North Bay Business Journal

PETALUMA — The nonprofit organization Committee on the Shelterless, better known as COTS, today announced a shift in leadership, with Mike Johnson, the agency’s chief operating officer, assuming the role of chief executive officer.

SANTA ROSA — Wells Fargo Center for the Arts today announced plans for a four-part, $10 million upgrade project to improve patron and artist experience, increase accessibility and provide greater flexibility at the 31-year old center.

SANTA ROSA — California Parenting Institute announced it has merged with New Direction School in Santa Rosa.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers recently opened its eighth location, Roseland Pediatrics, in the southwest area of the city, where the federally qualified health center said it now offers care for newborns, children and teens.

SAN RAFAEL — The recent merger of two Marin nonprofits represents a two-fold trend affecting nonprofit mental health providers: increasing consolidation of services amid the prolonged economic downturn and a shift toward larger, more integrated organizations as a result health care reform and the law’s emphasis on mental health, according to experts.

SAN RAFAEL — Buckelew Programs and Family Service Agency of Marin, two major Marin nonprofits, today announced they will merge, making the agency a “major operating division” of the larger Buckelew organization.

SAN RAFAEL — Buckelew Programs and Family Service Agency of Marin, two large nonprofit organization based in Marin, announced they would merge operations, with Family Service Agency becoming a “major operating division” of the larger Buckelew organization.

SAN RAFAEL — Lifehouse, a nonprofit organization that assists the developmentally disabled in Marin and Sonoma counties, is relocating from its existing Smith Ranch Road location to a 5,880 square-foot space at 899 Northgate Dr. in San Rafael, a move that will accommodate three years of continuous growth.

SANTA ROSA — Luther Burbank Savings, in collaboration with the Sonoma County Task Force for the Homelessness, has donated a house and two-acre parcel at 2621 Guerneville Road to Community Housing Sonoma County, which will use the property to develop affordable housing for the homeless.

NORTH BAY – Nonprofits throughout the North Bay will have the chance to hear experts sound off on a slew of issues that concern them, ranging from legal and accounting advice to marketing and technology.

NAPA — The Napa Valley Opera House will be the site of the 2011 Nonprofit Boot Camp on May 19. The forum, presented by Pisenti & Brinker LLP and North Bay Business Journal, will provide the latest information from experts in accounting, finance, law, technology, and organizational development and how they impact your nonprofit funding, staff and board.

SONOMA COUNTY – Two Sonoma County nonprofits will merge operations and boards, a move that officials said will enable both organizations to expand services while becoming more efficient amid a challenging landscape for the nonprofit sector.

NORTH BAY – Pisenti & Brinker, a Santa Rosa-based accounting firm, and the Business Journal are partnering on two “Nonprofit Boot Camps” in May in Napa and Sonoma counties aimed at informing the leadership of organizations about governance, employment and financial issues.

SANTA ROSA — Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County has brought in a retailing veteran to increase the fund-raising potential of its ReStore home-improvement thrift store in northwest Santa Rosa.

The idea of a merger or acquisition often conjures up images of one or both of the entities struggling financially. Business combinations, however, are not necessarily a means to survive, but rather a way to thrive. For many nonprofits, joining forces can be a way to strengthen their existing programs and continue to grow, as opposed to just maintaining the status quo.

AIA Redwood Empire, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, the Network for a Healthy California, Whole Foods Market and Coddingtown Mall plan to raise awareness to the problem of hunger in Sonoma County by building sculptures out of canned food.

SAN RAFAEL — Integra Telecom Inc., a voice and Internet services provider for business, will give one Marin County non-profit free, high-speed T1 Internet service for a year through its Community Connection campaign.

Nov. 15 is a significant deadline for not-for-profit organizations, including those with fiscal years ended June 30.

The IRS substantially redesigned Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, beginning with tax year 2008. After the 2008 filing season, the IRS has expanded and clarified the instructions and reporting requirements.

We’re hearing a lot of overwhelming numbers in the news these days – unemployment, harvests lost, budget cuts.