The document discusses the importance of integrating finance with mission in non-profit organizations to achieve strategic goals and sustainability. It outlines the critical roles of finance in driving success, the necessary skills and qualities needed for a mission-infused finance function, and strategies for aligning financial practices with organizational priorities. Key considerations include ensuring strong communication, establishing a clear understanding of mission impact, and making informed investment decisions to enhance program effectiveness and resource management.

1. Building a Mission-Infused
Finance Function in Your Non-
Profit
Russ Pomeranz
CEO, Claverack Advisory Group
rcpomeranz@gmail.com

2. What to Think About?
1. What role can I play in driving the mission,
goals, and priorities in alignment with the
organization’s financial goals?
2. How do I get to play a role or make sure I play
a role?
3. What do I expect from the finance function and
likewise what should the finance function
expect from all organizational partners?
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3. Mission and Finance Working
Together
• Why is the mission infused financial function critical
to the organization?
• What qualities and skills should we expect from the
mission infused financial function?
• What strategies, tactics, and tools best align mission
and finance by partner?
• What organizational investments are necessary to
move the organization forward?
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4. Why is the Mission-Infused Financial
Function Critical to the
Organization?
• Organizational trajectory in a much more
competitive non profit world
• Finance plays a key role in defining
organizational success
• Key organizational roles actually care about
finance to achieve mission goals
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5. Organizational Trajectory in a Much
More Competitive Non Profit World
• Spiral Up or Spiral Down
• There is no middle path
• Much more competition for resources
• Non profits are more strategic; they have to be
• Reliance on results, impact and outcomes to funders
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6. Finance Plays a Key Role in Defining
Organizational Success
• Need to break even and seek unrestricted net asset
surpluses
• Need to efficiently and effectively manage
resources
• Need to build up capital to invest in a sustainable
business model
• Need to manage cash and debt to avoid existential
challenges
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7. Key Organizational Roles who Actually
Care About Finance to Achieve Mission
Goals
• CEO/Executive Director
▫ Partner
• Board and Finance Committees
▫ Fiduciary responsibility while understanding and taking risk
• Program Staff
▫ Programmatic/mission impact
• Non Profit CFO's Organizational trajectory
▫ Future CFOs
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8. What qualities and skills should we
expect from the Mission-Infused
Financial Function?
1. Tangible Skill Set
2. Intangible Skill Set
3. Priorities and Focus
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9. Tangible Skill Set
• Understanding of:
▫ Underlying non profit accounting and financial principles
▫ Budgetary options, trade-offs, ramifications of choices
▫ The potential of the MPA
• Ability to:
▫ Define and convey the business model of the organization, short
and long term
▫ Use financial statements to tell short and long term financial
stories
▫ Translate organizational goals into FY budgets
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10. Intangible Skill Set
• Curiosity
▫ How do things work?
• Asking Questions
▫ “What are you talking about?” and “Why?”
• Communication
▫ Need PR capacity
• Written and oral Communication Skills
▫ Telling a compelling story
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11. Priorities and Focus
• Unrestricted Net Income (Statement of activities)
• Unrestricted Net Assets (Statement of financial
position)
• Revenue growth and expense structure
strategie
• Cash and access to capital
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12. What strategies, tactics and tools
best align Mission and Finance by
partner?
• Finance and Program
• Finance and Finance Team
• Finance and Executive Leadership
• Finance and Audit/Finance/Investment Committees
• Finance and Development
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13. Finance and Program
• Reporting
• Fiscal discipline and accountability
• Scheduling - meeting with all department heads
• Immersion in the mission
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14. Finance and Finance Team
• Understanding the mission of the non-profit
• Understanding, in practical terms, how the non-profit
achieves its mission
• Attending events and getting involved
• Sharing the big picture with the entire Finance team:
audits, budgets, forecast
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15. Finance and Executive
Leadership
• Guarantee a "seat at the table" for key decision
making
• Agree to the "what is in the best interests of the
organization" perspective
• Prepare options, ramifications, and solutions to key
issues - how to get to yes
• Transparency and push back
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16. Finance and
Audit/Finance/Investment
Committees
• Prepare and distribute Budget Narrative (Forecast,
Budget, and Audit)
• Distill down and present key issues in fiscal year
and beyond - No Surprises
• Meet to anticipate questions from the Board - expect
"what can go wrong"
• Enlist the CEO to start the Finance Committee
meeting
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17. Finance and Development
• Reconcile restricted and unrestricted grants and
contracts
• Align development strategies with organizational
financial needs
• Manage expectations and returns over time
• Make a compelling case for development capacity
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18. Question:
How have you resolved or navigated a
relationship issue to ultimately align Finance and
Mission? Where might you find common ground
on issues such as the following?
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19. • Choosing a new space
• Small but important program seems to be losing
money year after year
• Finance and HR are trying to think through reducing
salary and fringe expenses due to organizational
financial pressures
• Financial function surprise
 What can the financial function do to help grow program?
 What financial resources can be invested to achieve
organizational mission goals
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20. Organizational Investment
(Programs, Infrastructure, Strategy)
• What organizational investments are worth
pursuing
• Why are they worth pursuing?
• How do organizational investments actually
happen and not wait for next year ?
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21. What organizational investments are
worth pursuing?
• Expansion and replication of programs
• Space (new, improved, less)
• Administrative and development capacity
• Research and evaluation
• Building organizational unrestricted reserves
• Planning and strategic initiatives to control
organizational destiny
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22. Why are they worth pursuing?
• Strategic capacity to pursue organization's mission
initiatives
• Build financially sustainable organization
▫ Why wait for someone else's money?
• Grow mission driven programs and impact
• Build and maintain talented staff to increase probability
of mission success
• Organization suffers if lack of decision making and
ultimate investment impacts competitive position
• Get off the short- and long-term organizational financial
treadmill
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23. How to make organizational investments
actually happen and not wait until next year?
• Tell a compelling story
 Why investment must happen to fulfill the mission
• Connect to organization’s financial position and
sustainability over time
• Build into organizational budget
• Map out all steps leading to success
 Who does what and how are they accountable
• Determine capital requirements and how to achieve
them
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24. Workshop for Your Future:
The compelling investment story and its impact on the
organization (see audited financial statements)
• What are three investments your organization or
department wants to make?
• What will be their impact in the short and long term?
• What available financial resources will make
this investment happen?
• What is the compelling case made to the board to justify
the investment option given potential trade-offs?
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25. Thank you! Questions?
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