LAPA - Laurence A. Pagnoni & Associates – Innovative Development and Management Services

Welcome to our fall e-newsletter -- providing tips and updates from Laurence A. Pagnoni & Associates, Inc. (LAPA). Our e-newsletter is designed to keep you informed about our services and to provide you with LAPA’s take on innovations in the nonprofit world.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

-- A Note from Laurence: Welcoming New Clients
-- Can an “Intermediary Organization” Fund Technical Assistance for Your Agency?
-- LAPA Reviews Important Changes in Charities Law

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A NOTE FROM LAURENCE:

I am proud to open this edition of our e-newsletter by welcoming nine new LAPA clients!

Fundraising Services:
-- The Women’s Center at Montefiore Hospital (Bronx)
-- New York AIDS Coalition (Statewide)
-- Hogan’s Residence (Brooklyn)

Management Assistance:
-- Bellevue Hospital’s HIV/AIDS Services (Lower East Side)
-- The Fortune Society (Statewide and National)
-- Westchester County Department of Health (Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland Counties)

A combination of Management Assistance and Fundraising Services:
-- Doctors for an Open Society (National)
-- China AIDS Fund (International, China)
-- Lavender Light: The Black and People of All Colors Lesbian and Gay Gospel Choir (National)

LAPA’s expanding network of clients creates exciting opportunities for collaboration. In the past, we have successfully facilitated relationships between our clients and promoted projects of mutual interest to different agencies. If you think that the mission of any of LAPA’s clients might be aligned with your collaboration needs, please give me a call at (718) 708-6778, ext. 1. We would be glad to broker a meeting.

For more detailed descriptions of each of these organizations, along with profiles of established LAPA clients, visit our Web site at: http://www.lp-associates.com/clients.php.

On a final note, LAPA continues to nurture our partner organization, NonProfit Innovations, Inc. (NPI). We applaud NPI’s independent board for opening their new office at 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 540. The new space is located at The Interchurch Center, at 120th Street in Manhattan. If you are in the area, we would be thrilled to visit with you there.

Laurence A. Pagnoni, MA, MPA

lpagnoni@lp-associates.com

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CAN AN “INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION” FUND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR YOUR AGENCY?

Many of the services that LAPA offers fall in the category of “technical assistance”--services that help make your organization work better. These can include outsourced services (such as grant-writing performed off-site), or on-site training. Many times, bringing in outside assistance to help you deal with fundraising and management challenges in your organization can be more rewarding and cost-effective than trying to do everything yourself.

LAPA, along with its partner, NonProfit Innovations, Inc. (NPI), is working with funders to help them understand the importance of technical assistance in creating new levels of performance in the non-profit sector. The more funders who are interested in this area, the easier it will be for under-resourced, community-based organizations to receive high-quality technical assistance and management support services at a low cost.

You might already qualify to receive subsidized technical assistance through an “Intermediary Organization.” Intermediary Organizations are large, well-established institutions that support smaller groups as part of their mission. The following organizations have asked LAPA to work with their clients. If you have existing relationships with one of these groups, contact Laurence at 212-868-4800, ext. 1 to discuss opportunities to receive low or no-cost technical assistance:

-- The United Way of New York City <www.unitedwaynyc.org>

-- PROCEED, Inc. <www.proceedinc.com>

-- AIDS Institute, New York State Department of Health <http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/aids/index.htm >

-- National Minority AIDS Council <http://www.nmac.org>

-- Communities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief (CAERE) Coalition /
Supporting Networks of HIV Care

-- Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies <www.fpwa.org>

-- Interfaith Medical Center <www.interfaithmedical.com>
(Supporting Brooklyn-based organizations)

-- Open Society Institute <www.soros.org>
(Supporting emerging organizations and groups focused on criminal-justice issues)

-- Bailey House <www.baileyhouse.org>

-- Hispanic Federation <www.hispanicfederation.org>

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LAPA REVIEWS IMPORTANT CHANGES IN CHARITIES LAW

Nonprofit executives and board members should be aware that important changes in New York State’s charities laws are looming on the horizon. Last year, in the wake of the Enron scandals, federal lawmakers passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring publicly traded companies to comply with high levels of financial accountability and internal controls. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, with the support of advocates like the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, is working to pass a similar law applying to nonprofit organizations.

LAPA applauds the implementation of high standards for nonprofit oversight and accountability. For years, we have encouraged our clients to voluntarily comply with such standards and have advocated for this level of legal reform. Moreover, LAPA designs its development and management service products (such as strategic plans, board of director evaluations, and board recruitment drives) to meet these guidelines.

LAPA’s understanding is that there are five major areas in which the law will affect nonprofits:

1. Audit committee – All nonprofits with revenues over $1 million (or $3 million in gross assets) will be required to form an audit committee, made up of independent individuals, to oversee their audit process. The executive director, whose salary is paid by the organization, and consultants who are doing other business with the nonprofit are not considered independent.

2. Executive committee – In order to ensure that a board entity is paying attention to important financial and governance matters, all nonprofits with boards larger than 25 people are required to form an executive committee.

3. Interested party transactions – Nonprofit boards entering into an “interested party transaction” (any decision from which a director or officer can directly or indirectly benefit financially, including decisions about compensation) must be able to prove that the transaction is beneficial to the nonprofit, and that the transaction was transparent and in good faith.
4. Indemnification – The law may place limits on the protection that organizations can offer their board members from being sued because they are members of the board.

5. Certifications of financial information – For nonprofits under a certain threshold (currently $1 million in annual revenue or $3 million in gross assets), the President and Treasurer or chief staff officers must certify that they have seen the financial reports and verify that the statements fairly represent the nonprofit’s financial status to the best of the officers’ knowledge. Nonprofits above that threshold must do the same, and also verify that the nonprofit has adequate internal financial controls.

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Click here to contact Laurence A. Pagnoni or a LAPA associate.