Financial Planning for Nonprofit Organizations (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management Series)

By Jody Blazek

Book Overview

An indispensable survival tool for these challenging times Financial Planning for Nonprofit Organizations provides practical, proven strategies to safeguard your nonprofit organization's financial future. It coaches you in the essentials of financial planning and supplies easy-to-use tools and techniques for the financial management of nonprofits of every size and type. Drawing upon her extensive experience in financial management for nonprofits, author Jody Blazek: Covers major functional issues in financial planning: administration, roles and responsibilities, budgeting, asset management, and internal controls Arms you with easy-to-implement processes and procedures that make financial management a more streamlined, effective process Describes surefire methods for understanding, interpreting, and using financial information Supplies dozens of worksheets, forms, and checklists that make it easier than ever to manage your organization's precious financial resources Financial Planning for Nonprofit Organizations is must reading for anyone involved in the financial survival of a nonprofit organization. Increased competition for an ever-shrinking funding base, and more stringent legislation and government scrutiny, may weaken a nonprofit organization's financial situation. As author Jody Blazek makes abundantly clear in this valuable guide, every nonprofit's best line of defense in these difficult times is sound financial planning. Financial Planning for Nonprofit Organizations gets you quickly up and running with financial planning concepts, tools, and techniques designed to safeguard your organization's financial future. You will learn how to fine tune investing and budgeting practices to make the very most of those hard-won contributor dollars, manage and maximize precious resources to fulfill the organization's mission, and achieve the best possible year-end results without endangering its long-term financial picture or tax-exempt status. Ms. Blazek leads you step-by-step through the major areas of financial planning, including general administration (tracking, reporting, and financial analysis); the roles and responsibilities of staff, board members, and professional advisors; developing and implementing budgets; asset and resource management; and internal controls to prevent waste and fraud. With a thorough understanding of the complexities of nonprofit financial planning, you'll make wiser decisions about your organization's future. Drawing upon her considerable experience advising nonprofits, she describes proven, easy-to-implement ways to streamline the financial management process. You'll explore a variety of tested budgeting strategies, learn accounting and financial reporting techniques, understand how to use a business-like approach to managing working capital, and discover more efficient methods for interpreting and using financial information. Ms. Blazek also supplies useful worksheets, forms, and checklists that make it easier to manage your organization's financial resources. Financial Planning for Nonprofit Organizations is a valuable resource for directors, managers, trustees, accountants, lawyers, and all those responsible for the financial success of a nonprofit organization.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047112589X
• ISBN13: 9780471125891
• Release Date: August 1996
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.5" x 1.1" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Pretty Basic

This book would be good for those wanting to start a non-profit and those new to the non-profit world. As someone who's been a non-profit accountant for several years, there wasn't much new to me.

By getting a copy of this book the nonprofit executive can get a good handle on her organization's f

[This review is actually for the Second Edition of this book which I read at B & N on Saturday, February 09, 2008. See ISBN 0471715271.] This is a gem of a book. I have a financial background, so it was a pretty easy read for me. Like the author I too hold the CPA designation. But unlike the author I don't use that designation professionally any longer. The book has the following 8 chapters: 1. Introductory concepts 2. Structuring the organization for fiscal strength 3. Financing the dream 4. Budgeting 5. Asset management 6. Nonprofit accounting 7. Special financial tools 8. Obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status For two years not too long ago I worked as a consultant to nonprofits that needed help with multi-million-dollar capital campaigns. The nonprofit world was new to me then, except for the time I spent in Washington DC a number of years ago as a staff auditor auditing trade associations for E & Y. As a result of my fundraising experiences I found it necessary to read lots of books about aspects of nonprofits. I read books on nonprofit management, nonprofit fundraising, nonprofit capital campaigns, nonprofit endowment campaigns, major gifts, grant proposals and writing, and nonprofit strategic planning. I didn't read nonprofit books on nonprofit accounting, bookkeeping, or financial planning since I basically knew that stuff. But some people who are not well versed in such subject matter would do themselves a favor to get a copy of Ms. Blazek's book on nonprofit financial planning if they want a well written and well outlined book on the subject. CEOs and CFOs of nonprofits should be adept at their organization's (1) operations, (2) financial planning, and (3) fundraising efforts and abilities. By getting a copy of this book the nonprofit executive can get a good handle on the second leg of the three-legged stool. 5 stars!