NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION NEWS!

Governor Cuomo has passed the New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act which takes effect as of July 1, 2014.  There are 10 key changes that all Nonprofits should know about!

1. All nonprofit organizations with 20 or more employees and annual revenue of $1 million must adopt a whistleblower policy.
2. All Nonprofits must have a conflict of interest policy.
3. There are specific steps that must be taken before entering into a related party transaction.
4.  Board of Directors cannot be influenced when making compensation decisions by those being compensated.
5.  If your organization is required to file an independent audit report you must have an audit committee to oversee this process.
6. The guidelines for when an audit report is required have changed.  Organizations with Gross Revenue greater than $500,000 now require an audit.  This is an increase from revenues of $250,000.   In 2017 it will increase again to $750,000 and in 2021 it will increase to $1 million.
7. There will no longer be “Types” (A, B, C, D) for NYS nonprofits.  Your organization will now be classified as either “Charitable” or “Noncharitable”.
8. A court order is no longer required for certain transactions such as mergers, changes of corporate purpose, dissolutions with assets and sales of assets under certain circumstances.  You now only need to file with the attorney general to get approval for these actions.
9. The NY Attorney General has enhanced enforcement authority specifically when dealing with improper related party transactions.
10. The need for a waiver from the NYS Department of Education when incorporating is no longer necessary.

These are just a few of the highlights.  Please call our office for more information or help in getting your organization to conform to these new changes!