A budget can bring relief
October 24, 2010
My friends Kristen & Denise at Homeschool Group Leader have been running an interview they did with me as a blog series on leader burn out.
A lot of leaders think, “What?! I hate dealing with the numbers. I am a people person.”
But what those numbers on a budget do is help you plan, sit down and look to the future. That can do a lot to reduce stress.
Price $7.00. Available for immediate download. Read more here.
New article: Easy Fund Raisers for Homeschool Groups
October 18, 2010
I have just uploaded an article I wrote for The Old Schoolhouse magazine titled
Easy Fund Raisers for Homeschool Groups
The articles covers several ideas for easy fund raisers including:
- Food as a fund raiser
- Coupons and reward programs
- Donation drives
- Income from your website
Other issues are addressed as well such as whether the income from a fund rasier is taxed and whether a family can hold a fundraiser for their individual homeschool.
Here’s an excerpt:
Many homeschool groups bring in needed income through fundraisers. Through experience I have found that some fundraisers are much easier to conduct than others. Although very common, selling products door to door is one of the hardest ways to raise money because managing the orders, delivering the product, and storing inventory is a lot of hard work. My homeschool group had tried selling products in the past, but we wanted an easier way to bring in funds. We found several ideas that have worked well for homeschool groups including reward and coupon programs, fund raising dinners, donation drives and website income.
Read the entire article on my Leader Tools/Articles page (scroll down to the bottom)
Carol Topp, CPA
Homeschool blog nominations
October 16, 2010
The 2010 Homeschool Blog Nominations are open!
If you find my blog here at HomeschoolCPA helpful, would you please nominate it?
Here’s the link for the nomination. http://hsbapost.com/2010/10/2010-awards-nominations-are-open/
Its easy, just enter your name and email address and then type my blog’s name HomeschoolCPA and URL : http://HomeschoolCPA.com/blog under an appropriate category, probably Best Business or Nitty-Gritty, you decide!
Your nomination will let other homeschool leaders know about HomeschoolCPA and get answers to their questions.
Thanks!
Carol Topp, CPA
Ultimate Homeschool Expo: Fall 2010
October 14, 2010
Unplug the Christmas Machine: Tips for reducing the stress and debt in the upcoming Christmas season
Several years ago I read a book called Unplug the Christmas Machine and I learned how to celebrate the holidays without stress or more debt! Hear what I learned during the Ultimate Homeschool Expo preview chat on
Thursday October 14 10:00 am EST/ 9 CST.
The Ultimate Homeschool Expo is an on-line homeschool convention that offers special seminar presentations from leaders in the homeschool community who share their expertise with you. The speakers were carefully selected to bring an unforgettable conference experience to the listener.
Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2010 Fall!
Live: November 11-12-13, 2010
Theme: Keeping Christ in the Midst of the Holiday Celebrations
There is no charge for listening to the events live. But we’d love to have you purchase a membership ticket for the full Expo and all the door prizes, freebies and seminars. The ticket price is $19.95.
My preview session called “Unplug the Christmas Machine: Tips for decreasing the stress and debt of Christmas” will be held live on Thursday October 14 at 10:00 am.
Here’s how you can listen in: Go to this website: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/89293
Or dial this telephone number and enter the Call ID when prompted:
Phone Number: (724) 444-7444
Call ID: 89293
Here’s a handout to follow along: Unplug the Christmas Machine_UHSE_2010
Listen to my session Unplug the Christmas Machine on Thursday Oct 14 at 10:00 am for free or buy a ticket and receive all the sessions, ebooks, vendor hall pass and door prizes offered.
Carol Topp, CPA
What business structure and tax forms are needed for a new homeschool co-op?
October 10, 2010
Hi,I am a 15 year homeschooling veteran who started a co-op last fall. I am now being asked by my church for ‘official’ documents to include: business status, liability insurance, tax information. I have a checking account for our co-op.We offer 30 classes, one day a week, for 5 hours. Six of the 30 classes are paid classes. The student gives the co-op ~$2.00 each class. I write a check to the teacher for $20.00 each time they teach. The teacher always makes $20.00. The student pays a varying rate dependant upon how many students are in the class.What business status do I need?
What tax forms am I required to file?What type of liability insurance do I need if the parents are always on site and never drop off students?Thank you greatly for the information.Sincerely,Lauren T
Good for you for starting a homeschool co-op. I’m sure it is a blessing for many families.
Your business status could be a for-profit or a nonprofit. It depends on whether you run the co-op by yourself or whether you have a board to make decisions. It also depends on how you opened up the checking account (although that can be changed). Did you use your personal name and SSN? Then you would be a for profit sole proprietorship. Or did you get an EIN from the IRS and call the co-op a nonprofit? Then you are a nonprofit.
Getting an EIN from the IRS
Checklist for new homeschool organizations.pdf
Choosing a leadership team
The tax forms depend on your business structure. Sole proprietors report business income on Schedule C of their 1040. Most nonprofits apply for 501c3 tax exempt status to avoid paying taxes on their surplus.
There can still be a need for insurance, even if parents stay on site. Accidents can happen, damage to property can happen. You might benefit from reading my article on Insurance for homeschool groups.
My book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out covers a lot of your questions. It is available in print or electronic format. Read more here.
I hope that helps!
Are you burned out? Know the symptoms
October 1, 2010
As a guest blogger at The Homeschool Classroom, I wrote a blog entry about leader burnout.
Here’s an excerpt:
It is important to distinguish between temporary “busy-ness” or fatigue and full fledged burn out, which is accumulated strain and stress that affects other areas of your life. After nearly every co-op day, I feel exhausted. One fellow board member takes a nap after co-op, but she is only temporarily fatigued. We joke that we love when co-op starts, but we also love when it ends!
A symptom of burn out would be the loss of the initial enjoyment and anticipation that co-op day should bring. I know that I am tired at the end of a long co-op day because I have invested so much into my students. I really enjoy teaching and I experience a “good” type of fatigue.
To read the entire post, go here: Leader Burnout
Need help avoiding burnout? Read Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them , Run Them and Not Burn Out.
Available as an ebook or in print here.
Carol Topp
My free ebook featured at Homeschool Freebie of the Day
October 1, 2010
