A Checklist for Protecting Your Organization

Many nonprofit organizations are shaken by the administration’s criminal investigation of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and news that the FBI and IRS are forming a new initiative to investigate nonprofits over suspected possible links to domestic terrorism.

As the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) and others have pointed out, these steps go beyond a focus on acts of political violence to include constitutionally protected viewpoints, including “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.” 

NCN President and CEO Diane Yentel warned,

"Mobilizing the FBI and IRS to investigate nonprofits without evidence of wrongdoing is another step in a pattern of attempts by the administration to silence nonprofit organizations whose work may be counter to its priorities. Weaponizing the power of government in this way undermines constitutional rights and threatens democracy."

Given the pattern of government overreach, all nonprofits are wise to take steps to ensure their house is in order.  

A Nonprofit Risk Management Checklist

Ask yourself the following to be proactive about managing risk in the face of government intrusion:

• Are your people safe? Find many physical/virtual safety tips in this blog post.
• Are you up to date on annual filing requirements, both in Maine and with the IRS?
• Are you staying nonpartisan?
• Are you in compliance with lobbying limits (Bolder Advocacy has tons of guidance)?
• Are you in compliance with charitable solicitation licensure and reporting requirements?
• Do you have key organizational policies in place?
• Do you have strong financial management practices to ensure transparency and accountability (internal controls, grants management, etc.)?
• Are you aware of all contractual requirements (government grants/contracts, HIPAA, licensure, audits, etc.)?
• Are you in compliance with labor laws (such as non-discrimination standards, employee vs. contractor categorization, FLSA worker classification)?
• Do you have appropriate insurance in place? (such as D&O, liability, cybersecurity)
• Is your data secure? (In a world of cyberattacks it is increasingly important to manage the risk of a data breach by only keeping what you have a legal or strategic purpose to retain, so you may want to work with IT providers to set an auto-deletion protocol, be proactive about shredding old physical files, etc.)

Bonus Points

• Put a crisis communications plan in place.
  • Prep some messaging that you can swiftly amend if you or your area of focus is targeted.
  • Make a list of all of your internal and external audiences, then map out what communications are needed and who can spearhead what.
  • Prepare to create/edit some background material to help journalists, allies and others add content, context, and nuance to their understanding.
  • Clarify who is authorized as a spokesperson for the org and ensure everyone on your board/staff team has that info. 
• Our partners at National Council of Nonprofits have developed several messaging guides to support organizations to communicate using evidence-based framing. 
  
  • Responding to Attacks on the Nonprofit Sector
  • Setting the Nonprofit Record Straight
  • Telling Your Story: A Practical Guide for Nonprofits in the Digital Age

Get Help

Who are your outside supports / partners? What can you put in place before crisis hits?

• Do you have a relationship with an attorney?
• Do you have an accounting firm? 
• Do you have technology support / advisors?

The following can help you connect with experts for guidance.

• MANP's Business Finder can help you find Maine accountants, attorneys, and consultants. 
• The Nonprofit Legal Defense Network (NLDN) helps nonprofits seeking legal guidance, technical assistance, and legal defense. Focuses on helping nonprofits protect themselves preemptively from legal danger and includes risk assessments to help you identify specific areas where you may want to seek legal advice. (One entry point is their one-hour risk assessment clinic, which is designed to be beginner-friendly, aimed at nonprofits that don’t have the luxury of an in-house legal team to oversee issues like regulatory compliance, financial reporting, and by-the-books governance.)
• Democracy Protection Network coordinates support services for organizations that are targeted for investigations - you can apply for DPN-coordinated resources (cyber, physical, crisis communications and legal)
• The Democracy Security Project provides trainings on physical, communications, and cyber security, along with 1:1 support through their intake process.
• Vision Change Win Community Safety Rapid Response Support - free of charge virtual rapid response support to social justice movements, organizations, and leaders dealing with urgent community safety incidents.