I apologize for the lack of posts.  I have been working on putting together more specialized blogs to serve as a better resource.  These should be available soon.

One of the most frequent complaints I hear from those in nonprofit organizations is that it takes forever to do anything.  Every decision has to pass through the organization and often needs to get some form of approval from that organization’s board of directors.  As a result, those that are supposed to be running the day to day operations of the organization feel handcuffed.  These frustrations lead to low organization moral, higher turnover of talented leaders, and therefore higher costs.  In this Harvard Business Review Post, Dan Pallotta cites specific instances that lead to these types of frustrations within the organization and compares it to Steve Jobs essentially betting a $200 billion dollar company on a phone without needing to get board permission every step of the way.

For those of you unfamiliar with her, Taxgirl aka Kelly Phillips is a tax attorney in Philadelphia.  Her blog at taxgirl.com is a regular stop for me and a site I regularly refer to clients that want to stay informed about tax issues.  Still not convinced?  She’s also an occasional contributor to Forbes.  During a season when charitable giving becomes a significant focus, this article by Philips provides nine points to remember so that your charitable giving now does not lead to scrambling at tax time.

Although there has been no shortage of analysis regarding the midterm elections and what they mean for the hot button political topics, the potential impact this election may have on nonprofit organizations has been largely neglected.  The Chronicle of Philanthropy presents an interview with Emily Lam, a tax accountant in Washington, and Perry Wasserman, managing director of the lobbying firm 501(c) Strategies.  The interview discusses what is likely to be a period of uncertainty for nonprofit organizations as lawmakers reconsider areas such as the estate tax, tax incentives for charitable giving, and oversight of nonprofit hospitals.  At just over half an hour, the interview provided some great insight for those that manage nonprofit organizations regardless of their size or mission.

Regardless of your nonprofit organization’s mission, like it or not, contracts are an essential part of doing business.  Sadly, many organizations seem to believe that having an attorney draft contract templates for them is a luxury that will have to wait.  Nothing could be further from the truth.   Ensuring that your organization has good contracts in place will protect your organization’s branding and community goodwill, lessen the likelihood of a dispute going to litigation, and protect your organization if a dispute does eventually lead to litigation.

-          Good contracts will protect your brand and goodwill. The driving force that allows your organization to pursue its mission is its brand and goodwill.  Failure to protect your organizations brand can cost you goodwill and donor support.  Good contracts will prevent conflicts that may damage your organizations community image and ensure responsible and consistent use of your brand.

-          Good contracts will make your organization more efficient. By working with an attorney to develop some strong contract templates, most of your organization’s regular operations should be fairly routine.  By maintaining well drafted standard contract templates that are in plain English, unambiguous, and free from unfair provisions, you eliminate the likelihood or need for prolonged negotiations and improve efficiency.

-          Good contracts resolve conflicts. Well written contracts should lay out the roles of both parties in clear and understandable English.  In the event of a dispute the contract should provide guidance as to how that dispute can be quickly and efficiently resolved either by pointing out which side has failed to hold up their side of the bargain, or by setting forth a process to resolve a disagreement without the need for litigation.

An attorney who understands the specific needs and concerns of your organization, should be able to draft a set of contract templates that are in plain English and address your organizations most pressing concerns.  Developing a process of establishing these templates and providing for periodic updates as necessary will not only protect your organization but will preserve resources so that they may be put towards your overall mission.

- “As we express our gratutude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

While there are plenty of people out there telling you who to vote for, it seems that there is a lack of people making sure that you know what rights you have as a voter.  While it is unlikely that you will be subject to some vast voter suppression conspiracy, knowing your rights can protect you from even errors and misguided policies by even the most well intentioned poll worker or employer.

Taking Time to Vote

State Laws Regarding Time off from work for voting:  Laws vary by state, however in Ohio, Employers cannot fire or threaten to fire an employee for taking a reasonable amount of time to vote. Only salaried employees are required to be paid for the time taken off to vote.

Your Rights On Election Day

(provided by The League of Women Voters)

Vote a regular ballot if you are a valid registered voter – A valid registered voter means a United States citizen who is a resident of Ohio, who is at least 18 years of age and not in prison or on parole for conviction of a felony, and who is registered to vote at his or her current residence address.

Request a replacement ballot – If you tear, soil, deface or erroneously mark a ballot, you may return it to a poll worker. The poll worker must issue a second ballot. You may also request a third ballot for the same reasons, but no more than three ballots may be issued to one person.

Ask for assistance – If you have a disability, physical limitations, trouble reading or writing or need language assistance, you may have the person of your choice (except a      candidate, employer or union rep) assist you in voting. As an alternative, two poll workers from two different political parties may also assist you. You may also      vote with a curbside ballot if you cannot physically enter the polling location.

Vote a secret ballot – You have the right to cast a secret ballot free from intimidation. Representatives from the media and election observers are permitted inside the polling location, but they may not interfere with or compromise the secrecy of your ballot.

Use a paper ballot instead of a machine – You can choose to use a paper ballot to vote instead of a machine, regardless of  whether it is direct recording electronic or optical scan voting machines.

Vote a provisional ballot if your name is not listed in the voting poll book – You can vote a provisional ballot on Election Day if your name and current address does not appear in the registration book in your precinct or if you do not  have acceptable identification with you. See the Secretary of State web site on provisional ballots.

Vote a regular ballot if you moved within the same precinct – If you moved within the same precinct but did not update your registration record, you can vote with a regular ballot – at your precinct polling place or the Board of Elections (or their designated site) – as long as you have been previously registered in Ohio.

Vote a provisional ballot if you moved to a different precinct – If you have moved to a different precinct or county within Ohio without updating your registration record, you can vote a provisional ballot. Your provisional ballot will count as long as you complete a change of address and affirmation. You may vote at either your new precinct polling place or at the Board of Elections (or their designated site).

Request a list of write-in candidates – You can request a list of names of candidates and offices that are officially eligible as write-in candidates.

Vote if you are an ex-felon – If you have been convicted of a felony, you may vote if you are not in prison or on parole.

Vote after the polls close if you are in line – If you are in line when the polls close, you have the right to stay and vote a regular ballot. If time for voting is extended by court order and you arrive after the regular voting time, you may vote a provisional ballot.

Vote provisionally if you are challenged – Only a poll worker can challenge your right to vote on Election Day. You may only be challenged for your age (must be 18) or your residency (must be a U.S. citizen and resident of the county).  If challenged, you still have the right to vote a provisional ballot after swearing truthfully to the facts of your eligibility.

To learn more about your voter rights, go to Ohio Secy. of State Voter Informationwebsite.

When it comes to elections, one of the complaints I hear most often from, friends, family and clients alike is confusion about how to cote for judicial candidates.  While there is no one right way to make this decision, there are resources out there designed to help voters make these uniquely difficult decisions.

The League of Women Voters guide on selecting judicial candidates is a good place to start in making these evaluations.  The guide can be found here.

The Ohio Secretary of State has set up an online judicial voter guide in which candidates where invited to submit basic information about themselves and their judicial philosophy.  You can learn about your local judicial candidates through this  voter guide, or by contacting your local board of elections.

As the League of Women Voters points out, judicial scorecards published by interest groups can be misleading and often focus on a small percentage of rulings out of the hundreds that judges make every year.  Your local bar association is actually a great place to get a comprehensive evaluation of judicial candidates.  Most bar associations poll attorneys, those that work with the judges most often, regarding their preference in candidate, this is generally called a judicial preference poll.  This poll is then used by the bar association’s judicial screening committee as one part of a comprehensive, nonpartisan review process of all judicial candidates.  Candidates are then given grades of Highly Recommended, Acceptable, or Not Recommended.  Below, are the Judicial Preference Poll and Judicial Committee Findings published by the Columbus Bar Association as well as the Ohio Supreme Court Candidate Rankings published by the Ohio State Bar Association.  Contact your local bar association to obtain the evaluation of judicial candidates in your area.

Columbus Bar Association Judicial Preference Poll

Columbus Bar Association Judicial Committee Findings

Ohio Bar Association Judicial Preference Poll

When I first saw Facebook’s notification that a new groups feature had been added, I have to admit was somewhat indifferent.  Apparently, I was not the only one, none of my friends had seen much point in it either, most of us thinking that it was an extension of the groups pages that are relatively meaningless (see the two different group pages titled “Those Who Enjoy + Partake In the Distribution and Acquisition of High Fives“).

Marshal Kirkpatrick’s post at Read Write Web describes Facebook’s new groups as something much different and possibly quite exciting for individuals and businesses alike.  At the very least, it’s a good place to start if you’re looking to get a better understanding of what this new feature is.

Whenever I am helping a client with a start up, regardless of whether it is for a new business or non-profit organization, one of the areas I cover try to cover thoroughly is that the law expects you to distinguish when you are acting on behalf of the entity as opposed to when you are acting on your own behalf.  We discuss the fact that how you sign a contract can be significant in determining whether the entity will be liable for that agreement or whether you will be personally liable instead.

Unfortunately, this is also an issue that comes up with clients that come to me after their new entity has been formed and contracts signed.  Often leaving the individual liable for a promise intended to be made by the company.  This is an easy mistake to prevent.

Quite simply whenever you are signing a contract and intending for your company or organization to be liable instead of you personally, you must indicate that you are only signing as a representative of that organization.  This can be done in a couple ways:

Ideally, there should be a full signature block:

My Organization

By: __________________
Signor’s name, President (or position with company)

However if a full signature block is not possible, you still need to include some sort of indication that you are signing on behalf of the entity.  Note:  Signing the entity’s name instead of yours will not be sufficient.  The best think you can do is to sign and indicate a relationship to the entity such as:

Signor, President (or position with company)