May 22, 2014
Talk to Iwona Stoszko for just a few minutes about her career and educational pursuits, and you'll realize she's excellent at managing her time and serious about reaching her goals. In fact, Iwona has both had a job and taken college classes since beginning her undergraduate career.
"I've worked ever since I graduated from high school," she said. "I graduated about six months early and then had six months free so I definitely wanted to work."
Iwona was born in southern Poland and moved with her family to the Chicago area when she was 9 years old, living in the city of broad shoulders ever since. Iwona takes classes at DePaul University in downtown Chicago, where she's been on the dean's list since the spring of 2012, while also serving as an accounting clerk at First Nonprofit Group. This arrangement allows her to further her education – she'll graduate in June 2015 with a bachelor of science degree in accountancy – with practical experience in her field. One of her goals for the future is to become certified as a CPA.
In the office
A typical day at First Nonprofit Group sees Iwona handle unemployment payments to state agencies and deal with operations in the accounts receivable department. She also provides nonprofit clients with updates on account information and works on year-end underwriting efforts as well. First Nonprofit is celebrating Iwona's one-year anniversary at the company in May 2014.
"I never thought I'd work with nonprofits," she said. "I thought it was interesting because I had never worked in that field. The job being in the accounting department was definitely a plus. You truly do learn a lot, working with nonprofits."
Two of Iwona's favorite parts of working at First Nonprofit Group are her fellow co-workers – she looks forward to coming to the office each day – and the company's mission.
"Working with nonprofits and helping them manage their unemployment needs, that's actually a big plus of coming to work," she said.
At home
Although Iwona spends much of her time working hard on her career and education, she enjoys pursuing her hobbies in her free time. She loves to cook; particularly Italian, eastern European and classic American dishes, and she's working on her barbecue skills as well. Iwona's favorite vacation spot is a deserted island in the Bahamas that she got to visit in high school and wants to return to at some point. She also likes finding new shows to watch on Netflix and recently finished Breaking Bad, which she said she enjoyed greatly.
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Working with Marshal Whittey at First Nonprofit has been a great experience. He handles our request as a priority and goes above and beyond to resolve any issues we have in a timely manner. Marshall follows through to the end and ensures our needs are met. He has been a great resource for LSC and our “go to” for any tax questions we may have. With LSC transitioning several facilities into one federal tax identification number, First Nonprofit was able to assist and provide guidance with best practices resolving claims to each entity. Additionally First Nonprofit provided knowledge (information materials) and one on one training to HRS group with best practices to handle claims state adjudicated, fraudulent claims, and appeals. And processing information in the First Nonprofit [unemployment claims] system allows for timely information can be collected.
My experience with FNP has been wonderful. Unemployment in general is quite confusing and FNP has simplified the process for us. Everyone we have reached out to or worked with has been very helpful and follows up to be sure we understand the information. I am so happy we made the switch to FNP!
First Nonprofit smoothed the unemployment perils for our organization during Covid. Without the ability to cap our UI exposure, we would not have been able to weather the storm. The program worked perfectly and we have come out of the pandemic ready to forge on. Thanks FNP!
My experience with the FNP has been fantastic. The idea of setting funds aside for the unemployment tax liability is a bedrock for nonprofit organizations like mine, namely ASHBA; what is even more advantageous is having the FNP as a custodian of those funds. 100% recommended!
I would like to comment on my experience with FNP….to date our District has saved $1,000’s of dollars by being enrolled in the First Nonprofit program. My only regret is that we did not know about this method of paying unemployment tax years ago….as I had figured about five years
ago, had we enrolled 15-20 years ago, we could have saved our small school district upwards of $500,000 in payments to IDES. Also we would have had a pretty hefty sum of money in our Reserve Account. Thankfully I attended a workshop hosted by First Nonprofit back in 2015 which got the ball rolling!
I have worked with the First Non-Profit Team for many years, and I appreciate the quick response and care that Cecilia and the team provides anytime I have questions. While there are other providers that may provide like services, First Nonprofit will always be my first choice! I appreciate you!
First Nonprofit has been easy to work with and makes the administrative process easier and smoother. We enjoy working with you.
Luckily for us, our interactions regarding any issues with staffing has been very minimal! I can say that all other interactions with regards to billing, 941 reporting, etc. have been extremely pleasant, accommodating and easy to work with. Kim Ghanayem is always prompt, professional and friendly. Thank you so much!