It’s important that you maintain a health work-life balance, and find hobbies or interests that can distract you from a lengthy email inbox or miscellaneous tasks that can sometimes be frustrating.
That’s why Tosha Anderson, founder and CEO of The Charity CFO, recently went on The John Garrett Podcast to talk about her passion for traveling around the world with her family. In this episode, Tosha speaks on the importance of travelling and how it motivated her to start her own firm.
Additionally, Tosha highlights the importance of having a solid company culture, which encourages her colleagues to pursue their hobbies.
Later in the episode, she discusses the benefits of implementing creativity into accounting practices. It’s a light-hearted episode with a lot of cool information, one that you can listen to if you want to learn more about company culture and feeling inspired to follow your passions.
Check out our services if you want help with your nonprofit or its accounting practices, so you can best build a company culture that inspires you to chase your passions- like Tosha has.
https://thecharitycfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/microphone-audio-recording-podcast.jpg607910Paul Cook/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/fileuploads_222926_8055634_252-8e05624973e20b5de823aebdbcfd37df_LogoLeftAligned.pngPaul Cook2020-11-19 15:18:192025-07-08 07:56:06Tosha is a CEO & Family Vacationer: Podcast with The John Garrett
They have to ensure that they meet the desired outcome. They have to manage their time, people and figure out how to manage a budget. There’s a lot that goes into a project manager, especially at nonprofits.
There’s also a need to know the best nonprofit project management tips in order to achieve the most success.
Here’s are 10 project management tips every non-profit should know.
1. Discuss the Scope of the Project
The scope of the project is what goes into it in order to achieve the most success.
As a project manager for a nonprofit, you need to figure out exactly what you are doing. When you have a clear idea of what to do, it’s easier to help a nonprofit that is either just starting out or has been around for years.
Also, a nonprofit may not have a project manager, at least initially, because it’s just starting out. It’s gathering interest from the community. But as nonprofits expand, there’s more of a need for nonprofit project managers.
The scope of the project should include deliverables. These are the outcomes of any project. This is what you need to deliver by a specific time frame.
Another part of the scope is the available resources you have to complete this project. You need to know what kind of tools are at your disposal so you can complete the project.
Communicate with nonprofit leaders to get the deliverables and know your resources, it will help you become more successful as a non-profit manager.
2. Figure Out How to Resolve Any Problems
As a non-profit manager, you also need to figure out how to resolve issues. If there’s an issue between two people on a team, it’s your responsibility to resolve it.
You need to figure out what issues may arise and what can delay the project you are working on for the non-profit.
3. Have Expectations
Another project management tip is to set expectations. You should set expectations with those who work with you at the non-profit.
You want people to know what your goals are and what how successful the non-profit can be if it meets these goals. That’s why it’s important to lay down expectations.
These expectations should be a guide for a non-profit. They should help others understand what they need to accomplish each day.
You can’t ignore this consequence. You have to know where in the project the most risk could happen. You have to assess what could make a project fail. When you assess risk, you better know how to prepare for it.
You know what to do in case something goes wrong. You know how to achieve the goals of a non-profit while considering the risk.
5. Anticipate Any Changes
In addition, to risk, you should also expect changes. A non-profit may have to change venues or something else.
Changes can derail a non-profit project unless you know how to prepare for them. That’s why you should anticipate any changes throughout the
6. Help Others Succeed
Another critical part of having an effective project management system is knowing how to help others succeed.
If you are the non-profit project manager, you are responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly. In order for that to happen, you need to make sure that everyone else has the tools necessary to succeed.
You not only want to be encouraging, but you also want to be communicative about progress and ensure everyone knows what they are trying to achieve.
7. Have Mini-Goals
Mini-goals helps give you something to track. You can track your daily to weekly goals, which are considered smaller than having monthly or yearly goals.
As a project manager for a non-profit, you want to have makes sure you are fulfilling your smaller goals because that will ultimately help you accomplish your major objective.
8. Be Organized
A critical part of project management is staying organized. You not only have to know everyone’s roles and make sure everyone is on task, but you also have to run events. You are responsible for making sure an event is run smoothly.
To help you stay organized as a non-profit project manager, you should consider strategies to help keep you organized. Have an online calendar, a checklist, social media updates, and anything else that helps you be more organized.
9. Have the Right Tools In Place
As a project manager, you also need to have the right tools to help you stay organized and productive.
Consider using apps like Trello, Evernote, and other notetaking apps. Another helpful software is Slack, which can help you communicate with those involved in the non-profit, especially if they are working remotely.
10. Know Your Limit
The final tip is to know your limit as a project manager. Being a project manager of a non-profit or anything requires a lot of work.
You have to manage others and you’re responsible for the success and failures of any events. That’s why it’s important to ask for help. Know how you can help others.
Now You Know the Best Project Management Tips
These are the best project management tips. They can give you insight on what to do for a non-profit when it comes to running events and making sure everyone knows their role.
In addition, these tips can also help with other businesses in addition to non-profits. They can help you develop skills that also work beyond project management.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12.3 million people are employed by nonprofits. That’s a lot of employees to manage!
Payroll is a critically important part of running any business and nonprofits are no different. This guide will explore everything you need to know about how to manage payroll for your nonprofit with accuracy.
Finding Payroll Services
Firstly, your organization needs a payroll manager and software to manage all the employee data. What is a payroll manager? This is someone specifically trained to manage the ins and outs of all your payroll needs including taxes and employee benefits.
Your organization likely needs to invest in a quality portal for payroll services. If your organization is really small and brand new, you might be able to get away with just a spreadsheet, but it’s not the best practice for accuracy and data transparency.
Payroll management isn’t easy and if you’re asking yourself how to manage my payroll, you’re definitely in need of professional assistance. Besides knowing the intricate details of payroll tax management and other tricky laws, these services can cut checks, facilitate direct deposits, and even track paid time off.
The best payment systems are two-sided so that employees can also log in and download their own data when they need it. Most of them even have smartphone apps!
This is a great resource for finding the payroll system that fits your organization. Paying a monthly cost for these services is well worth it in the long run for you and your employees to have a good work experience.
Getting Started With Payroll
As you get ready to start paying your employees, you should ask yourself a few key questions. This will help make tax season easier and ensure there aren’t any issues with your employees!
What Are Your Benefits?
Keeping track of all the information for each employee’s benefits can seem like a ton of work, but it’s crucial that the correct amount of money is removed from your employees’ pay checks each month.
Employee benefits might include, but aren’t limited to:
Health Insurance
Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Retirement Plan
Life Insurance
Transportation Fund
Paid Time Off
Sick Time
All of these benefits are up to the employer to offer, but every organization should verify their exact requirements to provide health insurance to their employees under the Affordable Care Act. This also may stipulate what portion, if any, of employee health insurance your nonprofit is required to cover.
Who Are Your Employees?
Do you hire contractors or part-time staff? These workers may not have employee benefits and their payroll will need some tweaking. Contractor taxes also differ from that of full-time employees, so be sure to have all of this information prior to starting.
In addition to collecting W-4 forms from employees, be sure to provide all necessary paperwork for enrolling in health insurance and other employee benefits. Keep meticulous records on each employee both digitally and in hard copies.
How Are You Handling Payroll Taxes?
Tax season might be everyone’s least favorite time of year, but it’s crucial for your nonprofit organization to withhold the correct amounts for each employee for both state and federal taxes, as your state allows.
After you collect each employee’s W-4 tax form, input the data into your payroll software and be sure to verify this information with your employee.
Here is a list of some taxes your organization might need to withhold from paychecks and potentially match per dollar:
Local Income Tax: This pertains to cities, like New York City or Washington D.C.
State Income Tax: Some states don’t have this, like Tennessee and Florida. It depends where your nonprofit is located.
Federal Income Tax: The W-4 will let you know how much to withhold for each paycheck.
Worker’s Compensation: This is to protect your nonprofit from any injuries that could occur on the job.
State Unemployment Tax: This is a pool of funds that go to unemployment benefits.
Social Security: This supports those on social security benefits.
What Are My Legal Requirements?
In addition to your requirements to provide healthcare, your full-time employees have rights that you must adhere to according to the law.
For example, depending on your state, you may be required to offer a certain amount of sick days or vacation days.
You also may be required to provide paid or unpaid leave for new parents. Check with your nonprofit legal counsel to learn your particular state’s legal requirements before setting up your payroll system and employee handbook.
Tips to Manage Payroll
Part-time employees, full-time employees, and contract workers all rely on your ability to pay them on time and in full. While nonprofits might be exempt from certain taxes, they still function as a business and owe their employees a progressive payment system that accommodates all their needs.
If you don’t want to hire a payroll service, here are a few more options.
Accounting Department: If your organization is growing rapidly, consider forming a department to handle all of the financial information in-house with the help of software.
Hire a Bookkeeper: Bookkeepers have an extensive knowledge of payroll and financial systems. They can either be someone you hire to be in-house, but if your organization is small it is worth investing in a company and being one of their clients. Then, your bookkeeper is only used when needed. This is a great way to cut costs while taking the burden of payroll off your own plate while ensuring accuracy for employees.
Online Payroll/Software: If you’re brave, scrappy, and financially inclined, try managing all of this on your own.
Finalizing Employee Payroll
Now that you have all the insider tips on how to manage payroll for your nonprofit, contact us for more information on how we can help your nonprofit have efficient and transparency pay processes.
After all, you should focus on your mission and we’ll handle the rest!
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Bookkeeping includes invoicing, employee payroll, financial reporting, and more. Is your nonprofit interested in using bookkeeping services? You’re in the right place.
Affordable bookkeeping services for nonprofits are crucial for ensuring financial stability and accuracy. Keep reading to learn exactly how nonprofits can benefit from outsourcing bookkeeping.
What Are Bookkeeping Services?
Bookkeeping and Accounting may be used interchangeably, but they’re very different. Bookkeeping is focused on cash flow for an institution while accounting is basically analyzing all of that data. This helps assess the overall financial health of the organization.
Nonprofit organizations have many financial needs like any business. They have to file complicated taxes, certify for tax-exemption status, and report out. They also have to track donations! This can be a lot for a small staff to handle.
Bookkeeping services are handled by a team of professionals who have experience in the field with nonprofits. Many of these experts have worked with religious organizations, foundations, and even museums. They use software and knowledge of financial trends to help your nonprofit succeed.
Why Should I Use Bookkeeping Services?
There are many reasons to outsource bookkeeping. In addition to being safer and more secure, it enables you to focus on your organization’s mission.
Get Auditing Assistance
Nonprofits typically undergo an annual audit, unlike many other industries. This is time-consuming for the bookkeepers and accountants at the institution.
Save time and money by using bookkeeping services. These services can ensure that your organization is reporting accurate information to the Internal Revenue Service. They can also ensure that your institution is in a state of financial health.
Auditing involves a complex analysis. It also involves finding records of all transactions and donations for an organization. Some nonprofits choose not to do this because of the workload. However, completing annual audits shows donors that your staff is committed to transparency. This can help secure future funds and help with grant applications.
Avoid Fraud
No one wants to talk about the possibility of fraud, but it can happen within the nonprofit world. Embezzlement is also a risk, especially with multiple employees in the finance department. If there aren’t checks and balances in place, tracing money can be difficult.
Luckily, outsourcing bookkeeping services can ensure integrity for your nonprofit. These highly-skilled bookkeepers know exactly what to look for to avoid fraud and can easily identify issues. That way, the issues are caught before they become harmful to the organization.
For example, bookkeepers can see double payments or cash from a new vendor. Maybe they see a sudden increase in payments. They can even comb through documents that appear to be backdated or have questionable signatures. These can be indicators that something fishy is going on at the organization.
Since they manage all documents, data, and cash flow, professional bookkeepers add a level of security to the institution. As a third-party entity, bookkeepers can help your organization stay safe. This ensures security for your nonprofit.
The typical organization loses 5% of it’s annual revenue to fraud. That can be a lot if your organization is a multi-national nonprofit. Avoid lost revenue by using an outsourced bookkeeper.
Get Tax Filing Assistance
For nonprofits to earn their 501(c)(3) status and tax exemption, they have to be transparent. This means complete accuracy with the IRS on all financial matters. This includes strategic and accurate bookkeeping to provide easy filing when it is needed.
Nonprofits can have many revenue streams, including tax-deductible donations, membership dues, and even ticket admissions. Getting everything organized for tax season can be really complicated.
Bookkeeping services are useful because they use software that organizes all records perfectly. These professionals can also help identify areas to lower expenses for your organization. That way, you can reap the most benefits of the money your organization receives.
Using a dedicated bookkeeper absolutely makes this a seamless experience. This reduces stress during tax time for the nonprofit staff. Instead, it gives you the time to work on your mission and serve the community.
Save Time and Money
Instead of spending time organizing receipts, invoices, and payroll, handoff those duties to an expert. Your staff can then spend more time executing your mission.
In 2013, nonprofits paid $634 billion in wages. Hiring and training new employees, even if they’re very talented bookkeepers and accountants, can take a lot of time and energy. Instead, spend that manpower and resources on finding an outsourced financial services business.
Once your outsourced bookkeeper is set up, it requires very little management on the nonprofit’s side.
Bookkeeping Software Is More Accurate
Your organization might not have the funds to have a full-time bookkeeper and bookkeeping software. Luckily, an outsourced bookkeeping service has those resources for you to benefit from.
Bookkeeping software makes everything much more accurate. There is so much room for error when a team handles financials by hand or in a simple Excel sheet.
Avoid that hassle by investing in affordable financial services.
Ready to Outsource Bookkeeping Services?
Now that you know the many benefits of using an outside service, request a meeting with us to get started.
Pretty soon, your nonprofit’s bookkeeping services will be a breeze.
Our dedicated and experienced team works with an array of nonprofits. Many of our clients have been able to expand their impact on the community due to our financial help.
Check out our blog for more information on how our nonprofit financial services could work for your organization.
https://thecharitycfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Were-Hiring-Bookkeeper.-3d.jpg13332000Paul Cook/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/fileuploads_222926_8055634_252-8e05624973e20b5de823aebdbcfd37df_LogoLeftAligned.pngPaul Cook2020-10-22 13:40:442025-04-30 15:28:33The Insider’s Guide to Bookkeeping Services For Nonprofit Organizations
Are you trying to build a strong foundation for your nonprofit? Well, it all begins with knowing the in and outs of the entire structure. In premise, the difference between a good and a bad nonprofit is the ability to avoid common fundraising mistakes.
In this article, we will cover these 7 mistakes, so that you can build a project that’s truly exquisite. Read on to learn more.
Building a successful project through fundraising is important to your organization’s success.
1. Untailored Messaging
When you’re talking to your supporters, a one-fits-all application does not work. You need to know what works for each target audience and hone your messaging for each segment of your donors.
Segmenting your supporters into separate groups is critical to making sure that the right message is delivered to the right person at the right time. You can accomplish this by breaking down the entire collective into smaller sub-sections, such as big-donors, first-time donors, recurring-donors, event attendees, third-parties, etc.
You might even consider developing donor characteristics to help with driving action on their part. Once you have segmented your audience, it’s much easier to tailor content for each, thus build real relationships.
Stronger bonds = greater number of financial commitments.
2. Not Talking About the “Why?”
Most of the nonprofit organizations spend too much time talking about how they will perform their work, rather than why they will do it.
After all, you’ve adequately enough to create a solution to an important problem with dedication. But to get people to appreciate such efforts, you need them to provide context. Make them care.
This means that you have spoken about the “why” before you even mention the “how. First, speak about the challenges you have addressed, then speak about how you solved them. This will spark genuine connections with you on the empathetic level which will help them to action.
Don’t assume that your supporters know everything about you. Just because they’ve decided to donate, doesn’t mean they have an understanding of your work and its importance.
Make use of the opportunity and give them the full story.
3. Common Fundraising Mistakes: Wrong Relationships
If your relationships with the supporters are purely transactional, they will move on. If they are relational, they will continue to thrive and blossom.
With the use of modern technologies, it can be very easy to bombard your sponsors with asks across all channels. Taking this unthoughtful approach to why and when you ask your sponsors for contributions will result in disconnection and donor fatigue.
4. High Expectations, Poor Outcomes
Do not set high expectations and then deliver poor outcomes. Consistency is critical to reputation. Be realistic, honest, and transparent about all of your efforts and outcomes.
In terms of the marketplace, reach and services, be consistent when articulating their effect. Meet the expectations set by important stakeholders, and deliver exceptional services.
Exceed all expected outcomes.
5. Lack of Financial Competency
A most important faculty of the nonprofit experience is financial competency. Many founders have not anticipated what it will truly cost to start the nonprofit, much less where to get the funds.
Any nonprofit needs a funding plan, which will decide if it will charge fees for services, and an effective records system to micromanage all resources. A nonprofit with poor funding is very unlikely to sustain itself before even implementing a verbose fundraising structure.
And even that’s not enough. Financial competency is vividly important in a nonprofit, so don’t dismiss it.
6. Ineffective Board
If there is one thing that could break or make your project, it might be the quality of your board. Your initial boar members must be your true circle of influence. They should be those who have the influence, resources, and contacts that can help this project grow.
They should believe in the mission of the organization, and be willing to sell that mission to anybody else. They are the gate-keepers who should help to open doors for you.
And where do you find such people? Well, that depends on the mission behind the nonprofit. But it’s all about networking, so visit meetings, conventions, conferences, and anything else that might be pertinent to the problems that you are trying to solve.
7. Failing to Communicate
Using a single channel for communication is shortsighted. All of your supporters are different. They have different genders, ages, capacities, etc. This is why a variety of communication channels is important to appeal to different people.
You need to have multichannel network strategies that will allow you to effectively collaborate and converse with donors regularly.
Many of your supporters and donors will respond best on certain communication channels. Some might be completely blind to invitations, CTAs, or other asks shared on single channels.
In order to avoid this, segment your donors on the basis of their preference for communication. Or simply reach out to them on a platform, if you’ve sent an invitation over email, reach out to them by phone afterward.
Accounting Services for Your Nonprofit
Now that you know about the 7 common fundraising mistakes that will ruin your nonprofit, you are well on your way to build a solid foundation for your endeavors. As long as you avoid the pitfalls of others, and make wise decisions supported by an educated and influential board, there is no reason your mission is any less than the big fish.
If you’re interested in solving one of 7 mistakes, being that of “lack of financial competency”, get in touch with us and we will happily walk you through our accounting services.
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The coronavirus outbreak has left many nonprofits in the USA holding on for dear life, with mass layoffs, closures and many left destitute following lockdown measures. The biggest question on everybody’s lips right now is, “What happens next?” Can nonprofits survive coronavirus?
At this juncture, it seems that most effective way for nonprofits to transcend the effects of the crisis is to pull in aid wherever possible and work on short-term survival strategies to help get them back on their feet.
What happened to nonprofit coronavirus relief from Congress?
In March 2020, the US Senate passed a $2 trillion relief bill to mitigate the effects of coronavirus on the economy. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) was aimed at providing businesses, artists, and nonprofits with much-needed support during this time.
Initially, $350 billion from the fund was allocated to nonprofits. The funds provide Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to help cover mortgages, payroll, rent and other essential expenses. As of Apri 17th, though, the Nonprofit PPP Loan Program has reached its cap and it remains to be seen whether more aid will be forthcoming.
Nonprofits need to stay proactive
The outside world may appear to have come to a halt, but within the confines of our homes or remote workplaces, it’s more important than ever to keep reporting up to date, to stay active, and to dream up as many contingency plans as possible to emerge successfully from the crisis.
Financial assistance is still available at national, state and community level if you seek it out. But the national backlog does suggest that starting small is the best strategy at this point. Smaller organizations are far more likely to receive the aid they need by proactively reaching out to their communities and local governments.
Creative thinking is the best thing anyone can do in times of crisis. And opportunity presents itself when you look for it. Google is your greatest ally when it comes to finding new sources of funding, but there are also more targeted approaches your organization can take.
The Government Benefits Center is a site that is worth checking on a regular basis. It provides an up to date newsroom and links to federal aid programs that could help your organization weather the coronavirus storm.
Big business is also stepping up to the plate and is likely to be far more receptive to pleas for help from legitimate nonprofits now than they traditionally would be, provided their financial situation allows it. Reaching out now can’t hurt, even if it’s just in the interest of finding support post-crisis.
Help is out there. And it’s important to stay hopeful and proactive as you navigate the rough seas that the pandemic has created.
Let the crisis bring us together
A quote from author and hospice counselor, Kate McGahan is great food for thought as we see the world change before our eyes every day; “Deep within every crisis is an opportunity for something beautiful.”
Even in this extremely challenging period, opportunity does exist. There is potential to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic stronger and more prepared than we have ever been. And now, more than ever, nonprofits need to stay focused and summon every possible resource available to stay afloat. Can nonprofits survive coronavirus? I say yes.
About the Charity CFO
The Charity CFO is an accounting service and resource provider that is specifically focused on the nonprofit sector in the USA. Get in touch to discuss sound financial and accounting strategies to maximize your financial resources when you need them most.
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