Good Governance Makes Tax Compliance More Likely, Says IRS Study

Good Governance Makes Tax Compliance More Likely, Says IRS Study, April 20, 2012, Chronicle of Philanthropy, by Richard White

 Charities that follow certain good-governance practices-for example, drawing up written mission statements and comparing their organizations to others when making compensation decisions-are more likely to comply with the Internal Revenue Service's tax code, according to preliminary results from a new IRS study.

The study was described by Lois Lerner, director of the IRS division that oversees charities, in a speech at Georgetown University Law School. "Good governance and tax compliance go hand in hand," she said.

The study, Ms. Lerner said, analyzed information provided by more than 1,300 charities that the IRS examined for reasons unrelated to their governance practices. But when researchers later reviewed those practices-as reported on the organizations' Form 990 informational tax returns-they found certain correlations.

The new study, Ms. Lerner said, found that charities are more likely to follow IRS tax rules if they:

• Have a written mission statement
• Always compare their organization to others in making decisions about compensation
• Have procedures to ensure that contributions and other revenues are used in accordance with the organization's charitable mission
• Require all trustees to review the organization's Form 990.

Charities were less likely to meet IRS standards when control of their organization was in the hands of one person or a small number of trustees, the study found.

Click here to read more about the good governance and the IRS study.

Businesses Measure Profit, What Do Social Ventures Measure?

Businesses Measure Profit, What Do Social Ventures Measure? May 17, 2012, BoardSource, by Alexa Clay and Jon Camfield

It's becoming more and more of a necessity to find a way to measure and compare the impact of social entrepreneurship. A few companies are making new headway.

Tracking performance in the for-profit world is simple; you have, well, profits. Plus tons of metrics and measurers and lists--from the Fortune 500 to the Forbes Rich list to further enshrine top performers. Without looking, you can probably name most of the top 10% of either of those lists. But which are the top social-good organizations? Who are the most influential leaders? What organizations have the most significant impact?

Where do you even start? Lives saved? Diseases treated? Laptops distributed? Trees not cut down? Parts-per-million reductions in pollution? It's easy to measure effort expended, but much more complex to track impact directly attributed to your efforts. Even in situations where measurement and evaluation are core to a project, they remain that task you do after you've completed the project to fulfill the grant contract, not inherently valuable.

It's easy to measure effort expended, but much more complex to track impact.

Read the entire article to learn more about evaluating and measuring social good.

Reaching Millennials Through Email

Reaching Millennials Through Email, April 29, 2012, frogloop, by Allyson Kapin
The conversation on email's demise and how Millennial's refuse to use it continues to be debated. According to Nielsen's report, State of the Media: Advertising and Audiences, 61% of the general population checks email while they watch TV. And 52% of 13-17 year-olds check email while watching TV. It's interesting to note that 62% of Millennials checked social networks while watching TV, which is only a 10% increase over checking email.

Although the study didn't reveal what devices Millenials were checking email on, it's safe to say that a significant percentage was checking it via mobile. This is why it's important that organizations tweak (not abandon) their email strategy to reach Millennials and other target audiences who are increasingly using mobile email.

Four Key Mobile Email Tips

1. Keep emails short and to the point. People are reading your email on a small, 4 inch screen and are often in a rush.
2. Don't use large graphics. They take up a lot of room on a small screen. They can also take a while to download, which will annoy users and cause them to delete your message.
3. Content should be scannable and flow down the screen.
4. Use a mobile style sheet to setup your email in an email/CRM system.

Read the entire article here to learn more about millennials and email.

Returning to Facebook Groups

Returning to Facebook Groups, June 4, 2012, eJP, by Debra Askanase  

According to Debra Askanase, founder of Community Organizer 2.0, "Facebook Groups, not Pages, were written off and abandoned by almost every organization once Pages beefed up its functionality three years ago, but Groups is where the real community engagement is happening now."

According to her presentation, Engage! "Like"-able Social Media, Miriam Brosseau, Social Media Coalitions Manager at the Jewish Education Project and JCSA Annual Conference presenter agrees. Miriam focused on the basics of the social media revolution and the importance of not just presenting information, but engaging constituents through social media at the 114th JCSA Conference, held on June 5th in Baltimore. As the session came to an end, Miriam briefly mentioned the reemergence of Facebook Groups. Many left the room intrigued, an effect discussions surrounding social media seem to have and also interested in Facebook Groups, which they knew little of.

Debra admits that like so many consultants, she advised clients to close their Groups and focus on Pages a few years ago. With good reason: Facebook came out with the Like button that tied Facebook Pages to websites and almost every web interface. Facebook poured its time and promotion into Pages, making them even more robust with deep analytics, applications, and utility. There was no "join" button offered to join a Facebook Group, only a poorly-adopted "send" button.

Read Debra's entire article to learn more about Facebook Groups. "The answer lies in what I've begun to realize that Facebook Pages cannot offer: real community and deep engagement."