Having a powerful network can bolster a nonprofit’s donor base, ensure financial resilience and open access to additional funding sources. But what happens when the Executive Director and Board Members do not have a powerful network? The result is a Network Gap. I have been following LinkedIn’s Research and Social Impact focus on The Network Gap and have been continuing to ponder it terms of nonprofit fundraising and Read More
Three Things Financially Resilient Nonprofits Do
The very recent risk of a federal funding freeze and the recent stock market selloff have shown us that financial stability for nonprofits is fragile. Even with good nonprofit financial planning, organizations survive on the thinnest of margins, focusing all resources on the philanthropic mission, often with very little wiggle room to maneuver out of an emergency. An untimely mistake or an unanticipated loss can Read More
Nonprofit Investing and Emerging Markets
At Fairlight Advisors, we have long advocated that a nonprofit endowment investment strategy include a well-diversified, global market portfolio which includes both equity and fixed income allocations to emerging markets. The last five years of returns have been lumpy for Emerging Markets to say the least. While there were some bright spots such as China’s faster recovery from the pandemic in Q’3 of 2020, there were Read More
Lucy Shair Foundation: New $5,000 Grant for Women in Finance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: Amanda Rogalski, aarogalski@rogomarketing.com, 616-540-9231 Apply by October 15, 2022 GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – With a goal to ensure women who want to enter or advance in the finance industry succeed, the Lucy Shair Foundation for Women in Finance is taking applications for a $5,000 grant to cover expenses such as Read More
What’s on the Fixed Income Menu: An Array of Solutions for Nonprofit Reserves
Imagine a toolbox with only one tool: a hammer. The hammer is versatile for projects big and small, but if you’re building a house, as we all know, a toolbox with a lonely hammer won’t get the job done. In the same way, building a financially resilient nonprofit needs a variety of financial planning tools to fund the philanthropic mission. Yet several small to midsized nonprofits park all their funds—whether for Read More
Nonprofit Boards: Ask These 5 Financial Questions
Many, upon joining a nonprofit board, assume the organization is sound financial plan and even financially resilient for the next few years of board tenure (unless we have joined an organization knowing it was distressed). As a board member, you may not know how to assess whether an organization is financially resilient, yet you can see from the outside that the organization is well supported. You might even do more Read More
Is your nonprofit financially resilient? Take a Nonprofit Financial Plan X-ray.
Is your nonprofit financially resilient? Can it survive the onslaught of crises after crises and still fulfill its philanthropic mission? Are its funding needs matching its funding sources? Or does it fight for survival every time an unexpected, external event occurs? While assessing true resilience requires a deep dive into an organization’s financials, program operations and administrative policies and procedures, Read More
Time to Review Your Nonprofit’s 403b Retirement Plan
For those Chief Financial Officers who may have recently joined a nonprofit organization, you are likely wondering how to choose a 403b plan. As you review the current retirement plan, what are the important facts to know? Contact your Plan Administrator and your Investment Advisor so you can be briefed on the plan. Documents you should have on file for your review are: Summary Plan Description and Plan Read More
Nonprofit Investing: 3 Things to Remember
During market volatility, nonprofit leaders and board members can begin to get nervous about the endowments investments. While most nonprofits can refer to their investment policy for guidance, it also helps to remember three important concepts when reviewing your nonprofit’s long-term investment. 1. Target allocations are an investor’s friend. We work with our clients to develop a target asset allocation after a Read More
Recession or Not? A Conversation with Bill Kan, Candent Capital
We recently spoke to Bill Kan, the founder of Candent Capital, a firm based in the Bay Area providing financial planning, investment and wealth management services, to ask him what he thinks about all of the buzz around whether we are going to suffer another recession, after having experienced one two years ago. So Bill are we going to have a recession or not and what should nonprofit endowment investors be prepared Read More
