This website from the IRS features about three hours of instruction on the accounting aspects of 501(c)3 nonprofits… and it’s actually kind of fun.
“No good deed goes unpunished,” wrote Clare Boothe Luce and it can see frustratingly true when wading through the murky depths of IRS territory. But the IRS does not purposefully strive to be confusing and headache inducing and, as a show of very good faith to the nonprofit sector, has launched a website called “Stay Exempt” for 501(c)3 organizations. The site, which exists to “help your tax-exempt organization maintain its exempt status and meet its filing requirements”, features five user-friendly modules providing approximately three hours of instruction tailored specfically for 501c3s:
Despite the complex nature of the material, the modules are simple and almost fun to go through. The lessons are interactive and require Windows Media Player and Macromedia Flash to work properly. Each module also includes a printable certificate of completion (which does not qualify for continuing education credit) at the end. The Stay Exempt website also has:
- a thorough list of clear, succinct FAQs
- links to all pertinent IRS forms and publications
- links to other informative IRS sites
- an extensive glossary
In short, this is an invaluable resource for anyone thinking of starting a 501(c)3 nonprofit, as well as for managers, accountants, and anyone else involved in keeping the organization on the IRS’s good side.
