As we navigate this time of worldwide economic uncertainty, saying these times are “challenging” in the nonprofit world is understating the reality. While the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has affected organizations in different ways, nearly every nonprofit is concerned with maintaining donor engagement and achieving fundraising results. Many institutional donors have stepped up with accelerated distributions [...]
Let’s face it, every month you review the same financial statements, which are most commonly: the statement of financial position, the statement of activities, and possibly the cash flow statement. Do you take the next step and dig deeper into these financial statements by calculating the key financial ratios that are important to your organization? [...]
In the current economic and social climate, turnover is inevitable. Talented people land different jobs, move away, or retire. When turnover happens in your accounting department, most organizations experience some uncertainty and concern over the accounting function. You may wonder “how will we produce our financial reports next month?” or “how can we do [...]
For many nonprofit organizations, it may be easy to create and tell a story that pulls on potential donors’ heartstrings to encourage an initial donation. However, keeping them engaged and donating in the future requires trust; one of the best ways to ensure trust is through financial transparency. Sure, there are some financial transparency [...]
Nearly every nonprofit organization in existence can confidently state that their board of directors reviews and approves financial reports (generally the statement of financial position, statement of activities, and often a cash flow statement) at each meeting. However, many boards are missing out on a valuable opportunity in gathering important information to assist with [...]
Being honest and transparent about overhead costs (i.e., Management & General, Fundraising, etc.) is vital in educating stakeholders on the cost of delivering services. Many people think of overhead as a negative part of doing business, thinking it is something to be minimized in order to maximize something (such as profits or other measurables). [...]
Last quarter, I discussed what an audit accomplishes and what it does not accomplish in my article titled “Do You Really Need An Audit?” In that article, I introduced the idea that an audit may not be right for every organization, especially if resources are tight, as audits can be costly. Below, I discuss [...]
Organizations looking to expand their programs sometimes need to obtain bank financing for large projects such as the acquisition of a building. Depending upon the financing received, collateral is often a necessary piece of closing the deal. For organizations with large endowments, the question may come up as to whether the organization may use [...]
Previously in “Changes to Financial Statements for Not-for-Profit Entities, Are You Ready?” we provided information on the changes to net asset presentation and underwater endowments under the new financial statement presentation standard. Now we will address the new presentation and disclosure items related to liquidity and availability disclosures, functional expenses, investment expenses, and the statement [...]
Many organizations gear up every few years for a capital campaign with the purpose of raising money to acquire or improve a physical asset. A capital campaign can be useful to organizations as donors are drawn to what they can see and feel. As you’re planning and executing your next capital campaign, keep these four [...]
