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October 27, 2026 |
Tips, ideas, stories and grants for nonprofit leaders.
A 5-minute read
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Nov 1Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1. Sunset comes an hour earlier by the clock that week, so walk your pickup spot and parking lot at closing time before evening programs meet. NIST on daylight saving time
Dec 31A check mailed on December 31 is a 2026 gift, even if it reaches you in January. The IRS treats a mailed check as delivered "on the date you mail it," so keep the postmarked envelope with the gift record. IRS Publication 526
A gift on a credit card counts in the year of the charge. A gift by text message counts in the year the donor sends the text, when it is billed to their phone account. Date year-end receipts by those rules, not by when the money lands. Same publication
If your travel policy follows federal rates, update it. For the federal fiscal year that began October 1, GSA's standard rate is $113 a night for lodging, up from $110, and $68 a day for meals and incidentals. Higher-cost areas get more. GSA per diem rates
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Your hourly staff can deduct their overtime, if your W-2 says so
An employee who earns overtime required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act can deduct up to $12,500 of it on a 2026 return, or $25,000 on a joint return, whether or not they itemize. The deduction shrinks once modified adjusted gross income passes $150,000, or $300,000 for joint filers.
Your employees can only claim it if you report it. In the IRS's words, an employer "must report the amount of qualified overtime compensation paid to an employee beginning in 2026, on Form W-2 in box 12, using code TT." An amount left off the W-2 can't be deducted until you send a corrected Form W-2c.
The number in that box is only the premium. For someone paid $20 an hour, an overtime hour pays $30, and the $10 above the regular rate is what gets reported. Overtime the federal law doesn't require, such as overtime you pay by choice or a state's daily overtime, doesn't count.
Charitable work alone doesn't bring a nonprofit under the law as an enterprise, but the Labor Department's fact sheet for nonprofits says individual employees can still be covered. The 2026 W-2s are due to employees and the Social Security Administration by Monday, February 1, 2027.
What to do this week: ask whoever runs your payroll whether it records the overtime premium separately for every pay period since January. If it doesn't, rebuild those totals now, while the timesheets are easy to find. Then tell staff who work overtime that a new Form W-4 can account for the deduction in step 4(b).
The IRS overtime FAQs
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Closes Oct 31ALDI: $100 to $1,000 in gift cards
For local 501(c)(3)s, including schools, that run after-school or out-of-school programs for kids, whether the focus is education, arts or athletics. Food banks and pantries buying products also qualify. The window closes Saturday, October 31. Have ready a copy of your tax documents or registration to attach, an official representative or employee to submit it, and a street address, since cards can't go to a PO box.
ALDI's program page
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Whole Foods Market: product donations from your local store
For registered US 501(c)(3)s whose programs serve communities near a store. It gives products, not gift cards, alcohol or cash, and takes requests throughout the year. Go to your nearest store directly. Priority goes to organizations that "have not received another sponsorship or donation within the calendar year." Have proof of your nonprofit status ready.
The in-kind donation rules
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Always open: Through your state's surplus property agency, eligible nonprofits, including educational and public health agencies and programs for the elderly, can get equipment the federal government no longer needs. Your state agency decides who qualifies. Find your state agency
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Ten dollars, one ride to the doctor
Karyn Dombrowski Curro started Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers in Roseville, Michigan, 34 years ago. Its staff match older and disabled adults with volunteers who drive them to doctor appointments, check their homes for safety problems, do chores and yard work, and visit. Between 500 and 700 volunteers serve close to 500 clients and their families, WDIV Local 4 reported on October 22.
Some clients, she said, "don't even have a person they can list as an emergency contact."
Asked what the organization needs, she said: "Two big things. More volunteers and more money." Then she put a price on it. By her estimate, every $10 can get someone to a doctor's appointment.
The lesson for a director: a donor can picture a $10 ride. Work out what one unit of your program costs, a ride or a week of camp, and put that number in your year-end ask.
WDIV's report
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Download your EIN letter yourself
Banks and funders ask for proof of your EIN, and the IRS now lets tax-exempt organizations get it online. An officer, such as your president or treasurer, or your board chair can set up an IRS Business Tax Account and download notice CP575, which the IRS says banks can accept in place of Letter 147C. The same account shows your IRS notices, payments, and the name and address the IRS has on file for you.
IRS Business Tax Account
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