Nonprofit Accounting Blog

Card titled Fundraising event budget template: a free Excel file with budget against actual, value per guest, receipt wording, and a Schedule G preview. Three working tabs: Budget and actual, with price, value per guest, and costs by line; Donor disclosures, with the deductible amount and a receipt sentence; Schedule G preview, with Part II lines 1 to 11 and the $15,000 test. Banner: one budget answers the board, the donor, and the 990.

Fundraising Event Budget Template (Free Excel) for a Gala

A free fundraising event budget template in Excel, with budget against actual, the value per guest, donor receipt wording, and a Schedule G preview.

Card titled Fundraising event accounting: one $60,000 gala booked the day the money lands. Event revenue $17,360, the value of dinners, on Form 990 line 8a; contributions $42,640 from tickets, tables, and the paddle raise on line 1c; pledges $1,500 held as a receivable until the cards are paid. Banner: split every deposit the day it lands, no April rebuild.

Nonprofit Fundraising Event Accounting: Book a Gala Right

How to book a nonprofit gala as it happens: split tickets, sponsorships, and pledges into value and gifts, with journal entries and a ledger-to-990 crosswalk.

Card titled Form 990 Schedule G, one gala line by line: one $150 ticket splits into a $70 dinner value reported as event income on Schedule G line 3 and an $80 gift reported as a contribution on line 2 and line 1c, and payments over $75 need a written disclosure. Banner: the gala kept $37,360, Schedule G line 11 shows ($5,280), and both are right.

Form 990 Schedule G: A $60,000 Gala, Line by Line

How to fill out Form 990 Schedule G Part II, with one $60,000 gala mapped to every line of Schedule G, Form 990, and Form 990-EZ.

Sage green card titled Nonprofit whistleblower policy, with the reporting path attached: what Form 990 line 13 asks, which laws protect the person who reports, and where a report goes when there is no HR, with pills report, protect, respond; side panel three elements, one page: encourage the report of credible information on illegal practices or violations of adopted policies, protect from retaliation with the promise the policy makes and the laws behind it, name who receives it, the board chair, audit committee chair, or an outside line, with an alternate; banner: not a hotline, a promise about what happens to the person who speaks first.

Nonprofit Whistleblower Policy Template: The Three Elements Form 990 Line 13 Asks For, the Laws That Protect the Reporter, and Where a Report Goes

A nonprofit whistleblower policy template with a report form and intake log, the laws that actually protect the reporter, and what Form 990 line 13 asks.

Sage green card titled Nonprofit document retention policy, with the schedule attached: what Form 990 line 14 asks, how long each record has to stay, and when you are allowed to shred, with pills keep, hold, destroy; side panel three clocks, one schedule: 3 years then 6 then never for the IRS limitations periods behind every row, 4 years for payroll from the later of due or paid, permanent for the founding file of articles, bylaws, Form 1023, and the determination letter; banner: not a rule about keeping paper, permission to throw it away on a date you chose.

Nonprofit Document Retention Policy Template: The Retention Schedule, the Four Clocks Behind It, and What Form 990 Line 14 Asks

A nonprofit document retention policy template with a record retention schedule, the IRS and grant rules behind each period, and what Form 990 line 14 asks.

Sage green card titled Nonprofit conflict of interest policy: the three Form 990 boxes, the IRS sample as an editable template, and the annual disclosure form, with pills 12a policy, 12b disclosure, 12c enforcement; side panel three boxes, one file: adopt the policy in the minutes by year-end, collect a signed statement from every director every year, write the Schedule O sentence saying who is covered and what happens when a conflict appears; banner: a policy is not a wall around the board, it is a door that closes for one vote.

Nonprofit Conflict of Interest Policy Template: The Three Form 990 Boxes, the IRS Sample, and an Annual Disclosure Form

A nonprofit conflict of interest policy template adapted from the IRS sample, an annual disclosure form, and what earns a Yes on Form 990 Part VI line 12.

Card titled Nonprofit 1099 rules 2026: Who gets a 1099 from a nonprofit? The new $2,000 threshold, which form and box, and what the states want, with pills for 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, and W-2G. Side panel, three questions per payee: who is the payee, read W-9 box 3 not the invoice; what you paid for, services, rent, or a prize; how and how much, $2,000 for the year, not by card. Bottom banner: decided in December by the W-9 folder, not in January by the form.

Nonprofit 1099 Rules for 2026: The $2,000 Threshold, Who Gets One, and What the States Want

1099 for nonprofits and the 1099 threshold 2026: $2,000 per payee, which form and box, who is exempt, state rules, deadlines, and our $30 per-form price.

A three-column card comparing a freelance bookkeeper, a nonprofit bookkeeping firm, and do-it-yourself bookkeeping for a small nonprofit, with the one question that decides between them: who is responsible for the closed month.

Freelance Bookkeeper vs. Bookkeeping Firm vs. Doing It Yourself: A Small Nonprofit’s Guide

Freelance bookkeeper vs. bookkeeping firm for nonprofits, plus the do-it-yourself option: what each costs, what each misses, and how a small nonprofit chooses.

A 501(c)(3) determination letter summary card listing the five things the letter states, the three places to verify an organization's status, and the three ways to replace a lost letter.

501(c)(3) Determination Letter: What It Says, How to Verify Status, How to Replace It

What a 501(c)(3) determination letter contains, how to verify an organization’s status in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, and how to replace a lost one.

A Form 990 Schedule B summary card showing the $5,000 general rule, the greater-of-$5,000-or-2% special rule for public charities with a $700,000 example, and the split between what is public and what is withheld.

Form 990 Schedule B: Who to List, the 2% Rule, and What the Public Sees

Which donors go on Form 990 Schedule B, how the $5,000 general rule and the 2% special rule work with a worked example, what is public, and what to keep ready.

A Form 990 Schedule O summary card showing the two lines every filer must explain, Part VI 11b and 19, the other lines that trigger a narrative, and the three rules for writing it.

Form 990 Schedule O: Required Lines, How to Write It, and Sample Language

Which Form 990 lines require a Schedule O explanation, how to write the Part VI 11b and 19 narratives, sample language you can adapt, and the mistakes to avoid.

A donation receipt template card on a lavender background showing the six items an IRS-compliant 501(c)(3) receipt must carry and the one sentence to check first.

Donation Receipt Template: 4 Free 501(c)(3) Receipts (PDF + Word)

Free donation receipt template pack for 501(c)(3)s: a fillable PDF plus Word templates for cash, in-kind, event, and year-end gifts, with required IRS wording.

Nonprofit accounting, without the jargon.

Fundraising Event Budget Template (Free Excel) for a Gala

Nonprofit Fundraising Event Accounting: Book a Gala Right

Form 990 Schedule G: A $60,000 Gala, Line by Line

Nonprofit Whistleblower Policy Template: The Three Elements Form 990 Line 13 Asks For, the Laws That Protect the Reporter, and Where a Report Goes

Nonprofit Document Retention Policy Template: The Retention Schedule, the Four Clocks Behind It, and What Form 990 Line 14 Asks

Nonprofit Conflict of Interest Policy Template: The Three Form 990 Boxes, the IRS Sample, and an Annual Disclosure Form

Nonprofit 1099 Rules for 2026: The $2,000 Threshold, Who Gets One, and What the States Want

Freelance Bookkeeper vs. Bookkeeping Firm vs. Doing It Yourself: A Small Nonprofit’s Guide

501(c)(3) Determination Letter: What It Says, How to Verify Status, How to Replace It

Form 990 Schedule B: Who to List, the 2% Rule, and What the Public Sees

Form 990 Schedule O: Required Lines, How to Write It, and Sample Language

Donation Receipt Template: 4 Free 501(c)(3) Receipts (PDF + Word)

Nonprofit accounting,
without the jargon.