Stewarding Donor Dollars: Financial Principles for Contributions

This three-week course is designed for business office and advancement/development professionals to understand best practices related to gift reporting compliance and donor transactions, as well as enhancing the strategic partnership between the two offices to ensure long-term success.

Collaboration with donors, other school leadership and/or auditors regarding the receipt, acknowledgement and entry of gifts and pledges as well as the use or stewardship of those funds is vital to both the business and development offices. Participants will be empowered with the knowledge and tools to address the challenges that come with gifts (especially those with restrictions, non-cash gifts, contributed services, etc.) and learn day-to-day best practices for financial reporting and accounting for gifts in the school's records, public filings and more. Additionally, participants will learn how to enhance the strategic partnership between the advancement/development and business offices to ensure better stewarding of long-term donors and sustainable fundraising efforts in the future.

In addition to learning from a variety of custom or curated resources including videos, articles, recorded webinars, case studies and discussion boards, you will establish a national learning community of peers with whom you can continue to explore the concepts discussed in the course. Topics covered include types of gifts; gift restrictions and related use; communicating with and, sometimes, redirecting donors; endowment best practices; wills and planned giving; shared information between the business and advancement/development offices; compliance with IRS and accounting regulations; the development team's role in supporting compliance and the business office's role in donor stewardship.

This course is offered in partnership with One Schoolhouse.

Course Schedule

Week 1

Contributions, Events and Compliance

Study the types of contribution revenue and the accounting and legal obligations associated with accepting these gifts. Review different vehicles of fundraising used by the advancement office and how they impact the business office. Learn the essentials of key policy and compliance topics, including internal controls and 990 reporting.


Week 2

Challenging Donor Topics

Study the more complex gifts found in independent schools, including planned giving and digital assets. Learn about the tax implications for donors and schools and the tax considerations of engaging in exchange transactions and sponsorships. Review special considerations for stewarding donor dollars, such as releasing restrictions, and the importance of the business and advancement/development office partnership.


Week 3

Strategic Partnership for Stewardship

Delve into the important relationship between the business and advancement/development offices by learning best practices on communicating with donors, as well as strategic initiatives, including endowment management and reporting on the impact of gifts.


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SHRM Information

Credit Hours: 9.0
Category: Business Acumen

NBOA is recognized by SHRM to offer SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP professional development credits (PDCs). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit www.shrmcertification.org.

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HRCI Information

Credit Hours: 9.0
Category: HR (Business)

NBOA is a recognized provider of recertification credits. HR Certification Institute® pre-approved this program for credits towards aPHR™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification.

Online Courses

Questions?

Email programs@nboa.org or call 202-407-7140


Dates

Mar 31 - Apr 18, 2025

Register

Pricing

Members:
$530.00

Nonmembers:
$740.00

Group discount available



Time Commitment

3-5 hours per week for 3 weeks

Learn more about the platform and coursework


Class Size

Up to 35 participants


Recommended Audience

  • Business officers
  • Controllers
  • Business office staff
  • Advancement/development professionals

Ben Roseberry

Director of Research & Development Services, Bellarmine College Prep