OnFire Nonprofit Consulting

11/01/2024

GoFundMe and Meta partnered to enable nonprofits and donors to share causes they care about through Meta social media platforms.

10/31/2024

10/30/2024

Many of my followers have read the Nonprofit articles that I have written and published over the years, so I thought I would share a poem with you. I wondered if you knew that I also write and publish poetry.

Winds of Change: Reflections on Hurricane Helene 2024
A Poem of Resilience and Strength

It started the week before with evening thunderstorms that were intense and strong.
From the storms the water deficit had been caught up, it had been so long.

Reports came that a hurricane would soon hit the South East affecting WNC, where I have always resided.
I nor no one could imagine or dare to dream of the devastation that would soon be unleashed by the hurricane named Helene, where many barely survived and others died.

WNC has seen its share of hurricane rain and wind from those that affected the coast.
We have never seen this strong of a hurricane leaving destruction in the mountains as it would on the seacoast.

Helene brought winds that uprooted trees, created angry, raging creeks, streams and rivers that would not be contained and land that could not carry the weight of the water and slid down our slopes.
Trees, water and mud slides destroyed roads leaving many in WNC trapped with no escape and without hope.

Those who were fortunate to have minimal damage we were still without power and cell service.
Without these modern comfort services, it left us anxious, worried and nervous.

It didn’t take long for the people of WNC and Appalachia to return to our roots.
We are truly resilient and know how to take care of neighbors, friends and kin, so we laced up our boots.

Neighborhoods which were once powered by the lights of computers, TV’s and smartphones were replaced with candles and back yard fires where family, friends and neighbors shared what food and resources they had left.
Fear turned to sharing, caring and offering any and everything you had left to help in any way possible. The furthest thing from our minds at the time was worrying about theft.

The first week was spent volunteering and helping. The call came they needed individuals with medical experience and that could hike miles.
I answered that call and humbled to see hundreds were there and also answered the call. You see we were all willing to do what we could to make WNC again complete and smile.

During the rescue phase we didn’t even know survivor guilt was a thing.
When the rescue phase ended and recovery started many of us were left with unexplainable feelings and emotions that we could not control or explain.

Our only hope is that we have done and continue to do enough to help our WNC family, friends and neighbors sustain.
Time will tell and time will hopefully heal WNC and Appalachia, we are hopeful for the time being what will stay away are those who want to take advantage of our kin and for now the rain.

Author; Melissa Metcalf Le Roy
Published - October 16, 2024

10/29/2024

3 Tips to Improve
Your Federal Grant Applications

1. Navigating the federal grant landscape can be a daunting task. Applications are highly competitive, the process is complex, and it demands a significant investment of time and resources. To increase your chances of success, here are three tips I recommend:
Start Early and Prepare Thoroughly: Federal grants require extensive preparation. Begin your planning well before the grant application is released. Register with Grants.gov and Sam.gov as these take time. Ample preparation ensures you have time to gather data, develop partnerships, and build a strong proposal foundation.

2. Read Successful Applications: One of the best ways to learn how to craft a winning federal grant proposal is to study successful applications. Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you can request copies of past winning proposals from federal agencies. Reviewing these applications will give you insights into how other organizations structured their proposals, highlighted their strengths, and addressed specific grant requirements. You can also read Award Winning Grant Proposals on GrantStation’s website.

3. Collect Data That Shows Your Record of Success: Make sure you have the data needed to communicate your strong track record in order to reassure grant reviewers that your organization has the experience, expertise, and capability to effectively manage the funding and deliver on your proposed project’s goals.

Alice Ruhnke | President | GrantStation.com

10/28/2024

Tips from experts that can help you measure results, share them in meaningful and inspiring ways, and avoid common pitfalls.

10/25/2024

The report’s conclusions about the state of giving have potentially troubling implications for philanthropy’s future.

10/24/2024

MIP Fund Accounting and GiveSmart make nonprofit fundraising easy. Maximize your end-of-year fundraising efforts.

10/23/2024

Improvements to Federal Grantmaking Rules are Now in Effect

On October 1st, the new federal rule making improvements to the federal grantmaking process took effect. The major revision to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance addresses several longstanding challenges in the government grants process that have limited nonprofit effectiveness, discouraged qualified organizations from seeking and performing under federal grants, and wasted billions of dollars and countless hours in needlessly complex application and reporting requirements. Of particular note, the revised Guidance raises the de minimis indirect cost rate that governments using federal funds must pay to every grantee to 15% (up from 10%), removes multiple barriers to accessing federal grant funding, mandates streamlining and simplifying of Notices of Funding Opportunities (requests for proposals), and raises the Single Audit threshold to $1 million (from $750,000). To learn more, check out the helpful summary of the beneficial changes in the rule from the National Council of Nonprofits.

10/22/2024

2025 (and 2024?) Federal Tax Legislation Could Affect Nonprofits

Many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will expire at the end of 2025. While some of the tax cuts and tax breaks in TCJA are contentious, many of the provisions have broad bipartisan support. That means that, regardless of which party is in the White House and in control of Congress, major tax legislation will be a priority for leaders in Washington next year. The forthcoming tax policy discussions could have significant implications for nonprofits. To help provide some details, the National Council of Nonprofits has prepared a series of tax policy briefs on key nonprofit issues, including:
Charitable giving tax incentives;
Nonpartisanship for 501(c)(3) nonprofits;
Disaster tax relief; and
Tax code impediments to volunteering.

The NC Center for Nonprofits plans to prioritize these and other tax policy issues affecting nonprofits in our advocacy with North Carolina’s congressional delegation next year.

More immediately, the Center plans to work with our national partners to advocate for Congress to pass disaster tax relief legislation in the near future to help communities affected by Hurricane Helene. As the Center has done when previous natural disasters have ravaged parts of North Carolina, we will encourage our members to Congress to include four important tax policy provisions to help nonprofits – and the communities they serve – recover from the hurricane:

Ensuring that nonprofits affected by Hurricane Helene receive automatic extension of their filing deadlines for the Forms 990 and other IRS filings;
Including nonprofits in any temporary employer tax credits designed to help businesses recovery from the hurricane;
Ensuring that Congress applies any tax benefits in its disaster tax legislator to (longer term) hurricane recovery efforts and not merely to immediate hurricane relief; and
Encouraging Americans to give more generously to support Hurricane Helene relief and recovery efforts by creating a temporary tax deduction for charitable contributions to nonprofits affected by the hurricane and those providing relief and recovery services to affected communities.

The expiration of key provisions of the 2017 tax law at the end of 2025 sets the stage for one of the most consequential tax debates in a generation.

10/21/2024

By leveraging the power of social proof and storytelling, you can drive higher returns from your strategic direct mail campaigns.

10/18/2024

A new independent study sheds light on how AI use by nonprofits is reshaping donor behavior, trust and engagement.

10/17/2024

While year-end planning starts months in advance, here’s what you can do right now to set things in motion for the giving season.

10/16/2024

Let’s take a look at current software trends to consider as you plan your nonprofit’s technology mix for today and the future.

10/15/2024

The first Donate Now button was released in 1999 and for the next two decades, nonprofits have embraced the study of inspiring people to give online.

10/14/2024

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have revealed the secret sauce behind what’s working for successful nonprofit giving marketing campaigns.

10/12/2024

Funding from the Dogwood Health Trust is providing $25,000 grants to nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and public agencies in WNC.

10/11/2024

In the realm of charitable giving, finding new donors is like discovering hidden gems that fuel your mission's growth. As the heartbeat of your cause, these

10/10/2024

Are you ready for GivingTuesday 2024? Make a plan with CauseVox to raise more on the Global Day of Giving this year. Check out our guide.

10/07/2024

Grant funding is essential to nonprofits' bottom line, download this checklist to ensure you're checking all the necessary boxes.

10/04/2024

The integration of multimedia capabilities into mobile messaging, such as video and photo sharing, has helped nonprofits inspire donors via text more than ever.

10/03/2024

How well your nonprofit's email, social media, and fundraising campaigns perform depends upon how well your website is designed.

10/02/2024

Inspiring younger generations to support your mission is similar to approaching your existing donors—you must meet them where they are.

10/01/2024

26% of online donors say email is the tool that most inspires them to give. This post is a comprehensive guide to email fundraising for nonprofits.

09/30/2024

09/20/2024

It was such an honor speaking this afternoon to the Cleveland County Chamber Nonprofits