 Most nonprofit organizations these days recognize the importance of detailing their organizational policies and operational procedures. However, many organizations still don’t have a manual in place for one reason or another. If your nonprofit already has developed and adopted a manual, congratulations, and nice work! Keep reading to see if there are any areas you might have left unaddressed or that need to be updated. And if your organization doesn’t have one, we hope this article will inspire you to get started!
What is it?
A policies and procedures guide is in essence a collection of details about how your organization operates. Some guides cover only very specific areas, such as basic job descriptions or how to file expense reports. Others delve into great detail for each area within the organization, including finance, human resources, fundraising, technology, and marketing/communications.
How should you get started?
When it comes to the effectiveness of these manuals, every little bit helps. The more details you add, the more useful it will ultimately be. It’s fine to start small — after all, you have to start somewhere. Pick one internal process or topic a week and make notes about it. How often do you send gift acknowledgements? When do you throw out “old” information?
Characteristics of an effective manual
A good policies and procedures manual must be easy to use — information should be logically organized and easy to find. Consider splitting it into sections based on departments or job functions within your organization. This not only aids in information retrieval, but also makes it easier to assign “owners” for each section. After all, it’s logical that the CFO or bookkeeper should be responsible for the finance section.
Let’s examine several common sections: human resources, finance, fundraising, technology, and marketing/communications.
- Human Resources: This section should contain information such as job descriptions and organization charts, as well as daily HR-related procedures such as how sick or vacation time is accrued. This section might also contain your mission statement and your organization’s ethics policy.
- Finance: This section should detail who has financial authority and what financial controls are in place. It may also give a detailed timeline of reporting needs and responsibilities.
- Fundraising: This section should contain processes for issuing gift acknowledgements and receipts, as well as your gift acceptance policy if you have one. Your organization might also have special rules for how to process major gifts — i.e, what constitutes a major gift, and when the executive director or board should get involved.
- Technology: This section should contain information about all the IT needs in your office — including your phone system, copiers, fax machines, and, of course, computers.
- Marketing/Communications: In this section, you should include samples of your organization’s logo and official colors, along with samples of business cards and letterhead.
Making it Work
Remember to involve everyone in the process of creating or updating your policies and procedures manual. If someone helps create — or even just approve — content, chances are he’ll be more likely to adhere to the established guidelines. Revisit the manual often to ensure that content remains up-to-date and as thorough as possible. |
 Technology can seem a lot like a car— as soon as you buy it and drive it off the lot, it’s outdated. One of the most important ways to stay on top of technology is to build it into your organization’s policies and procedures manual. Make sure you address these six areas:
1. Hardware: On an annual basis, you should evaluate all of your existing hardware — from phones to fax machines, copiers and computers — to determine what, if any, additional needs you have.
2. System requirements: At least once a year (or whenever you get a software upgrade), review the system requirements for your computers and servers. System requirements do change, so it’s important to make sure that your hardware can handle your software.
3. Data entry standards: Ever heard of “garbage in, garbage out?” This principle applies to your database systems, too. Create a set of data entry standards — a protocol for each user to follow —to make sure data is entered consistently and completely. This will make reporting and many other tasks much easier down the road. Go through these data entry standards often to keep them up-to-date.
4. Security rights: On a regular basis, and every time someone new is hired, go through the security model you use for your software. Users should have only the access rights they need. This is one of the most important ways to protect your donors’ information.
5. Data retention: How long do you keep a lapsed member or inactive donor in your database? This should be an organizational decision and, on a regular basis, you should remove and possibly archive this information. Consult you’re your accountant when making decisions about how long to keep financial data, such as gift records and tax-related information.
6. Backups: Make them. Test them. Protect them. This is critical to any database system. Organizations may differ on how often they back up their systems, but you should set a schedule and stick to it. Consider keeping copies of your most recent backups in a fireproof safe or in another location. |
