Twenty cost-cutting ideas for nonprofits

 Counsel for nonprofits facing budget shortfalls: Start by understanding the big picture. If you're facing a financial crisis, first determine the nature and size of the problem. Is this a cash flow or balance sheet issue? Is it temporary or long term? Are you facing a 10 percent or 40 percent budget shortfall?

Assemble a crisis management team. This team should be made up of board, staff, your banker, your auditor, and perhaps a representative of the people you serve. Use them to: Strategize your reaction to the crisis, run cash flow projections and create best-case, medium-case and worst-case scenarios.

That’s Number One in a series of 20 cost-cutting tips from nonprofit consultants at the Fieldstone Alliance. Click here for the rest of the tips: Click here for the complete list of 20 tips.

In addition, the Nonprofit Finance Fund has put together a one-page checklist, “Navigating the Financial Crisis: Tips for Nonprofits.”  

According to the NNF, these tips “are helpful for sound financial planning in all economic situations. However, in unstable times, they become even more vital. Getting through such crises requires communication, transparency, and planning rather than ‘fake it ‘til we make it’ behavior. In preparation for a possible recession, NFF recommends a two-part strategy: Assess your nonprofit’s potential financial risks, then create a plan to respond to those risks.”