MCN Conference - October 4-5, 2007

KDV is a proud sponsor of the upcoming MCN Conference in Duluth.  We invite you to stop by and learn more about our new, customizable solutions.  Designed with your best interest in mind, we believe it's a new way of serving nonprofits and the unique challenges you face everyday.  We look foward to seeing you there.

Alternative investments: A good choice or not?

So called "alternative investments" started out as a way for nonprofits with significant investment portfolios to either improve their overall investment return or diversify their portfolios - or both. But these investments have thrown a new wrinkle into the annual financial statement audits of most organizations. This article explains a new auditing interpretation and practice aid that could affect your not-for-profit's financial statements. A sidebar article discusses the tax implications of investing endowment funds in alternative investments.
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Your organization isn't getting older, it's getting better

Not-for-profits go through many stages. Although the initial startup and growth stages present challenges, many opportunities and obstacles can arise even as a nonprofit matures. This article takes a look at the areas you need to focus on when your organization reaches "middle age," such as how decisions are made, changes in infrastructure and leadership, and how to make changes to the status quo.
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Decision time - Outsourcing your accounting and technology functions

If your nonprofit is small, your employees are already stretched thin or you need specialized skills, you've probably considered outsourcing your accounting tasks. This brief article covers the types of services you may want to outsource, such as bookkeeping, board presentations, grant administration, benefits administration and payroll processing. Turn to KDV to provide you the expert advice you need for these services and more!
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Develop a well-designed record retention policy

Record retention problems have diminished somewhat as organizations have gone paperless. But you still need to maintain a number of documents, such as tax, accounting, bank, corporate, personnel and property records. This article takes you through the basic steps of creating a comprehensive record retention policy, including best practices for how long to keep records and how to ultimately dispose of them.
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NEWS FOR NONPROFITS

Three topics are briefly covered in this issue's "News for Nonprofits": Results from the IRS's recent Compensation Compliance Initiative project; a refresher on the rules prohibiting nonprofits from engaging in political activity; and results of a Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations survey that indicate relatively few people are making direct donations from their IRAs as allowed under the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
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