A list of great articles I’ve read and posted to Twitter between May 23 – June 5, 2010.  This week’s topics include: I.R.S.; Sector Trends; Social Media & Internet; Finance & Economy; and Potpourri.

While it has been two weeks since my last Must-Read, don’t worry about overload. Between my daughter running into a door and needing stitches and my internet being on the fritz for four days, its been a slow couple of weeks.  Well, here’s hoping for a better week that last…

Tizku Lemitzvot,

Shuey

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I.R.S.

New online tax form for small US charities: Good. IRS deadline-extension of new form: Bad.http://ow.ly/1ODte via @philanthropy

The misleading reality created by the IRS 990 & 2 ways to change it (Harvard Business Review)http://ow.ly/1SGhi via @bethsteinberg

Which lines in IRS 990 give snapshot of org’s financial health? http://ow.ly/1SFDt via@NAFund @FollowMCF // G8 resources 4 NPOs/Foundations

Dangerous assumptions of volunteerism by US Gov’ harm volunteers & paid staff of #nonprofitsector http://ow.ly/1Ti4V via @NonprofitSRQ

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Sector Trends

Study shows widespread innovation among NPOs & efforts to measure programs effectiveness, on @eJPhil http://ow.ly/1STDm

RT @Philanthropy: British charities are getting hurt by a real-estate slump: 

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Social Media & Internet

RT @avinashkaushik: [For Bloggers, Twitterers] 5 Ways To Manage Your Critics http://zqi.me/d5oFu6 >> Great advice 4 online & offline critics

Cute (& true) >> RT @bkmacdaddy: Everything You Need to Know About Social Media You Should Have Learned in Pre-school http://bit.ly/cLvHz0

RT @nptechblogs: Six tips for managing an international workforce, on @wiserearthhttp://bit.ly/aVAZyg // Crucial for NPOs operating abroad

RT @GuyKawasaki: 7 tools to back up your social media content http://ow.ly/1Tige

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Finance & Economy

Bank of Israel Governor: #Israel dodged property bubble when government intervened in mortgage sector http://ow.ly/1TETK

#Israel Banks using new rules as excuse to raise mortgage rates http://ow.ly/1RXAs

Good summary of influences on the Shekel with predictions for the future. http://ow.ly/1TfrF#israel #currency

4 accurate ways to quantify the state of jitters in financial markets. http://ow.ly/1RXJ8 // Interesting, fear is quantifable

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Potpourri

RT @davidcorman: Headline of the day: Woman Follows Google Maps “Walking” Directions, Gets Hit, Sues http://selnd.com/92ipOH

The UK is pretty serious when it comes to its charities. There exists a single governing body, the Charity Commission, that oversees and registers the various nonprofit organizations in Englandand Whales. Moreover, its website is first rate and worth checking out. There you can find much useful information about UK-registered charities including trustee and contact information, financial history, charity framework and accounts. Additionally, the site is updated with timely articles that are applicable to the nonprofit sector — even those operating outside the UK.

I recently came across an article on the UK Charity Commission website entitled “The Economic Downturn: 15 Questions Trustees Need to Ask” and was very impressed by its comprehensiveness.

The questions in the article cover four main areas: Strategy, Financial Health, Governance, and Resource Usage. The questions themselves are pretty broad but contain many bullet points that make the checklist a practical and usable tool. Furthermore, after each question the article offers a link or two to sites that offer additional explanations, comments, and helpful hints. Some sample questions dealt with:

• Are we financially strong enough to sustain our operations?
• Do we know what impact the economic climate is having on our donors and support for our charity?
• Are we an effective trustee body?
• Have we considered collaborating with other charities?

It is important to keep in mind that the UK views its trustees as financially responsible and liable for anything that happens to the charity. This is generally not the case with other countries (USAand Israel for example). But this is really a topic for another blog altogether.

UK charities – be aware of the fine print! The article clearly states “If your board carefully works through the areas in this checklist that relate to your charity, it will help to demonstrate that your trustees are acting appropriately in the current circumstances.” This article outlines in very specific terms the steps that the Commission expects its members to take. Should things ever hit the fan you will be able to wave this checklist and shout “We did all that we could.” You would be wise not to take this as a suggestion but as law.

As the economic downturn has hit every country, the UK Charity Commission’s checklist is a great tool for every nonprofit, in every country, on every continent.

For those that missed the links above, here they are again:

UK Charity Commission

15 Questions Trustees Need to Ask

Tizku LeMitzvot [May you continue to merit doing good deeds],

Shuey