Welcome to your daily briefing on nonprofit developments in Michigan. Today we're covering 5 key stories including updates on michigan nonprofit headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
2 stories
The Michigan Attorney General's office provides an online search portal to look up charities, public safety organizations, and professional fundraisers.
Nonprofit professionals in MI can use this tool to verify registration status, research competitors, and ensure compliance with state charitable trust requirements.
MI Funding Hub is a centralized platform offering grants, funding opportunities, technical assistance, and tools designed to empower Michigan communities.
Nonprofit professionals across Michigan can streamline their search for funding and support while accessing resources specifically tailored to local community development needs.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
Negligent-screening claims arise not from failing to have a screening policy, but from failing to follow the policy that exists. A documented policy with inconsistent enforcement is harder to defend than no policy at all, because the deviation is evidence of negligence.
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.
The IRS-recommended COI policy requires (1) annual disclosure by all directors and key employees, (2) a process for review of any disclosed conflict, (3) recusal procedures, and (4) documentation in board minutes. Policies that have only the disclosure form without the review and recusal process do not satisfy the recommendation.
A weak COI policy is a Schedule L disclosure waiting to happen, and Schedule L disclosures correlate with future IRS examination selection.
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