Spring is in the air! It is time for some organizational spring cleaning by which I mean it’s a good time to get your policy house in order. Are the policies that guide your organization clear, accurate, and up-to-date? Are they accessible, known, and followed by everyone on your staff?
Make sure your employee manual is up-to-date and reflects the professional organization that you have become. All staff deserve to know the guidelines for working in your organization. Clear policies provide an essential foundation for getting work done and ensuring a safe, productive, and legally compliant organization. On TREC’s Resource Library we have provided policy samples, including an employee manual, and we have posted a recorded webinar entitled Getting Your Policy House in Order.
Create a Compensation Policy. Given the recent scrutiny that has been placed on non-profit executives, it is important to have a clear compensation policy for top officials and key employees. Use an analysis of comparable salaries in your compensation setting procedure. Paying the market rate for your staff positions will help you retain your valuable staff. TREC is conducting its 6th Salary Survey this spring, an important tool for compensation setting. If you fill out the survey, you will get the report for free.
Understand the rules of the road in terms of lobbying and elections. Join us and the Alliance For Justice staff for an informative two-part webinar to learn what you can and can’t do as a 501(c)(3) organization in the U.S.
Develop organizational policies to guide your organization. The IRS asks about Compensation Setting Procedures, Conflict of Interest, Document Retention, and Whistleblower policies on the 990. Use TREC’s policy samples, customize them, and get your Board to adopt these policies so you can answer “Yes!” on your 990.
For those of you in the U.S. with a fiscal year that matches the calendar year, May 15 is the deadline for filing your IRS 990. If you are not ready to file, it is easy to request an extension. The first extension is granted automatically – you don’t need to state a reason for your request. However, you must file the extension form prior to or on the May 15 deadline. Download the extension form https://www.irs.gov/uac/About-Form-8868.
This extension will give you until August 15 to file your completed 990. It is more difficult and iffy to get an extension of the August 15 deadline so gear up now to complete your 990 before then.
Being clear, timely and compliant is a wonderful thing!