Nonprofit Leadership Choice Point: Finances

This post is part of our “Nonprofit Strategy Now” series: reflections on nonprofit strategy development in 2020 by Jenny Kramm, Collectivity Senior Consultant, see original post here

What follows are five key choice points that you may be encountering as a nonprofit organization today making strategic choices.  

Choice Point 2: Finances

MCN’s Nonprofit Economy Report provides an overview of the financial challenges that our Minnesota nonprofits are facing, like mounting community needs with interrupted or halted income. We have seen clients of ours practicing full transparency amidst these financial challenges, including presenting their organization’s financial scenarios to their staff and board that involve layoffs due to revenue constraints. This financial choice point is real. Unless you’ve addressed what’s keeping you up at night, it’s hard to lean into learning and innovative thinking, right? Inquiry for the financial choice points include: 

• What are the biggest challenges (financial or otherwise) that we need to resolve first so that we have the ‘room’ to learn?

• What’s the most efficient and effective way to confront the difficult facts we’re facing so we can free ourselves up for other types of strategic thinking? 

• How do we adopt a ‘good enough’ decision making attitude so we avoid analysis paralysis?

If you have pressing financial concerns that you haven’t addressed, deal with that first. See Financial Planning in Uncertain Times webinar and supporting financial scenario planning worksheet 

Is this a discussion you’d like to explore with Collectivity’s help?

We facilitate board, staff, and smaller group strategic discussion virtually and in person. Contact us to get the conversation started.