• the majority of “community benefit dollars” goes to uncompensated care for the uninsured and for community education programs.
• the higher the rate of uninsurance in a population, the higher the rate of “community benefit” spending for uncompensated care.
• critical access hospitals were much less profitable than the larger urban and suburban hospitals.
• hospital revenue margins for the overall group were only 5 percent. About a fifth of the hospitals surveyed were “unprofitable.” (They showed a deficit).

Included in this study was a look at executive compensation. Findings include:

• The average median compensation for the hospitals’ top executive was $490,000 (large population areas) and $377,000 (smaller population areas). The average compensation increased with the revenue size.
• A group of 20 hospitals were examined as the top executive average compensation was $1.4 million. The IRS reports that nearly all examined amounts were within the range of reasonable compensation.

IRS Observations

• The community benefit and reasonable compensation standards have been difficult to administer, per the IRS.
• It has been noted the tax exempt standards need to be revised, but the IRS warns that because of the size, complexity and importance of the nonprofit hospital sector, it will be a tremendous challenge to revamp the exemption standard.
• They blame the varying practices and financial capabilities of the hospitals for the difficulty in changing the exempt standard.

501(c) Files Summary
Basically, the findings of this study reveal problems in our healthcare system exist. This study proposes that the tax exempt system is important and that a rehaul of the system may dramatically affect the way hospitals operate. This study confirms the ongoing debate about healthcare in the United States. It’s probably just as complicated as the tax code. 501(c) Files

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/badjonni/361412781/

Post from: EveryJoe

Nonprofit Hospitals Under IRS Scrutiny

I’ve been sending myself emails a good bit lately and using my iGoogle to-do list widget. So, it’s time for another poll.

Post from: EveryJoe

Poll Results: To-Do List Takes the Cake

Looking at a sponsorship from the business side of things, it’s important that nonprofits are communicating effectively with their sponsors. A sponsor has a right to know what is going on when it comes to use of logos, their name and/or likeness. An effective nonprofit communications professional is going to get the sponsor’s approval on these every step of the way.

The same can be said for letters or press releases sent out on behalf of the sponsor and nonprofit. Approvals are necessary so the sponsor knows what is being said, where it is being said, etc. As strapped as nonprofits are for staff, it’s important for us to remember to keep the lines of communication open, no matter how busy we are.

Post from: EveryJoe

Keep the Lines of Communication Open with Your Sponsors

This 24-hour blitz gives selected organizations access to the entire team of creative staff. This year, 40 organizations submitted applications requesting nearly 100 projects. The criteria for selecting which projects will happen in the CreateAthon were overall need, mission of the organization, type of work requested, and how the agency’s expertise would benefit the needs of each nonprofit recipient.

mundayMorning selected 11 organizations for this year’s event including:

• North North Texas Rehabilitation Services – provides vocational opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities
• Central Dallas Ministries – an area network of services including a food bank, a health clinic, a law office, affordable housing and an after-school program.
• The Warren Center – serve families with children with developmental disabilities.
• Christian Community Action – comprehensive services to needy individuals and a resale shop that provides low cost shopping and job opportunities.
• Friends Forever of North Texas – band of volunteer foster homes for homeless dogs and cats specializing in older pets.
• Preservation Dallas – an advocacy group dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Dallas’ landmarks.
• Texas Winds Musical Outreach – music education and entertainment programs for people of ill health, low income, isolated seniors and at-risk children; perform over 850 concerts a year.
• Homeward Bound – provide services to people who are homeless and struggling with addiction at no charge.
• Plano Community Home – housing for low-income, limited mobility seniors.
• Heart House Dallas – free after-school program for children of low income families.
• Allen Community Outreach – a bridge organization between all the social service agencies of Allen, Fairview and Lucas counties.

These organizations will receive help in creative work such as logos and websites. The day’s work is valued at $42,000.

mundayMorning is part of a network of 42 advertising agencies across the country who participate in CreateAthon each year. The CreateAthon began in 1998 in Columbia, S.C., and has expanded to 42 cities since its inception. Over 1,000 nonprofits (with little or no marketing budget) have received free advertising services valued at $8.4 million.

This project is a creative way for a local business to help community organizations in a very tight economy. By partnering with other local merchants (Starbuck’s and Tom Thumb stores), mundayMorning is doing a lot of good in a short amount of time without spending much money. This is definitely an example of business and nonprofits working together.

Post from: EveryJoe

Interesting Way to Give Back During Hard Economic Times

After taking a look around the site, it appears to be very similar to other review sites you would find for restaurants and other services vendors. The idea of being able to post “not-so-great” information about nonprofits on this site might make anyone in the sector a little scared, but it shouldn’t.

The great thing about blogs, review sites like GreatNonprofits, and other forums where people can share information via the Web is that the road goes both ways. You can respond to criticism or compliments via these transparent avenues.

For nonprofits to be successful in garnering donations, volunteers, awareness or whatever your mission, it’s important to be transparent. There is an entire generation of potential donors and volunteers who did not exist before the Internet. This transparent tool is not only a tool, but a way of life for them. The nonprofits who want to reach this generation have to be part of it whether we like it or not.

Post from: EveryJoe

Transparency: A Good Thing for Nonprofits

“I could sell [pins] for a couple hundred bucks,” he said. “But I spent thousands to come here. That’s not what it’s about.”

Sounds like a pretty mission-oriented activity to me. | 501(c)

Post from: EveryJoe

In Beijing, Collectors Go for Gold, Not Green

These are misconceptions that hinder the growth of the organization and become obstacles to achievement of the organization’s mission. The nonprofit organization must be run as if it were a serious business if it is to be successful and continue to exist in a competitive market. To do this, the notion that a nonprofit group should not make a profit needs to be dispelled.

Saunders goes on to conduct that dispelling with five points that make the case for a business-oriented outlook for the sector. With respect to the paragraph above, these two points from his column bear repeating here:

• Dependable and knowledgeable staff must be paid livable salaries and benefits.
• Money must be spent on resources that help meet the organization’s mission.

It’s worth reading to digest all of Saunders’s points and to absorb his pragmatic, forward-thinking worldview. | 501(c)

Post from: EveryJoe

The Myth of Bake Sales as a Viable Fundraising Tool

Great news for the sector, right?

Well, that depends on how well the sector’s doing here.

As the Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday, the Philadelphia Foundation “is commissioning a study to benchmark the state of nonprofits in Philadelphia and its four neighboring Pennsylvania counties.”

It has tapped the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia to catalog and group the members of our nonprofit world, examine their finances and funding sources, and compare them with their peers. The foundation will spend $100,000 on the first phase of the study.

An Economy League official pointed out that determining the health of the sector will help the government determine whether nonprofits will be able to pick up the slack in the wake of slashed budgets, and that donors will be able to get a big-picture look at the sector. It’s an ambitious undertaking, to be sure, but, I think, a necessary one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see other metropolitan areas take up similar projects as accountability and efficiency continue to be watched. | 501(c)

Post from: EveryJoe

Philadelphia Nonprofits Have the Numbers, But Are They Healthy?

Post from: EveryJoe

The New 990 Is On the Way

Graduate student Alyssa Walden writes about the sector’s increasing use of social-networking sites to attract donors and volunteers:

MySpace and Facebook are making it easier for non-profits to set up accounts, with both adding Impacts and Causes[, respectively,] for non-profits to use. These social networking sites allow the organizations to connect with a large audience that ranges in age.

Brett Meyer of the Nonprofit Technology Network discusses how nonprofits can quickly (and cheaply) leverage search engine optimization to drive online readers to their websites:

By integrating best practices into the standard operating procedures for your various teams, you can achieve significant SEO benefits without investing large amounts time.

And consultant Katherine Watier explains how YouTube’s Web analytics tool can help drive viewers to the videos your organization has posted online:

I think it’s important to know how any marketing initiative is performing, so if you haven’t already, I would encourage you to log into YouTube Insight to see how many people are looking at your YouTube videos.

The danger is that as soon as you master one online tactic, something newer has replaced it, but people are using the tools cited by these bloggers in such rising numbers that it seems a no-brainer to determine whether they might help your organization. There are plenty of websites and consultants and white papers and books that could set you up, but the posts above aren’t a bad place to start. | 501(c)

Post from: EveryJoe

Bloggers on Online Phenomena and Nonprofits: An Overview