Aplos Software is a privately held company that specializes in software as a service for nonprofit organizations. Their primary focus is simple software to manage the essential nonprofit tasks of fund accounting, nonprofit tax preparation and donor management for small, mid-sized, and large non-profit organizations.
Aplos Software was founded in 2009 in Fresno, California by Dan Kelly and Tim Goetz, a certified public accountant. Tim Goetz previously served as an executive pastor of a church and helped found two nonprofits. He couldn't find the low-cost fund accounting solution he wanted for his nonprofits, so he joined with a Fresno-based investor that shared his vision to serve the nonprofit sector with simple, affordable software and founded Aplos Software. [1]
Aplos Software focused its software on simplifying the primary back office tasks required to manage a nonprofit, private foundation, foundation (nonprofit), charitable organization or church.
Nonprofit fund accounting differs from business accounting because it is often necessary to track restricted and unrestricted funds separately. This often occurs when a donor or grant specifies that the organization must use the funds for a specific purpose. [10] The accounting software must track how these funds were used and how much is available. [11] Aplos first launched its online fund accounting software, Aplos Accounting, in 2011. [3] [12] [13] The most popular competitive accounting product for small and mid-sized nonprofits is Quickbooks [14]
In October 2012, Aplos Software launched Aplos Oversight, an online software which provides an administrator or accountant real-time access to the accounting of multiple organizations. [15]
In summer of 2012, Aplos Software was approved as an IRS efile provider to submit IRS tax forms on behalf of tax-exempt organizations and in October 2012 launched Aplos e-File, a tax preparation and filing software for IRS Form 990-N. [16] IRS Form 990-N is an annual electronic IRS filing for tax-exempt organizations with less than $50,000 in annual gross receipts. In 2013, Aplos added tax preparation and e-file software for IRS Form 990-EZ and its required schedules to Aplos e-File. IRS Form 990-EZ is the short form of the full Form 990 IRS tax forms and is available to organizations with up to $200,000 in gross receipts and $500,000 in assets. [17] [18]
Aplos Software also focused on expanding the fundraising and donation tracking aspects of its software since 2012 to make it more successful for the vertical market of nonprofits. It launched a contributions management module in 2012 that tracked donations within Aplos Accounting and created contribution statements, which are annual giving receipts required by the IRS. In July 2013 it began offering a donor management module, and in May 2017 it expanded on its module to launch a stand-alone product as Aplos Donor Management.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, nonprofits are increasingly creating initiatives to accept donations online and growth in online giving outpaced traditional methods in 2012. [19] To keep pace with the growing popularity and requests by its customers for an online giving platform, Aplos Software expanded its fundraising functionality in January 2014 by partnering with WePay, an online payment portal, to add the ability for nonprofits to accept online donations. [20]
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, or simply a nonprofit, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, as opposed to an entity that operates as a business aiming to generate a profit for its owners. A nonprofit organization is subject to the non-distribution constraint: any revenues that exceed expenses must be committed to the organization's purpose, not taken by private parties. Depending on the local laws, charities are regularly organized as non-profits. A host of organizations may be nonprofit, including some political organizations, schools, hospitals, business associations, churches, foundations, social clubs, and consumer cooperatives. Nonprofit entities may seek approval from governments to be tax-exempt, and some may also qualify to receive tax-deductible contributions, but an entity may incorporate as a nonprofit entity without having tax-exempt status.
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather money for non-profit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capital for for-profit enterprises.
United States non-profit laws relate to taxation, the special problems of an organization which does not have profit as its primary motivation, and prevention of charitable fraud. Some non-profit organizations can broadly be described as "charities" — like the American Red Cross. Some are strictly for the private benefit of the members — like country clubs, or condominium associations. Others fall somewhere in between — like labor unions, chambers of commerce, or cooperative electric companies. Each presents unique legal issues.
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set out the requirements for obtaining such exemptions. Many states refer to Section 501(c) for definitions of organizations exempt from state taxation as well. 501(c) organizations can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, and unions.
NatureServe, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Arlington County, Virginia, US, that provides proprietary wildlife conservation-related data, tools, and services to private and government clients, partner organizations, and the public. NatureServe reports being "headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with regional offices in four U.S. locations and in Canada." In calendar year 2011 they reported having 86 employees, 6 volunteers, and 15 independent officers.
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit's financial stability, adherence to best practices for both accountability and transparency, and results reporting. It is the largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities in the United States. It does not accept any advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates.
In the United States, a donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a public charity created to manage charitable donations on behalf of organizations, families, or individuals. To participate in a donor-advised fund, a donating individual or organization opens an account in the fund and deposits cash, securities, or other financial instruments. They surrender ownership of anything they put in the fund, but retain advisory privileges over how their account is invested, and how it distributes money to charities.
Laws regulating nonprofit organizations, nonprofit corporations, non-governmental organizations, and voluntary associations vary in different jurisdictions. They all play a critical role in addressing social, economic, and environmental issues. These organizations operate under specific legal frameworks that are regulated by the respective jurisdictions in which they operate.
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the US.
Network for Good is an American-certified B Corporation software company that offers fundraising software and coaching for charities and non-profit organizations. The company was founded in 2001 by America Online (AOL), Cisco Systems, and Yahoo! and has processed over $2.2 billion in donations since its inception. Network for Good charges between 3% and 5% transaction processing fee for donations, in addition to any subscription fees that the charity might incur. The transaction processing costs may be covered by the donor or by the nonprofit organization.
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses forms for taxpayers and tax-exempt organizations to report financial information, such as to report income, calculate taxes to be paid to the federal government, and disclose other information as required by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). There are over 800 various forms and schedules. Other tax forms in the United States are filed with state and local governments.
E-file is a system for submitting tax documents to the US Internal Revenue Service through the Internet or direct connection, usually without the need to submit any paper documents. Tax preparation software with e-filing capabilities includes stand-alone programs or websites. Tax professionals use tax preparation software from major software vendors for commercial use.
Form 990 is a United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form that provides the public with information about a nonprofit organization. It is also used by government agencies to prevent organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status. Some nonprofits, such as hospitals and other healthcare organizations, have more comprehensive reporting requirements.
Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. It is the product of the February 2019 merger of GuideStar with Foundation Center.
The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops standards for reporting on the activities of all tax-exempt organizations.
The NonProfit Times (NPT) is a newspaper based in Morris Plains, New Jersey, covering the business management of non-profit organizations in the United States. The first issue was published in April 1987. The newspaper covers fundraising, accounting, managerial issues and human resource management. In addition to providing news and management tips to non-profits, the publication offers a job search engine, salary surveys, and an online TV show called The NonProfit Times TV.
Form 1023 is a United States IRS tax form, also known as the Application for Recognition of Exemption Under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is filed by nonprofits to get exemption status. On January 31, 2020, the IRS abandoned the paper format of the form 1023. Those who used the paper version were given 90 days grace period and that ended on April 30, 2020. Going forward, every application has to be filed online through Pay.gov portal.
A 501(h) election or Conable election is a procedure in United States tax law that allows a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to participate in lobbying limited only by the financial expenditure on that lobbying, regardless of its overall extent. This allows organizations taking the 501(h) election to potentially perform a large amount of lobbying if it is done using volunteer labor or through inexpensive means. The 501(h) election is available to most types of 501(c)(3) organizations that are not churches or private foundations. It was introduced by Representative Barber Conable as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1976 and codified as
, and the corresponding Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations were finalized in 1990.CYMA is the name of a series of accounting software packages, developed by Tempe-based company CYMA Systems.
Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 141 S.Ct. 2373 (2021), is a United States Supreme Court case dealing with the disclosure of donors to non-profit organizations. The case challenged California's requirement that non-profit organizations disclose the identity of their donors to the state's Attorney General as a precondition of soliciting donations in the state. The case was consolidated with Thomas More Law Center v. Bonta. In July 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6–3 decision that California's requirement burdened the donors' First Amendment rights, was not narrowly tailored, and was constitutionally invalid.
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