Virginia Piper

To ensure financial resilience in the long-term, it is critical that leaders understand their organizations’ business models—including key revenue drivers as well as what it really costs to run a program—and use that information to inform long-term programmatic and financial plans. In this session, we will explore the components of a nonprofit’s business model and how to analyze and optimize that model for your organization. Specific topics will include:

• Understanding and calculating the true cost of operations
• Program portfolio analysis: How to use a “mission-money” approach to identify programs and activities for potential reconsideration
• How to strategically approach decisions on new funding opportunities

Designed for non-finance staff, this session goes beyond simply reading your organization’s financial statements and help to make meaning of them. What story do your financial statements tell? What critical questions are important for different roles within your organization? This session is designed as professional development for management-track staff in all areas of a nonprofit organization.

There are plenty of “rules of thumb” about appropriate levels of operating reserves, but what’s right for your organization? This session will explore the topic of operating reserves. Workshop participants can expect to gain an understanding of both the principles and mechanics of reserve funds, including how operating reserves fit into an organization’s overall capital structure and how an effective strategy around reserves can bolster an organization’s long-term sustainability. Specific topics discussed in the session will include the following:

• Defining and calculating operating reserves
• Determining the right amount of operating reserves for a given organization
• Implementing a strategy to gradually build up to a reserves goal
• Developing a board-approved operating reserves policy
• Communicating the “story” behind an organization’s reserve strategy to funders and other stakeholders

Dashboards are comprehensive tools which compile—in one place and in visual form—key
performance metrics relevant to sustainable operations. In this workshop, the primary focus will be on dashboards for financial, fundraising, HR, and IT metrics. Topics covered in this workshop will include:

• Key concepts in developing an operational dashboard
• Identification of relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and associated benchmarks
• Discussion of potential technology platforms for building a dashboard
• Development of an action plan for dashboard development This session is designed for board teams.

Not all board members have a strong finance background. Yet, all have a duty to understand and govern the organization’s financial health. This half-day workshop helps board members go beyond simply following along in a review of a nonprofit’s financial statements. Understand the critical questions that must be asked to meet your fiduciary duty and learn how to make meaning of your organization’s financial statements using a simple worksheet.

A viable financial management strategy needs to address a vision for the future as well as incorporate an understanding of the past and present positions of the organization. This full day training will help participants develop a well-designed budget process that facilitates programmatic, strategic, and fiscal discussions among the leadership team, resulting in a mission-driven budget that incorporates multiple scenarios. Participants will learn how to take their budgeting process to the next level, gaining a firm grasp of technical and philosophical best practices regarding the nuts-and-bolts of nonprofit budgeting in a changing environment. Key concepts include:

• Understanding nonprofit financial health and how financial planning is a key component of
• Maintaining a sustainable organization
• Identifying, allocating, and building indirect costs into program budgets to understand the real costs of program delivery
• Incorporating scenario planning
• Creating cash flow budgets
• Building a funding plan to support program objectives