Welcome to your daily briefing on nonprofit developments in Michigan. Today we're covering 4 key stories including updates on michigan nonprofit headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
1 story
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3 stories
Negligent-screening claims arise not from failing to have a screening policy, but from failing to follow the policy that exists. Consult legal counsel about whether your screening policy, as enforced, strengthens or weakens your defense posture; inconsistent enforcement can create challenges in some jurisdictions.
Insurance carriers tighten coverage on organizations with screening-process gaps. The cost of consistent enforcement is small; the cost of a single uninvestigated incident can close the organization.
Donor-restricted gifts must be tracked separately and used only for the restricted purpose; using them for general operations — even with intent to "pay back" later — is a fiduciary breach and an audit finding. The most-common fact pattern: cash-flow shortage in operations, restricted-grant balance available, transfer "borrowed" with no formal repayment plan.
State attorneys general have authority over restricted-gift compliance and have pursued individual board members and executives. Auditors are required to disclose restricted-fund violations in the management letter.
Form 990 is required to be made public by the filing organization on request and is indexed by ProPublica and others within weeks of filing. Sections most boards underestimate: Schedule J (top-staff compensation), Schedule L (transactions with interested persons), and Schedule O (narrative explanations that "soften" other answers). Donors and reporters read these.
Items that read fine in management's narrative often read very differently in print. Pre-filing review by a non-finance board member catches optics issues that a CFO will not.
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