PDF The annual 990 Information Return, required by the IRS, can be an opportunity for your not-for-profit organization to market itself. With the new disclosure requirements, the 990 provides many areas for your organization to explain its mission, activities, new services, and accomplishments. As a public document, this new expanded version is often reviewed by potential donors and sponsors to decide which organizations deserve their contributions and grant support.
The requirement for submission of a full 990 return has been phased in over a 3 year period. All organizations with annual gross receipts of $200,000 or more and/or assets of $500,000 or more are required to file the full 990 return for the 2010 return year, meaning most not-for-profit originations will be included in the new 990 by 2010. While the full 990 requires more detail and disclosure, i.e. more time to complete, it also provides the organization with an opportunity to more fully explain its organization and operations to the donating public. In fact, the IRS and not-for-profit monitoring groups encourage donors to review the publicly available 990 before donating to a specific organization.
Specific areas where your organization has the opportunity to market itself in the 990 Information Return:
- Part I: Significant activities can be used to emphasize the organization’s community services and accomplishments, including the number of people in the community who have benefitted from these services. It also provides the potential to explain how the organization sees itself serving the community in the future with expanded services and outreach.
- Part I: Number of volunteers allows the organization the platform to demonstrate the number and types of volunteers that presently facilitate the organization’s activities through in-kind donation of services.
- Part III: Organization’s Mission is the chance to tell donors what you are all about. If the organization’s mission statement is outdated or inaccurate for your current activities, revamp it to reflect your organization’s current mission. Donors will compare your mission with their own ideas related to the public good in deciding how to allocate their charitable giving dollars.
- Part III: New Program Services are often funded by charitable foundations that will fund new programs or activities of established not-for-profits before they will provide support for new organizations without a proven track record or simply fund operational shortfalls of old organizations.
- Part III: Changes in Programming: Funding sources are looking for organizations that are able to revise their programs in response to feedback from the clients they serve. Quality of service and response to changing client needs are important.
- Part III: Exempt Purpose Achievement should be used to provide detail for each of your organization’s programs, including the number of people served, and results you may have from client satisfaction surveys, and emphasis on the quality of services your provide. All achievements listed should relate directly to your mission statement. If they don’t, your mission statements may need further revision.
There are no established guidelines about the length of an organization’s narrative explanations in its 990 return so use these opportunities to provide as much detail as possible to persuade donors and funding sources that your organization is a good investment for their charitable giving time and dollars.