Tip
of the Month - May 2004
One
Million Minnesotans Can See
Your Form 990
The world now has
electronic access to information from
your organization’s IRS form 990
through the new Web site of the
Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
Minnesota has once again lead the way,
becoming the first state in the U.S.
to put charities registration
information on the internet. In
addition to financial data from over
2,000 Minnesota organizations, the Web
site includes searchable records on
groups from 50 states and the District
of Columbia registered with the AG’s
office, Charities Division.
Advocates of greater
nonprofit accountability have long run
into First Amendment limitations in
regulating the actions of nonprofits,
resulting in the striking down of
percentage restrictions on nonprofit
fundraising. The courts have suggested
to state attorneys general that, in
the absence of fraud, they should use
public education to steer donors away
from ineffective or inefficient
charities.
While many board
members and managers have paid scant
attention to the precise figures in
the Form 990 filing, mass access means
that every organizations needs to know
exactly what their 990 says – and to
make sure it is correct. Several
sensitive areas for donors and the
press appear in the 990 information
now on the Internet:
- salaries
of the top five employees and top
five officers (if over $50,000),
- the
percent spent on fundraising and
program,
- the
amounts spent on travel,
occupancy, pensions, etc.
- investment
performance, and
- changes
in the fund balance.
Up to three years
financial information is available on
each organization. Missing is any
significant description of what an
organization does or accomplishes.
This may hasten the development of
sites by nonprofits to tell the story
of their organizations beyond the dry
financial categories.
Access
to the charities database
Organizations
that solicit funds in the state of
Minnesota are required to register
with the Charities Division of the
Minnesota Attorney General's Office.
Registration data is taken directly
from each organization's financial
statement and information return, and
about 80% of the items on the 990 are
entered. The Attorney General's Office
created this database to allow the
public quick access to records
previously only available at their
office in downtown St. Paul, or
directly from the IRS or from the
organization itself. The site reminds
users that “Registration does not
constitute approval by the Attorney
General or by the State of
Minnesota.”
To
search the database, you enter the
text (all or part of the
organization’s name) you wish to
search on, and if desired, a city or
state. It takes from 30 to 60 seconds
for a response, depending on the
number of matching records found and
the current load on the server. A list
of matching records is shown in
alphabetical order by charity name.
With a browser such as Netscape, a
printout of a single organization’s
finances fills about three pages.
View
Past Tips of the Month
May
2004 - One
Million Minnesotans Can See Your Form
990
April
2004 - Avoid
Unexpected Cost of Directors,
Officers, and Organizational Liability
March
2004 - Strategies
for Reducing Operating Costs
February
2004 - What
Can Nonprofits Due During an Election
Cycle
January
2004 - Celebrate
Your Nonprofit
November
2003 -Get
Your Board on Board
October 2003- Take
a Walk-About for Safety
September
2003- Exit
Interviews-Learn from those who Leave
August
2003 - Participant
Waivers: The Good the Bad and the Ugly
July 2003 - Practical
Tips for Reference Checking
June 2003 - Evaluating
Your Insurance Professional
May 2003 - Supervising
Volunteers
April 2003 - Protect
Your Assets with Sound Internal
Controls
March
2003
- Teaching
Computer Users to Surf Safely
February
2003 -
Involve
Clients in Protecting Their Own Safety
January
2003- Managing
the Risk of Board Discontent
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