
Register by October 17 to Secure Your Spot!
Registration Type | Member Price |
---|---|
Early Bird Registration (Sept. 11-Oct.3) | $750 |
General Registration (Oct. 4-Oct.17) | $850 |
Registration Type | Member Price |
---|---|
Early Bird Registration (Sept. 11-Oct.3) | $750 |
General Registration (Oct. 4-Oct.17) | $850 |
Registration Type | Member Price | Non-Member Price |
---|---|---|
Early Bird Registration (Sept. 11-Oct. 3) | $750 | $850 |
General Registration (Oct. 4-Oct.17) | $850 | $950 |
Not a member? We'd love to have you join us for this event and become part of the Chorus America community! Visit our membership page to learn more, and feel free to contact us with any questions at membership@chorusamerica.org.
Registration Type | Non-Member Price |
---|---|
Early Bird Registration (Sept. 11-Oct. 3) | $850 |
General Registration (Oct. 4-Oct.17) | $950 |
Think you should be logged in to a member account? Make sure the email address you used to login is the same as what appears on your membership information. Have questions? Email us at membership@chorusamerica.org.
Registration Type | Price |
---|---|
Individual Session | $30 each |
All Four (4) Sessions | $110 |
*Replays with captioning will remain available for registrants to watch until November 1, 11:59pm EDT.
Member Professional Development Days are specially designed for Chorus America members. If you're not currently a member, we'd love to welcome you to this event, and into the Chorus America community! Visit our membership page to learn more about becoming a member of Chorus America, and please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions at membership@chorusamerica.org.
Registration Type | Price |
---|---|
Individual Session | $30 each |
All Four (4) Sessions | $110 |
*Replays with captioning will remain available for registrants to watch until November 1, 11:59pm EDT.
Registration Type | Price |
---|---|
Individual Session | $30 each |
All Four (4) Sessions | $110 |
*Replays with captioning will remain available for registrants to watch until November 1, 11:59pm EDT.
Member Professional Development Days are specially designed for Chorus America members. If you're not currently a member, we'd love to welcome you to this event, and into the Chorus America community! Visit our membership page to learn more about becoming a member of Chorus America, and please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions at membership@chorusamerica.org.
The majority of choruses in North America are all-volunteer organizations, from the singers who give their musical talent to the board members who run the organization. This poses special challenges for the treasurer in safeguarding and managing the finances. Here is a guide to keep your chorus transparent and accountable.
My time as treasurer of a small nonprofit was a labor of love. Starting out as an all-volunteer organization with a $20,000 budget, we developed financial systems, workable budgets, and demonstrated accountability. In just three years the budget grew to over $330,000.
However, there was stress as well. As a CPA I found myself the recipient of unnerving deference at times. I frequently fell short in communicating financial information to board and staff. But the outcomes made it all worthwhile.
This experience helps me appreciate one of the many unsung heroes of our time: the treasurer of the all-volunteer organization (AVO). AVOs are among the most important and most invisible building blocks of our communities.
To do their important work, AVOs raise and use substantial funds. And each organization has at least one volunteer leader counting the cash, writing checks, safeguarding financial integrity, and managing funds soundly. This guide is for you, Super Treasurer!
While AVOs range from small, relatively informal nonprofits to larger, more formal affiliated organizations, volunteers do most or all of the work. Following are some common attributes of AVOs:
Because most AVOs have an informal air about them, it’s easy for finances to be treated in a casual way. But when money matters are treated casually, it can become too easy for money to get lost, or for some people to question how money has been spent, or even for individuals to take advantage of the informality and pilfer cash or other assets.
So as an AVO treasurer, what accountability and transparency issues should you be most concerned with?
Close treasurer oversight of cash, checks, and deposits is vital. If you can’t always be present when money is changing hands, be visible enough that others know that you’re engaged. Be especially scrupulous about keeping personal funds (yours and others') completely separate from organizational funds.
Given the limited personnel resources in most AVOs, it may not be possible to divide up financial duties as part of an internal control system, particularly since you can’t always exert the same degree of control with volunteers as paid staff. However, a few essential rules should be followed:
Take the lead in safeguarding your organization’s assets, data, and personal information. Risks associated with volunteer screening, vehicle use, and special events are often of particular concern to AVOs. The Nonprofit Insurance Alliance Group and the Nonprofit Risk Management Center provide free introductory articles on ways to manage these and other risks.
A prompt thank-you letter that includes what donors need for tax purposes is an effective way to keep your contributors up to date on the great work you’re doing. The IRS says it’s okay to send this information by email. When different financial duties are assigned to a variety of people, the chances increase that any misappropriated donations will be detected more readily.
Here’s a sample of the essential information to include in your thank-you letter:
Date, name and address of chorus, donor name and address: "We wish to thank you for your 2010 contribution of cash in the amount of $500.00. We did not provide any goods or services in exchange for this contribution. XYZ Chorus is an organization exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law."
Remember to list separately any single contribution of $250 or more. If the donation is other than money, describe the property but do not indicate a value.
If you provided the donor with goods or services as part of the contribution, you could delete the second sentence in the above example and substitute the following:
"We provided you with two concert tickets with a fair market value of $50. Your tax deduction is limited to the amount of cash and value of any property contributed, reduced by the value of any goods or services received in return. Accordingly, the amount eligible for a federal income tax deduction is $450."
There are exceptions for items of minimal value such as pens and mugs. See the discussion regarding “quid pro quo” donations in IRS Publication 1771, “Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements.”
In many AVOs, volunteer effort represents the majority of resource inflow. Tracking volunteers can help protect volunteers and the chorus from certain forms of liability and provide helpful data for planning future programs and events. And if you intend to seek grants, you’ll want to reflect the value of your volunteers in your budget and grant proposals. Otherwise, your board and other stakeholders may not know if you have the people in place to get the job done well. See "Tracking Volunteers to Boost Your Bottom Line" for more information along with sample volunteer tracking forms.
Expressed in financial terms, a budget is a map that shows what you plan to do and how you plan to get there. It’s a key tool for getting everyone to agree on what your group will and won't do in the coming year. Search Chorus America's Resources for a sample budget.
In informal AVOs where internal controls are often lacking, the budget is your canary in the coal mine. An unexplained variance between a budgeted and actual line item of revenue or expense, for example, may be the first red flag signaling a more serious problem.
Preparing an effective budget starts with asking leaders to estimate what they’ll need and to provide specific proposals for financing it. Reviewing last year’s budget is a key part of the process. Cost and revenue estimates need to be reasonable and attainable. Avoid the temptation to "wing" estimates or to be overly optimistic about contribution increases. At the same time, don't act like a watchdog at the gate of the treasury, opposing all new funding proposals with knee-jerk resistance.
Timely and reliable financial information is the underpinning of good stewardship and sound financial decisionmaking. Without this information, there’s no way to track budget performance.
For AVOs with minimal cash flow or whose finances revolve around a single event, paper-based record keeping may be acceptable. A template treasurer’s report with blanks for handwritten amounts can be just as effective as a computer-based system if the figures can be easily traced to supporting documents and are presented clearly. For such organizations, a simple monthly reconciliation of bank account activity classifying receipts and disbursements and reconciling beginning to ending cash balances may be enough to form the basis for a summarized quarterly financial report to the board.
As the organization grows, a switch to commercial accounting software such as QuickBooks® may be the best next step. It is vital at this juncture that you get set up with a proper chart of accounts and get the necessary training from someone with nonprofit accounting experience.
Like other volunteers, the treasurer will not serve indefinitely. Unfortunately, some AVO treasurers entrench themselves and resist transfer of control. Throughout their term of service, effective treasurers encourage and equip fellow volunteers to participate in financial management duties. When it’s time for the treasurer to pass the baton, these choruses will enjoy the least disruption.
Indeed, all board members share equal responsibility for the financial health of your organization. Officer titles vary, but those typically described as president, vice president, and secretary form a core board leadership group alongside the treasurer. The secretary should be diligent in taking complete and concise minutes that reflect filing of the treasurer’s report and all board decisions.
All-volunteer organizations constitute a huge economic and social force, helping communities of all types work better. As a front-line volunteer, the treasurer plays a critical role in sustaining the organization, maintaining essential stakeholder confidence, and supporting overall mission effectiveness.
This article is reprinted from The Voice, Winter 2011-12, with permission from Blue Avocado, a practical and readable online magazine for nonprofits. Subscribe free by visiting http://www.blueavocado.org.