Articles

Should your nonprofit have a Workers’ Compensation policy? (Probably.)

By Jess Birken

I know, I know, a lot of nonprofits don’t have workers comp.

Say you don’t have any employees, only 1099 contractors. Or, everything is run by volunteers. Or, the board is the only people involved. Most people would assume that you don’t need worker’s comp is not needed in any of those situations.

BUT in all those cases, you might need to start thinking about Workers’ Comp. Surprised? I was too, until I had a chance to sit down with Tom Wertish from Novallus Insurance.

Read on to learn more!

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Treat your nonprofit idea like your wedding

By Jess Birken

Planning a wedding is often a ton of work (assuming you don’t decide to elope). There are a lot of factors to consider, and usually you don’t even know all the steps. Naturally, we turn to the internet, right?

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THIS can hurt your chances at property tax exemption

By Jess Birken

In my home state of Minnesota, nonprofits can apply for property tax exemption if they use their real estate for mission delivery. Usually this is a faceless process, the nonprofit applies on paper and has to send in its 990s and other materials to the county tax assessor.

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I just started a nonprofit…what kind of insurance do I need?

By Jess Birken

This is a question I WISH more founders asked me!

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What the heck is a B-Corp?

By Jess Birken

A lot of the time, the people I meet with have awesome ideas that just don’t need to be a nonprofit, or sometimes they really shouldn’t be a nonprofit.  And sometimes that can be a hard pill to swallow.

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Down with the overhead pie chart!

By Jess Birken

You know what I’m talking about, the pie chart you see on annual reports from nonprofits all the time that show a lot of money going to “programs” and a small slice going to “overhead” and “fundraising.”

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Do Board Presidents get veto power?

By Jess Birken

One of the things I’ve noticed in my years as the lawyer for nonprofits is the confusion people have about the board chair or board president role. Sometimes clients come in dealing with some sort of board crisis and sometimes that crisis is interpersonal conflict between board members. You might be surprised to know that sometimes the board President or Chair is the root of the problem.

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What if somebody asks to see our 990s?

By Jess Birken

So, you get a strange phone call at the office – somebody wants back copies of the organization’s 990. Feels a little invasive doesn’t it? Or like…. what do they want them for? Are we in trouble?

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3 secret tips to be better at board meetings

By Jess Birken

New nonprofits often start with board members who have no training or experience with running an effective board meeting. And most new boards don’t even realize they are shaping the culture of the organization with that first year of meetings.

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Putting together the board of directors? Here are some things to think about before asking your attorney friend to serve on the board.

By Jess Birken

I work with a lot of people who’d like to start a nonprofit. One of first things I usually have to remind those founders is that a nonprofit startup needs board members. Once I remind them of all the important things the nonprofit board does, it’s up to them to find  people that’ll do a good job. Sometimes, those people are attorneys, and sometimes that can cause problems down the road.

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