pic by Chud Tsankov Illustrations

You know, water does not taste all that bad. Put a splash of lemon juice or lime juice and you got the most refreshing drink on earth right in front of you without those evil calories and vast amounts of sugar. Of course, soda is not the only cause for obesity, but even if it is not, drinking a cool glass of water really does feel better than a can of soda, physically and mentally. Pound for Pound its the best reducer of weight and not be dieting.

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 From the Wall Street Journal:

Would people feel more secure about the possible health care overhaul if non-profit companies provided the health insurance rather than the government? When this fall comes around there will be a final vote whether or not to pass the health bill proposed by the Obama administration. Personally, I want to see less government interaction as opposed to more government interaction.

 Let us know your opinions on this topic.

What I’d really like to know is the actual terms and benefits the proposed federal health insurance coverage will provide to citizens. There has been much speculation over how citizens will leave their employer’s health coverage for federal health coverage since it will be so much cheaper. But with a cheaper coverage, are people really getting the same benefits as private insurance companies offer? Before we all decide to go for the cheaper coverage the White House needs to come up with a coverage plan. Maybe by that time people will see that the federal plan isn’t nearly as good as the one they have now.

Let us know your opinion.

Regarding an Article from the Wall Street Journal:

Wasn’t one of the major selling points for the stimulus package to help people who were falling behind in their mortgage payments? Apperently some of the major banks didnt receive the memo until last month. And even when they did get the memo, the time it takes to get your mortgage modified may take three months if not longer. Congress’ new plan for modifying mortgages Doesnt seem to be much of a relief, seems more like of a headache at the moment.

pic from Nine Inch Nachos

It is my position that Credit Unions are much better at providing the best value for the fees they charged and the services their members receive.  I think it is time for the government to cut the cord of taxpayers supporting the for-profit banking sector.  I would like to hear feedback from the nonprofit community about reasons the organization does not utilize Credit Unions for their banking needs.

So far “I just never thought about them as an option”  has been the strongest response.

From the Wall Street Journal: 

President Obama supports the teamwork environment that doctors of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio work in on a daily basis. Rather than having doctors work independently, thus increasing costs, the Cleveland Clinic has doctors from the same speciality collaborate together to figure out the best treatments for patients.

In a perfect medical world, patients wouldn’t need to pay for second opinions they’d be told them by the group of doctors working to help them get better, no extra fees.

 From the Wall Street Journal:

A tax on health care insurers is an interesting way to boost our economy. Of course, with these taxes placed on insurance providers, the employers who offer health care packages exceeding a certain price would have to pay most if not all of the tax put on insurance providers. If an employer is charged to pay for taxes than more than likely an employee will have a smaller pay check every month. Americans may not like that idea, but it is a price we will all have to pay.

pic by anabananna

Nonprofits struggle to balance public good and good business practices.  I wanted to congratulate Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in Manhattan New York for a strict adherence to conservative investing.  This college is a no tuition school and is nearing completion on a new $150 million academic building.  Their conservative approach has allowed them to keep their endowment at or slightly above last year.

Nonprofits have to remember that their not investing on behalf of risk taking investors, but for the financial long term health of the organization.  Consistent low risk returns build an organization.  The higher the risk a nonprofit takes with its money the more likely the intended outcome can fail.  When nonprofits are looking for that higher return the difference between low risk and high risk should be allocated to ongoing and one time expenses.  The higher the risk the more the expense should be assigned to one time expenses.  A nonprofits management and Board need to allocate their budgets accordingly to prevent in the future the impact of decreasing endowments.

The other good practice is to budget with a margin.  When building a budget with program the staff takes two steps.  First, allocate costs based on expected revenues. Second, reduce the budget by three percent, have a plan on how to produce the same amount of outcome for the reduced dollars.  This will create a practice efficient at budgeting and building a reserve.

It does not have to be new to be valuable.

From Papa;

Nonprofits will find that the purchase of store returns, recondition items and used items are great ways to stretch each dollar.  

pic by hunter

The Stimulus bill has $300,000,000 to be spent for replacing part of the federal fleet vehicles that meet a much higher fuel standard.

President Obama has a goal to put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon on the road by 2015, with the cars built in America.

I would propose that the federal government partner with Zipcar or like programs to purchase their vehicles and have them available to both employees and the general public.  If the federal government allows the cars be available to the public as well for the evenings and weekends then costs will be lowered.

Some people may have concerns about the cars being secured or targeted.  Unless point to point the car is always going to be in a government secured setting then the point on security is flawed.  Most government cars have government license plates and/or signage but get parked wherever a meeting happens to be.

When using a Zipcar type system gas, insurance and mileage (up to 180 miles) is included in the hourly cost.  It is simple and is the most efficient car pool service one can find.

Nonprofits should consider partnering with Zipcar type services for their fleets of cars and vans.  It just might provide a cost savings and increase the organization’s ability to obtain new vehicles at no additional cost to the nonprofit.