NonProfit Pro

NonProfit PRO spoke with two expert nonprofit tax attorneys to provide their tips on the tax issue for nonprofit organizations. Here are the insights—from the basics to the changing landscape—shared by Cliff Perlman, partner at the law firm Perlman & Perlman, and attorney Marc J. Lane.

The discussion around Present Self/Future Self is not new nor hard to understand. But the discipline and insight to realize when we are collecting and/or relying on Present Self information is hard.

Data has long been at the heart of direct marketing. In the nonprofit world, data allowed us to rent lists of people who had shown a propensity toward giving to causes similar to ours. On the cultivation side, data permitted us to choose which donors to mail based upon previous history and tailor messages to their interests. This smart use of data let us provide donors what they wanted rather than cluttering up their mailboxes with irrelevant offers. And it allowed nonprofits to raise more dollars at a lower cost to more efficiently and effectively feed hungry children, cure life-threatening cancer and support our wounded veterans.

DoJiggy released this accompanying infographic, "The Value of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising for Non-profits." The infographic notes that peer-to-peer fundraising events open up a much larger audience, as your supporters and participants reach out to their own personal networks that may or may not be involved with your organization. And the proof is in the pudding. For example, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society raised $185.3 million via peer-to-peer fundraising events in 2013 alone. Check out the full infographic for more details.

More and more, you hear about how nonprofit organizations either are or should run more like for-profit businesses than they have traditionally. It's a hot topic in the nonprofit sector today, and the conversation continues to pick up steam, particularly with technological advances changing the way donors/consumers engage with brands — both in the business world and nonprofit world.

To get a handle on the key legal matters and more in regard to running nonprofit sweepstakes, I spoke with Marla Altberg, CEO of sweepstakes administration and management company Ventura Associates International.

Whether nonprofit or for-profit, the people whom you reach are critical to your success. How do you give them that feeling of being connected and satisfied with their experience with you?

Jane Nelson-Halverson, owner of Dakota Promotions & Printing, shared a favorite promotion she did for Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota. Through creative use of found artwork and effective networking within her community, she was able to complete a great fundraising promotion for an important cause.

Among the ever-evolving buzzwords and old debates in the nonprofit sector, a new concept has entered the fray: running your nonprofit like a for-profit.

Check out people on the move in the nonprofit sector for March 2015.