Happy Birthday!
Dear Erin,
What better day to kick things off than your birthday!?! We’ve been talking about this for so long… how we should take all the conversations we have about business and management and start to put it down “on paper.” Of course I would say “on paper” even while I‘m typing onto an iPad. That just goes to show - some of what I say may seem outdated and irrelevant to your generation. But, more often than not, I hope, these writings will resonate and help you as you build your business.
Let’s start with deadlines. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to start writing down all I can think of that might help you in business for so long, and yet life kept getting in the way. And that’s the thing about business - sometimes the relentless daily to-do list starts to overwhelm the projects that really matter. So how did I finally get started? I set a deadline. And, I put it on every calendar I have, in every planner I use. “I’ll start ‘dear erin’ on Erin’s birthday.” I knew all month that this is what I would do today. The deadline was meaningful and memorable - and it gave me something to which I could hold myself accountable.
Take a moment tomorrow and set some deadlines for yourself. Put them in your calendar. I know you probably have quite a few dance-related shows, classes and projects. But take a moment and list when your nonprofit filings are due: Annual Report for all states in which you are registered with their respective Secretaries of State; Federal Tax Return 990, required Attorneys General filings to keep you in compliance for accepting charitable donations and any human resource filings. If you have employees or contractors you paid in 2023, they’ll each need their tax documentation (W-2 and 1099) by the end of January…and the IRS will need summary forms for both.
You may also have grant deadlines - not only grant applications but also grant reports for grants already received. You don’t get in a ton of trouble for missing these deadlines (unlike the government reports in the previous paragraph), but you won’t get anymore grant funding from the entities if you don‘t respect their dates. So, yeah, these are pretty important as well as the compliance dates above.
Finally, take some time within the next two weeks to catch up on any tax acknowledgement letters you need to send to individual donors. Anyone who sent you more than $250 should receive a letter from you (can be an email) that acknowledges the date of the gift, the amount and the line “no goods or services were received in exchange for the donation.” This allows them to claim the donation as a deduction on their personal income taxes. But they need that letter from you to make their accountants happy. That’s the legal side - don’t forget to either add a bunch of gratitude language to the letter or even better, send them a separate hand-written thank you note.
OMG - there I go again with paper and pen. Sure, you could text or email; whatever you think the donor will appreciate. But there is nothing like receiving something tangible. When you are a big, successful dance company, you could even send a thank you t-shirt or coffee mug!!
Let’s end there for now. I know you are busy, and your calendar will fill up over the year to come. That’s why it’s important to get those compliance dates on the calendar immediately.
And, if you have any big projects (like launching a blog?!), go ahead and give yourself a deadline. Sometimes, that’s all you need to get it done.
Happy Birthday!!!
Love, Mom
Disclaimer: I am not an accountant or a lawyer! If you are reading this an you aren’t Erin, consult a professional or ask you own mom!