2010 Conference Session Preview!

Dozens of informative breakout sessions at the 2010 LANO Conference will feature over 55 noted sector and civic leaders, top scholars and industry experts delivering the essentials of nonprofit excellence to you.

Don't miss this opportunity to get a year's worth of continuing education and operational tools in one three-day conference!

Register today!

We have a full and growing slate of presenters and session topics lined up along eight well-established information tracks. Here's a quick sampler of the more than 35 scheduled session topics to explore:

Fund Development: A grant writing clinic; corporate giving demystified; development through social media; fundraising through crisis…

Trends & Innovations: Building strategic partnerships; Idea Labs in collaboration and social media; breakthrough GIS system for community development; a social innovators roundtable…

Public Policy: Nonprofits advancing social justice; coalition-building and advocacy; Deepwater Horizon, its social and policy implications…

Communications: Go from broadcast to conversation; develop your brand; communicate your crisis; consolidated advertising campaigns; underwriting your message; communicating beyond the box…

Leadership: Board governance mastery; innovative leadership strategies (presented by former LA Governor Buddy Roemer!); securing sustainability through shared services, collaborations, and mergers; "Leading with Your Brain in Mind"…

Accountability: Organizational effectiveness; the Standards for Excellence primer; learn the funders' perspective on measuring impact; fiduciary responsibility; program evaluation with the "What Works" model…

Organizational Development & Human Capital: Creating effective committees; retaining and recruiting your workforce; managing volunteers (featuring "The Keep Louisiana Beautiful Experience"); risk management; business continuity; multiple generations in the workplace…

FEATURED TRACK! Translating Research into Action: From Recovery to Renaissance

Presented by RAND Gulf States Policy Institute and the Allstate Foundation, featuring scholarly analysis and expert commentary on the role of nonprofits in:

• Disaster Response and Preparedness
• Displaced and Returned Populations
• Psychological Health, Resilience and Recovery

[Learn more...]

Special Events and Resources:

• Louisiana Leaders Forum: Louisiana's Fiscal Health and the Impact on our Citizens
• Exhibition Hall featuring dozens of leading nonprofit vendors and service providers
• Cocktail Networking Reception at Harrah's Casino on Canal Street

Stay tuned to LANO for further details on conference speakers and presenters over the next few weeks.

Have you registered yet?

  

Public Meeting Tomorrow About BP $20 Billion Escrow Fund

Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) and Ken Feinberg, Administrator of the Independent Claims Facility for BP’s $20 billion escrow fund, will host public meetings in Larose and Violet, Louisiana, tomorrow, to get input from individuals and businesses affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Last week, President Obama announced that Mr. Feinberg would manage the $20 billion escrow account established by BP to pay claims to Gulf Coast residents and communities who have suffered economic damages and losses as a result of the BP oil disaster.

Local feedback provided from tomorrow's meetings -- from groups such as fishermen, charter boat captains, restaurant owners, oil rig workers, oil service companies, community leaders, and the interested public -- will help inform Mr. Feinberg’s decisions on how to administer funds quickly and fairly in the short-term and how to best compensate families and businesses that will be negatively impacted in the long-term.

WHO: Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) and Ken Feinberg, Administrator of the Independent Claims Facility

WHAT: Public meeting on independent claims process

WHEN: Friday, June 25, 2010, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CDT. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Press availability to follow at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Larose Civic Center, 307 E. 5th Street Larose, La. 70373

State Seeks Organization Partners For BP Claims Processing Assistance

Louisiana today released a solicitation for proposals to coastal organizations with the capacity to provide community-based assistance with the BP claims process and other government or philanthropic support programs to individuals and businesses in the impacted coastal region.

The state will select up to 15 organizations to provide education on the claims process, as well as assist individuals and businesses in analyzing and preparing needed documentation for claims.

"The state wants to address what we see as a great need to assist claimants with proving the net worth of their assets, loss of business and actual damage in order to successfully recoup losses due to the oil spill," said Louisiana Department of Social Services (DSS) Secretary Kristy Nichols. "Additionally, the technical assistance providers will advise [the state] on how to simplify and strengthen the claims process."

Technical assistance providers will be announced in July and will be funded by $2 million granted to the state by BP. Technical Assistance Provider solicitations must be received by July 2, 2010, at 8:00 a.m. Click here to view the full solicitation.

Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act

On June 15th, Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced a piece of federal legislation entitled the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act (HR 5533).  This bill aims to transform the ways that the federal government works with the charitable nonprofit community nationwide.

Specifically the bill recognizes the vital role that nonprofits play in communities and the essential need to strengthen the partnership between government and nonprofits in order to deliver vital services, build capacity, enhance accountability, and save taxpayers money. 

The bill accomplishes this through a three-pronged approach by:

1. Creating a bi-partisan, 16-member U.S. Council on Nonprofit Organizations and Community Solutions to consider the relationship between government and nonprofits, and make recommendations to the President and Congress on efficiencies, contracting issues, research needs, and improving community-based impact; 
2. Establishing an Interagency Working Group on Nonprofit Organizations and the Federal Government to provide the means for Cabinet Secretaries, key White House officials, and the heads of critical agencies that interact with nonprofits, such as the IRS, Census Bureau, NEH, and NEA, to convene and replace the current inconsistent and often conflicting federal policymaking relating to nonprofits with a more coordinated process to achieve better outcomes in addressing federal priorities on national and community challenges; and finally
3. Charging a single, existing federal agency with the responsibility of coordinating data collection on the nonprofit community that is currently and inconsistently compiled in multiple agencies.

LANO will be communicating with members of the Louisiana delegation to encourage their support of this bill. If you would like more information about this bill, please contact Elisabeth Gehl at elisabeth@lano.org.  

State's "Stealth Spending" Revealed in LBP Media Coverage

The Baton Rouge Advocate’s June 10 Inside Report by staff writer Lanny Keller features LBP's latest fiscal analysis, titled Louisiana’s Hidden State Budget. 

As the Advocate's Keller writes, “If one is powerful enough, the government giveth and never taketh away. That’s one of the real problems with state tax breaks targeted to specific industries and businesses, according to an insightful new report from the Louisiana Budget Project." 

Today's Inside Report follows closely behind the paper's May 30 Our Views column (stating The Advocate's position) which also featured the LBP report and expressed broad agreement with its findings.

Carrying the issue further, today's New Orleans' Times Picayune features a guest column by LBP Director Edward Ashworth, noting that the $7 billion in projected state spending on tax breaks in 2011 will receive almost no scrutiny. Ashworth writes, "Think of it as the state’s hidden budget. This stealth spending stems from more than 440 separate pieces of legislation passed over the years that exempt someone or something from some form of taxation – but don’t show up anywhere in the state’s budget.”

Elsewhere in recent news, LBP's Ashworth was quoted by the Associated Press on his testimony of June 9, 2010, before the Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee on proposed legislation seeking to nullify federal health care reform.  Ashworth defended the federal reforms as able to "reduce the number of uninsured in Louisiana and provide substantial benefits for our state."

Tune in June 15, 2010, around 6:15 PM Central time to radio station WBJO in Baton Rouge, when host Jim Brown will interview Ashworth on the "hidden budget" and related issues.

The Louisiana Budget Project is a LANO initiative that monitors and reports on state government spending and its effects on Louisiana’s low- to moderate-income families.  For more information about LBP, visit www.labudget.org or contact Director Edward Ashworth at 225.929.5266.

Hurricane Preparedness for Nonprofits

June 1 marked the beginning of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season. With projections by the National Hurricane Center for a very active 2010 season, nonprofit organizations of all sizes and locations in the state should take time to review and update their disaster plans.

Among the key points to review and update are the following issues:

• Update key contact information, including land and cell phone numbers for staff and board members; note if text messaging is available for all cell phones.
• Review and update all insurance coverage. FEMA has redefined flood maps that may call for added flood insurance.
• Practice calling staff phone tree.
• Update organizational profile with your regional 2-1-1 agency.
• Review and update memoranda of understanding maintained between agencies if you are an evacuating or receiving agency.

To help assure your nonprofit meets the highest standard in preparedness for a hurricane or other disaster, LANO provides the Disaster Preparedness for Nonprofits Action Kit.  This valuable resource includes a 42 page bound workbook and accompanying CD, complete with instruction, charts, check-lists and editable templates to help you prepare a disaster plan.  The Kit is available via our online store with significant discount provided to LANO members.

Louisiana Nonprofit Wages and Benefits Survey Launched

• Want an objective tool to justify your organization's compensation levels to the IRS and the general public?
  
• Unsure how to set appropriate pay and benefits for staff and new hires?
  
• Need objective salary and benefit information for your Board?

LANO is launching the Louisiana Nonprofit Wages and Benefits Survey to gather information from Louisiana nonprofit organizations critical to employee retention and compensation.  Your organization's participation will ensure a high-quality report is available for your nonprofit and the sector as a whole. 

Complete the survey and your organization will receive a 50-100% discount on the final report!

The survey will take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete once you have gathered the necessary information.  The survey asks specific questions about your organization's employment, benefits, and salaries that may require information from multiple sources.  We recommend printing the questionaire, gathering your responses, then submitting them online. 

The survey deadline is Wednesday, July 7, 2010.

Learn more on LANO's Wages and Benefits Survey page or download the questionaire and get started!

IRS Releases Guidance for Nonprofits on Healthcare Reform and New Hires

In response to the recently passed federal healthcare reform legislation and Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, the IRS released the following guidance pertinent to nonprofits:

Healthcare Reform:

The final health care reform bill included a small employer tax allowing nonprofits to immediately claim a tax credit when they pay for at least half of the health insurance premiums for their employees.

The full credit will be available to employers with 10 or fewer workers with average annual wages of $25,000, while firms with up to 25 or fewer employees and average annual wages of up to $50,000 will be eligible for part of the credit.

The IRS provides guidance to make it easier for nonprofits to determine whether they qualify for the new healthcare small employer tax credit and to estimate the amount of the credit. For the years 2010 to 2013, a small tax-exempt employer may be entitled to a maximum credit of 25% of the employer's health insurance premium expenses that count toward the credit.

The IRS has provided additional information on how tax-exempt organizations can claim the healthcare small employer credit.

Payroll Tax Exemption for New Hires:

This year President Obama signed the HIRE Act into law, which allows many nonprofits to keep payroll taxes at 6.2 percent on certain new hires.

This payroll tax forgiveness provision expires at the end of the year, so nonprofits will save more the sooner they hire eligible unemployed workers.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that the newly-revised payroll tax form nonprofits can use to claim this special payroll tax exemption for 2010 is now posted on IRS.gov.