Training
Finance Arts training programs offer your employees and/or Board Members an informative and entertaining way to learn more about the nuts and bolts of operating nonprofits so they spend less time on the mess and more time on the mission. Sessions are interactive and intended to motivate as well as inform.
Training sessions can be tailored to meet the needs of your organization. Typically each program will incorporate a PowerPoint presentation with group exercises, and support materials.
We offer training in:
Board Membership Made Easy
No more excuses for Board members to say, "But I don't know what I'm supposed to do." After discussing the legal structure of Boards, and what responsibilities this entails, we focus on the three key things every Board member should know:
- Advocacy, or spreading the word.
- What does it mean to be an Ambassador for a nonprofit?
- Fundraising.
- You can ask people for money. Yes it can be uncomfortable, so let's practice it right now so we can get over that fear.
- Governance does not mean endlessly giving your opinion.
- It means you have to make sure the Executive Director isn't installing a hot-tub in her office, that the money goes for what your mission says it goes for, and that no regulatory authority has any reason to come knocking.
Understanding Cash Flow and Budgeting
A look at the basics of creating a budget and understanding how that budget relates to cash flow planning. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone on the Board understood that a balanced budget does not mean a trouble free fiscal year? Would life be easier if the staff realized that a Board approved budget does not mean there is a pot of money somewhere waiting for them to spend?
Assessment
Developing criteria for everything from programs to staffing and Boards. We use and develop Assessment Rubrics, as originally developed in the educational community, to create unique assessment tools for your particular needs. These are highly flexible tools that can be adapted and created for almost any situation. Stop whining about not knowing how to measure outcomes. We'll work with you to develop the tools that will even make your Foundation sponsors happy.