 Nonprofit leaders have to develop, at a minimum, a basic skill set in financial management. These skills start in the critical areas of cash management and bookkeeping. Leaders should also have an understanding of how to generate financial statements and be able to analyze those statements to be able to really grasp the financial condition of the organization. Financial analysis shows the "reality" of the situation of a business -- seen as such, financial management is one of the most critical practices in management.
News
Economic Pinch Hitting Nonprofits The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation says funding requests from the state's nonprofits rose 59 percent during its most recent round of grant proposals.
Foundation vice president Richard Ober says some nonprofits may already be feeling the pinch of a slow economy while others are preparing for fewer donations.
"We're not quite certain, but that's a notable bump," said Ober.
Ober and others say some nonprofits probably won't know the economy's full effect on them until they hold fundraising drives later in the year. Read more...
Resources
Financial Management Resources The Nonprofit Financial Center provides information, tools, and resources for nonprofits on nonprofit financial planning.
The Fieldstone Alliance provides free tools on nonprofit finances and publications and workbooks for purchase, and other resources.
The Free Management Library offers the Basic Guide to Non-Profit Financial Management with a wide variety of information and links to other resources on every aspect of financial management.
Financial Tools
Fieldstone Alliance offers a Glossary of Key Financial Terms
Nonprofits Assistance Fund offers a Financial Management Self-Assessment for Nonprofit Organizations, a checklist to help assess your organization's financial management practices and identify areas for improvement.
Cool Online Tool to Help You Stay Exempt
The
IRS has launched an new easy interactive tool. It is more of a game
that the reader can follow along with to help all nonprofits stay
exempt. The online training tool, Stay Exempt, provides you with the
knowledge you need to help you keep your organization’s exempt status
intact. It consists of five interactive courses, which you can take
individually and in any order.
UCOA, the Unified Chart of Accounts for nonprofit organizations,
is a chart of accounts freely available at the National Center for
Charitable Statistics (NCCS) website. It is available in a Quick Books
file and Excel. The system is designed so that nonprofits can quickly
and reliably translate their financial statements into the categories
required by the IRS Form 990, the federal Office of Management and
Budget, and into other standard reporting formats.
Looking for sample document related to financial management? BoardSource offers a variety of sample documents available for downloading at a nominal cost. Search their bookstore for these downloads as well as other resources.
Investment Management for Endowed InstitutionsWhen an organization obtains funds that are intended to be used over a extended period of time, or preserved and grown for future use, it becomes a priority for that institution to acquire skill in investment management. This manual is intended as a primer on that topic. Reserves and Endowments: Creating a Financial “Nest Egg”In these challenging times, it is important for all groups, large and small, to
think about building a financial “nest egg” to help the organization weather
difficulties of all kinds. Like families, organizations need different kinds of
nest eggs for different purposes. This article discusses two
varieties, operating reserves and endowments. A Primer for Endowment Grantmakers Endowment strategies to assist and enhance the work of nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Endowment DevelopmentA handbook from Arkansas Community Foundation, Inc. |
