Web Resources

Accountants for the Public Interest is a nonprofit group with affiliates nationwide that helps charities find free or low-cost accounting help. Contact them by writing Accountants for the Public Interest at the University of Baltimore, Thurnel Business Center, Room 155, 1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; calling 410-837-6533; or visiting http://accounting.pro2net.com/asso/api/index.html.

Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) is the professional association for individuals responsible for generating philanthropic support for nonprofits. AFP represents 26,000 members in 170 chapters throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and China working to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education, and certification programs. Contact AFP by writing to 1101 King Street, Suite 700, Alexandria, VA 22314-2967; calling 800-666-3863; or visiting www.afpnet.org.

Board Assist.orgBoardAssist is a New York-based nonprofit corporation with a clear mission: to identify and recruit high impact board members for the nonprofit community. http://www.boardassist.org/.

Board Café is the electronic newsletter exclusively for members of nonprofit boards of directors. Short enough to read over a cup of coffee, Board Café offers a menu of ideas, information, opinion, news, and resources to help board members give and get the most out of board service. Each issue will bring you a cornucopia of "Little Ideas," as well as one "Big Idea" you can use in your board work. Visit Board Café at http://www.blueavocado.org/.

BoardNetUSA is a unique website dedicated to the express purpose of connecting nonprofit boards and new leaders. The site is designed to be a common technological platform for a national collaborative network of communities working locally to enhance nonprofit board governance. This growing network of Community Partners work together on common themes of populating board rooms as well as individually developing services tailored to their local market. Take advantage of this additional board matching resource by visiting www.boardnetusa.org.

BoardSource is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations by strengthening their boards of directors. BoardSource offers membership, publications, and other resources about governance. Contact BoardSource by writing to 1828 L Street, NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C. 20036; calling 1-800-883-6262; or visiting http://www.boardsource.org.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers guidance to donors on making informed giving decisions through charity evaluations, various “tips” publications, and publishes the quarterly Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide . The BBB Wise Giving Alliance is a merger between the National Charities Information Bureau and the Council of Better Business Bureaus Foundation and its Philanthropic Advisory Service. Contact them by visiting www.give.org.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is the bi-weekly newspaper for the nonprofit world. Visit the Chronicle’s website, www.philanthropy.com, for the latest edition, additional resources, or subscription information.

CharityChannel is a resource that connects nonprofit colleagues across town, across the country, and around the world. www.charitychannel.com

City Limits Magazine is recognized for its authoritative investigations into the city housing, welfare and health care bureaucracies and the criminal justice system, as well as its hard-hitting economic and environmental reporting. It also publishes a weekly e-bulletin with events calendar and job listings. www.citylimits.org

The Foundation Center is a leading source of information on foundations. The Foundation Center provides access to information through its website and at its libraries and cooperating collections nationwide. Contact the Foundation Center by calling 212-620-4230; visiting www.fdncenter.org; or writing to 79 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10003-3076.

Governance Matters works to raise the standards of governance of nonprofit organizations, particularly in New York. Its varied members include individuals and organizations ranging from nonprofit umbrella agencies and consultants to funders, regulators, academics, lawyers and accountants. http://governancematters.org.

GuideStar is a searchable database of more than 620,000 nonprofit organizations in the United States. Created by Philanthropic Research, Inc., it collects and presents comprehensive information about nonprofit organizations. Contact Guidestar at Philanthropic Research, Inc., 427 Scotland Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185, (757) 229-4631; or visit http://www.guidestar.org.

Independent Sector (IS) is a national coalition of nearly 800 voluntary organizations, foundations, and corporate giving programs that work to encourage philanthropy, volunteering, not-for-profit initiative, and citizen action. Contact IS by calling 202-223-6100; visiting www.indepsec.org; or writing to Suite 200, 1200 18th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

The Internal Revenue Service website offers answers to frequently asked questions about tax-exempt organizations and sample forms and descriptions of nonprofit reporting requirements. Contact the IRS exempt organizations division by calling 202-622-6070 or visiting www.irs.gov/bus_info/eo.

Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits offers library of materials on nonprofit management. www.mapnp.org.

The National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA) is a network of 41 state and regional associations with a collective membership of more than 20,000 community nonprofits. Contact NCNA by calling (202) 467-6262; writing to NCNA at 1900 L Street, NW, Suite 605, Washington, D.C. 20036-5024, or visiting the website at http://www.ncna.org.

The Nonprofit Times is a leading business publication for nonprofit management. www.nptimes.com.

NYCharities.org is a free website dedicated to helping everyone donate whatever they can—time, money, talent—to NY State’s 60,000 nonprofits. www.nycharities.org

The Charitable Institutions Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney General is responsible for supervising charitable organizations to insure that donors and beneficiaries are protected from unscrupulous practices in the solicitation and management of charitable assets. The Bureau also supervises the activity of foundations and other charities to insure that their funds and other property devoted to charitable purposes are properly used. Contact the local Executive Office at 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271, (212) 416-8000; or visit http://www.oag.state.ny.us/charities/charities.html.

The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) is the largest state accounting organization in the nation and currently has 30,000 members. NYSSCPA cultivates, promotes, and disseminates knowledge and information concerning certified public accountants; establishes and maintains high standards of integrity, honor, and character among certified public accountants; furnishes information regarding accountancy and the practice and methods thereof to its members and the general public; and protects the interests of its members and the general public with respect to the practice of accountancy. NYSSCPA established that CPAs on Boards Initiative that connects CPAs to nonprofit boards. Visit their website at www.nysscpa.org.

The Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York (NPCC) helps nonprofits meet common challenges and problems, to serve as a meeting ground, and to strengthen the nonprofit sector as a whole. NPCC has over 1,300 members in the New York metropolitan area. It publishes a monthly newsletter, New York Nonprofits, offers workshops and roundtables on management issues, provides low-cost vendor services, convenes a monthly Government Relations Committee providing a watchful eye over government and legislative issues affecting the sector, and maintains a website with writings on matters pertaining to operating a nonprofit. Contact NPCC by visiting www.npccny.org.

Support Center for Nonprofit Management develops and nurtures nonprofit leaders and organizations at all stages of their development. Support Center works to help individuals develop practical skills and knowledge, build productive relationships, and find the information resources they need to further their own professional development. It works to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations enabling them to better serve their clients and communities and increase the quality of life in their neighborhoods. www.supportctr.org.

United Way of America provides a wide variety of information and direct services to organizations including board placement, management assistance, training, and consulting. Call United Way of America’s interactive phone line at 800-411-UWAY or visit their website at http://www.unitedway.org. To connect with the United Way of New York City, visit http://www.uwnyc.org or call (212) 251-2500.

Prepared for United Way of New York City Linkages Board Training Program, May 2006