As we begin the new year, take a step back to reflect on all the good that your nonprofit accomplished in 2025 and begin to prepare for another year of growth. In this post we look at tasks that wrap up the year and lay the foundation for what’s coming up, (Winterizing the Garden) as well as planning for what you want the next year to be like (Planning the Growing Season).
Note that many of these tasks align with the end of the organization’s fiscal year, so if your organization has a fiscal year that is different from the calendar year, adjust the timing of these tasks as appropriate.
Winterizing the Garden: Year-End Stability and Risk Reduction
Financial tasks
- Work with your bookkeeper to close the books for the previous year
- Start preparing for the 990. Depending on the version of the 990 your organization does, you may have to provide details on
- In-kind donations
- Donor information
- Merchandise inventory
- Grant awards
- Send W-2s to employees and 1099s to contractors by January 31st
Donor Stewardship
- Send year-end donor receipts by January 31st
- If donors receive receipts upon donating, you don’t need to send additional or duplicative receipts
- If donors don’t receive receipts upon making donations, you must send receipts for any donation above $250
- If you have donors who give monthly or multiple times throughout the year, it’s a nice gesture to provide a cumulative receipt
- Send donors a year-end thank you for their support (this is not legally required, but a good way to maintain positive donor relations to encourage continued giving)
- You can use this as an opportunity to reinforce transparency and trust, such as including a brief statement about how donations are used and how donors can request additional information
- If the organization has capacity, publish an annual impact report that provides an overview of the work done in the year with information about income, expenses, funding sources, programs, and accomplishments.
Planning the Next Growing Season: Strategic and Proactive Planning
Financial tasks
- The board should approve an operating budget for the new year
- Review the organization’s financial policies to confirm that things like segregation of duties and financial protocols are being followed or whether the policy needs to be updated.
- Assess fundraising plans for compliance implications, including grant restrictions, donor intent, corporate giving platforms, raffles, events, and sponsorship structures.
Strategic planning
- Review the organization’s current strategic plan, see if any changes are needed to be in alignment with current programming
- Identify areas of improvement and set new goals
- Ensure that planned growth, new programs, or collaborations fit within the organization’s exempt purpose and existing governance framework or determine if any changes are needed.
Governance
- Review board member’s conflicts of interest and ask for any updates to their list of conflict of interest disclosures and reaffirm conflict of interest recusal procedures.
- Review board composition, officer roles, and term limits to ensure the board is properly constituted going into the new year, especially where resignations, informal extensions, or inactive directors have created gaps.
- Check that governing documents still match operations, including whether programs have expanded beyond what the articles, bylaws, or IRS exemption letter provide.
- Confirm annual and renewal filings are complete or calendared, including Oregon Secretary of State, DOJ charitable registration, and any required local filings. If the organization is registered in multiple states, include those regulatory agencies in this list to renew.
- Calendar governance milestones for the year ahead, including board trainings, self-assessments, officer elections, and strategic planning sessions, rather than addressing them reactively.
- Review and refresh key policies, such as whistleblower, conflicts, and record-keeping.
- Plan for leadership transitions or succession, even if not imminent, including executive director support, delegation of authority, and continuity planning.
Employees and Volunteers
- Assess employment and contractor classifications, especially for hybrid roles or specialized consultants who may have drifted into employee-like status.
- Review and update, if needed, important operations policies such the employee handbook, volunteer agreements, remote work, or media and communications policies.
- Inventory data practices and confidentiality obligations, including client records, donor data, and employee files, and ensure retention and destruction practices are being followed.
- Evaluate whether the organization’s staffing model will support upcoming goals, including anticipated hires, use of contractors, stipends, volunteers, or shared positions.
Legal
- Review leases, licenses, and property arrangements for renewal deadlines, escalation clauses, insurance requirements, and responsibility for maintenance, utilities, and taxes.
- Confirm insurance coverage aligns with current activities, including D&O, EPLI, professional liability, cyber liability, and coverage for volunteers or special events.
- Identify agreements that have become outdated or informal, such as fiscal sponsorships, MOUs, or shared-staff arrangements, and take note of anything that needs cleanup or renegotiation.
- If applicable, anticipate real estate or space needs early, including renewals, expansions, relocations, or capital projects, to avoid last-minute negotiations or unfavorable terms.
- Review relationships with affiliated entities, such as foundations, clubs, fiscally sponsored projects, or chapters, to ensure roles, money flows, and decision-making authority are clearly documented.
- Identify regulatory or enforcement trends that may affect the organization’s work in the coming year, such as employment law changes, DEI-related scrutiny, data privacy expectations, or licensure issues.
- Set realistic legal and compliance goals for the year ahead, such as “update core agreements,” “clean up governance documents,” or “reduce risk in one high-exposure area,” rather than attempting wholesale reform.
