“We have cash sloshing all over the place.” That is how a nonprofit leader described the state of her organization’s cash reserves. While this might sound like a dream come true, nonprofits that rely on grants and major gifts that arrive with irregular timing often find themselves wrestling with the labyrinthine exercise of mapping numerous pots of cash to operations and programs as required. If a nonprofit is Read More
The Ideal Nonprofit Lifeline: An Unrestricted Restricted Gift
A Development Officer friend of mine called me with a strange request. Could I please help an nonprofit Executive Director decide what to do with a six-figure donation? It’s not often nonprofit leaders don’t know what to do with a large gift. But this gift had a unique restriction. The money must be allocated to an account reserved for emergencies or unplanned incidents, whatever they may be; an unrestricted, Read More
Help a Nonprofit Hit a Homerun: The Case for Unrestricted Donations
Heather used to display a baseball bat proudly in her office cubicle. She was hardly the sporting type, so I finally asked her about it. She explained she’d been awarded the bat, along with a monetary bonus, by participating in a company program called “Homerun” that challenged back-office staff to demonstrate how a weakness in their department could lead to poor client service. Those who effectively proved the case Read More
5-Point Emergency Reserve Check for Nonprofits
A question nonprofit leaders constantly ask us is: How much does our nonprofit need in emergency reserves? This question now has been brought into greater focus in light of the coronavirus pandemic. But the answer isn’t straightforward. How much a nonprofit needs on hand for emergencies is dependent on its risk profile. Risk profile is the organization’s ability and willingness to take chances that could lead to Read More
Afraid to Talk About Money?
Sharing our financial challenges and insecurities can bring relief and ideas on how to take control of our financial futures. Many of us were taught as children and young adults not to talk about money. “It’s vulgar,” our parents would say, or “That’s rude to ask someone what they make or how much their house costs.” Instead we ruminate in private about these things, slyly looking up our friends’ houses on Zillow Read More
Checklist for Surviving a Broken Economy
We asked Brit Summerill, Partner with NOW CFO what lessons CFOs learned from the last recession. Here are a few things organizations need to do to start protecting themselves. Cash Flow Forecasting 13-week projection of the company’s available cash. Operational cost forecasting by week for the quarter—inventory, fixed costs, variable costs, payroll, etc. Establish Break-Even Point What is the minimum revenue Read More
4 Budget Rules for the 21st Century
For organizations managing to a calendar year, January told you how effective you were as a financial forecaster. Did it bring good news or bad? Is it what you expected? Does one month even matter? How organizations develop and use budgets has changed over the past decade and it’s essential that leadership reflect the new thinking toward financial strength. Twelve Month Budgets Are Arbitrary An annual budget is a Read More
Can Financial Planning for Nonprofit Employees Reduce Stress?
There was a moment as a college kid when I realized I had no money in my checking account, and I owed $300 on my Mastercard. That might not seem like a lot to anyone nowadays when you can spend that much in a weekend at restaurants and bars, but to a college kid with a part-time job back in the 90’s, it was a lot of money. My stomach and my head hurt every time I looked at the bill on my dresser. And I wasn’t Read More
Ten Essential Ingredients for a Powerful Form 990
At our last Social Impact Advisory Group round-table discussion held at Thrive Alliance, Karen Hahn of Karen A. Hahn CPA shared her perspective on why the IRS Form 990 matters many to nonprofit stakeholders so nonprofits should take heed. To emphasize that fact, Fairlight Advisors asked Karen to guest blog her Top Ten essentials to completing a powerful Form 990. -------------- Here is a fun fact, the Internal Read More
Top Nonprofit CFO Shares Her Secrets for Financial Success
I met Sally Petersen about a year ago to discuss our common interest in nonprofit risk management. She brought great insight to the discussion, leveraging her obvious, deep experience in accounting and finance. I only learned later I was talking to powerhouse in the nonprofit financial management sector. During her 12 year tenure as CFO for Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley, she helped the organization Read More
