Photo: Wardsboro Town Hall, BDCC Staff
Thirty nonprofit leaders, staff, and board members gathered at Wardsboro Town Hall on September 23 for Financial Strategies for Strong Nonprofits, a Southern Vermont Economy Project workshop focused on practical tools for building stronger, more sustainable organizations.
The workshop was designed around a challenge familiar to nonprofits of all sizes: how do you pursue your mission while building an organization that is financially sustainable for the long term? Participants explored that question from three different but closely connected perspectives before breaking into smaller groups to think about how they could put the ideas into practice in their organization.
Dani Delaini, BDCC Assistant Director and Head of Business Acceleration, approached nonprofits through the lens of business planning. Participants looked at the difference between business plans and strategic plans, and considered how understanding the market, operations, revenue streams, costs, organizational structure, and capital needs of their operations can help nonprofits create a workable funding plan that they can communicate to lenders, funders, and donors. As Dani’s presentation emphasized, a strategic plan establishes direction, while a business plan asks how the organization will actually get there—and how they will pay for it.
Susan Still, retired nonprofit consultant and Vice Chair of Main Street Arts in Saxton’s River, introduced the Sustainability Matrix, a tool that helps organizations consider both mission impact and financial sustainability when evaluating programs. She stressed the importance of first working as a board to develop a mission statement that encapsulates what your organization does, and how it does that. Then the board can help set strategic direction for operationalizing the mission through programs, using the matrix to determine which programs continue to be the best way to advance the organization’s mission, while contributing to financial sustainability.
Siobhan McDermott, President of Strategic Management Consulting, focused on building financial capacity through thoughtful budgeting, diversified fundraising, and building strong donor engagement. Her session encouraged organizations to understand the full cost of delivering their work, develop multi-year financial plans, and think of fundraising as relationship-building rather than simply a series of transactions.
After the presentations, participants joined one of three hands-on workshops, using worksheets, exercises, and discussion to apply the concepts to their own organizations. The morning concluded with the groups coming back together to share what they had learned—and what they planned to bring back to their boards.
One theme connected all three sessions: financial sustainability is about more than fundraising. It requires understanding what your work really costs, being clear about the impact you want to achieve, making deliberate choices about programs and revenue, and giving boards and staff the information they need to plan for the future.
Continuing the work
Join BDCC for additional opportunities for nonprofit leaders to continue building their organizations’ financial and organizational capacity:
On October 14, BDCC will offer Funding Fundamentals: Financial Statements, a workshop focused on understanding and using financial statements. While the session is geared primarily toward businesses, much of the information is also applicable to nonprofit organizations. Learn more and register for Funding Fundamentals.
Nonprofit and community leaders can also connect with the Southern Vermont Economy Project (SVEP) for upcoming trainings, resources, and peer-learning opportunities, including SoVT Get on Board, a SVEP program designed to train and support local volunteers so they can be confident leaders in their communities. Learn more about SVEP and upcoming opportunities.
About SVEP:
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Southern Vermont Economy Project provides training and technical assistance to increase local capacity, skills, and resources in the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone (encompassing Bennington and Windham counties, and the town of Weston) in order to advance local projects critical to Southern Vermont achieving regional community, economic, and workforce development goals. SVEP is funded in part through the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative. For more information please visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/svep/
Susan Still presenting to the workshop
Breakout session with Dani Delaini on Business Planning for Nonprofit Organizations
