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Nonprofit Property Tax Filing Requirements

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It’s never too early to start planning for the next tax season. Why? California law will prescribe a yearly tax on your organization based on property as it exists at 12:01 a.m. on January 1st.  All entities, unless granted an exemption by the County Assessor’s Office, are required to file the annual property tax form “Form 571-L Business Property Statement” with the County Assessor’s Office.  This form is due every year on April 1st but is still considered to be timely filed if sent by May 7.  On the Form 571-L, entities are required to declare all business property owned as of January 1.  Examples of business property include supplies, equipment, buildings, building improvements, etc.

Nonprofits are required to file the Form 571-L until the Assessor’s Office has specifically granted them an exemption.  In order to qualify for an exemption from the Assessor’s Office, the entity must submit the appropriate documents to the assessor’s office (i.e. exemption claim form, articles of incorporation, tax letter designating the organization’s non-profit status, etc).  This is a one-time process to be granted with the exemption.

Once the assessor determines that the nonprofit organization is a qualifying religious, church and/or welfare organization and is eligible for an exemption, there is a simplified annual filing process in which the entity will be assessed with a zero tax bill.  The annual filing due date for this type of filing is February 15th. If you have any questions you can call the Transfer Exemption department of the Assessor’s office at (805) 781-5643.

Speak and Be Spoke(n)!

So, tell us!  Do you have any tips to share with your fellow nonprofits regarding how to file for property tax requirements?

Take Part to Preserve Charitable Tax Deduction

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At Spokes, we often talk about the various management spokes (financial, development, human resources, etc) or constituent spokes (donor, volunteer, employee, client) needed to help nonprofits achieve their missions.  There is a third set of spokes that is equally critical – the partnership between the government, for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

The U.S. nonprofit sector exists because there are programs and services needed throughout our communities from which no profit can be made and are too localized and specific for the government to manage.  The for-profit sector exists to help drive our nation’s economy.  The government sector, or for-public sector, exists to support our legal, education and safety systems.  And, the non-profit sector, or for-impact sector, exists to improve the quality of life for all Americans and, especially, those who fall between the cracks of the for-profit and for-public sector efforts.  Each sector is equally benefitted and dependent by the other two and we nonprofit leaders have an important role to play in balancing this unique ecosystem.

As you may have heard, Congress is considering placing limitations of charitable tax deductions to solve our national budget crisis.  These changes threaten to create significant collateral damage to the nonprofit sectors and the health of the communities we seek to sustain.  By definition, all non-profits are dependent on some level of charitable support from private donors.  Often, those donors are employees of the for-profit sector.  And, nonprofits are dependent on the government to offer incentives to those individual donors to provide the financial resources we need to do our work.  Reduced donations will lead to fewer programs and services and, ultimately, to many more unaddressed issues in our communities.

As the recent recession has driven an increased demand for most nonprofit services, can our nation afford to take this risk?  Do you want to live in a community with depleted or no nonprofits?  What about your corporation’s employees?  Can the government pick up the services the nonprofit sector will need to drop?

If you don’t think so, I encourage you to join me in being outSpoken and participate in the United Way’s letter writing campaign to Congress.

More information can be found at http://www.capwiz.com/unitedway/issues/alert/?alertid=55024501.

You Can’t Change the Tire When Driving 65 MPH

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My Board President, Jami Fawcett, and I attended the Community Foundation’s Annual Professional Advisors Luncheon recently, and were rocked by special guest speaker Kat Taylor. She is the true vision of an individual who does charitable work with a business mindset. She and her husband, Tom Steyer, are Founding Directors of One Pacific Coast Bank and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, have been involved in numerous nonprofit organizations, and is very active in social business, public benefit and philanthropic ventures.

During her talk she made a statement that resonated with what Spokes aims to do everyday. She said “you can’t change the tire when you’re driving 65 MPH.” It is so easy for nonprofit and for profit organizations to get caught up in driving full speed toward their goals that they just can’t put the brakes on to analyze and implement the day-to-day operational changes so essential to their ongoing growth and success. While our clients are moving their nonprofit 65 MPH, it’s our job to help put the spokes in place so that they can be more efficient in their actions.

If you want to keep moving at 65 MPH, let Spokes be your pit crew and we’ll work together to get you back up to speed.

Be Outspoken!

What are you pain points? Let us know how we can get in and help you most efficiently.

Not Your Mother’s Board – Jan Masaoka Event Recap

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Last week’s Jan Masoaka event “Not Your Mother’s Board…” was a sold out success. She has this amazing ability to show the nonprofit sector how to solve “complex” Board issues with organized and simplistic action items. Below we outlined how to simply identify critical paths for the year, how to identify the boss, and how much of an impact nonprofits and our Boards have on our organization and economy.

Identifying Critical Paths in Strategic Planning

Rather than getting caught up in everything that needs to get done to make your nonprofit run, dial in the make or break items that have to happen in order to keep your organization alive and thriving. Ask these two questions in strategic planning and identify all action items and people needed to make them happen.

  1. What are the two most important things our organization needs to accomplish this year?
  2. What are the two most important things for our BOD to accomplish this year? Do we have the right people on the Board to make these things happen?

Understanding Who Really Is The Boss.

Is the Board of Directors or the Executive Director the boss? In a nutshell, pieces of advise are always welcome from individual board members, but only the Board as a whole is the boss.

In a Governance Role, the Board is the Boss:

  • Oversight
  • Hire/Fire CEO
  • Big Decisions
  • Planning

In a Support Role, the Executive Director is the Boss:

  • Fundraising
  • Advice & Ideas
  • Community Ambassador
  • Help & Volunteer

Understanding our Impact.

  • Get guidance from trusted resources. Jan is ranked 1 of the top 50 influential people in the nonprofit sector. For those of you who have heard her speak, you know why!
  • Only continue with something if it’s working. Jan believes that standard processes for board orientation and board buddies maybe work 1 in every 100 times; if these or other standard processes are not work for your organization then stop implementing them.
  • Nonprofits created Boards! The 1st corporation in the world was a nonprofit organization – Harvard College.
  • Nonprofits mean business. The NFL is a nonprofit.
  • Boards hold power and impact. Annually, $65 Billion in tax dollars are managed by nonprofit Board of Directors.
  • Keeping Boards accountable ensures forward motion. To keep your Board members accountability to the items promised to complete at the latest Board meeting, notate action items and those accountable to them at the top of the Board Meeting Minutes, for all to see.

We certainly took away valuable information and tips from Jan! Check out the “Critical Path for the Board” hand-out that covers more of what was discussed in her presentation. Another great resource straight from Jan is her non-profit publication, Blue Avocado magazine.

Thanks to Jan Masaoka, Leadership SLO, Jaffa Cafe, SLOUMC and all of our attendees for making this event a success!

It’s Time to Take Action, Political Action

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Get Inspired by Others – Taste Blue Avocado

I’ve always loved green avocadoes, and recently have come to enjoy blue avocadoes too. What!? You’ve never had a taste of one? You can get a good sense of what Blue Avocado is like by taking a read through editor Jan Masaoka’s article Time to Get Political. You’ll see that Jan takes a strong stance, stating “I’m not giving any more money to nonprofits this year. I’m not volunteering for nonprofits anymore this year.” Rather, she expresses “…in this very, very crucial election year, I’m giving as much money as I can to candidates I support, and as much time as I have volunteering on political campaigns.” While financial and volunteer contributions are essential to all nonprofits’ success, I believe that Jan’s strategic focus will have a long-term effect on the nonprofit sector’s impact and sustainability.

Know Your Impact & Take Political Action

Nonprofits play a critical role in our nation’s economy, employing 13.5 million Americans and purchasing billions in goods and services annually.  Moreover, nonprofits provide invaluable services every day for Americans and for government agencies; we are on the front line for social services.  Your nonprofit organization has a voice that your elected officials should hear so that they can work toward supporting your long-term goals on capitol hill.

If you want to get involved in advocating for your mission and for the nonprofit sector as a whole, one place to start is online at CalNonprofits Advocacy initiates and resources. Here you can vote with your mission, listen in to California policy webinars, and get tools for engaging elected officials.

We know that your organization is taking action every day to ensure you’re fulfilling your mission, but it’s just as essential, especially in this election season, to set aside time to take political action. Please reach out to Spokes, if you need direction on getting started.

Be outSpoke(n)!

Don’t miss your opportunity to take political action.

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