Like many of our readers, perhaps you’re reviewing Giving Tuesday results, acknowledging year-end donations, and steeling your organization for a possible recession in 2023 – which will mean even more people turning to nonprofits for help. As you juggle multiple year-end demands, we take this moment to thank you for everything you do for your nonprofit and for the communities and individuals you serve. If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, we know you’re committed to operating effectively, efficiently, and ethically. You’re interested in learning more about diversity, equity, and inclusion and how to embed those values throughout your organization. And you’re working to be part of a connected and powerful nonprofit community equipped to champion the public good. We wish you a peaceful conclusion to 2022 and an inspiring start to 2023.
Social Media During Upheaval
As demonstrated recently by what’s been happening at Twitter, change is the only constant on social media platforms. The disruptions at Twitter, occasioned by Elon’s Musk’s recent purchase of the platform and the related undermining of Twitter’s already imperfect moderation tools, have led to more hate and disinformation being disseminated via the site, according to researchers. The abrupt changes have prompted many people and organizations to quickly reevaluate whether to discontinue using Twitter. For guidance, we asked Trinity Foreman, our in-house Communications Specialist, to provide you with insights in today's article that offers some factors to consider as you decide whether to stay engaged, step back, or completely abandon Twitter. Much of Trinity's guidance holds true across all platforms.
The Student Loan Rollercoaster and How It Impacts Nonprofit Workers
The ups and downs of student loans and debt cancellation affect an estimated 43 million borrowers, including many nonprofit employees. At a time when nonprofits are competing against for-profit businesses to attract and retain quality talent, the highs, lows, and free falls of how much workers owe Uncle Sam for their education can make even the strongest stomach queasy. In today’s article Tiffany Gourley Carter, our Policy Counsel who has been a formidable advocate with others on our team to secure and protect laws that help nonprofits, tracks significant developments in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and the related – yet separate – proposed changes in law and policy regarding student debt cancellation and payment pauses. Bottom line: PSLF continues to be a key recruitment tool and lever for nonprofit employers and workers to join and remain in the sector.
New FASB Standards for Reporting Leases Taking Effect
Nonprofits operate under accounting standards set and adjusted by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), including new standards that are taking effect this year. Nonprofits that lease rather than buy items for longer than twelve months – not only office space, but also cars, phones, copiers, and other equipment – may need to work with their accountant to make sure they’re in compliance with a new FASB standard. To help our readers understand the basics of this new requirement, we interviewed Gregg Bossen, a practicing CPA and Founder of QuickBooks Made Easy™ for Nonprofits.
Help Us Help You!
We’re grateful to those who responded to last month’s reader poll! If you haven’t yet filled out the short poll – which is just a few brief questions – please fill it out now. You’ll help us make sure we’re writing about things that you find valuable when we roll out the newsletter’s new format and new name, Nonprofit Essentials.
Our Most Popular Articles of 2022
- Our initial article and later update on the new Mastercard rules affecting nonprofits;
- Creative Approaches to the Nonprofit Workforce Shortage – and other articles in our series addressing how nonprofits can create a work environment that helps staff members want to stick around and do their best work;
- Foraker Group’s online “Pre-Development Toolkit” that helps nonprofits plan sustainable capital projects;
- Gifts in Kind: New Reporting Rules for Nonprofits; and
- Making Your Events Accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, along with other articles in our series on accessibility.
New Resources
- Last month, we wrote about the Federal Reserve's new data showing continuing disruption among organizations and communities from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the Federal Reserve has released its full report with additional data: Perspectives from Main Street: the impact of COVID-19 on communities and the entities serving them (2022).
- Tony Bowen, Vice President of the Trustees’ Philanthropy Fund at Fidelity Charitable, wrote a great post at Exponent Philanthropy’s blog on How Lean Funders Can Help Nonprofits Tackle Inflation Costs.
- The Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS wrote a personal and informative blog post just before Thanksgiving to help people determine whether their donations are tax-deductible.
- The networks of the National Council of Nonprofits hosted a webinar last month, Federal Mid-Term Elections: Impact on Charitable Nonprofits, focused on the election results, how they affect the lame-duck session of Congress, and what nonprofits from different subsectors can expect from and achieve in the 118th Congress. View the webinar recording (58:30) and the slides from the webinar (PDF).
- We thought our readers would like to know: New Mexico, which created the first state agency and cabinet post focused on early childhood education and care, has now become the first state to make child care a right, according to CNN.
Nonprofit Job Openings from Our Career Center
Hundreds of people a day visit our job board, where they find thousands of nonprofit jobs across the country like those in this recent sampling:
