This episode is about storytelling and why I prefer the IRS 990 compared to any other tax form. It's because it allows nonprofits to really highlight what they do and tell the story of what are some of your accomplishments of yours programs? This is a great time because if you remember in our episode about missions, I talked about your activities having an impact on a large community. This gets to be that time where you can talk about that, where you can say, Hey, we are now able to serve 500 people when we were only serving 250. This is when you can talk about those types of growth. Click here to view the full transcript. 

This episode is specifically about the tools. So as you know, I think tools are, like you can't do it all in your head. So you need things outside of yourself to get your nonprofit going, to keep it sustainable, manageable, practical. And the 990 is one of those things. People underestimate what you can do with your 990. It is a tool. So because it is an information return, it is where a lot of funders are going to gain information about an organization, especially if you do not have your audited financial statements or any financial reports on your website. The 990 helps funders and helps outsiders understand what you're doing and it helps them compare you. I know I said last season we are not about comparison. We're not about competition, but comparisons are practical.

Click here to view the full transcript.

The IRS wants you to highlight what's happening at the organization. So there's also a part on the form where you can talk about your activities and how much you're spending in each of the activities. So you're not just talking about ooh these people made this much money, but you're going to be able to say, listen here, you know the work we said we do, that food bank that we run this is how much money we put into it. So when you are unclear about how you're spending money, when your finances on the back end, or your financial statements are just not in order, it makes it a lot harder to reflect those priorities. Click here to read the full transcript.