Gessler releases third nonprofit board education eLearning course
Third of five courses entitled "Understanding the Form 990 and Financial Ratios"
Denver, Colorado, March 25, 2014 - Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced today the third release in a five-part eLearning series entitled "Board Education and Effectiveness." The project is aimed at helping nonprofits train and strengthen their boards of directors. The third release is titled "Understanding the Form 990 and Financial Ratios." The courses are free and open to the public.
The Form 990- a filing required by the IRS- includes many helpful pieces of information that board members can use to assess the financial health of their organization. The course includes details about financial ratios- such as the percentage of money that is directly spent on the organization's mission- that are often used to analyze a nonprofit's performance. Links to additional resources allow course participants to access more in-depth information based on their organizations’ specific needs.
The board effectiveness training project originated from a series of meetings in 2012 between the Secretary of State’s office and nonprofit community leaders centered on strengthening nonprofits in Colorado.
The Secretary of State worked in conjunction with leaders in the Colorado nonprofit community to produce and review course content, including the Colorado Nonprofit Association, Community Resource Center, Metro Volunteers, the Colorado Ballet, Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver, the Sand Creek Regional Greenway, and Kids in Need of Dentistry (KIND). The review team also included legal professionals from Leaffer Law, a Denver-based firm that specializes in providing counsel for nonprofit organizations.
Since its launch last November, over 3,500 unique visitors have accessed the first module- "Fiduciary Duties of Nonprofit Directors." And over 700 have accessed the second module- "Board Governance." The entire series of five courses will be available by the middle of 2014. Nonprofit board member courses.
