Our next Executive Exchange is scheduled for Wednesday, March 3rd, located at the Funding Information Center, 329 S. Henderson in Fort Worth, TX. The training is designed for executive directors, presidents, chief financial officers, controllers and board members.

Topic: Exploring the New Governance Realities

Nonprofit governance is more in the spotlight than ever with the rewrite of the Texas Business Organizations Code and the Form 990. While the principles of good governance have not changed, laws, regulations, compliance and scrutiny certainly have. The following Panelists will discuss their experiences in the past couple of years and how Boards and regulators are dealing with the major issues:
• Carol Klocek, Executive Director, YWCA of Fort Worth & Tarrant County
• Sandy Kautz, retired nonprofit CEO and Realignment Consultant with Girl Scouts of the USA; Current Community Volunteer
• Becky DaVee, CPA – Rylander, Clay and Opitz, LLP 

Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Time: 11:30 – 1:30
Location: Funding Information Center, 329 S. Henderson, Fort Worth – 817-334-0228
Cost: $20 (lunch is provided)
Registration: http://www.fic-ftw.org/signup/EE%203.3.10.htm

One of the most critical tasks in monitoring and managing operations is to establish an annual budget. Whether you are responsible for one line item, one program, one department, or an entire organization, you will want to participate in this workshop held in the Fort Worth area, and sponsored by the Funding Information Center.

Participants will learn:

• The importance of sound budgeting
• The basic principles of budgeting
• How the budget is used as a planning and management tool
• Steps in the budgeting process
• How to develop various types of budgets, including programs and special events

Speaker: Christi Stinson, Executive Director, Funding Information Center
Fee: $20 for FIC members; $40 for nonmembers

Date: Tuesday February 16th, 2010

Time:  9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Location: Funding Information Center
329 S. Henderson, Fort Worth, TX 76104
817-334-0228
To register, follow this link.

Today, the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of NACBA is conducting a workshop for its members and Phill Martin, Deputy CEO of NACBA, will facilitate the dialogue. “Trust and Betrayal in Staff Teams” is the title of the workshop. Building trust and loyalty within an organization provide essential foundations of success in providing missional programs to the public. Everyone on the same page, working completely together, for the mission of the organization.

According to Steven Covey’s book The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, trust means confidence. The following 13 behaviors either build or erode trust: Read the rest of this entry »

Our next Executive Exchange is scheduled for January 6, 2010. Our non-profit panel of 3 local executive directors will discuss The Economy and Best Operating Practices based on the following:

• Effect of the economy on your operations for 2009
• Operational changes for 2010
• Information regarding your sector and its outlook for 2010

Please join us and register on-line.

Date: January 6, 2010
Time: 11:30 – 1:30
Cost: $20 (covers lunch and fee)
Location: FIC – 329 S. Henderson, Fort Worth, Texas.

For more information, see this link.

The Nonprofit Risk management Center’s next webinar will be held December 2, 2009 at 2 p.m. (Eastern) and will address the topic of Conducting a Youth Protection Risk Assessment. If your tax-exempt organization serves or involves young people, then your organization faces potential risk. According to Melanie Herman, organizations need to learn how to conduct a proactive, youth-protection risk assessment. Learn about the fundamental policies and the questions to ask.

To register, click here.

In a recent BoardSource Leadership Forum, as the speaker was discussing young donors, current trends and economic conditions, he quoted the following from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities,

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

So as you share in a moment of thanksgiving, remember the moments when life has been shared, and look forward to future moments to give.

Happy Thanksgiving Day.

On November 13th, RCO will be sponsoring the Lunch & Learn at the The Women’s Center (Fort Worth). We will be discussing different types of transactions that are common for T-E organizations related to deferred revenue and the related revenue recognition requirements. During our session we will review fees/memberships; special events; grants.

You can register at our website.

Cost – $15 (includes lunch)

CPE – 1 hour

Join us if you are interested in learning more about deferred revenue and the complications that can arise related to unique transactions.

Lunch & Learn is provided on a quarterly basis to our clients and friends. If you’d like to join contact me.

The National Association of Church Business Administration has organized an event to celebrate the power of peer-learning to address the increasing complexity of running the business of a church in contemporary society. 

Scrutiny of non-profits, including churches, has increased in recent years and has magnified with the current condition of the economy. It is even more important during these times to run the business of a church properly.  Honest mistakes and inadequate safeguards can expose churches to many different negative outcomes. This event will provide an opportunity for leaders from different sizes of churches to meet with each other in a training session format to learn from each other how to manage some of these current challenges.

Debbie Miller, secretary of the Greater Kansas City Chapter of NACBA said “Churches need to be the example to our communities in doing things right and with excellence.” Phil Martin, NACBA’s deputy CEO has also made the point that most church leaders do not get formal training in business administration. With these facts in mind, Church Administration Day is a chance for larger churches to reach out to smaller churches that may not even have an administrator. 

The information above was summarized from the article “Complexity of congregational life inspires first annual event for church administration”, which can be found at the following website: http://www.nacba.net/cad/.

For locations and contact information for regional training events:
http://www.nacba.net/cad/cad_locations.htm

For contacting a NACBA chapter in your area:
http://www.nacba.net/Structure/chapterlst.htm

For more information on National Church Administration Day:
http://www.nacba.net/cad/

For information on the National Association of Church Business Administration:
http://www.nacba.net/index.html

With unemployment nearing the double digits, there is a large population of professionals in the marketplace. You might have seen the news cast that played on NBC this Wednesday the 23rd (click here).

One thing to know is if you have any professionals donate services that you would normally have to pay for you should be recording that time as an “in-kind” contribution. FASB states that if the services donated (a) create or enhance nonfinancial assets or (b) require specialized skills, are provided by individuals possessing those skills, and would typically need to be purchased if not provided by donation.

Examples to watch for are …. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that your organization could be affected by a new nonprofit corporation statute? Beginning January 1, 2010, every Texas nonprofit corporation will be subject to the Texas Business Organizations Code. Will the new statute bring greater flexibility to governance? What is required in order for your organization to comply with this statute?

Speaker: 
Frank Sommerville, CPA/JD Frank is a shareholder in the law firm of Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski, & Zuber, P.C. in Houston and Dallas, Texas. He holds a license as a CPA and he is also Board Certified in tax law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is a member of the American Bar Association, The State Bar of Texas, Dallas Bar Association, Christian Legal Society, and the TSCPA.

When: Tuesday, September 22nd (8:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m.) @ the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
Fee: $20 for FIC members; $40 for non-members (No-shows will be billed)

Light Breakfast will be provided

*Cash/Check payments for all workshops may be made at the door or mailed in. 

Held at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens – Oak Hall
3220 Botanic Garden Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 871-7686

For more information, click here.