievement. All are matters of public record and can be used to determine needs.”

And she is right: Public data is available from a variety of sources. And many more organizations are compiling, analyzing, and making data useful for donors and others.

Where can you find data to inform your giving? Here are 8 places to turn:

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Is Philanthropy Behind the Tech Curve?

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

We all hear stories of groups less likely to be engaged with today’s technology. Often referred to as the “digital divide,” the focus tends to be on those who lack access to reliable Internet: seniors, people living in or close to poverty, and those in extremely rural areas. But when looking at the philanthropic sector, it’s easy to see another gap.

A few years ago, the Foundation Center found that less than less than one-third of U.S. foundations had even simple websites. In early 2013, the Foundation Center again found that just 34% of the country’s largest foundations had a social media presence. As technology continues to expand and change the ways we connect, are donors keeping up?

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20 Tips for the Form 990-PF

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By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy

Tax season will be here before we know it, and regulators estimate that at least 25% of all IRS Form 990-PFs have errors. Is your private foundation’s annual tax return among them?

Below are tips for private foundations from our primer Filing the Form 990-PF. 

Part I

  • Column c—Most foundations should leave this column blank. Only private operating foundations and foundations with income from charitable activities use this column. 
  • Line 2—If the foundation is not required to attach Schedule B, be sure to check the box. 
  • Line 15—Reflect the foundation’s share of payroll taxes (e.g., Social Security, Medicare) here. Allocate any portion paid for the production of income to column b, and include only the charitable portion in column d. 
  • Line 18—Include the excise taxes paid on net investment income only in column a, not in columns b or d.

Continue reading →

More Nonprofits Use Text Messaging: Does Your Foundation Support This Trend?

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By Akilah Massey, ASF

You may have heard that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) recently decided that political campaigns’ political action committees, or PACs, can raise money by text message.

Yes, that’s right. In between confirming dinner plans or asking your husband to pick up an extra bag of salad at the grocery store, you can make a quick donation to support a political candidate.

Looking back, it’s not completely surprising. Our society has been trending this way for some time. For instance, in the wake of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross received $22 million in $10 text message donations from the U.S – within a week.

So the idea that the cell phones most of carry around all day can be used to quickly support causes isn’t new. But the FEC’s decision illustrates that this method of giving is becoming even more ingrained in our society. Furthermore, it shows the increasing power that lies at the intersection of small-scale philanthropy and public interest. Continue reading →

Using Technology to Make Collaboration Easier

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By Akilah Massey, ASF

Most small foundations are very familiar with the concept of collaboration. It’s often the only way the work gets done. Without a large staff, communicating and working effectively with staff, board members, and advisors is vital.

Even if the need to work collaboratively is not new, there are many forms of technology – some new, some more established – that can allow you to use the power of the Web to work more collaboratively both with board members across the country and colleagues right in your office.

Imagine that you have a grantee who faxes a document to your office where it is copied and later sent to board members for review. Perhaps you can do away with the fax machine and use a fax-to-email service. These services provide your organization with a unique fax number you can use to receive faxes, convert them to PDF documents, and send them directly to your inbox. Then you can store the documents digitally and email them to interested parties within minutes – all while eliminating the need for additional paper. Some grants management software systems have this feature built right in.

Board portals are another tool that can make collaboration simpler. These were recently a popular topic on the ASF Discussion List, and it’s not hard to see why. They’re extremely secure and were created with geographically-dispersed boards in mind. Most board portals allow for central organization of important documents and enable individual board members to review board packets and even take notes online as they prepare for board meetings. Check the ASF Discussion List Archives to learn about ASF member experiences with board portals.

These are just a few ideas, and they may not be the right ones for your foundation. Maybe you’ve started using Skype to hold occasional virtual board meetings. Maybe you’re a little more technologically savvy and have jumped into using collaborative documents or a shared online workspace.

I’d love to hear your stories about how you’re using technology – big and small, simple and more complex – to move the work of your foundation online. What tools have worked well for you? What would you recommend to other small foundations?

Akilah Massey

Program Manager Akilah Massey works with ASF members and other partners on ASF local programs, small hosted gatherings around the country. She joined the staff of ASF in 2005 and enjoys talking to ASF members about the personal nature of small foundation philanthropy. Akilah is preparing a session on Technology Planning for small foundations, to be held at the 2012 National Conference.