Another day, another dollar, another survey

Each year, the Nonprofit Finance Fund surveys U.S. nonprofits. The goals are to document the issues being faced by community-serving organizations and to identify ways the fund itself, and other supporters of the work of nonprofits, can be most useful.

It takes maybe 15 minutes to complete the survey, which requires a pretty broad knowledge of an organization’s activities – from the state of the finances to relationships with funders to the board of directors.

Do you have that knowledge? Take the survey today! And if that’s not you, consider passing the request along to someone who has a good handle on how things are going. The survey closes on February 15.

Why take the survey?

Accurate information about what nonprofits can and can’t do is really important now as governments at every level struggle to meet community needs. Many foundations are cutting back on grants; others are shifting their priorities to meet new challenges; and individuals—whether donors, patrons, visitors, or clients—are feeling the pinch and watching their wallets with new caution. Accurate and up-to-date information about the state of nonprofits and their finances will help policy-makers, philanthropists, and program managers avoid mistakes that could make a bad situation worse.

Want to learn more about nonprofit finances?

Here are more resources:

• The Urban Institute’s annual fundraising survey, conducted with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and other collaborators.
• From the IRS, a new search tool that allows you to check on the exempt status of an organization directly on the web.
• The final version of the Form 990 for 2011 (the one larger organizations will need to file by May 15, 2012) is now available for download (PDF). The form 990-EZ will be published soon. And there is no change in the Form 990-N (“e-postcard”) used by small organizations to maintain exempt status.