Audits can cause anxiety among staff and executive leadership. Here are two tips from our member tip sheet – “15 Tips for Surviving an Audit.” To see all 15 tips, you must be an NSPN member with the organizational development package. If you have this package, check out the full tip sheet by logging into your membership account at www.nspnetwork.org and accessing the NSPN Resource Center!

1. Know the users of your external audited financial statements and why your organization requires an audit. Your audited financial statements could be required by your organization’s by-laws and be used exclusively for internal purposes. They could also be intended for external use by contributors, for securing loans or collateral agreements with banks, or they may be fulfilling certain regulatory filing requirements as a result of annuity programs, federal fund resources, or state solicitations, etc. Knowing the intended use will help you target your auditing activities.
2. Do your homework: Choose the right auditor for your organization’s needs. Nonprofit organizations come in all shapes and sizes, with different accounting and reporting needs. Some organizations have simple structures operating only one or two programs, small staffs, and predictable transaction streams. Others can be extremely complex with multiple needs and issues. Auditors are not a “one size fits all” market, hence the variance in their pricing. Organizations would benefit from doing a little research and selecting from a pool of auditors that uniquely fits their needs. You may even save some money.

If you’re interested in becoming an NSPN member, please contact the NSPN Membership team at [email protected]. 

Miley Cyrus is a household name. She’s a pop superstar who has made a living performing on television shows and on stage in front of large crowds. She’s had many experiences in her young life but perhaps one of the most eye-opening experiences she’s had thus far was during a recent visit to My Friend’s Place, a homeless youth shelter in Los Angeles.

Cyrus is now lending her voice to advocate on behalf of homeless youth in America. During the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, Cyrus won the award for Video of the Year. Instead of accepting the trophy herself, Cyrus sent a young man named Jesse to accept the award and raise awareness for homeless youth.

On NSPNsights, we are excited to provide you with a “Brain Break” from time to time. Brain Breaks can be fun tips, trivia questions, games, recipes, or the like. Today, we have a recipe from our new Director of Research, Education and Public Policy – Katie Carter. We look forward to “serving” you lots more Brain Breaks!

How do you launch a new organization? Wow…a question requiring a long answer and it is a very good thing that I don’t have to provide it! How do you bring together 2 long term partners to form one entity – united – toward a common mission?  Well, now, I can write about that.

It is no secret that National Safe Place and the Youth and Family Services Network (YFSN) are now one. I think we were always of a shared mind – we just operated with different EIN numbers.  There was so much agreement in terms of our commitment to youth; our dedication to partnering with youth and family service organizations; our belief that collaboration has longer term benefits that competition; and, well – the list goes on. There were also differences. National Safe Place had more than 30 years of experience in partnering with communities to expand and strengthen a safety net for youth. A national effort built on the concept of a simple sign with a critical message. Today, there are hundreds of communities, thousands of Safe Place sites and a shared belief that any youth in crisis must be able to seek out and receive immediate assistance or in other words – “Someplace to Go. Someone to Help”. YFSN had more than 30 years of experience creating a network of support, capacity building and benefits for organizations. As an association consisting of agencies working daily to provide critical needs and services to youth and families, YFSN developed an extensive history of capacity building, training, technical assistance, consultation and funding initiatives. YFSN also established a culture that lived the “Together We Can” motto of learning from each other and understanding that each and every organization within the membership has something valuable to share and in doing so, everyone wins.

Why is Twitter important for your organization?

Twitter is a great way to promote your organization and connect to a network of people doing similar work. It is designed with simplicity in mind – where short and sweet messages come across better than complex communication.