Communication
Frequently Asked Questions about Communication
When the media calls, find out what their interest is and who else they are talking to in connection with the story. Find a mutually agreeable date and time to call the reporter back. The day and time should allow the reporter to make her deadline but also give you enough time to prepare for the interview. Anticipate and be prepared for likely issues. Be open and forthright. If you don’t know the answer state that you will check and get back to the reporter right away, then do so. For an on-site interview, suggest a neutral location such as a boardroom or hallway and not your office. You might have papers visible in your office with information you are not ready to release. Journalists are good at looking around and gathering information from their surroundings, and you do not want things in your office that tell a story different from what you are trying to convey.
The cause selected should be in line with the company’s corporate goals. It is not necessary that the target audience for the company’s product be the primary beneficiary of the cause, but a sincere link should exist between the company's business goals and the cause to which it commits itself. A company should first select a cause then choose the charities with which it will work. Partnering with charities is essential, but over-dependence can hurt the program’s development. Financial contributions are an important part of any cause program, but a successful cause program does not always require only donations of cash. Commitment of various other resources such as professional skills, technical knowledge, advertising, and equipment are also important. A company should communicate its involvement in a cause program through every possible channel. Programs in which customers can participate and promote informally are more effective.
A 501(c)(3) organization can elect to qualify under 501(h) by submitting IRS Form 5768. Section Part VI-A on the Form 990 Schedule A will also need to be completed annually. This is the only way to elect to lobby under 501(h). Organizations that do not complete this paperwork will have their lobbying limits measured under the “substantial part of activities test.” Not all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations may elect to qualify under 501(h). This option is not available to churches, an integrated auxiliary of a church, a convention or association of churches, or a member of a group of affiliated organizations that includes a church. Also, private foundations cannot make this election.
Community foundations are dedicated to a specific geographical area. They typically serve a municipality, metropolitan area, or county but can also serve areas of other sizes. However, community foundations usually do not serve areas larger than one state. Membership in some professional organizations places an upper limit on the geographical area that is served by a community foundation. For instance, the Council on Foundations does not admit foundations that service a geographic area larger than three states. -- Council on Foundations
No. When one buys a raffle ticket one is buying the chance to win the item up for raffle. Since the fair market value of the chance to win the item up for raffle is equal to the price of the ticket, the transaction is merely a purchase; therefore the purchaser has not made a donation.
Many states, under state solicitation laws, require that the nonprofit organization register with the state before participating in fundraising within the state. In order to assist nonprofit organizations in this registration process the National Association of State Charities Officials and the National Association of Attorneys General have created the Unified Registration Statement (URS). The URS “represents an effort to consolidate the information and data requirements of all states that require registration of nonprofit organizations performing charitable solicitations within their jurisdictions.”