CASA Ethical Business Considerations

rescind This paper explores the thrill and ends of reference, a nonprofit organization which caters advocacy for minorren in motor lodge proceedings. fieldS mission and goals ordain be explained and good considerations with regard to a nonprofits fundraising strategy will be discussed. An everyplaceview of the benefits received from technological advancements will be discussed and applied to baptismal fontS fundraising strategy. end nonprofit shape and Internal R pointue Code sectionalization 501 (sys applicability to COCAS fiscal and budgetary operations will be address and analyzed. An evaluation of COCAS budget litigate and revenue sources will be discussed, on with upcountry factors which may impact its successful strategical pecuniary planning. COCAS physical exercise of cost-benefit analysis will be discussed and the analysis will conclude with an all overview of COCAS funds management and investment strategies, and an assessment of COCAS present overall c ondition.Keywords racing shell, mission statement, goals, ethical standards for nonprofits, fundraising, technological improvements, IRS section 501 (c) nonprofit status, annual physique 990 filing requirements, budget, revenue, strategic uncial planning, cost-benefit analysis, coin management, Investment strategies, financial assessment CASE for Children military commission and Goals of CASE CASE is a nationwide nonprofit organization that proposes in state and local anaesthetic butterflys for the best interests of ill-treated and neglected children through the serve of specially selected and trained community voluntarys.These volunteers come from diverse cultural and ethnical backgrounds. The mission of the national Court Appointed Special Advocate draw (NCSA), together with its chartered state and local members, is to support and promote court appointed voluntary advocacy so hat every maltreat and neglected child can be good, establish permanence and baffle the opp ortunity to thrive (Keeping our promise National COCAS strategic objectives). Every court In the united States recognizes that a CASE volunteer Is essential for a successful outcome for children . And every child can thrive In the safe embrace of a loving family. (Ibid. ). CASE trains and supports court approved volunteers to advocate for children who need representation in court proceedings in score to run across that the best interest of these children atomic subroutine 18 met quickly and efficiently. The ultimate goal of CASE is to make sure children affected by the court clay secure a safe and permanent home.Ethical Considerations Related to Finance & budgeting inwardly CASE COCAS receives funding through a variety of sources including grants, local governments, fundraising events, and corporal and private donations. Sometimes 0 good intentions get the best of even the best-intentioned, and all the assumptions about goodness make for any(prenominal) easy marks, In bou rns of fraud (Jennings, M. , 2012, p. 559). Theres tremendous pressure on Charles today to increment their revenues to meet expenses and growing popular needs.Unfortunately, this can Influence some organizations to build financial risks beca purpose of potential rewards. (Ben maket M Bureaus, Ibid. ). Successful fundraising by regional CASE political computer programs sponsored by the national organization is the primary source of its financial resources. Funding sources want assurance that they are being packed to support a carefully researched and well planned program that fills researched local community needs. a great deal with nonprofits, the problem is non fraud by the organization it is fraud or misconduct or missteps within the organization Innings, 2012, p. 5). Whether because of inexperience, the need for flexibility in management, or, Just as with companies, the drive for success and results, there save been some ethical issues that have proven costly for nonp rofit organizations (Ibid. ). Competition is awry(p) in raising funds for childrens programs like CASE and fo chthonics want to hump that they are non throwing money away on a program that will fail because of poor planning, lack of coordination or duplication of the efforts of separate human expediency organizations. Technological Considerations for Improving the Efficiency & EffectivenessCASE can provide efficient and effective services to children involved in the court clay through improved technological fundraising and outreach processes which will increase the sustain the viability of its pay and budgeting systems. Cloud computing, also known as the smear, refers to applications, services, or software offered over the internet instead of requiring direct connections to a server. (Boles, 2013, p. 70). Cloud technologies reduce the be of services and the time it takes to communicate information among staff members, volunteers and donors via email and cooperative softwa re (Ibid. The useful purpose of social media such as Faceable, Twitter, Linked, and Pinsetters will allow CASE to connect and interact with staffers, volunteers, donors, as well as affected children and their guardians (Ibid. ). Social media net shits are increasingly important tools for nonprofits like CASE to raise awareness, conduct outreach and raise funds (Ibid. , up. 70, 71). Innovations such as cloud computing systems, social media and mobile technologies should be incorporated into COCAS fundraising efforts in hallow to improve its quality of services and work processes. Applicable Laws, Regulations,Policies Impacting COCAS Financial & Budget Operations All state and local CASE organizations formed under the national CASE association essential file for exemption status under section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) in coordinate to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions and Form 990 annual tax returns of income and expenses even though they are exemp t from income taxation under the Code (Internal Revenue Service, Requirements for Exemption, finishing for recognition of exemption, Exempt Organizations Required Filings, Form 990 Resources, and Tools for Exempt Organizations).Expected counterchanges in auditing standards and Form 990 reporting for nonprofit organizations may require increased data meeting place and raise the cost of audits. These changes are expected to have an impact on some CASE programs and National CASE recommends that member programs contact a tax professional or auditor for more information (whom. IRS. Org). Among these changes is the juvenile Suite of Risk Assessment Audit Standards, CPA Statement on Auditing Standards Nose.National CASE regularly seeks ways to reduce cost for local chapters so that they can increase the number of children they serve and one of the bowls CASE focuses n is redress (NCSA). Pursuant to CASE standards, it is extremely important to have a well thought out risk management plan, including adequate insurance coverage to protect CASE staff, agency and the board (Ibid. ). annual financial reviews are inevitable of CASE programs with budgets of $50,000 or greater and annual audits are required for programs with budgets of over $200,000 (Ibid. . Searching for and purchasing cost-saving insurance coverage is an on-going practice the CASE uses to keep expenses within its organizations budget. COCAS policy in contr real(a) practices stresses that unwritten contracts must be in rating. Putting an agreement in writing serves several(prenominal) goals. First a written contract provides an indisputable, although non necessarily unambiguous, record of the agreement. The rightfulness gives great weight to written, signed documents Second, the process of committing an agreement to writing forces twain parties to be clear about the boundarys of the agreement. (NCSA). Key elements for CASE service contracts terms should implicate scope of work, deadlines and duration, money, record keeping and reporting, rights to work products, liability protections, dispute resolution, reasoned implicate and contracting process (Ibid. ). COCAS internal policy covering essential terms to be included in written contracts it enters into saves the organization costs that would other(a)wise be expended to enforce service agreements.Evaluation of COCAS Budget Process & Revenue Sources One of the great challenges facing CASE is to obtain the money required to launch the program and maintain its operations (NCSA). Who is going to pay for the CASE program implemented and used by the courts and the community leaders? (Ibid. ). COCAS guidelines are found in its Manual, Section 1 Planning a Quality plan, Chapter 6 Funding the Program, and includes how to develop the introductory budget, develop the right approach to fundraising, locating possible funding sources, locating federal funding, and locating National CASE resource development protocols (Ibid. . The number 1 hurdle is to develop an expense budget by comparing what the actual costs of goods and services presently is for similar nonprofit organizations within in the chosen community the CASE chapter is to be located (Ibid). Budget expenses include personnel, equipment, volunteer support, facility, supplies, travel, telephone ND Internet service, administrative costs, staff training, and dues and publications (Ibid). afterwards the type and amount of budget expenses are identified and estimated, an approach to fundraising must be established.Funding sources want assurance that they are being asked to support a carefully researched and well planned program that fits the communitys needs (NCSA). Keys to successful fundraising are to know who you are asking, know what you are asking for, and ask and ask again. (Ibid. ) Common funding sources are in-kind contributions in the form of support such as he court, community service organizations, state bar associations, and law firms (I bid. ).Examples of federal funding are available in the form of grants let by Congress specifically for the expansion of CASE advocacy for abused and neglected children such as the National CASE Association of Grants Program, the Childrens profess (Ibid. ). As with all nonprofit organizations, CASE strives to obtain and sustain an optimal funding mix of public and private support to secure its future day (Ibid. ). In todays fragile economic climate, there is intense competition for both public and riveter funding support because of increased costs of doing dividing line combined with recent curtailments in government funds.Therefore, to enhance its fundraising efforts, CASE uses several data collection surveys and evaluations to document and justify its performance. Internal Factors Impacting COCAS Successful strategic Financial Planning CASE has developed and implemented several internally generated data collection and evaluations of the bar and quality of its services provid ed to children in differentiate to assess its efforts and to ultimately improve its services (NCSA).COCAS racketing and communications department collects, analyzes and publishes surveys such as yearly Recent local anaesthetic Program Survey Reports, mathematical operation Measurement, State Organization Survey Reports, and additional surveys such as eager Evaluation of CASE Representation Report, and Judges and Attorney Survey of provide CASE/ GALS (Ibid. ). Another internal tool used by CASE is its CASE Effectiveness Manual (Manual) (Ibid. . The purpose of the Manual is to provide CASE programs with an easy to use system for sliceing information necessary to esteem the effectiveness of its state and local chapters programs (Ibid. Emphasis is placed on how to save up and measure goals related to child-outcomes. The Manual includes easy to follow definitions, instructions, tracking forms and essay surveys. (Ibid. ).CASE utilizes a system of fund accounting which measures a ccountability instead of favourableness with the purpose of stewardship of financial resources received and expended in compliance with certain legal requirements (NCSA). Financial reporting by CASE is directed at the public instead of investors and funds are established in order to ensure accountability and expenditure for designated purposes limit et assets versus unrestricted net assets (Ibid. ).Restricted assets can be classified as either temporary or permanently restricted assets (Ibid. ). A temporarily restricted net assets use is restricted by the donor until a future event occurs (for example, CASE may have received a grant which terms are restricted to hiring a new volunteer supervisor), while a permanently restricted net asset includes assets that are swayled by outside parties as opposed to COCAS control over the asset (for example, property donated to CASE as hanker as it is used in accordance with COCAS mission and goals (Ibid. . Unrestricted net assets are funds wh ose assets have no external restriction as to use or purpose and can be expended for any purpose as extensive as they are spent in accordance with COCAS mission and goals (Ibid. ). These internal tools assist CASE in its fundraising success by Justifying its costs in return for its effective performance of childrens advocacy services.COCAS Use of Cost-Benefit digest The National CASE Association surveys both the state organization and local programs to get an accurate reflection of the structure and operation of children advocacy programs across the country and, in 2013, the CASE network consisted of 51 organizations and local programs (The National CASE Association, 2013, p. 4). The findings illustrated by these survey results are critically important to track the funding from diverse sources, and help The National CASE Association to recrudesce serve state and local organizations. (Ibid. ). Overview of COCAS Cash Management and Investment Strategies As of December 31, 2013, COC AS median(prenominal) total revenue was $134,790 and its median total expenses were $136,570 (Annual Local Program Survey Report, 2013, p. 11). The Annual Local Program Survey Report does not address COCAS short and long term investment strategies. In total, CASE programs nationwide reported more than $ three hundred million in revenue, more than half of which were received from public sources (Ibid. ).The median revenue and expenses of CASE tended to be jolly equal for the year completion 2013, with the median cost per volunteer being $3,170 and the median cost per child being $1 ,090 (Ibid. ). COCAS expenses did not vary significantly from 2012 dep expiry on the area served or the age of the program (Ibid. ). In 2013, over 80 part of COCAS programs reported a change in revenue with changes being fairly consistent across programs serving urban, rural and suburban mixed areas (Ibid. 13). Compared to COCAS 2012 revenue, 34 percent of its programs reported a decrease in revenue, 4 9 percent reported an increase in revenue, and 17 percent of its programs reported no change in revenue (Ibid. P. 13). CASE experienced an increase of children served from 234,098 in 2012 to 238,527 in 2013, while at the same time seeing its number of volunteers fall below 2011 and 2012 levels, from over 77,000 to less than 75,000 (Ibid. ).The decrease in COCAS volunteer staff is problematic in that CASE can anticipate not being able to provide the quantity and quality of services in order to accomplish its mission and goals. Assessment of COCAS Overall Financial develop Despite a 34 percent decrease in program revenues in 2013, CASE remains to have short term cash liquidity from the 49 percent reported increase in other programs revenue, and a status quo of 17 percent of its programs who reported no change in revenue.CASE also appears to have the capacity to generate adequate revenues over sasss fiscal year budgetary period in order to contact expenditures without incurring a def icit. COCAS service level has declined to a capacity that does not provide the laity and quantity of services rendered in years closedown 2011 and 2012 due to the decrease in the number of its volunteers by 2,000. COCAS Annual Local Program Survey Report 2013 does not address its short and long term investment strategy or outcome for the year ending 2013.The decrease in COCAS volunteer staff is resulting adversely on the quantity and quality of its mission and goals. CASE should reallocate its short term fundraising resources into its long term efforts toward volunteer recruiting and training programs. This adjustment in short term goal funding will promote and advance the umber of volunteers required to sustain the longevity of the service provided by CASE 2011 and 2012. References Boles, B. (2013). Technology routine in the nonprofit sector increasing organizational effectiveness and aptitude through technology innovations.