The CFO'S Perspective

At CFO Selections, we may work in numbers… but we’re in the business of people. Because behind every financial report is a person making hard decisions, and behind every engagement is a human-to-human connection. In this series, we’re shining a light on those stories — introducing the consultants who guide our clients forward and the leaders who bring those numbers to life.

When Connection Is the Strategy

Ask Rebecca Alderfer what she loves most about her role, and she doesn’t mention policy (even after two decades working at the intersection of strategy, social impact, and public policy). What lights her up is connection, forging new partnerships, linking strategies across silos, and aligning people around shared goals.

“It’s really that chessboard,” Rebecca says. “How can we all support each other? Where can we leverage resources and opportunities that already exist? How do we grow the platform together, so that everyone benefits?”

That mindset has defined her career from the White House to the frontlines of maternal health in Colorado. As CEO of the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC), she’s no longer advising from the sidelines. She’s leading the charge, helping the organization grow from a startup into a statewide force for improving maternal and infant health.

With the recent issuance of OMB (Office of Management and Budget) Memorandum M-25-13 calling for the pausing of financial assistance for programs and activities implicated by the President’s DEI-focused Executive Order (E.O. 14151), many nonprofits are trying to evaluate the financial impact that may result. While all of this may end up in court, or require additional legislative action, nonprofit organizations that rely on federal funding would be wise to take proactive steps now to assess and mitigate potential risks that these kinds of policies could create in the coming weeks and months. To safeguard operations in response, organizations should follow these key steps as soon as possible:

The list of skills and experience necessary to be a successful nonprofit CFO is long and varied, which can make it seem like a Goldilocks type of situation at first glance. And yet, maybe that isn’t a bad thing! In our line of work, we typically call it something else: balance.

Let’s discuss some of the ways in which this kind of balance is not only helpful for a nonprofit CFO, but critical to their success.

As nonprofit costs continue to rise organizations that regularly operate with minimal or moderate budgets are finding that they are in a cash negative position. How they respond now will determine what the future holds for their missions, staff, and the people they serve.

Find out more about what you can do to increase cash flow to keep your organization’s programs and initiatives running as intended:

Originally published: Dec 20, 2022
Updated: April 8, 2024

According to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) the U.S. job market has finally ushered in positive employment growth after several years of decline. However, growth is occurring far slower than employment analysts would have liked to see. In the nonprofit space, hiring remains challenging, especially within more skilled, technical, and senior-level roles.

How should nonprofit organizations overcome today’s hiring challenges?

Our team is used to discussing what’s included in a CFO’s job description. But this type of conversation usually centers around the commonalities that unite all CFO roles, not the nuanced differences for a specific industry or type of organization. But when talking about what a CFO for a nonprofit does, there are some unique elements to the role that are important to understand.

Just the other day we were working with a client who came to us and said, “We need help with an important grant request. How do we know which expenses to include in our overhead costs? And how should we word those expenses appropriately in our proposal?” We were able to help and now we want to share the wisdom that we offered him to help you the next time you write a grant proposal.

Anyone who has ever worked with grants knows that budgeting can be one of the most difficult parts of the grant request process. To be effective a grant proposal needs to include both the direct costs of running the program(s) that the grant will be used for as well as the indirect costs (or overhead costs) associated with offering programming.

Organizations that do not appropriately account for overhead costs such as payroll, rent, utilities, and technology will not be entirely compensated for the full cost of running the programs that they offer, which can jeopardize their long-term sustainability. Simply put, an organization that cannot cover their overhead costs won’t have the operating budget needed to provide their programs and offerings to their community, which in turn can:

• Reduce reach and effectiveness.
• Negatively affect morale and increase turnover.
• Threaten the long-term viability of the organization.

Do you truly understand how your organization is funded? And do know why it matters that you do?

Unfortunately, too often nonprofit leaders and board members only have a vague sense of how their organizations are funded and what that means for furthering their missions. This is a problem because funding is an integral part of an organization’s success, and the right funding mix is essential for the growth and maintenance of any nonprofit.

An organization’s funding mix can influence its overall financial health as well as determine its reach, capacity, operational flexibility, and long-term sustainability. To strike a balance between flexibility and sustainability, nonprofit leadership must have a firm handle on how the organization’s funding sources are diversified and what kind of implications that has for the organization.