VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
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A U G U S T 1 9 , 2 0 1 3 / Y O U R b u s i n e s s - t o - b u s i n e s s w e e k ly SPECIAL FOCUS How to avoid the common mistakes of running a nonprofit CHRIS MORRIS GOOD INTENTIONS, POOR EXECUTION By Eli Segall staff writer L as Vegas nonprofits feed the poor, shelter the homeless and help the mentally disabled. But behind the scenes, some of the most well-meaning groups can be an operational mess. ¶ Many nonprofit leaders, locally and nationally, fail to file paperwork required by the Internal Revenue Service and lose their tax-exempt status. Others put friends on their boards of directors in spots that should be reserved for well-connected fundraisers. Some use their groups WHY GIVING IS GOOD BUSINESS This month, VEGAS INC highlights philanthropy in the business community. Even with a great idea, making it on the strip is tough By Ed Komenda staff writer Tom Gourley wouldn't turn down a chance to open a Capriotti's Sandwich Shop on the Strip, but he's not fighting for the opportunity, either. A successful franchisee who owns seven Capriotti's restaurants in Henderson, Las Vegas and Pahrump, Gourley says he sleeps better knowing he's free from the control of major casino companies, whose oversight he compared to dictatorships. Casino corporations own virtually all of the Strip's eating and shopping areas and make it very difficult — if not impossible — for up-and-coming franchisees to gain a foothold in the heart of Las Vegas. In fact, they rarely get a chance to try. "Everybody and his uncle would like to have a location for anything on the Strip," said Edward J. Smith, a salesman at First Choice Business Brokers. "In most cases, it's not achievable." Why? Because casinos like to bet on sure things — franchisees with deep pockets and a track record of success. Their favorite applicants are ones with a few million dollars in the bank and see FRANCHISE, page 14 INSIDE TODAY DRY ZONE | P. 7 A citizen's fight against the bars and retailers that saturate his neighborhood FUNDING FAIL | P. 9 CSN forgoes up to $500 million in federal labor department grants DATA AND RECORDS | P. 19 as personal piggy banks, looting donations. Others hire outside finance chiefs to control the purse Bankruptcies, bid opportunities, brokered transactions and permits strings only to discover that one day they have vanished, along with money from the group. THE LIST | P. 22 see NONPROFITS, page 16 | 19 AUGUST 2013 20130819_VI01_F.indd 1 | Residential real estate brokerages 1 8/15/13 2:10:21 PM