The Last Bylaws Pitfalls is...

Our staff attorneys have spent more than a year reviewing hundreds of nonprofit bylaws.Here is what they learned about the most common legal pitfalls! Register Today: The New Legal Bylaw Pitfalls Every New York Nonprofit Should Know [Webinar] Click here. Just Announced! Special Discount on our Nonprofit Revitalization Act Remedial Action Planwill be offered to all attendees! The Next (and Last) Bylaw Pitfall (#5) Is: Having Overly Generalized Indemnification & Insurance Policies   The Problem When it comes to potential exposure to personal liability faced by board and staff members affiliated with nonprofits, many organizations fail to clearly and sufficiently stipulate what guarantees and protections they offer. In some cases, unfortunately, organizations don't even secure appropriate insurance necessary to truly honor their promises.  Virtually all nonprofits should, and do, endeavor to indemnify their stakeholders from legal claims arising as a result of their service to the organization. Such decisions, however, merit requisite due diligence.   Indemnification obligations are generally two-fold:   Coverage of expenses that might be incurred in defending a legal action; Payment of any judgments or necessary settlement fees How do nonprofit meet these obligations? For most nonprofits, only with appropriate insurance coverage can they truly honor their indemnification commitments.  In our experience, many nonprofits needlessly expose themselves, and their stakeholders, to liability and potentially disastrous financial obligations by simply adopting brief, catch-all indemnification and insurance clauses in their by-laws.  Carefully consider the following questions: Does the indemnification and insurance clause expressly require the nonprofit to procure insurance coverage appropriate for its organizational needs and does it provide for procedures to assure that such coverage is maintained and can be adjusted as needed as the organization evolves?  Assuming a nonprofit's by-laws obligate the organization to maintain insurance coverage for purposes of indemnification, are the by-laws clear as to those who are actually indemnified?  Are staff expressly indemnified?  What about volunteers?  If so, are the terms of the underlying insurance policies in sync with the by-laws? Should the nonprofit also guarantee corporate funds in order to indemnify a stakeholder if its insurance carrier were to refuse to pay or if actual damages exceeded coverage limits? Remember, insurance coverage has its limitations.  What discretion should a board of directors have, if any, in authorizing the indemnification of a stakeholder who acted in bad-faith or engaged illegal conduct while loosely acting on behalf of the nonprofit?  (An unfortunate example can be found here.)  Actions to Consider Read More about the limitations of insurance, please read the following recent Q&A  from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. Scroll to the last question for the important question regarding what D&O insurance covers. You may also want to read the following:  Liability and the Board: What Governing Teams Need to Know What Do You Know About D&O Professional Liability and Governance Exposures: A Closer Look   For more information on NYCON's Members Only Directors & Officers Insurance (and to get a "Quick Quote") click here.

Register Now for Nonprofit Revitalization Act Webinars

Complying with the Nonprofit Revitalization Act:  A Practical Webinar Series for New York Nonprofits Presented by David Watson, Esq, Sr. VP of Legal Accountability Services and Michael West, Esq., Legal Advisor, NYCON  Various Dates: February 2014 - June 2014  The Nonprofit Revitalization Act is a landmark change in the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York that will usher in a modern era for the operation and governance of nonprofit corporations starting on July 1, 2014. Here at the New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. (NYCON) we eagerly anticipated the updated statutes and have prepared two practical webinars (to be repeated from February through June) designed to help address your immediate needs in complying with the new law. We will cover the updating of your bylaws, governance issues, materials and more. We encourage all Members to take advantage of these free webinars. Part 1: New  York Nonprofit Revitalization Act Part- Steps To Compliance - An Overview   This session will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the Act as well as a plenary Q/A portion. Webinar to be held in February, April & June - and will be updated accordingly if there are any changes to the law.  This session will provide you with a practical set of actions to take to amend your bylaws to meet the new standards of the Act. Dates: February 27th, April 24th, June 26th  Cost: FREE for current NYCON Nonprofit Members; $79 for Non-Members  Register       Part 2: New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act: Implementing Your Compliance Checklist - Whistleblower, Conflict of Interest, Committees & Executive Compensation: To be held in March and May, this webinar will be more detailed and will focus on the various topics included in the Act that are new and have implications on compliance and board governance in general and your operations specifically. Dates: March 25th and May 20th   Cost: FREE for current NYCON Nonprofit Members; $79 for Non-Members   Register ________________________________________________________________ What You Can Expect:   Participants for "live" webinars on date(s) selected are provided with the opportunity to get specific questions addressed by legal experts quickly. All webinar attendees will have access to a recording of the event and the webinar slides.  All webinar attendees will have access to a comprehensive overview of the Act, compiled by NYCON's expert staff. A recording of the webinar will be made available to NYCON Members for six months. Additional Documents, Tools & Phone Assistance Available to Members as follows:     Documents & Templates to assist your organization with the compliance process, produced by the NYCON Legal Department, will be available to members for $79. Documents, Tools & Templates plus additional assistance via phone to help with implementation can be purchased by members for $259 (includes two hours of phone assistance.) Direct technical assistance above and beyond this can be provided to members at our normal legal fee-for-service rate. Please contact us with any questions you have about the webinars or the Nonprofit Revitalizaton Act.

Nonprofit Revitalization Act Information The Nonprofit Revitalization Actmakes a number of key reforms to New York law in two main areas:    -Enhancing nonprofit governance and oversight to prevent fraud and improve public trust; and    -Reducing unnecessary and outdated burdens on nonprofits. "The Nonprofit Revitalization Act represents significant and much needed reform," according to Doug Sauer, NYCON's CEO. "Everyone involved is to be congratulated for making this landmark piece of legislation happen. Given that the Act does not take effect until July 1, 2014, there is ample time to review and make any necessary amendments. NYCON looks forward to continuing our partnership with the Sponsors of the Act throughout the amendment process."  Upcoming NYCON "Lunch & Learn" Webinars      3/25/2014 Nonprofit Revitalization Act Compliance: Part 2 3/28/2014 "Get to Know Us": NYCON Membership Benefits Orientation [Webinar] 3/28/2014 Conducting a Governance Self Assessment [Webinar]

Improve Your Nonprofit's Website This Summer

From Audit to Redesign: The Complete Nonprofit Website Toolkit! Brought to you through our partnership with Idealware, this webinar series takes place each Tuesday from June 4 through July 2 and are held from 1:00pm  - 2:30pm (EST). Pricing for Five 90-minute sessions: Only $140 for the entire series for NYCON Members with code NYCON2013;  $200 for Non-Members [Membership will be verified] Find Out More & Register Online Can you remember when your organization's website was designed? Can your supporters and constituents navigate and find the information they need? Can your staff members easily create or update content on your website? If you answered "no" to any of those questions, it might be time to bring that website into the 21st Century. Join Idealware for From Audit to Redesign: The Complete Nonprofit Website Toolkit, an amazing five-session webinar series presented in partnership with Idealware, and they'll walk you through Website 101, review best practices for accessibility, mobile-optimized sites, and reinforcing your organization's online brand, and review content management systems. From Audit to Redesign: The Complete Nonprofit WebsiteToolkit will look at all aspects of your website, including:   ·         Defining goals for how your website will serve your audience.    ·         Learning best practices for designing an accessible, usable, and polished website.    ·         Comparing your content management system (CMS) options.    ·         How to make sure your website shows up well on search engines ·         Creating your organization's website action plan with next steps and action items for an improvement process.    In addition to the five webinars, participants in the Toolkit will have access to Office Hours. These are one hour time blocks during which you have access to an Idealware expert one-on-one.    Webinars take place each Tuesday fromJune 4 through July 2 and are held from1:00pm  - 2:30pm (EST).   Pricing for Five 90-minute sessions: Only $140 for the entire series for NYCON Members with code NYCON2013;  $200 for Non-Members [Membership will be verified] Find Out More & Register Online What Nonprofits are Saying About Idealware Webinars "This entire seminar was just fantastic. I learned so much. I especially liked all the practical applications and examples given. I will definitely recommend this course to other people. Great job!!" "Really liked the format-especially having the slides in advance. Allowed me to listen more and parallel process the information that applied to my organization." "Excellent seminar. Very informative. Great examples to illustrate points. Friendly, personable presenters." "We loved the seminar and found it very useful for our nonprofit organization. The ability to ask questions during the presentation, and the work book, are very valuable tools."

New Webinar for Spring & Summer

Know Thy Self: Assessing Organizational Readiness When Taking on the World of Restructuring [Lunch & Learn Webinar] Presented by Doug Sauer, CEO, New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. Tuesday May 7th, 2013    11:00am to 12:30pm    Register Now      Affiliation discussions are a discovery process - uncovering and clarifying motivations, interests, organizational facts and circumstances, strengths and weaknesses. It is a process where potential partners learn about each other and yes, learn about themselves as well. Successful affiliation talks depend largely on each party being prepared, as transparency starts internally first. The more clarity your board and staff leadership can get as to the organization's true operational, fiscal, and "mission" health, the better positioned the organization will be in type of restructuring or collaboration. This webinar, led by our seasoned restructuring expert, Doug Sauer CEO, will guide attendees as to the questions that you should first ask yourselves and then extend to your potential partner.

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Explore Employee Benefits that You Can Afford! May: Spotlight on  Flexible Spending Account Program (FSA) and Life Insurance Programs  We know that the Employe Benefits "Market" can be complicated.  Our job is to help make that world more simple, and affordable for nonprofits. To help you understand each type of benefit, it's coverage features and it's costs we are rolling out a series of short 30-minute webinar spotlights on our administered programs: Health Insurance,Flexible Spending Accounts and our Vision Program - which is new for 2013!   Up next... 5/9/2013 Flexible Spending Account Prgm thru NYCON [Webinar] 5/23/2013 Life Insurance Program Spotlight [Webinar]

Social Media Myth Busting: If You Build It, Will They Come? [Lunch & Learn Webinar] Presented by Andrew Marietta, Regional Manager, Central NY Office, NYCON and Valerie Venezia, Vice President, Membership & Marketing, NYCON June 14th, 2013 11:00am to 12:30pm  Register Now   Sometimes it seems like there's a new hot social media tool launched every day of the week. Figuring out what these tools do, how our nonprofit should use them, and frankly, if you need to use these tools can boggle anyone's mind. As busy nonprofit staff and board members we need to know what specific tool do we use for our specific goals? How do we measure success? This webinar will help cut through the clutter of social media mayhem and help you simplify, refocus, and target social media tools based on organizational needs and a focused message (and maybe even some actual metrics!)   Register Now

The Two Good (& Short) Webinars You May Have Missed this Month...

Last week NYCON hosted and recorded two very short, informative webinars on two very different topics. These were two great webinars that you (probably) missed. Take a few minutes and check them out when it's convenient for you!  First, our Dental Program Spotlight:  NYCON's most popular (and very affordable) employee benefit, this program provides two optoins, comprehensive coverage and a array of providers to choose from. Take a few minutes and listen to Eric Laughlin of CS Plus give a quick overview of how the program works, what it covers and how much it costs. CLICK HERE. DoGoodBuyUs Corporate Member Spotlight:Does your nonprofit have great goods to sell? Are you looking for an online marketplace to help you spread the word? Check out the 20 minute Corporate Member spotlight we did with Zach Rosenberg, Founder of DoGoodBuyUs.CLICK HERE.

News from NYCON

Just Like the Tournament, the Camp Finance Discount is Almost Over! Register Before April 7th to Save...  Register Today  Are you still feeling the March Madness? The Camp Finance Team at NYCON still is... and we want to make sure the people who are "mad" about Camp Finance can save on their early registration. From now through the end of the  "Final Four" (April 7th) you can get a $50 discount on paid Full Conference registration for Camp Finance. Just click here and enter discount code"MarchMadness" to get $50 off of your paid Full Conference registration (Sorry, no discount applies to Day Trip Registration Rates.)    Looking forward to seeing you on the mountain!  Please note: This discount offer applies to Credit Card Online or Pay By Phone Orders Only. If you prefer to have our Staff take your payment and registration via phone please contact Amber Vanderwarker at 1 (800) 515-5012 ext. 126.    We've Got ANI!  Welcome our Newest Conference Sponsor ANI is an insurance company governed by nonprofits themselves.  ANI is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit that is governed by other 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits. They aren't just a "program" of an insurance company that specializes in nonprofits. Insuring nonprofits is their entire mission.

Explore Employee Benefits that You Can Afford! Spotlight on our Affordable Dental Program for Employees, Volunteers & Board Members April 11th, 2013 10am We know that the Employe Benefits "Market" can becomplicated.  Our job is to help make that world more simple, and affordable for nonprofits. To help you understand each type of benefit, it's coverage features and it's costs we are rolling out a series of short 30-minute webinar spotlights on our administered programs: Health Insurance,Flexible Spending Accounts and our Vision Program - which is new for 2013! Up next... 4/11/2013  [Benefit Spotlight Webinar] Dental Insurance Plans & Administration through NYCON  Stay tuned for Flexible Spending Account &  Life Insurance Webinars...

DoGoodBuyUs! [Corporate Member Spotlight] Thursday, April 11, 2013 from 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM (EDT) Online - Call And Login Information Will Be Sent To You 24-48 Hours In Advance Of This Workshop REGISTER NOW

At DoGoodBuyUs (http://www.dogoodbuy.us) they believe    consumerism can change the world so, they created the largest marketplace of charity made products.  With each purchase, 50%+ proceedsare dedicated to fighting poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation and other life-threatening ills around the globe! As nonprofits around the country look for ways to bolster their fundraising, 100's have turned to DoGoodBuyUs as a way to bridge the gap between causes and the consumer market. DoGoodBuyUs works with nonprofits around the world, helping them sell the products they (and now we) have created. DoGoodBuyUs is the newest Corproate Member* of NYCON. On this spotlight webinar you will learn:   Why products have become a successful part of many nonprofits revenue generation strategy How to get started, what the process is like, services offered and more.. The long term benefits Join us on April 11th at 2pm for a quick 30 minute overview on just how DoGoodBuyUs can Do Good by your nonprofit & community. *Please note that this company is NOT a NYCON Endorsed Corporate Partner.

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Building a Powerful Grants Calendar [Lunch & Learn Webinar] Presented by Cynthia Adams, Founder, Grantstaion.com Friday, April 12, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM (EDT) Call And Login Information Will Be Sent To You 24-48 Hours In Advance Of This Workshop Register Now

This webinar will take participants through the process of establishing a grants calendar for the next 12 to 18 months. Fast-paced, and filled with action steps, Cynthia Adams will discuss how to design and adopt a Grant Decision Matrix before beginning the process of building a specific grants strategy for each project. All participants will also receive a set of worksheets that they can use to create their own approach to building grants calendars and grants strategies for their organizations. This webinar is for beginning, intermediate and advanced grantwriters.

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NYCON Membership Benefits Orientation [Webinar] Good for Prospective, New & Returning Members! April 18th, May 17th or June 14th - Your Choice Register Now

In our "Get to Know Us" Sessions, NYCON staff will tell you a lot more about our membership benefits - and answer all the questions you have regarding our process, costs and what you get for FREE.  We will be talking about these benefits. Nonprofit Training, Education and Professional Assistance NYCON empowers our members with the best practices, policies, and procedures as well as information on ever-changing regulations, funding, accountability and more.   Cost Savings Solutions for Nonprofits NYCON leverages the purchasing power of thousands of nonprofits to bring you economies of scale on everything from Office Supplies to Fundraising Software.   The Nonprofit Voice in New York State NYCON represents our members on the local, state and national level, giving voice to small and medium sized nonprofits everywhere.   Register Now

Creating a Strategic Culture: Going Beyond Planning [Lunch & Learn Webinar] Presented by Susan Weinrich, VP of Organizational Develoment Services, NYCON Friday, April 19, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (EDT) Call And Login Information Will Be Sent Via Email Register Now Developing a strategic plan is an important component of organizational success; developing strategic thinkingthroughout the organization, however, is what enables an organization to make timely and effective decisions before, during, and after the establishment of a strategic plan. This session will provide guidance and offer suggestions on how you can leverage the impact of your strategic plan (if you have one) and build a culture where Board and staff leadership look forward rather than backward and seize opportunities rather than manage crisis. Learn how to improve your organizational decision making and move forward with shared purpose, commitment, and vision.

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