Jim Ulvog

Human trafficking – the dark side of life

Forum News Service has a seven part series on human trafficking in North Dakota dealing with multiple aspects of the prostitution issue. Shift in our cultural perceptions is focusing more on the issue of women getting sucked in and trapped by this destructive world.

This article is cross-posted from my other blog, Outrun Change, because I think it will be of interest to many of the faith-based readers of Nonprofit Update.

The series is set in the Bakken oil field of North Dakota. The general issues apply all across the U.S. This is news because many sides of the downside of economic growth are visible in North Dakota. If the series were set in Los Angeles or New York area, this would be ancient, boring news.

In North Dakota we can easy watch as the reporters describe the devastation of prostitution. The scale of the issue is small enough and new enough in a relatively small state that the story can actually be covered in just seven parts.

One thing I’ve learned in the last few years of blogging is that certain names pop up regularly as authors of routinely superb writing. There is a short list of authors for whom I try to read everything they write. Ms. Dalrymple, who is also a very prolific writer, is one of those.

If you are deeply interested in either the Bakken or the trafficking issue, this is a series you will definitely want to read.

12/4 – Forum News Service in Bismarck Tribune – Trafficking in North Dakota is on the rise, and often the victims can’t escape – Seven part series on human trafficking in the state coauthored by Amy Dalrymple and Katherine Lymn.

First article in the series traces one man from looking on-line for an underage girl through his conviction and sentencing to a five-year prison sentence.

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Jim Ulvog

Decline in construction of new churches

Here is the millions of square feet of new construction and additions for religious buildings (approximated):

  • 28M – ’90 and ‘91
  • 42M – ‘97
  • 52M – ’02, with a rapid decline to
  • 25M – ’09, then falling off a cliff
  • 15M – ’10, with a slower drop to
  • 10M – ’14 est

Those are my estimates from a graph in the Wall Street Journal article, Decline in Church-Building Reflects Changed Tastes and Times.

Article says the estimated 10.3M square feet in 2014 is down 6% for the year and down 80% from the peak in 2002.

Several factors are cited in the article for the drop in construction. (more…)

Jim Ulvog

ECFA provides two books on tax issues for churches and clergy; ‘price’ is just to register at their site

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability is graciously making two resources available for the really low price of registering at their website.

I encourage churches and parachurch organizations to seriously consider becoming accredited members of ECFA.

As you ponder doing so, you really ought to register at their site. They provide a variety of information even for those who merely register. If you do that, which already makes sense, then the books free.

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Jim Ulvog

A few articles of interest in the fundraising world

I haven’t seen a lot of articles in the last few months on the overhead and “worst charities” issue. Haven’t seen anything on deworming meds in a long time. Maybe I’ve just not been paying close enough attention.

Here are a few articles I’ve noticed lately. First, on for-profit thrift stores, and a few old stories gaining new coverage. Finally, a couple of articles on donor advised funds.

For-profit thrift stores

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Jim Ulvog

Case study of collapse of Mars Hill, home church of Mark Driscoll. What lessons can you learn?

The people at 15 separate locations that make up Mars Hill are leaving, to stand or fall on their own. Mars Hill is where Mark Driscoll was senior pastor. The corporate ‘parent’ will end its existence in a few weeks, on New Years Day 2015.

The dramatic implosion of the megachurch is the subject of a 3,600 word case study at Leadership Journal: The Painful Lessons of Mars Hill.

The article points us to a very sobering teaching.  In Proverbs 24:32 we read

I applied my heart to what I observed

And learned a lesson from what I saw.

Perhaps we ought to apply ourselves and learn from this rapid collapse. As a far-away observer, this was a fast and unexpected disintegration.

I will only mention a few lessons that jump out at me. I still need to process the article more, so my comments are incomplete and likely confused. Putting my ideas into words pushes me to sort this out.

Please check out the article and ponder it yourself. What can you learn out of this sad event?

What got you here may bring your downfall

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Jim Ulvog

Upside and downside of social media

Social media is a wonderful thing. You can create videos or blogs and spread your message far. The downside is your message can spread far.

Two recent examples of the upside and downside.

(Cross-posted from my other blog, Outrun Change.)

First, the upside…

11/14 – Wall Street Journal – This Rabbi Raps and Riffs – on Judaism – Ordained Hasidic rabbi Medny Pellin also does comedy and rap videos. You can check out his signature video, Talk Yiddish to Me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX2rm-jLLFY&feature=player_detailpage]

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Jim Ulvog

The world is messy and there is no silver bullet for development

That headline is my feeble summary of a superb 6,000 word article at the New Republic by Michael Hobbes: Stop Trying to Save the World – Big ideas are destroying international development.

In the last year he has read all the books on the shortfalls in development he can find.

The article covers a lot of ground. Here are the three biggest points for me:

There is no silver bullet that will fix all problems or work in all situations.

and

We need to modify our expectations that we can find a silver bullet.

and

Projects that work splendidly in one specific location in one set of circumstances won’t scale up by a factor of a thousand and might not do any good if you roll it out across the country.

I often talk of unintended consequences.

New phrase for today is “complex adaptive systems.”

(more…)

Jim Ulvog

Free webcast provides overview of ACA for religious organizations

Bit of short notice, but tomorrow (Wednesday 12/31 at 11 am Central) Clifton Larson Allen will provide a free webcast:

Looks like it will be a great survey for small NPOs.

Hat tip to my friend, Tim Murphy (@NonprofitCFO), of CLA for mentioning the course.

 

Jim Ulvog

Why separate blogs for nonprofits, accounting, and coping with change? Why so much discussion on banking and energy?

  • Why do I have so many blogs?
  • Why are there separate blogs appealing to the nonprofit world and CPAs?
  • Why do so many posts talk about banking?
  • Why so much discussion of energy production?

Let me share a few ideas on how my writing is organized.

The basic idea is that blogs need to have a narrow focus in terms of topics or issues. Then the blog will gather an audience of people with that interest. Cover too many topics and everyone will lose interest.

That means I have split up the core of my writing into three blogs, each designed to appeal to a different audience. People interested in one of those areas may not be interested in the other topics, so I assign my posts to the blog that will have readers who will be more interested in that discussion. The main blogs are:

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Jim Ulvog

SSARS 21 updates the compilation and review standards previously explained in SSARS 19

The body of SSARS literature has been updated and clarified. The new document, SSARS #21, was released on October 23, 2014.

It will be effective for financial statements after December 15, 2015. That means it will usually be required for 12/31/15 financials. We will all have to move away from SSARS 19 for our work in 2016. (Unless you choose to apply SSARS 19 for clients with years ending before 12/31/15.)

Since starting this blog, all discussion of compilations and reviews have been posted on my other blog, Attestation Update.

You can find all my discussion of the new standard at the other site.

Check out:

Jim Ulvog

Succession planning in a local church

Transitioning from one senior pastor to the next is a difficult and dangerous time for a church. I’ve watched a few of my clients walk through the transition. It is always difficult.

Pr. Warren Bird provides a superb introduction to the topic in his article at Christianity Today – How Pastors Are Passing the Leadership Baton.

He starts by quoting Rick Warren: (more…)

Jim Ulvog

ECFA outlines nuanced approach to dealing with political comments in sermons

The chairman of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has a superb open letter outlining a strategy for dealing with the issue of pastors touching on politics during sermons.

See: Chairman Michael Batts Comments on Commission’s Recommendations with the Exempt Organizations Tax Journal

A few of the problems with the current ban on political speech are the flagrant violations of the U.S. constitution: (more…)

Jim Ulvog