Building A Mission-Infused Finance Function In Your Nonprofit

Wednesday, November 16, 2016
9:30 AM 11:30 AM
Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York
135 West 36th Street, 15th Floor New York, NY

The isolated, cost obsessed, leader of the nonprofit financial function, often the Chief Financial Officer, is obsolete. Siloed finance, program, development departments as well as Finance Committees who don't communicate and align goals are a relic of non-profits who have often lost their way. Success today and long term organizational sustainability requires a mission -infused finance function and finance driven and aware programmatic and administrative teams.

In this session participants will explore why finance and mission must be integrated and connected in order for the nonprofit to be able to strategically invest in its organization and achieve its mission.

Participants will learn how the nonprofit can imbed financial storytelling into programs and how they connect with the overall organizational financial story. They will also understand how the CFO can effectively incorporate mission into their work in order to understand the stories behind the bottom line. Participants will discuss ways to better align their program and finance departments, how to and determine what resources are necessary to strategically invest in growth, and refine the story that is being told by the organization's finances. The Board's involvement, role, education, and decision making to tell the right story will also be explored and discussed.

How do we begin to think about the nonprofit’s finance function differently and strategically to achieve key financial, organizational, and sector goals?

Key takeaways:

Practices that define a mission infused finance function
How to build and use storytelling skills, questioning capacity, and other communication efforts in the finance department as they relate to programs. Similarly, how programs, development, and other administrative functions use financial storytelling to further their ability to achieve their goals.
How to determine what kind of organizational investments are necessary and when, including how to engage and prepare the Board to be an effective partner, and how to communicate these short and long term strategic investments as reflective of the mission.

The workshop will be presented by Russell Pomeranz, President and CEO, Claverack Advisory Group.

The workshop is ideal for CEOs/Executive Directors, CFOs/Directors of Finance, and Finance Committee Chairs from non profits with an operating budget of at least approximately $3 million

Please plan to bring your most recent audited financial statements for a group activity.