Securing your nonprofit’s financial future: a comprehensive guide

At the beginning of 2020, we predicted that it would be the Year of the ERP – and with good reason. With the adoption of cloud platforms reaching a critical point as more and more organizations invested in digital transformation, engagement, and aligning different technological systems. And with operational complexity increasing – placing ever greater pressure on already limited funding sources – the nonprofit world was dealt an even more challenging hand with the advent of increased financial pressure and fluctuating service demands as the full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic made itself known.

Nonprofits have been hit hard by the economic effects of the pandemic – and the situation is still unfolding. But savvier organizations are undertaking an array of measures to keep funding and donation income flowing and ensure their financial plans are strong.

Efforts include reviewing organizational strategy, overseeing digital transformations, and improving operational efficiency. In this collection, we share guidance from nonprofit leaders who have weathered past storms to help today’s leaders map a course for financial health and long-term viability – despite the ongoing uncertainty.

Coming out ahead will require your nonprofit to completely rethink the way it operates – from shortening time horizons to more carefully handling and allocating cash, and from exploring the possibility of a complete strategic restructure to more effectively understanding the nexus of your mission, the cash needed to conduct it, and the control you have over both.

And in this kind of environment, a system that rationalizes and unifies operational systems and empowers the whole organization to more effectively allocate resources by removing admin pressures and making the tracking of each individual dollar’s impact on results would seem to be essential.

But making the case for a large-scale project like ERP replacement and upgrade is an uphill struggle even in a good year. Nonprofits have traditionally been slow to outlay large quantities of money on back-office projects.

We’re here to help equip you with a better understanding of what your nonprofit might face in its short- and long-term financial future, how you can best prepare to weather the storms, and how to make a business case for a full-scale operational overhaul at what might feel like the most inopportune of moments. Below, you’ll find a free link to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s special edition on securing your nonprofit’s financial future.

It contains everything from an overview of the steps you’ll need to take to get through the crisis, to a guide to adapting to meet uncertainty head on, expert advice on making your organization more financially sustainable, and a crisis management checklist that’ll help you prepare for even the most unexpected challenges the future might hold.