Check your investment markets app and you’ll see a lot of red. President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff policies suggest a protracted trade war, unnerving financial markets, especially in sectors sensitive to economic slowdowns. Other indicators, such as decreasing business and consumer confidence and the rising prices of treasuries and precious metals, imply an increased probability of a recession, commonly 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
Predicting Nonprofit Financial Resilience
They were flying the Cessna outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, so the story goes. Richard was training for his Instrument Flying Rules (IFR) test, certifying him to fly in poor visibility such as clouds, fog, rain or dust. My father, an experienced recreational pilot and already instrument rated, flew as co-pilot to help his friend prepare. Richard was wearing the standard IFR hood that covered his eyes from the 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
