November 2, 2020
November Financial Update
As if the corona virus weren’t enough, I missed October’s journal because I was in the midst of relocating to Richmond, Virginia. Unpacking, working, and getting my kids set up in virtual school was as much as I could do! Indeed, a lot of working America is struggling hard with parenting as virtual school steams ahead for many of us.
Speaking of enough already, the pandemic continues to ratchet up alongside other crises. Apocalyptic-seeming wildfires grab headline space alongside hotly contested national political battles over the presidency, senate and Supreme Court. Is the political stress getting to you? NPR offers four ways to KEEP CALM before the election. Another author wonders if all the stress and fuss in politics isn’t “political junkies” versus everyone else, with many or even most people not following politics very closely at all. Regardless, the news cycle is basically on fire right now, and not looking to calm down soon.
Financial Calendar – For a full list of tax deadline dates, see the IRS Tax Calendar, but briefly:
- November 1: The Opening Day for federal health insurance marketplace enrollment for 2021 coverage;
- The FAFSA for 2021-22 opened October 1;
- November 2: Deposit FUTA owed through Sep if more than $500;
- November 10: Due date for third quarter 941;
- November 16: Deposit payroll tax for Oct if the monthly rule applies;
- Semi-weekly usual payroll tax deposits.
Government Aid in Coronatimes
The Small Business Administration closed new applications in August, so now all the news is forgiveness. The SBA has once again updated their forgiveness guidelines with a new Easy Form for folks who borrowed under $50,000.00. I’ve been through the full forgiveness form a few time, and the new Form 3508S is definitely a lot easier. Lawmakers are still debating further easing of forgiveness measures, but no information about when that might be decided is currently known.
Should you file for forgiveness yet? Many accountants say no, wait and find out more information. It’s tough to be patient with the process and wait to see what Congress does. However, even if you wanted to file now, many major and smaller banks aren’t ready to start accepting forms. So forgiveness is still mostly a waiting game. The SBA reported that as of September 29, it had received just 96,000 forgiveness applications.
My list of great resources for PPP help in case you’re thinking about applying for forgiveness below:
- the FMA PPP Toolbox for Nonprofits
- the Freelancers Mutual Aid Circle,
- the SBA’s Coronavirus Small Business Guidance page
- Quickbooks has a Q&A Forum on the PPP
- Gusto Payroll has a Step-by-Step Guide to the forgiveness application
- Paychex has a PPP Practical Guide
What’s Happening, in Charts
It’s now no secret at all that women have been hit harder than men in the employment field due to the corona virus. Women are leaving the workplace at a rate four times that of men. More women left the workforce in September than jobs were added. Some are even calling it a female recession.
This chart shows how GDP will be impacted depending on if companies take action now to remedy gender parity, versus delaying action for remedying the situation in the future:
For unemployed Americans, September and October looked grim as CARES Act money, including expanded unemployment benefits and the $1,200 stimulus checks, started to run out. This chart shows spending by unemployed and employed people through September, with no sign that the drop in spending would do anything but fall through the floor. This will have long-term impacts both for families dealing with a cash shortfall as well as retail and restaurant businesses who depend on customers to spend their dollars.
Business Links!
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5 Consumer Trends Accelerated by COVID-19
Shopify reports on buying trends that they predict will last beyond the virus, like support for local businesses, virtual experiences, and and a preference for local delivery.
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How do workers really feel about remote working? This survey had some surprising results
This survey finds a big gap between what employers think they’re doing for employees and how employees feel about it. Do workers really enjoy remote work?
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How to Host a Cocktail Party on Zoom
The Startup talks about how to organize and energize your social meetups using Zoom breakout rooms - coctail parties, conversations, and more.
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The IRS releases new income tax brackets for 2021
CNBC reports on the new tax brackets for 2021, adjusting the prior year for inflation and other factors.
Nonprofit Links!
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Ensure Ethical Vendor Relationships With a Clear Ethics Policy
Create an ethical vendor policy as part of your financial policies and procedures. This article gives examples of tricky vendor situations where clear ethical guidance would be helpful..
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Membership Programs for Nonprofits
This blog article discusses fundamentals of earned income through memberships - how can nonprofits benefit from this potential source of steady income? What's involved?
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A Positive Ethic of Hope for Associations
What does it mean to be an ethical association? This article goes beyond what nonprofits and associations should not do, to stating values such as hope positively, to let your constituents know what kind of organization you.
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Donors Help Progressive Nonprofits Protect Themselves From Growing Security Threats
Organizations working with racial equity and other progressive causes are looking for new funds to combat increasing numbers of threats against them.
Security Links!
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Google engineers say privacy settings confuse users in legal docs
Business Insider reports on a lawsuit claiming that Google's privacy settings are designed to confuse users - not only the public, but even their own engineers.
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America Needs a Federal Data Privacy Law to Protect Us Online
The coauthor of a state privacy law argues in favor of protecting privacy explicitly, as many other comparable countries to the US already do.
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How The New York Times is reshaping its ad business for a cookie-less world
Digiday reports on the NYT decision to move toward cookie-less advertising, what it means for revenue streams, and what it means for privacy online.
