Posted: July 20th, 2022

PADM 6950 – Nonprofit 990 Analysis

PADM 6950 – Nonprofit 990 Analysis
Instructions:
The length of the Nonprofit 990 Analysis is 10-12 double spaced, Times New Roman 12-point
font, typewritten pages. Students will need to include the appropriate cover page (name,
instructor name, course name, title) and page numbers within the document. Be sure to include a
reference page. Students should follow guidelines from the APA manual, 6th edition or later for
in-text citations and references. When in doubt, CITE!
Due:
November 28, 2022 by 11:59 PM.
Assignment:
Prompt: 990 Analysis
Pick a nonprofit and analyze the latest available THREE years of IRS 990 filings.
You are encouraged to read the previous three years of the organization’s annual report. The three
years need to be consecutive (i.e., 2019, 2020, 2021) and recent. If, for whatever reason, the
nonprofit does not have data for three consecutive years, you will need to use the data from the
most recent three years that are available.
You are expected to analyze the 990 forms as if you were a board member of the organization.
You are encouraged to analyze the organization’s financial health (use tables/charts) and
highlight any potential problems facing the organization. Underneath the table/chart you must
include the source from which you got your data.
Once you create a chart, elaborate on the information provided in the chart in the following
paragraph so that the reader can understand the significance of the information provided If you do use charts, they need to be legible. I have provided some examples below. You cannot
use charts to substitute for your writing, and that means you still need to provide enough of your
own analysis in the report. The charts are to be used in addition to your writing to support your
findings/analysis.
In addition to being able to analyze the financial structure of an organization, you will also
elaborate on capacity building elements-governance and leadership of the organization, volunteer
management, and evaluation strategies.
Helpful Links:
How to analyze a nonprofit form 990

How to analyze a nonprofit Form 990 with a spreadsheet

Nonprofit Explorer
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB)

AGB Home

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GuideStar
http://www.guidestar.org/Home.aspx (register for free access)
Purdue Online Writing Lab
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html
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Detailed Instructions
The assignment should be between 10-12 pages (including charts). Be sure to include linkages
and examples from the course materials to support your ideas, arguments, and analysis.
The assignment should include:
● Cover page
● Table of contents
Assignment should have bolded sections:
● Introduction- Your organization and what you plan to do throughout the analysis (this is
where you provide your roadmap).
● What is the mission of the organization
o What role does the organization play in society
o Target population
o Services provided
o Based on the financial reports are they achieving their stated mission
● How is your organization governed
o Who makes up the leadership team in the org…who are the board members
o CEO of the organization
o How are decisions made in the org
o What strategies are in place to recruit, train and transition board members
● What are the main sources of revenues/expenditures? Based on your analysis what is the
financial health of the organization? Justify your claims.
o Use charts to show the different revenue sources
o How is funding allocated
o Financial compensation for leadership team
o What trends do you see occurring with sources of revenue
o Overall financial health of the org
● What measures are in place to ensure good financial health within the nonprofit?
o Is the organization transparent? (can you find links to the 990 on the
organizations’ homepage and social media accounts?).
o Strategies for good financial health
o What is your organization doing to ensure good financial health
o What does the literature say about achieving good financial health
● Volunteer opportunities
o Recruitment and Retention Strategies
o What roles are the volunteers taking on
o Are there opportunities to better utilize volunteers
o Are there safety measures in place for volunteers?
● Overall evaluation and analysis of the organization—support your grade by using data
from the 990 reports.
o Is the organization effectively meeting its mission?
o Strengths of the organization
o Weakness of the organization
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o Opportunities to better serve their target audience
o Accountability and evaluation practices in place
o Recommendations for the organization based on what you have learned
● Conclusion-Reiterate key findings and link them together to create a clear picture of the
analysis of the nonprofit organization.
The end of the assignment should include:
● Reference Page- ALL sources used should be listed following APA guidelines
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Chart/Table Examples
When creating data tables, make them clear and simple. The audience should not have to
guess what your charts and tables represent.
See examples below TABLE 1: Revenue & Expense Trends, 2014-2016
2016 2015 2014
Revenues
8,327,45
0
6,279,98
3
7,644,20
0
Expenses
8,222,71
9
6,159,96
3
7,677,12
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SOURCE: Propublica Nonprofit Database
OR you can create tables to present the data (see below). You could also analyze “three-year
averages” to smooth out the distribution of revenues and expenses. We know that things can
“fluctuate” on a yearly basis for reasons that are not apparent in the 990 report. Thus, a 3-year
average can give you a truer picture of an organization’s fiscal health.
● Always have a title for your charts/tables so that the audience is clear on what they are
viewing.
● Always have a source under your charts/tables so that the audience can see where you are
getting your information from.
● Be creative with your charts/tables, but always provide your own analysis to highlight
what is being showcased.
Figure 1: Revenue and Expense Trends, 2014-2016
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