Financial Glossary Flashcards
(46 cards)
Account Receivable
Unpaid money owed to the organization from outside sources for services rendered.
Accounts Payable
The amount owed by the organization to outside sources for items and services.
Audited Statements
An evaluation by an independent auditing firm of a nonprofit organization’s financial position.
BMF
Business Master File, the Internal Revenue Services’s list of more than 1.5 million nonprofits registered with the IRS as tax-exempt organizations.
Charitable Trust Number (CT Number)
A Charitable Trust Number is assigned to each nonprofit organization that registers with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts to operate in California.
D.B.A. (Doing Business As)
An alternative name or trade name used by a business. For example, GuideStar USA, Inc. does business as “GuideStar.”
Deferred Revenue
Money that the organization has received, but has not yet earned as of the closing date on the balance sheet. The amount is carried as a liability until the organization provides the goods or services for which the money was received.
Direct Public Support
Contributions, gifts, grants, and bequests received directly from the public. Includes amounts received from individuals, trusts, corporations, estates, foundations, public charities, or raised by an outside professional fundraiser.
Donor-Advised Fund
A donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a third party and created for the purpose of managing charitable donations on behalf of an organization, family, or individual. It offers the opportunity to create an easy to establish, low cost, flexible vehicle for charitable giving as an alternative to direct giving or creating a private foundation.
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
A nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service. Every IRS-designated tax-exempt nonprofit organization has its own EIN.
Expenses
The organization’s financial outlay for the tax period.
Fiscal Year
A 12-month period for which an organization plans the use of its funds. This period may be a calendar year but can be any 12-month period. A fiscal year accounting period should normally coincide with the natural operating cycle of the organization. If an organization files an IRS Form 990, it is required to define its accounting period on Line A at the top of the form.
Fixed Assets
Estimated value of land, buildings, equipment, and other tangible items owned by the organization.
Form 990
IRS Form 990 is an annual document used by approximately one-third of all public charities to report information about their finances and operations to the federal government. GuideStar uses data from Form 990 to populate its database with financial information about nonprofit organizations. Posting Form 990 images on the GuideStar Web site is an ongoing process.
Fundraising Expense
Total expenses incurred in soliciting contributions, gifts, grants, etc.
Government Grants
Payments from the government to a nonprofit organization to further the organization’s public programs.
Grants Payable
Unpaid amount of grants or awards that an organization plans to pay other organizations or individuals.
Gross Profit from Inventory Sales
Gross sales, less returns and allowances, from the sales of items the organization either makes to sell or buys for resale.
Income
Money that the organization has received from contributions, grants, the performance of services, etc. GuideStar takes this figure from line 12 of IRS Form 990. These are net figures from which rental expenses, costs, sales expenses, direct expenses, and costs of goods sold have been deducted.
Indirect Public Support
Contributions received indirectly from the public through solicitation campaigns conducted by federated fundraising agencies or organizations such as the United Way; from a parent organization or another organization with the same parent; or from a subordinate organization.
Inventories for Sale or Use
Estimated value of materials, goods, and supplies purchased or manufactured by an organization and held for sale or use at some time in the future.
IRS Publication 78
Also known as the Cumulative List of Organizations, IRS Publication 78 lists all organizations to which charitable contributions are tax deductible. The Publication 78 record for each organization includes the organization’s name, its city, and its current tax-exempt status, including what percentage of contributions to it are tax deductible.
IRS Subsection Code
The portions of the United States tax code that define the type of exempt organization a nonprofit is.
Letter of Determination
A letter from the IRS to a nonprofit organization stating that the organization has successfully applied for tax-exempt status. In this document that IRS indicates under which section of the Internal Revenue Code an organization is qualified.
