Charity Therapy

Your nonprofit just got a big donation. Amazing, right? But what if you can't actually spend that money on what your organization needs? Turns out, having money in the bank doesn't always mean you can use it. Meghan and I tackle three listener questions about restricted donations, and they're all dealing with the same problem from different angles. One nonprofit is moving restricted grant money ar...

Your executive committee is doing all the work and making all the calls. The rest of the board just shows up and rubber stamps it. Sound familiar? This setup is more toxic than you think. Meghan and I tackle two listener questions that hit the same governance problem from opposite sides. One from an overloaded exec committee doing everything themselves, and one from a frustrated new board member w...

A nonprofit went quiet. Everyone got busy, the work stopped, and somewhere along the way it got "dissolved." Now you're ready to bring it back. Is that even possible? Meghan and I tackle a layered listener question that delves into a really misunderstood issue in the nonprofit world. We also get into what really happens when a founder-led org goes dark, why so many nonprofits stall out in their fi...

You got your 501(c)(3) letter, so you're all set... right? Not so fast. There's a second designation buried in that letter, and if it's not correct it could derail your grant applications, your tax filings, and your whole plan. Meghan and I break down one of the most misunderstood distinctions in the nonprofit world: public charity versus private foundation. Both are 501(c)(3)s, but the difference...

When a nonprofit closes its doors, it opens up a bunch of questions. What happens to the mission? Are there other organizations or groups doing this work? And a big one – what do we do with everything that's left over?   No individual gets to keep the money or assets leftover when a nonprofit dissolves. So what happens now, and how do you honor everything your organization stood for? Meghan and I...

What happens when you ask a 14 year-old to give advice to a bunch of board members who can't get along? Well, sometimes your local teenager might just give you the BEST take on the situation. I'm joined by a very special guest this episode: my kid, Max. We start with a crash course on what a nonprofit board is, why board members are volunteers, and what the typical officer titles really mean. Then...

Fundraising doesn't have to be intimidating, jargon-filled, or a total drag. I'm joined by Patrick Kirby , the nonprofit and fundraising consultant behind Do Good Better Consulting and a self-described human exclamation mark. Patrick brings so much energy and joy to fundraising that it's genuinely contagious. We tackle three listener questions, bust some persistent fundraising myths, and Patrick g...

What if you could just... skip the whole "having a board of directors" part of running a nonprofit? Turns out, you're not the only one who've thought about it! We all know every nonprofit pro has quietly wondered at some point whether they really need a board at all. This week's listener question puts that quiet part out loud, and we dig into what's really going on when a board goes off the rails....

Your nonprofit is doing well, but you're worried you'll lose good employees if you don't offer retirement benefits. You've heard of a 401(k), but is that the right move? I'm joined by Christopher Tipper of Hunter Benefits Consulting Group to break down retirement benefit options for small nonprofits. Christopher helps us wade through the alphabet soup of 403(b)s, 401(k)s, and simple IRAs. Real Lis...

A nonprofit was built to run like a co-op. Everyone's equal. There's no HR. Is that your dream, or a nightmare that feel suspiciously like high school? I'm joined by Dr. Pablo Otaola , CEO of Thriving Culture LLC , to tackle a listener question about this exact scenario. An executive director walked into an organization built on flat structure ideals, but instead of a utopia they found bullying, c...

You're sitting on a nonprofit board. You haven't done anything wrong. Could someone really sue you personally over it? The unfortunate answer is YES, and the costs can pile up fast. I'm joined by Cody Wiswasser, an insurance professional at Community Partners Insurance Group , to tackle a question from a small animal rescue trying to decide whether directors and officers insurance is actually wort...

Your nonprofit hosted its first ever strategic planning retreat… and it was a complete disaster. So, what do you do now?? I'm joined by R. Perry Monastero , owner of RPM Consulting Group , to dig into a listener question that had us both saying "oof" out loud. A brand new board member sat through a nightmare retreat full of college-style exercises and definition debates. They want to help the boar...

So you've submitted your IRS application and you're anxiously awaiting the letter in the mail with their response. But what if it just… never comes?? Meghan and I tackle a listener question from a new nonprofit that did everything right – they got their tax-exempt status (yay!) but still can't find the actual letter. What do you do? Real Listener Question: "My org got approved as a 501(c)(3) accor...

So a nonprofit hires an Executive Director, skips all the onboarding, sets no goals, and now… wants to fire them. Yikes! I'm joined by Debbie Rabishaw , founder of HR consulting firm Next Step Advisory , to tackle a listener question that has more layers than an onion. A small nonprofit is in the middle of transitioning from a working board to a governing board, their new ED is getting mixed revie...

So you're a charity grounded in religious values. Does that make you a church in the eyes of the IRS? Meghan and I dig into a listener question that had me doing a genuine double take. A religious nonprofit submitted the 1023-EZ short form and got rejected because the IRS decided they were a church. What gives?! Real Listener Question: "The IRS rejected our 1023-EZ because they think we are a chur...

You scraped together your own money to start a brand-new nonprofit. You're out the money, but can you at least take a tax deduction? Meghan and I are back with a question from a new nonprofit founder who wants to know if the startup cash they put in before getting their 501c3 status counts as a tax-deductible donation. It's one of the most common questions we hear from new founders, and the answer...

Your nonprofit is doing real work, but do your financials show it? In this episode, Meghan and I tackle a listener question from a small nonprofit that's running into a big problem: their numbers don't match their story. The for-profit company supporting them pays for nearly everything, but none of that shows up on the books, and funders are raising eyebrows. Real Listener Question: "Our employees...

Your nonprofit closed its doors because of ICE enforcement or federal funding cuts. Is there an insurance policy that could actually help? Maybe, but the answer is a lot more complicated than you'd hope. In this episode, I'm joined by Cody Wiswasser, an insurance professional at Community Partners Insurance Group , to dig into my questions. With so much uncertainty hitting nonprofits right now, I...

Do you know someone eyeing their retirement accounts to fund their nonprofit dreams? We need to talk! In this episode, I'm joined by Jeff Beck , a wealth advisor at COE Financial Group , to tackle a listener question that had me equal parts fascinated and horrified. Real Listener Question: "My partner has a traditional IRA with about $100,000 in it. Can she invest that money in my 501(c)(3) withou...

Finding a lawyer should not feel harder than solving the legal problem itself. And yet, here we are. In this episode, Meghan and I talk about something that comes up constantly in my nonprofit law practice: how nonprofit leaders and boards actually find a good lawyer and how to tell whether someone is the right fit. Real Listener Question: "I am a board member tasked with finding my small nonprofi...

Nonprofit newsflash - your donation platform might be quietly annoying your biggest donors 😬 In this episode, Meghan and I dig into some nonprofit LinkedIn drama sparked by a post from the one and only Eve Borenstein . Here's the situation: You gave a big donation, and you received an auto-generated donation receipt from the org's donation platform. The problem?   The gift acknowledgement letter...

Nonprofits are tax-exempt, so lots of people assume that nonprofits don't have to worry about taxes ever. Right???? Well, not quite 😐 In this episode, Meghan and I dig into a question I hear all the time from people who want to help their communities but are confused about how nonprofit tax rules actually work. Real Listener Question: "I own a couple of restaurants and we have several events to r...

You're getting donations for a nonprofit – and that's great! But sometimes generosity comes with strings you never expected. In this episode, Meghan and I dig into the wild world of donor gifts and why nonprofits need clear guardrails to protect themselves from gifts that actually hurt the nonprofit. Real Listener Question: "We have a donation button on our website where people can give online and...

Think an audit is something to fear for your nonprofit? I get it! But what if it's actually a powerful tool for growth? In this episode, I sit down with nonprofit auditor Hannah Hugen from Abdo to unpack what an audit really is and why it's not nearly as scary as it sounds. Real Listener Question: "We filed the 1023-EZ and said we'd stay under $50K… but now a funding opportunity would push us past...

If your team is exhausted, overwhelmed, and constantly working nights and weekends, you might be dealing with more than a scheduling issue. You might be dealing with a culture problem that is hurting your mission. In this episode, I invited my friend and people strategy expert Rachel Platt of Plattinum Consulting to talk with me about the hidden issues inside nonprofit overwork and what it really...