Grants from donor-advised funds (DAFs) to charitable organizations totaled $52 billion in 2022 and contributions to DAFs reached $85 billion, an all-time high, according to the 2023 Donor-Advised Fund Report from the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT). Data for the NPT’s 2024 report is currently being collected.
Even with these astounding numbers, NPT data from 1,151 charities shows that DAFs actually grew at a slower pace than in previous years. Nevertheless, nonprofits should keep their eye on them. Here’s what your organization needs to know if it’s considering DAF funds.
The global cost of cybercrime is expected to soar in coming years, and nonprofits are far from immune to the threat. The rising role of technology, especially in an age of increased remote work, leaves organizations of all kinds vulnerable to data-related crime.
Nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator — which has rated nearly 210,000 organizations as of Fall 2023 — has made significant changes to how it calculates its scores. Its Accountability & Finance scores now are calculated based on defined nonprofit characteristics. Larger, donor-funded charities will undergo an in-depth evaluation, while organizations that are smaller or not funded by donors will be assessed with a more-focused set of metrics. Charity Navigator also is removing metrics such as administrative expense ratios, fundraising ratios and program expense growth metrics.
Cost allocation can be a cumbersome task for nonprofits, especially organizations with many activities. However, the process is critical for multiple reasons, and it’s worth reviewing your cost allocation practices regularly to ensure they’re working as intended.
Let’s face it: Most nonprofits are founded on a passionate belief in service. This doesn’t always include a passion for numbers. To fill this gap in financial expertise, nonprofits often hire chief financial officers (CFOs). But do all nonprofits — including small organizations — need one?
President Biden signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) 2.0 Act into law in late 2022, but much of the wide-reaching retirement legislation is being phased in over time. There are some significant changes in 2024 and 2025 that may help nonprofit employers recruit and retain employees. Here’s what you need to know.
The median loss for nonprofits that fell victim to fraud was $60,000, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations. The average loss for nonprofits was $851,000. Such losses could prove devastating for many organizations. But with strong internal controls to prevent and detect fraudulent activity, organizations can reduce this risk.