Financial planning

  • Money is the fuel that drives your organization forward. Board members need to understand the tools nonprofits use to track, manage, and oversee money to make the best decisions for their organization.

    This workshop for board members and the staff who work with them offers knowledge to strengthen their organization’s financial literacy and the opportunity to practice telling their organization’s financial story. It will cover:

  • Kathy Ridge, Founder and CEO, LevRidge Resources, LLC

    We now know a single vaccine will not instantly obliterate the COVID virus. Instead, we must depend on personal behaviors, along with contact tracing and vaccines, to decrease infection rates. As organizations face an unknown future, how do we plan, prepare, and organize for the ‘lost horizon’ that is 2021 and the post-virus world?

    You don’t need a new strategic plan – you need a short-term business plan based on what you do know to get through the next 18 months and develop more resiliency.

  • Analyzing Financial Information Using Ratios - Nonprofit leaders seeking to understand their organization's financial situation usually start by reviewing the financial reports. Beyond understanding the reports, much can be learned from analysis of the information and interpretation of what it is telling you. For a more technical financial analysis, rations can be used to deepen understanding and interpretation.

  • How To Develop Your Nonprofit Operating Reserve examines common factors that organizations should take into account when considering how much to set aside for their operating reserve. (npENGAGE)

  • Kate Barr, executive director of Propel Nonprofits, lays out how to understand the roles of the treasurer and finance committee, along with how to recruit for these positions.

     

  • Developing and adopting a written financial policy is a valuable practice for any nonprofit organization, no matter how small or large. Financial policies clarify the roles, authority, and responsibilities for essential financial management activities and decisions. In the absence of an adopted policy, staff and board members are likely to operate under a set of assumptions that may or may not be accurate or productive. If the idea of creating a financial policy seems daunting, these guidelines for policy development and this downloadable basic example may be helpful.

  • The Overhead Cost Definition gives an overview of different overhead definitions from both the IRS and FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board), and what classifications of expenses may or may not be included. (Propel Nonprofits)

     

  • Financial ratios are an established tool for businesses and nonprofits to understand an organization’s financial situation and help leaders identify strengths and weaknesses in financial condition. This tool provides calculation of 14 ratios, including a mix of balance sheet and income statement ratios. (Propel Nonprofits)

  • An audit committee is considered a best practice for nonprofits. It helps the governing board perform its fiduciary and financial oversight roles, reduce risk, and maintain donor confidence.

    © North Carolina Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Inc. From Common Ground, a publication of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, www.ncnonprofits.org.

     

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