Finance & Operations
Budgets, financial statements, reserves, controls, HR, and the operating backbone that makes mission delivery possible.
Budgeting
Builds a nonprofit's annual operating budget: revenue and expense projections, program-vs-admin-vs-fundraising allocation across functional categories, zero-based vs. incremental budgeting approaches, budget-to-actual variance setup, and the board approval process and calendar. Use when asked to build, draft, revise, or present an annual budget, allocate costs by function for budgeting purposes, set up a budget calendar, or prepare a budget narrative for board vote. Does not cover reading/producing the audited statement of activities or functional expense statement after the fact (use nonprofit-financial-statements), operating reserve targets or cash flow timing (use nonprofit-reserves-cash-flow), indirect cost rate calculation for grants (use nonprofit-cost-allocation), or internal control design (use nonprofit-financial-controls).
Cost Allocation
Calculates and negotiates indirect cost rates (de minimis 10% de minimis rate, negotiated indirect cost rate agreements/NICRA under 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance), builds true-cost-of-program analysis, and designs shared-cost allocation methodologies (time studies, square footage, headcount, cost pools) for splitting overhead across programs and grants. Use when asked to calculate an indirect cost rate, decide whether to elect the 10% de minimis rate, negotiate a NICRA with a federal cognizant agency, determine the true full cost of running a program, or design/document a cost allocation plan. Does not cover building the overall annual operating budget or its program/admin/fundraising split for board purposes (use nonprofit-budgeting), producing the audited functional expense statement (use nonprofit-financial-statements), or reserve/cash-timing questions (use nonprofit-reserves-cash-flow).
Financial Controls
Designs internal financial controls (segregation of duties, approval/signing thresholds, check/wire authorization, credit card and expense reimbursement policy, bank reconciliation review), and manages annual audit preparation, PBC (provided-by-client) list fulfillment, and auditor liaison, including responding to management letter findings. Use when asked to design or fix internal controls, address a segregation-of-duties gap (especially in a small finance team), set approval thresholds and signing authority, prepare for a financial statement audit, assemble a PBC list, or respond to an audit management letter. Does not cover the annual budget (use nonprofit-budgeting), producing the statements being audited (use nonprofit-financial-statements), or Form 990 filing itself (use nonprofit-form-990).
Financial Statements
Reads and produces nonprofit financial statements under FASB ASC 958: statement of financial position (balance sheet), statement of activities (income statement with net asset classes), statement of functional expenses, and statement of cash flows; explains net asset classification (with/without donor restrictions), and translates these statements into plain-language board and committee presentations for non-finance board members. Use when asked to prepare, review, or explain monthly/quarterly/annual financial statements, reconcile net assets, build a functional expense statement, or create a board financial dashboard. Does not cover building the forward-looking annual budget (use nonprofit-budgeting), reserve/cash-flow forecasting (use nonprofit-reserves-cash-flow), Form 990 preparation (use nonprofit-form-990), or indirect cost rate methodology (use nonprofit-cost-allocation).
HR
Designs nonprofit hiring processes and job postings, compensation benchmarking on limited budgets, personnel policy/employee handbook design, classification and wage-and-hour compliance (exempt vs. non-exempt, FLSA), benefits packages, and performance review systems. Use when asked to write a job posting, build an interview/hiring process, benchmark a salary against nonprofit peers, draft or update a personnel policy or employee handbook, decide FLSA exempt/non-exempt classification, design a benefits package on a tight budget, or set up an annual performance review process. Does not cover day-to-day culture/morale/retention practices once someone is hired (use nonprofit-staff-retention), executive director succession and leadership pipeline planning (use nonprofit-succession-planning), volunteer (unpaid) recruitment and management (use nonprofit-volunteer-management), or board member recruitment (use nonprofit-board-recruitment).
Reserves Cash Flow
Designs operating reserve policy (target months of expense, funding sources, drawdown/replenishment triggers), builds 12-13 week and annual cash flow forecasts, and plans bridge financing for seasonal or grant-timing funding gaps (lines of credit, grant advances, reimbursement-cycle float). Use when asked how many months of reserves a nonprofit should hold, to build a cash flow forecast or cash flow projection, to diagnose a cash crunch or seasonal gap, to write a board reserve policy, or to plan around delayed reimbursement grants. Does not cover the annual operating budget itself (use nonprofit-budgeting), producing GAAP financial statements (use nonprofit-financial-statements), or indirect cost rate/true-cost analysis (use nonprofit-cost-allocation).
Vendor Facilities
Handles vendor contract negotiation and management, procurement policy design (including federal procurement standards under 2 CFR 200 for grant-funded purchases), competitive bid/RFP processes, and facilities matters: lease negotiation and renewal, shared/co-located space arrangements, and build-out or maintenance planning for nonprofit offices and program space. Use when asked to negotiate or review a vendor contract, write a procurement policy, run a competitive bid process for a purchase, negotiate or renew an office/program space lease, evaluate a shared-space or co-location arrangement, or plan a facility build-out or capital repair. Does not cover fundraising venue logistics for a specific gala/event (use nonprofit-fundraising-events), internal approval-threshold controls (use nonprofit-financial-controls), or corporate sponsorship deal structuring (use nonprofit-corporate-sponsorships).