Fiscal Client Manual & FAQs
The resources and documents below are for our existing fiscal clients.
All incoming primary and secondary contacts should be sure to read the manual before engaging in fiscal client activities such as submitting expenditure requests or engaging in fundraising activities.
Only with permission from Parks & Trails Council. This may be for making tax-free purchases or for applying for a grant. Please email fiscal@parksandtrails.org to discuss.
Visit the MN Department of Revenue website for more information.
Checks should be made payable to “Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota.” Donors should put your group’s name in the memo line. See example below.
Have your treasurer call P&TC at 651-726-2457.
Ideally, fiscal clients should collect checks from donors and mail them to P&TC in batches with the accompanying deposit form, which indicates the source of donations.
Yes, through the P&TC website. Online donations are only considered tax-deductible if collected through your group’s donation page on P&TC’s website. Contact us to learn more:
651-726-2457
By check
Up to 10 business days from date request was received. Possibly more if the second authorization for an expenditure request is delayed.
No. Payments from fiscal funds must be for costs already incurred. A receipt or an invoice must accompany an expenditure request.
No. Payments from fiscal funds must be for costs already incurred. A receipt or an invoice must accompany an expenditure request.
If an authorizer is due to receive a reimbursement, two other authorizers need to approve that expenditure. An authorizer cannot approve a reimbursement to themselves.
Maybe. Only certain types of purchases and only purchases that can be invoiced may be eligible. Reach out to P&TC to learn how to make tax exempt purchases.
Everything! Such as:
Financial account information, including:
Group information, including:
P&TC manages accounting records to be in compliance with auditing rules and best practices for nonprofit accounting. We share these records with our fiscal clients through regular reporting, but the level of detail may not be sufficient for your planning purposes, nor for fostering your donor relationships.
Talk to your treasurer first. Then, if you don’t have the most recent general ledger/statement, email fiscal@parksandtrails.org to ask for the balance. Please allow 1-2 business days for response time.
Read through our Grant Procedures post.
Restricted grants are dedicated to a particular purpose or project, as designated by the granting organization. They are permanently restricted for that purpose and cannot be used for any other expenses.
Check out the 501c3 University Knowledge Base resource from the Foundation Group (external link).
Each grantor has its own requirements for who is eligible to receive their funds. Check out our grant guide (coming soon), peruse grantor websites, and reach out directly to grantors for more information.