To qualify as a gift in a respected year, federal regulations require that checks must be dated on or before December 31 AND, the envelope accompanying the check must be postmarked by December 31 as well. The date the envelope is metered is NOT the same as the postmark date. For instance: if an envelope has a meter date of December 30, 2009 and a postmark date of January 2, 2010, then the transaction is recorded as a 2010 donation.

For hand delivered checks, the date the check is received determines which year to record the donation.

A postdated check is a check that is dated in the future. Postdated checks are not recognized as a donation until the day of the date of the check.
For example, suppose the church receives a check on December 30, 2009 but the check is dated January 1, 2010. In this instance, the donation is classified in 2010.

All this being said, when receiving year end donations, please be sure to use the above explanations when classifying donations. If we maintain your donor database, please be sure to let your bookkeeper know what calendar year the donation should be recorded. Generally, if the check is dated on or before December 31, 2009, we will assume it is a 2009 donation. However, if the postmarked date is AFTER December 31, please be sure to specify that on the copies of the checks / deposits that you send us.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding this.

Have a great Christmas!

The current economic situation has only intensified the ever-present need of executives of small and mid-sized nonprofits to find cost-effective ways to reduce overhead costs. According to a new report released by the Meyer Foundation and the Management Assistance Group (MAG), outsourcing is a promising strategy for these nonprofits to meet their back-office needs, but there are many barriers that prevent outsourcing success.

The study, “Outsourcing Back-Office Services in Small Nonprofits: Pitfalls and Possibilities,” is based on a survey of grantees of the Foundation, interviews with grantmakers, consultants, and a range of back-office service providers, and a review of current literature on the subject. The goal for the collaboration was to survey and identify alternative back-office services that could strengthen operations, relieve the pressures on executive directors, and lead to greater efficiencies, particularly in this difficult economic climate.

Key findings include:

The 48-page study offers ideas for grantmakers, back-office service providers, nonprofit executives, and business entrepreneurs as they consider how to better meet the back-office needs of nonprofits and proposes a framework for evaluating outsourced back-office services.

Follow these links to the actual reports…

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FULL REPORT

Source :: Meyer Foundation

We just released several new ways for you to get involved at PS20! Check them out by clicking the “Opportunities” button in the top right!

Happy Wednesday

My mom turned 53 yesterday! That’s OLD! (She’s the one on the right, by the way! My wife is on the left!)

She’s HoT though and doesn’t look 53 at all!

I was talking to her yesterday evening and she mentioned that she felt like she was 18 still. AMAZING!

So, how old do you feel? I’m 29 but feel like I’m 17!

Don’t you think life is about perspective and how you perceive yourself in this world? How would you live your life differently if you looked at yourself as an 18 year old person, no matter how old you are?

Why are adults so boring? What happens to us that all of the sudden we have to wear button down shirts and pressed pants in order to be “normal”?

I was meeting with a friend the other day, at Starbucks, and the guys next to us were in suits and ties having the exact same “business meeting” that we were having. We were talking about marketing strategy and so were they! I was wearing jeans a a T-Shirt and so was Carlos! Perhaps those guys are smarter and more successful than Carlos and I?

Bottom line, it’s not about the clothes we wear, it’s about what’s inside of a person! I believe that every single one of us has the nature of a child! We all just want to run around in circles and laugh our heads off with no cares or worries in the world.

Why are adults so freaking boring? Why don’t we live lives like children and run around in circles in our backyard with no cares or worries? Imagine 5 adults running in circles in the backyard! I bet it would be the most fun they’ve had in YEARS!

The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all KINDS (sorts) of evil. It’s TRUE! I’ve seen it! Is it possible, however, that money, in and of itself, could possibly be the root of all kinds of GOOD? What if our whole intent for making more money was to help others or to give it away? What if we each made $100,000 a year but lived on $30,000? Would we turn into a socialistic society? I struggle with this, to be honest! I have SO freaking much… SOOOO much! You do too! And, I badly BADLY want to help people. My struggle is that sometimes our helping people actually hurts them! Give a homeless alcoholic $20 and they’ll go buy alcohol! That hurts them! Give to my aunt and uncle and it totally helps them and hundreds of thousands of others.

So, where do we draw the line? Do we stop making so much money because it leads to all kinds of evil or do we keep making more money because it could lead to all kinds of GOOD? Do we pursue growth in our jobs and in our lives because we can help more people or do we call ourselves content because more could lead to all kinds of evil?

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”

A few things I think we can learn from this video…

1. One man can start a movement.
2. A movement need not be started by the most skilled member of the movement.
3. When beginning your movement, and you look around and nobody else is joining your dance, just keep dancing.
4. When the one guy who joins your movement slowly fades away, keep going.
5. Before you know it, the people joining your movement won’t even know you started it.
6. When your movement takes a life of it’s own, just let go… There will be no stopping it.
7. The very people who are staring at you like your nuts, as you “movement” alone, will be the very same people dancing the hardest in the end.