Nonprofit Blog

Smith & Howard extends warm congratulations to our good friend Ann Curry of Coxe Curry & Associates. Ann has been selected as an honoree for the upcoming Heroes, Saints & Legends gala, which is being held in March. Ann will be recognized by the Foundation of Wesley Woods as one of four Georgians who have made significant ongoing contributions to the community through their dedication to leadership, service and philanthropy.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations that provide guidance for the nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements of tax-exempt organizations in June. The regulations, which have been anticipated by the industry since 2007, address the interplay between Internal Revenue Code Section 457 and Section 409A, which govern the nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements of all employers, including tax-exempt organizations. The newly proposed Section 457 regulations provide plan design opportunities specifically for tax-exempt employers, which could aid in the recruitment and retention of key executives.

To many nonprofit organizations the Form 990 is simply a requirement, a must do. However, this public form can serve as a tool to help your organization increase brand awareness throughout the community. There are many sections in the Form 990 that can help your marketing team and organization generate positive perceptions, which could ultimately lead to more donations.

In early 2015, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released new findings from a survey about public participation in the arts. The report reveals some surprising findings about the impact of arts and cultural industries on GDP, as well as the attitudes, motivations and barriers for attending the arts at different life stages—the first time the NEA has published a report on this type of data. The following article by Smith & Howard's nonprofit team, discusses the NEA's report and highlights some of the ways Georgia's arts & culture organizations are working hard to engage the public.

This issue’s “Newsbits” contains items on community foundations that embrace impact investing; the IRS’s reported pattern of rarely auditing nonprofits for political activity; congressional activity that could make permanent charitable “tax extenders”; and social media as a tool to identify likely donors.

Social Media Tips for Small Nonprofits

The recession contributed to declines in many areas within our economy, with the independent (private) school industry particularly hard hit. According to First Industry Research, “Enrollment at US private schools in fall 2014 was the lowest in nearly 60 years, and the decline is expected to continue for at least five more years.” All is not gloom and doom, however. The Georgia independent school sector appears to be doing very well. In an article recently published by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, current enrollment levels for independent school students were shown at 74,767, which is less than a 2% decrease from enrollment levels prior to the recession. 

We recently attended the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Annual Conference in Atlanta and had the distinct pleasure of hearing educational consultant, John Littleford, speak about board composition in independent schools and the importance of head of school tenure.

Your donors will be gearing up for tax-filing season soon. It’s not too late to make sure that your organization is following the IRS donation “substantiation rules” so that your benefactors have the proof they need to deduct financial gifts. Proper documentation is also crucial so that your donors don’t have any future problems with the IRS.

Charity Navigator evaluates major philanthropic markets (and we put our two cents worth into the evaluation!)