Lessons learned from a homeschool co-op

Faye, a homeschool mom and columnist for the DC Examiner.com, has a list of lessons she learned while being in two homeschool co-ops this year.

When we joined two homeschool co-ops last year, it completely changed our homeschooling life.  For one thing, I had to be sure not to plan anything else on co-op days, because we were already busy.  Sometimes this made scheduling field trips a little tricky, but the juggling was well worth the effort.  Another big change was that on co-op days, we all had to get up at a scheduled (earlier!) time, so that we could be out the door on time. We aren’t big morning people around here, but I think the change did us good.  And finally, it brought more friendship and support into our family and into our lives, which was perhaps the biggest blessing of all!  There were many other things that I learned, and I thought it would be fun to share a few of them:

1.  Kids who are not used to daily “school” may not always have pencils, pens, or paper.  Be sure to bring extra!

2.  No matter how hard you wish, if your co-op is exactly 18 minutes from your house, you will not be able to get there in 10 minutes.  Leave early (or at least on time).

3.  Even if you are the “teacher”, sometimes you will be late (refer to #2 for the solution to this problem)

4.  A big roll of paper and a box of crayons are indispensable for keeping little ones occupied.  The paper may come in handy for other uses (see #1).

5.  You probably already know this, but kids NEED time to run around outdoors.  If your co-op doesn’t have access to an outdoor space, try to find a way for the kids to take a walk or play some indoor games.  Getting the wiggles out is very important.

More of Fay’s lessons learned coming soon.

Meanwhile, if you would like to learn more about starting or running a

homeschool co-op, order my book, Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out.

Carol Topp, CPA

Is insurance needed for small homeschool groups?

Do small homeschool groups need insurance?

Often they do, especially of their host/landlord requires general liability insurance.

To help you discern your risk and need for insurance, Harvey Mechanic, an attorney that specializes in nonprofit law, lists some potential claim areas:

POTENTIAL CLAIM AREAS:

1. Discrimination (Age, Race, Sex)
2. Wrongful dismissal of employee
3. Mismanagement
4. Financial failure/bankruptcy
5. Poor administration resulting in losses
6. Causing the organization to incur unnecessary tax liability
7. Imprudent investments
8. Misuse of contributions
9. Conflict of interest
10. Unauthorized loans
11. Failure to obtain competitive bids
12. Unwarranted expansion
13. Failure to obtain government funding or lower interest loans
14. Misuse of government funds or grants

How many of these situations could occur in your homeschool organization? Probably some, but not all. Large nonprofits like the Red Cross or a hospital face many of these potential risks and need insurance.

In my article, “Insurance for Homeschool Groups,”  discuss the various types in insurance a homeschool group might need and how to lessen your risks to obtain a reasonably priced insurance policy.

Insurance for homeschool groups

Carol Topp, CPA

Should a co-op be a separate organization?

Carol,

We have one entity (group) that works outside of our association, this is our Co-op group. This group does take in money – I believe it’s run out of a separate bank account. I know our Co-op group has a board, and bylaws but not an EIN number, which I know is very easy to get. What are they benefits of us staying as one group? My question is: should our Co-op group run their funds separately like this?

Sandy in TX

Sandy,

Your co-op could be organized as under your association or as a separate group. It’s really up to you. Since they have their own separate board and bylaws, perhaps they are really operating as a separate unincorporated association already. You could be officially separate if they obtain their own Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS.

There might be advantages to staying as one group. There are fewer volunteers for the board positions, consolidated financial reports, and shared workload. The co-op could remain a part of your organization, but with a separate checking account and its own budget. It could be self-sustaining financially, but still part of your association. Many church-run schools operate like this, financially self-sufficient, but still under the umbrella of the church.

Carol Topp, CPA

Finding a CPA for your nonprofit

I wrote this article for Step by Step Fund Raising titled

A Good CPA is Hard to Find

by Carol Topp, CPA

Have we hit the $5,000 mark?

I am trying to do some research on the non-profit status for our Homeschool group and cannot find a clear answer. We are trying to see if we have hit the $5000 gross receipts limit.

Would money that individual members write to the group, so that the group can write one check to an organization, for instance a field trip, be considered in the gross receipts?

Nikki E

Nikki,
All money that comes in, even if it goes out almost right away like for a field trip, is considered gross income.

Not difficult to get over that $5,000 limit, is it?

To help in your research you might want to read my e-book Tax Exempt 501c3 Status for Homeschool Organizations.

You can find it on my website www.HomeschoolCPA.com/Books.html

Best of success to you,

Carol Topp, CPA

Using Quickbooks for reports

Hi Carol,

Our Board of directors for our homeschool group of 100 families just received your 2 books (Money Management for Homeschool Organizations and Tax Exempt 510c3 Status for Homeschool Organizations).  I have read them.  It has reassured me that we are on the right track and that we have instituted many of the things that you mentioned.

We have purchased Quickbooks and our treasurer is working hard to learn  the software.

What financial reports do we need to generate monthly?  We need these reports to be a simple process.The Balance Sheet and P&L (Profit and Loss) statement in Quickbooks looks are overwhelming.

We are not accountants and double entry lines are confusing.We have reconciled our checkbook successfully.  YEAH!

Any advise would be helpful,

Hilary S

Hilary,

I’m glad that my books were helpful.  Your organization sounds as if they are getting things set up well.  I hope you’ll be serving homeschool families for a long time to come.

I think Quickbooks (QB) can be as simple or as complicated as it needs to be. The reports your treasurer generates is dependent on what the board wants to see. When I was treasurer, I gave my board a P&L (Profit and Loss) statement.  They really liked to see the budget in one column and actual P&L in another column.  Then they could see how we were doing compared to our budget. This report can be generated in QB as a Budget Report.
I also created a mini balance sheet at the bottom of the P&L.  I took the amount in the checking account and then listed payments to be made.  This gave the board an idea of how much cash we had on hand and where it was planned to go.

If the P&L statements in QB are too overwhelming, then perhaps you’re not using QB correctly.  I frequently see QB users make their Chart of Accounts too long.  Then the P&L becomes 2-3 pages long.  I recommend that a P&L be condensed into one page or less.

If your treasurer would like my help in setting up QB, I’d be happy to help.  She can e-mail me with what needs to be done and I’ll give you an estimated cost.  I also do QB training over the phone. I keep things as simple as possible.

I hope that helps.  I wish you the best of success! (Congrats on balancing the checkbook!)

Carol Topp, CPA