CNE believes that strong nonprofits build strong communities, that the people who power nonprofits should have access to high quality, affordable professional development, and that we can grow together as leaders and organizations. That’s why we partnered with CFA Institute to create the Finance Academy to help strengthen the financial health and management of nonprofits in our region.
The Finance Academy has programs for individuals and organizations. Now we’re reaching out to our colleagues in the nonprofit sector to generate ideas and understanding around what makes a nonprofit healthy and financially sustainable. There are a number of national benchmarking standards, but our goal is to consider how these standards translate here and for us.
We also recognize the importance of considering what we measure — and why — as part of these conversations: How can nonprofits take the risks they need to be able to innovate when they are worried about reporting success for funders? How can nonprofits invest in scaling up when those investments skew administrative overhead ratios? What do budget limitations mean for recruiting talent, creating living wages, and investing in long-term solutions?
Answers to these questions can help us better marshal our resources, engage our key stakeholders, strengthen our funder relationships, and achieve the impact we all seek.
Learn more and register today for a Nonprofit Breakfast Conversation: Financial Benchmarks and What Makes a Healthy Nonprofit. CNE will offer three sessions, for smaller nonprofits, larger nonprofits, and nonprofits of all sizes, respectively.
