What to Look for in Nonprofit Accounting Services

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Choosing the right accounting services is crucial for the financial health of your nonprofit. The right nonprofit accountant helps your organization properly manage its finances, which improves trust and transparency with stakeholders and donors.

nonprofit accounting services

Let’s explore the key factors to consider when researching nonprofit accounting services–from the firm’s expertise to its technology recommendations–so you can be sure you’re getting the nonprofit accounting your organization needs.

1. Nonprofit Accounting Expertise and Experience

Nonprofit accounting isn’t the same as for-profit business accounting. Your organization needs a nonprofit accountant who understands the differences and has experience in nonprofit accounting. Look for accounting firms that specialize in nonprofit accounting when researching accounting services.

Specialized nonprofit accountants know the ins and outs of nonprofit accounting, so they can easily jump into managing your organization’s finances. Unlike a generalized accountant, nonprofit accountants already understand the unique challenges and regulations nonprofit organizations face. This can be especially important when it comes to reporting and filing requirements.

2. Services Offered

When selecting nonprofit accounting services, looking for a firm that offers a comprehensive suite of services tailored to your needs is important. There’s a wide range of accounting services your organization might need, including:

  • Bookkeeping
  • Financial reporting
  • Tax preparation
  • Audit support

These key services are vital to maintaining the financial health of your organization. Proper tax preparation, for example, can help your nonprofit stay compliant with financial regulations and maintain tax-exempt status. Likewise, an accountant who offers financial reporting services can help you choose and prepare the right financial reports for your board of directors, donors, or the general public.

Additionally, most nonprofit accounting services include specialized services for nonprofits, such as:

  • Grant management
  • Providing recommendations for best practices as your organization scales
  • Financial goal setting

Specialized accounting services like grant management help your organization efficiently manage funds to help meet donor expectations and plan for growth and sustainability.

3. Technology and Tools

The modern world is built on technology, and nonprofits are no different. Technology is one of the most important tools in modern nonprofit accounting. When researching nonprofit accounting services, aim to work with a firm that embraces and encourages technology like accounting software or donor management systems.

A good nonprofit accounting firm will work with you to find the right technology tools to help you simplify your bookkeeping. For example, they might recommend tools that make it easier for employees to track expenses using a mobile app. This eliminates the need to collect paper receipts from employees and streamlines your accounting systems.

You should also choose nonprofit accounting services that prioritize nonprofit data privacy. Data breaches can plummet public trust in your organization, so it’s important to use secure technology and software.

4. Customization and Scalability

You may not need the full range of your accountant’s nonprofit accounting services right now. But what happens as your organization grows? You’ll likely need expanded accounting services.

Your nonprofit accounting services should be customized to fit your current needs. However, you also want to work with an accountant who can scale your services to fit your future needs. Consider the future of your organization as you look for nonprofit accounting services.

5. Transparency and Communication

Accountants often work with sensitive financial data. It’s no surprise that should look for nonprofit accounting services from a trustworthy firm.

However, you also want to take the firm’s transparency and communication skills into consideration. Does the firm respond quickly to messages? Are they open and honest about the state of your organization’s financials? These factors can help you narrow down the right accounting services for your nonprofit.

6. Cost and Affordability

The final thing to look for in nonprofit accounting services is the price. Unfortunately, financial sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing many nonprofits. You need to be sure you can afford the nonprofit accounting services your organization needs.

On the other hand, it usually doesn’t make sense to choose nonprofit accounting services based solely on cost. The key is to find accounting services that balance the cost with the quality of services provided.

Luckily, many nonprofit accounting services can be tailored to fit your needs–including your budget. As you look for accounting services, be sure to let potential accountants know your budget so they can build an accounting plan that meets your financial constraints.

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Find the Right Nonprofit Accounting Services

Your nonprofit accountant is an important decision for your organization. Focus on these six factors when researching accounting services to ensure you find the right fit for your organization. The right accounting services will help your organization streamline financial processes, build trust with donors and stakeholders, and ultimately contribute to expanding your mission.

At The Charity CFO, we understand the unique financial and accounting needs of nonprofits. Our team specializes in nonprofit accounting and we take pride in being able to accurately and efficiently help nonprofits streamline their accounting processes. We’re here to help you better understand the financial health of your organization–and discover ways to improve.

Get in touch today for a free consultation on our nonprofit accounting services!

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How to Succeed as a Nonprofit Executive Director

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Leading a nonprofit organization isn’t just about passion–it’s about effective leadership. Nonprofit executive directors play an irreplaceable role in steering their organizations toward success.

This guide will explore key strategies and insights to help you excel as a nonprofit executive director. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or new to the position, this roadmap will help empower you to make a meaningful impact in your community.

nonprofit executive director

Build Strong Leadership Foundations

You can’t effectively lead an organization–or a team–if you don’t have clear goals, missions, or plans for it. The first step to becoming a great executive director is to build strong leadership foundations that help define your organization.

This process should include:

  • Clarifying the vision, mission, and values of the organization
  • Developing a strategic plan for the organization
  • Establishing clear goals and objectives, such as defining nonprofit KPIs

Defining and clarifying the goals and mission of your organization sets you up as a successful leader. In turn, you’ll earn the respect of employees, community members, donors, and organizational stakeholders.

In many cases, the Board of Directors sets the vision, mission, and values of the organization. Additionally, the Board, in conjunction with leadership, develops a strategic plan. As a new leader, it’s important to understand where the Board is with this and how you help move their agenda forward. 

Learn How to Navigate the Nonprofit Landscape

The nonprofit industry has a lot of unique challenges, but it also offers truly powerful rewards. Great executive directors know they need to learn the ins and outs of the nonprofit sector. This includes both the industry as a whole as well as your organization’s local or community landscape.

A great way to learn your organization’s landscape is to identify stakeholders in your immediate network and across the industry. Then, you can work to build relationships with these leaders to help you advocate for your organization’s mission and causes.

Additionally, you should stay up-to-date on industry trends and best practices. Subscribing to nonprofit industry journals, podcasts, and news outlets helps you stay on top of the latest nonprofit sector news and insights.

Effectively Build and Manage Your Team

Effective team building and management make it easier for you to help your organization reach its goals and advance its mission. Building a strong team starts with hiring individuals who align with the organization’s mission and values.

You’ll likely have to prioritize the most important roles to hire for immediate success. For example, do you need to hire a CFO or more frontline workers to help perform programs and services?

But building your team is only the first half of a great organization. You also need to work on creating and encouraging a positive workplace culture. Too often, nonprofit workers feel overworked and underappreciated. As an executive director, you have much power to help foster a healthy workplace from the top to prevent burnout and keep employees happy.

Financial Management and Fundraising Strategies

As an executive director, one of your most important roles in your organization is providing financial management. Even if you have an extensive fundraising team, you’ll likely still be working hands-on in managing funds, creating fundraising strategies, and allocating resources effectively.

Essentially, you can consider yourself the financial steward of your nonprofit. Your work will likely include:

  • Planning a clear budget that aligns with strategic goals.
  • Exploring various revenue streams or fundraising ideas such as grants, donations, events, and partnerships.
  • Identifying opportunities to use technology to streamline processes and reduce costs.
  • Ensuring transparency and accountability in the financial practices of the organization.
  • Building, maintaining, and expanding donor relations.
  • Being the face of your organization at fundraising and community events to drive donations to the organization.
  • Balancing operational efficiency with initiatives to advance your mission and reach goals.
  • Providing regular financial reports to the board of directors and other stakeholders.

Lead with Communication and Transparency

Communication and transparency are essential for the success of your organization. Keeping communication channels open fosters trust and accountability within the organization and among stakeholders from the board or directors to community leaders.

Likewise, sharing stories about the organization’s impact helps engage donors, excite volunteers, and inspire the community. Active, excited community members lead to continued support for your nonprofit and its mission.

Additionally, leading with transparency helps you manage public relations to create a positive image of the organization. Handling any crises quickly and transparently helps you maintain trust and credibility with the community.

nonprofit executive director

Giving Yourself the Tools to Succeed as a Nonprofit Executive Director

Succeeding as a nonprofit executive director requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, effective communications, and a deep commitment to your organization’s mission.

While the journey may be challenging at times, the impact you make on your organization and community is immeasurable. If you embrace the opportunity to lead with purpose and let your passion drive you forward, you’ll be sure to succeed as an executive director.

Need a little help with the financial aspects of running your nonprofit? The team at The Charity CFO is here to help! We provide comprehensive bookkeeping and accounting services for nonprofits.

Contact us today to learn more about our nonprofit accounting services.

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Use Technology to Simplify Nonprofit Bookkeeping

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Efficient bookkeeping is essential to the success and sustainability of any nonprofit. As a nonprofit leader, it can be difficult to give your bookkeeping the time it needs to stay accurate.

Luckily, modern accounting software and other bookkeeping technologies can help you keep up with day-to-day bookkeeping, reporting, and accounting tasks more efficiently. 

Let’s take a closer look at the importance of efficient bookkeeping for nonprofits, common challenges, and how you can use technology to improve the accuracy and efficiency of your accounting system.

nonprofit bookkeeping

The Importance of Efficient and Accurate Bookkeeping

Just like for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations need to have an efficient and accurate accounting system. Messy, broken accounting systems can lead to inaccurate financial reporting which can then cascade into further issues like noncompliance with regulations or loss of donor trust.

On the other hand, efficient and accurate nonprofit bookkeeping can help your organization:

  • Maintain Compliance with Regulatory Requirements
  • Accurate bookkeeping helps you adhere to strict reporting and tax requirements, making it easier to stay compliant and avoid legal issues.
  • Build Trust with Donors and Stakeholders
  • An efficient bookkeeping system improves the financial transparency and accountability of your organization with donors. In turn, this helps build trust with important stakeholders throughout your organization and community.
  • Support Decision-Making
  • Running an efficient bookkeeping system gives your board of directors and other decision-makers the tools they need to make the best financial decisions for your organization.
  • Efficiently Use Resources
  • Good bookkeeping helps track expenses and allocate resources effectively to maximize the impact of the organization’s programs and initiatives.
  • Prepare for Audits
  • Inaccurate financial data is one of the top mistakes found in nonprofit audits, but a well-organized bookkeeping system can help you be ready for an audit.

Efficient bookkeeping isn’t just about keeping records–it’s about building a solid foundation for your organization’s financial integrity and operational success.

Common Nonprofit Bookkeeping Challenges

Nonprofits face unique challenges to keep their organizations running, including nonprofit accounting challenges. 

Although nonprofit accounting challenges may seem overwhelming, having the right bookkeeping and accounting processes in place can help your organization overcome challenges including:

  • Managing restricted vs unrestricted funds
  • Tracking multiple revenue or funding services
  • Complex reporting and auditing requirements
  • Effectively allocating funds and resources
  • Cash flow management

Benefits of Technology in Bookkeeping

Technology is one of the most effective ways to improve the accuracy and efficiency of your nonprofit bookkeeping system. The rise in modern nonprofit accounting software and tech tools is making it easier than ever for nonprofit leaders to manage their finances.

Adding technology tools to your bookkeeping processes can have a range of benefits for your organization, including:

  • Improving Accuracy and Reducing Errors: A small typo in your bookkeeping could lead to disastrous results. Bookkeeping technology and software help reduce human errors and ensure consistent data entry and calculations. This leads to more accurate financial records and reduces the risk of costly mistakes.
  • Providing Real-Time Tracking and Reporting: Cloud-based accounting tools provide real-time access to financial data from anywhere with a secure connection. Real-time access to data makes it easier for stakeholders to make timely and informed decisions based on the latest financial information.
  • Enhancing Data Security and Backup: Modern nonprofit bookkeeping solutions offer enhanced security measures to protect your organization’s sensitive financial data, such as donor and staff information. Additionally, many software tools use automatic backups to ensure your data is secure and recoverable if necessary.

Key Technologies for Nonprofit Bookkeeping

Technology can help you simplify your nonprofit bookkeeping and help you maintain more accurate records. However, it’s important to consider your nonprofit accounting tech stack to help maximize the benefits of technology for your organization.

To get the most from your technology implementation, consider these factors in your nonprofit accounting system:

  • Integrations: Try to choose technologies that play well with one another through integrations so that each software can seamlessly share data with the other.
  • Cloud-Based: Cloud-based solutions make it easier for remote teams to work together while also reducing the need for physical hardware products.
  • Recognizable: Using software that is well-known, such as QuickBooks Online, makes it easier to bring in new data from partners and increases the chance that your accountant will be familiar with the program.
  • Ease-of-use: Your bookkeeping technologies should be user-friendly and easy to use to increase adoption among staff and volunteers.
  • Reporting: You want to choose technology that has ample reporting capabilities, whether you’re preparing a monthly financial report for the board or gathering data for an audit.

nonprofit bookkeeping

Learn More About Nonprofit Accounting Technology

Diving into the world of nonprofit accounting software can feel like information overload. There are almost endless tools and configurations you could use to run your accounting system, so how do you choose?

Simple: work with a trusted nonprofit accounting partner to create your customized nonprofit bookkeeping system.

The Charity CFO is an accounting firm specializing in nonprofit accounting. That means we know the unique challenges and needs of nonprofits like yours. Our team can help you sort through technology options to find software and services that work best for your organization.

Learn more by scheduling a call with us today!

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Defining Your Nonprofit KPIs

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A key performance indicator (KPI) is a data metric you can use to gauge the overall success of your nonprofit organization. You can use KPI data to track your organization’s performance in various areas, such as finance or operations. As you collect KPI data, you’ll get a better picture of how your organization is performing now so you can make strategic decisions to improve it.

Without KPIs, your organization may be blind to trends or issues holding you back from making a bigger impact. Let’s explore how you can define your nonprofit KPIs and some examples of common metrics.

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Factors to Consider When Choosing Nonprofit KPIs

The goal of KPIs is to track your organization’s performance, so it’s important to choose ones that make sense for your nonprofit. This, of course, is what makes defining nonprofit KPIs complicated.

How do you ensure you’re choosing the right KPIs for your organization?

Luckily, there are some factors to consider that can make it easier, such as choosing KPIs that:

  • Align with your mission and strategic nonprofit goals.
  • Are relevant to stakeholders, donors, board members, and grantors.
  • Have measurable data readily available.
  • Give you the ability to make data-driven decisions.

How to Define Your Nonprofit’s KPIs

There are four steps to follow when defining nonprofit KPIs:

  • Identify the core objectives of your organization
  • Perform a KPI audit
  • Consider data sources for potential KPIs
  • Create baselines and targets for your KPIs

Identify Core Objectives

Before you can define KPIs, you need to define what you hope to achieve with your nonprofit. This goes further than a mission statement or long-term impacts. Rather, think about your specific nonprofit goals.

Make a list of the most important objectives of your organization. This list will be the starting point for your KPIs, since you’ll want to choose metrics that help you reach these goals.

Complete a KPI Audit

A needs assessment and KPI audit can help you determine the most important KPIs for your organization. To perform an audit, you’ll need to consider your current data sets.

Specifically, how are you measuring nonprofit goals?

That’s the question you need to answer to find KPIs for your organization. There’s a good chance you’re already tracking some metrics, even if they’re not defined KPIs yet.

Ask yourself what information or data you need to track to see if you’re reaching your goals. This data becomes your potential KPIs.

For example, you might have a goal to increase revenue from program fees year over year. You’ll need to track revenue growth to know if you’re successful, making it a perfect KPI.

Evaluate Potential KPIs Based on Available Data

Your KPIs are only as good as the data you have access to. Without quality data to track, your KPI metrics will be unreliable.

As you consider your list of potential KPIs, look at the data you have available to measure them. Additionally, you can look at what data you don’t have and would need to measure a KPI properly.

If you have ample, usable data available to track a KPI, there’s a good chance you can use it for your organization.

Establish Baselines and Targets

Establishing your KPI baselines involves analyzing historical data to determine the starting point for your metrics.

For instance, if you’re measuring your program expense ratio, you first need to figure out what it is currently. Your current or historic ratio would then become the baseline for your new KPI.

Once you know your baseline, you can set targets for your KPI. A KPI target is simply the goal you wish to reach with the metric. You might set a target of lowering your expense ratio by a certain percentage, for example. Be sure to also set a specific timeframe for your KPI targets, which helps keep you on track.

Common Nonprofit KPIs

Your organization will likely want to track a variety of KPIs to measure–and improve–performance. Some of the most common KPI categories for nonprofits include financial, program-related, and operational metrics.

Financial KPIs

Financial KPIs are often some of the most important indicators of the health of an organization. Consider financial KPIs such as:

  • Total Revenue Growth Rate: This metric tracks the percentage increase or decrease of your total revenues over a specified timeframe.
  • Program Expense Ratio: This KPI tracks the efficiency of your programs and services by measuring the proportion of total expenses spent on programs.
  • Donor Retention Rate: A donor retention rate measures the percentage of donors who continue to support your organization over time and can be used to track donor relations and satisfaction.

Program KPIs

How can you tell if your programs and services are making an impact in your community using data? By implementing program KPIs like:

  • Number of Beneficiaries Served: This straightforward KPI quantifies your organization’s reach by measuring the total number of individuals benefiting from programs.
  • Client Satisfaction Rate: This metric measures the level of satisfaction among program participants or clients using the services your organization provides.

Operational KPIs

Operational KPIs help you determine the efficiency and effectiveness of your day-to-day operations. These KPIs are especially good tools for tracking employee and volunteer satisfaction.

  • Volunteer Retention Rate: The KPI tracks the percentage of volunteers who continue to engage with your organization over time, helping you see if your volunteer management programs retain volunteers.
  • Employee Turnover Rate: Your employee turnover rate measures the rate at which employees leave your organization. A high turnover rate could indicate unhappy employees.

kpi

Choose Your Nonprofit KPIs

Defining your nonprofit KPIs is an essential step to making strategic, data-driven decisions. You’ll want to choose KPIs that reflect your mission, are relevant to stakeholders, and have measurable data you can use to track them.

Financial KPIs, in particular, are some of the most important tracking metrics for any organization. The team at The Charity CFO can help you analyze your financial data and find usable metrics for KPIs. As financial professionals specializing in nonprofit accounting, we know nonprofits’ unique financial challenges.

Contact us today to learn more.

Discovering The Tax Implications of Nonprofits Owning For-Profit Businesses

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Does your nonprofit have ownership of a for-profit entity? Whether your organization owns a for-profit company outright or has limited ownership, a for-profit subsidiary can have serious tax implications for your nonprofit.

Let’s work through some of the most pressing tax implications you might face as a nonprofit with ownership in a for-profit company.

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Tax Implications of Nonprofits Owning For-Profit Businesses

Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT)

Recognized nonprofits generally receive tax-exempt status from the federal government. Tax-exempt status makes it easier for your organization to retain nonprofit revenue and meet the goals of your mission.

However, your nonprofit may engage in revenue-generating activities that don’t relate to the purpose of your organization. The money that comes from these activities is known as unrelated business income because it’s earned from activities that are unrelated to your exempt mission.

The IRS can potentially charge your organization federal income taxes on your unrelated earnings. Known as unrelated business income tax (UBIT), you may face this tax liability if your nonprofit regularly carries on a trade or business that doesn’t substantially relate to your exempt mission or purpose.

UBIT Exclusions and Exceptions

Not all unrelated business income is subject to federal income tax. The IRS provides UBIT exceptions and exclusions to account for situations where a nonprofit uses for-profit activities to advance its exempt purpose.

Common nonprofit income that could be excluded from UBIT includes:

  • Dividends and Other Investment Income
  • Interest Earnings
  • Royalties
  • Certain Rental Income
  • Gains or Losses from the Disposition of Property

Additionally, income generated using a majority volunteer labor force may qualify for an exception. For example, hosting a fundraising auction operated by volunteers may not require UBIT payment.

Tax On Excess Business Holdings

The IRS uses taxes on excess business holdings to limit how much ownership a nonprofit can have in a for-profit company without paying federal taxes. Taxing excess business holdings helps reduce conflicts of interest and limits the power a tax-exempt entity has over a business.

Excess business holdings are shares or interests a nonprofit holds in a for-profit company that exceeds the IRS’s limits. Generally, any ownership share over 20% of voting stock in a company is considered an excess business holding. Nonprofits with excess holdings may face an excise tax on the value of shares over the limit.

Joint Ventures and Tax Implications

Many nonprofits partner with for-profit entities to help advance their mission with the financial backing of their partner. For example, a mental health organization might create a joint venture with a for-profit healthcare system to establish mental health facilities in underserved areas.

Depending on the nature of the joint venture, nonprofits could jeopardize their tax-exempt status if they don’t follow certain limitations, including:

  • The joint venture must seek to further the nonprofit’s charitable purpose.
  • Any benefits to the for-profit entity must be insubstantial compared to the public benefit of the partnership.
  • The nonprofit must have control over the charitable activities of the venture.

You may want to work with a nonprofit financial advisor or accountant to set up a joint venture with a for-profit entity. Your advisor can help you avoid pitfalls that could affect your tax-exempt status.

Impact on Charitable Contributions

Donors to nonprofits often receive tax benefits for their charitable giving. In most cases, a donor may be able to deduct certain charitable donations from their taxes. Many donors use nonprofit donations to lower their taxable income for the year.

Giving money to a nonprofit with for-profit business ownership could limit the donor’s ability to deduct donations, however. If your nonprofit engages in for-profit activities, you’ll need to communicate with donors to let them know. Proper communication helps donors understand the tax implications of their gifts and improves your organization’s transparency.

Maintaining Separate Accounting

Any nonprofit with for-profit ownership needs to maintain separate accounting for each area of business. This includes keeping separate financial statements, revenue records, and bank accounts.

Separating business activity is essential for maintaining accurate records of income, expenses, and activities associated with each business. Properly-recorded books can help reduce your chance of noncompliance in a nonprofit audit.

State Tax Considerations

The tax implications we’ve already covered mostly relate to federal tax-exempt status.

However, state tax agencies may also have rules for nonprofits that operate for-profit businesses. You’ll need to check your state’s tax laws and regulations to see how they might affect your organization.

Seek Professional Guidance for More on the Tax Implications of Nonprofits Owning For-Profit Businesses

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Few parts of nonprofit accounting are as complicated as a nonprofit owning a for-profit business. Your organization may be liable for certain taxes on excess business holdings or income from unrelated business activities. In some cases, operating a for-profit entity could put your nonprofit at risk of losing its tax-exempt status.

Nonprofit leaders like you don’t have to navigate tricky tax implications on your own. Working with a trusted nonprofit tax advisor, like The Charity CFO, gives you the resources to avoid unwanted tax implications.

Our team of dedicated nonprofit accountants and financial advisors is ready to put our specialized knowledge to work for your organization. Reach out to us today to get started!

Provide a ‘WOW’ Experience in your Nonprofit Marketing

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About David

Welcome everyone to A Modern Nonprofit Podcast. Today, we explored the importance of websites, nonprofit marketing, and how to bridge the gaps between departments to achieve digital success.

When we think marketing, we think of getting the word out and expressing the  mission behind the help non-profit organizations (NPOs) provide. In 2023, this goes much deeper than we could imagine. There are many tools and resources that can be utilized to enhance NPOs, especially online. 

We invited David Pisarek of Wow Digital, Inc. to give us a behind the scenes look at SEOs, attracting and retaining visits to websites, digital marketing  and much more! 

David started Wow Digital Inc. with the goal of providing effective websites, branding and design for Canadian based charity organizations. With over 20 years in the nonprofit sector, passionately working to revolutionize it one website at a time. An expert in design and programming, he’s also an educator at the college level. With a track record of 240+ complete projects since 2016, David and his team are the go-to experts.

We welcome David to the show! 

Continuous Improvement 

We engaged in an in-depth conversation with David, where we unraveled a series of questions regarding nonprofit website redesign and the importance of web analytics.  

  • When should nonprofits consider a full redesign on their website?
  • What does that process look like?
  • What should it include?
  • How often should a NPO consider a redesign? 

Of course, there is much to learn about in each of the posed questions. David stresses that websites are not something that are sat and forgotten about. Or ‘one and done’ as he calls them. 

They need constant love and care. A part of that care comes from measuring analytics. A free tool that can help organizations achieve this is Google Analytics. It’s important to note that Google Analytics 3 is the system that has been used for years. And as of July 20th, 2023, this was updated to GA4. So, if analytics are the next move for business, make sure GA4 is the system used. 

GA isn’t just for tech-nerds; it’s a great tool that can help businesses identify what consumers, donors, or website searchers are looking for and take them back to the website over and over again. Keep an eye on:

  • What keywords are being used?
  • Which call to actions are listed?
  • Where are consumers landing on the business website?
  • Are they navigating 3 to 4 pages in order to find what they are looking for?

All of these are key questions that businesses should be asking when it comes to analyzing their web traffic. 

David makes a great point regarding website analytics. The word ‘conversion’ is a data point that can be measured. So for example,  on a for-profit’s page this may mean that a conversion leads to an eventual sale. This has a different definition for NPOs. A conversion data point may indicate converted volunteers, donations, or simply subscribing to an email or newsletter. 

Not only is it important to understand what data points to pay attention to, but also how they differ from business to business. 

Revamping a Website 

Before Tosha and David take a deeper dive into the topic of SEOs, David compliments Tosha’s question about a website revamp. 

He and his team did an audit that lead to 5 indicators for revamping a website: 

  1. Is the page layout unique or common in comparison to other websites?
  2. How old does the site look?
    1. Building more off of this point, how does the website look on a smartphone? Is it compatible? Google will rank the site lower if it isn’t mobile friendly – certainly something to consider. 
  3. Is your mission and purpose clear as day on the website?
  4. Is the website accessible? 
    1. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a website that creates accessibility guidelines. For example, when defining accessibility is the website accessible for an individual that may be physically impaired? The tiny detail that goes into naming a photo on a website could play a huge role in this consideration. 
  5. Finally, how identifiable is the business contact information?

Number 5 may seem like a small task in the big scheme of things, but this is actually a great segway into the SEO conversation. Even if your organization is completely remote, putting a PO Box on your website can do wonders. Why? When people search for things near them (like volunteer opportunities), Google uses their location to find the best match. 

In most cases, each device holds an IP address that gives Google some idea of your location. Because of this, when searching for ‘volunteering opportunities’ while the IP is in, let’s say the St. Louis, MO region, then Google can direct individuals to a website associated with that area. 

Measuring Frequency 

Piecing the conversation together, NPOs are a different breed than for profit businesses. They still require constant measurement and effort, but the data points that are studied are much different. How this plays into the website traffic and SEO conversation, is what makes all the impact. 

For example, revenue may increase in the winter months because of a historically associated ‘giving season’. Therefore, measuring data on a quarterly basis may be more effective when it comes to the NPO’s website as opposed to week over week or month over month analytics. 

NPOs also work on a conservative budget basis, meaning that they can stretch a dollar. 

With this, they may not be able to pay an individual, group, or department to only analyze data points for their website development. Looking at the numbers on a quarterly basis can help whomever lands this task a better window for analysis and time management. 

Want to connect with David and his team?  Email him at [email protected] or check out their website, wowdigital.com. His team also works with NPOs and website development by providing templates and website management through a website called, Mighty NPO. By using the coupon code charitycfo, this may qualify your business for a lifetime discount up to 70%. 

To hear the full story, listen to our podcast here.

You can also find Tosha and The Charity CFO team on Youtube or our website, thecharitycfo.com!