The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

As a nonprofit leader, you’re passionate about your mission. At The Charity CFO, we’ve seen firsthand how understanding these key areas can transform your nonprofit’s financial health. In this blog, were diving into a subject near and dear to our hearts at The Charity CFO – sustainability.

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The Charity CFO

MARCH 13, 2025

Is Your Nonprofit Ready for Increased Funding Scrutiny? Heres How to Prepare The financial landscape for nonprofits is shifting, and the pressure is mounting. With government funding and donor contributions facing heightened scrutiny, nonprofit leaders must ensure their financial systems are rock solid. The good news?

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The Charity CFO

MAY 13, 2025

Top 5 Signs Your Accounting Is a Mess (And How to Fix It) When your nonprofits finances feel offbut you cant quite put your finger on whyits often because the accounting system is quietly unraveling behind the scenes. Missed state or federal deadlines can even put your nonprofit status at risk. This isnt just about spreadsheets.

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The Charity CFO

MAY 6, 2025

Building a Grant Team That Works: The 6 Roles Every Nonprofit Needs Grant writing is more than just a skillits a strategy. Too many nonprofits are flying solo, reacting to deadlines instead of building a system that works. Finance Construct realistic, funder-aligned budgets that back up your story. Whats New at The Charity CFO?

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The Charity CFO

OCTOBER 28, 2024

In a recent episode of A Modern Nonprofit Podcast, host Tosha Anderson sat down with Dr. Tiffany Slater, an nonproift HR expert and founder of HRTailorMade. The conversation centered around common HR risks faced by nonprofit organizations and best practices for avoiding potential pitfalls. Want to jump right in?

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The Charity CFO

DECEMBER 23, 2024

As a nonprofit leader, you’re constantly looking for ways to streamline operations and maximize resources. As a nonprofit organization, there are many pitfalls around payroll and you need to be aware of the rules. Many nonprofits handle payroll in-house or outsource to a payroll provider.

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The Charity CFO

MARCH 4, 2025

Surviving (and Thriving) in Fundraising: The Nonprofit Wake-Up Call Lets be honestfundraising isnt getting any easier. In fact, if it feels like raising money for your nonprofit has become an uphill battle, thats not just a feeling. He dropped some truth bombs that nonprofit leaders need to hear. So, whats the game plan?

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The Charity CFO

APRIL 29, 2025

Build a Strong Leadership Team with Financial and Operational Accountability Behind every financially sound nonprofit is a leadership team that doesnt just care about the missionbut also owns the outcomes. Why Leadership Teams Matter More Than Ever Over the last decade, our team at The Charity CFO has worked with 200+ nonprofits.

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The Charity CFO

MARCH 3, 2022

Nonprofits are not run to make money. million nonprofits are registered with the IRS. One-quarter of American adults volunteer with a nonprofit, helping their community on a number of issues. You will make a difference as soon as you start a nonprofit. You will make a difference as soon as you start a nonprofit.

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The Charity CFO

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

Not surprisingly, this above-average employee turnover impacted nearly every industry, but it has hit nonprofits and financial professionals particularly hard. . However, nonprofit accountant turnover is not a new problem in the sector. Why Do Nonprofit Accountants Quit? Why Do Nonprofit Accountants Quit? Low salaries.

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The Charity CFO

MAY 18, 2022

Financial oversight is one of the primary roles of your nonprofit board of directors. . Every nonprofit is required to have a board of directors. And they create a lot of confusion for people new to the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are fundamentally different from other businesses. What is Financial Oversight?

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The Charity CFO

APRIL 12, 2022

Cash flow isn’t just an issue for small nonprofits that depend on donations to meet payroll each month. A lack of cash on hand impacts nonprofit organizations of all sizes. A few years ago, we were working with a fully-funded nonprofit. . Their budget projected a surplus, and they were hitting those numbers.

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The Charity CFO

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Nonprofits exist to meet a societal need or provide a public benefit. Unlike an organization whose primary goal is to make money, nonprofits exist to meet a community’s needs. That said, while it’s not your primary purpose, your nonprofit must find ways to make money. . How do nonprofits make money?

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The Charity CFO

JANUARY 21, 2022

Nonprofits often receive donations or grants designated for a specific purpose–like a donation to a specific program or grant you have to spend within a calendar year. And the issue of restricted funds presents unique bookkeeping and accounting challenges for a nonprofit that a for-profit company doesn’t face. What is fund accounting?

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The Charity CFO

JULY 14, 2022

A lot of nonprofit leaders are asking us about how to prepare their organizations for the possibility of a recession. 6 Steps to Recession-Proof Your Nonprofit. 6 Steps to Recession-Proof Your Nonprofit. So we’ll plan a 10% increase for this year and budget based on that.”. Is Your Nonprofit Recession-Ready?

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The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

Why does your nonprofit need an operating reserve? . A report released last year by Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy estimated the worst-case scenario would lead to the closure of 38% of nonprofits in the United States. What is a nonprofit operating reserve? . How well does your organization budget?

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The Charity CFO

DECEMBER 18, 2024

Federal funding can be an attractive option for nonprofits looking to expand their programs and reach. In this episode of A Modern Nonprofit Podcast, host Tosha Anderson and guest Rachel Schmidt discuss the top five considerations nonprofits should keep in mind when considering federal dollars. Are you ready to expand?

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The Charity CFO

MAY 31, 2022

It’s a myth that all stakeholders need to be experts in every aspect of nonprofit finances. Even on nonprofit financial committees, some members may be skilled in accounting, others in banking, and others in investing or financial analysis. Because the basics of nonprofit finances are easy to grasp. . Is that the case here?

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The Charity CFO

MAY 20, 2025

Tosha Anderson The Hidden Cost of Poor Training In a nonprofit world defined by high turnover, tight budgets, and relentless mission work, training is too often an afterthought. Graham recommends nonprofit leaders begin by asking team members: What do you need to perform your job with excellence? Start connecting.

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The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

Do a Google search on nonprofit bookkeeping, and you’ll find page after page of articles on nonprofit accounting. Because while nonprofit bookkeeping and accounting are related, they’re not the same thing. Furthermore, nonprofit bookkeeping differs in some critical ways from for-profit bookkeeping too.

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The Charity CFO

AUGUST 24, 2022

Sure, your financial team– your bookkeeper, accountant, and CFO (if you have one)–take the lead role in managing your finances. The high-performing organizations we work with all ensure that nonprofit financial management is a collaborative effort. Assign each department responsibility for their own budget.

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The Charity CFO

MARCH 16, 2022

Today we’re proud to announce another amazing addition to the industry’s best nonprofit accounting team! Theresa Guest is joining The Charity CFO team in the role of Accounting Manager. She’s going to play a key role in ensuring that each and every one of our nonprofit clients gets the service they expect and deserve.

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The Charity CFO

JUNE 12, 2025

No matter your size or mission, every nonprofit needs operating reserves. While your annual operating budget outlines the year ahead, life doesn’t always follow the plan. They’re not an excuse for careless budgeting—they’re a tool for resilience. Others choose a fixed percentage of their annual budget. Let’s talk.

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The Charity CFO

DECEMBER 30, 2021

Contrary to what many people envision, a nonprofit audit doesn’t usually start with a letter from the IRS. Instead, an independent nonprofit audit is something you choose to build trust in your nonprofit organization. An audit can be a critical step for a growing nonprofit that needs to raise increasing amounts of funds.

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The Charity CFO

APRIL 20, 2023

How can nonprofit accounting software help your organization with efficiency? However, nonprofit organizations face unique accounting challenges and not all commercial accounting software may be equipped to handle. Where to start with nonprofit accounting software Nonprofits have to comply with strict financial accounting standards.

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The Charity CFO

JANUARY 17, 2022

If you’re like most nonprofit leaders, you’re not researching nonprofit accounting basics to satisfy your curiosity. with this overview of nonprofit accounting basics. . What is nonprofit accounting? The basic accounting principles for nonprofit organizations are the same as accounting for for-profit companies. .

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The Charity CFO

OCTOBER 4, 2022

million nonprofits globally. To ensure that a nonprofit runs efficiently, several people work behind the scenes to make things much easier, and one of those people is the operations manager. The operations manager might be the secret weapon of the most successful nonprofits we know. There are more than 1.54

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The Charity CFO

MARCH 24, 2022

Nonprofit fraud makes for great headlines— like the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future accused this year of squandering $48 million of federal funding on luxurious trips, fancy mansions, and other personal costs. . According to The New York Times , the value of nonprofit fraud is approximately $40-50 Billion each year.

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Centage

MAY 8, 2023

Lowe, CPA, CGMA As a nonprofit finance leader, you are accountable to many stakeholders – especially your Board of Directors. As CFO, at certain points throughout the year – in addition to your ongoing daily tasks – you must present key performance metrics (KPIs) and reports to your Board of Directors. with Susan C.

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The Charity CFO

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

If you know only one thing about 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations , you probably know that they don’t pay federal taxes on their income. . So how do you know if your nonprofit organization has taxable unrelated business income? Not Sure If Your Nonprofit Income Is Taxable Or Not? But what if I told you that’s not always true?

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The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Budget tracking is the process of monitoring your nonprofit’s income and expenses to ensure they stay within your planned budget. Effective budget tracking is essential to financial transparency, efficient resource allocation, and strategic planning for your nonprofit.

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The Charity CFO

APRIL 5, 2022

But that’s not quite true—nonprofits face a decision between 2 different accounting methods for tracking their financial activity: cash accounting vs. accrual accounting. Is your nonprofit required to use accrual accounting? So which accounting method is right for you? What is the Accrual Accounting Method? Accounts payable.

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The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

Every tax exempt nonprofit must file IRS Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax) every year. That’s right, your nonprofit needs to file an IRS return. In fact, as a nonprofit organization, the expectations for transparency and accountability are higher than those for for-profit businesses. Form 990-N.

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The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Nonprofit budgeting best practices are often the difference between success and failure for the organization. Budgeting is a crucial element of understanding the financial health of your organization. While nonprofit budgeting can seem daunting and complex, it doesn’t have to be.

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The Charity CFO

MARCH 29, 2024

Do you know the financial health of your nonprofit organization? Knowing where your finances stand is essential to effective nonprofit management. One of the best ways to get a quick read on your organization’s financial health is to compare your nonprofit budget to actual performance.

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The Charity CFO

APRIL 19, 2022

As a CPA working exclusively with nonprofits and a former nonprofit auditor, I’ve looked at thousands of nonprofit financial statements over the past 10 years. Over the years, I’ve identified a set of 5 nonprofit financial red flags that are fairly common and almost always lead to trouble sooner or later.

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The Charity CFO

MAY 22, 2024

What do many successful nonprofits have in common? In nonprofits, managing your finances effectively is essential to running a sustainable organization. Not only does good financial management help keep your organization running, but it also helps bolster trust in your nonprofit. But is your organization ready to bring on a CFO?

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