Our Approach: Finance

Nonprofit Finance is often a jargon-laden exercise put off until the last minute. Spectrum takes away the jargon and works with organizations to integrate the power of understanding their finances into all of their activities. We believe that understanding finance and how it interacts with your program goals can be an empowering experience for nonprofit managers and boards.

Spectrum’s finance consulting typically falls into one or more of three areas: financial systems, financial literacy and financial strategy.

Financial Strategy:

Financial strategy has many facets, but usually starts with understanding the true, fully-allocated costs of running your organization’s programs. Financial strategy can include:

• Analyzing your financial statements to understand true costs.
• Opening up your budgeting process to involve program managers and the board.
• Exploring earned revenue opportunities.
• Evaluating return on investment of fundraising activities.

Financial Systems:

Good financial management starts with the right systems and structure. Spectrum develops charts of accounts that reflect your organization’s activities and designs internal controls that protect your organization’s assets while not being cumbersome.

Financial Literacy:

Nobody starts a nonprofit or joins a board because they enjoy finance. Yet it is in an important part of management and governance. Our consulting and training in financial literacy makes sure that senior managers and the board get the information they need and understand how to use it. We also work with staffs to better understand the financial structure of their organizations. Financial literacy includes not only how to read financial statements, but also how to identify the key questions the readers should be asking. This includes dashboard reporting, which provides a snapshot of key metrics in a quick, easy to understand manner.

Our Approach: Fundraising Effectiveness

The old cliché says that “It takes money to make money.” Yet with so much attention being paid to the amount of overhead that nonprofit organizations spend, unrealistic expectations are often placed on development departments. Spectrum approaches fundraising effectiveness by taking a holistic look at all the purposes of fundraising and how the organization generates resources to function.

Funding for an organization to carry out its mission can be achieved from three methods – fundraising, in-kind contributions and earned revenue. Traditional fundraising includes asking for money from individuals, foundations or corporations through various methods. Non-monetary methods or in-kind contributions include both equipment and the time of volunteers. Earned revenue strategies – sometimes called social enterprises – are a fee-for-service approach to raising money.

Our financial approach examines the return on investment for each element of your fund development plan, determining your most effective vehicles for generating restricted and unrestricted funds and helping you plan to grow these areas. We also will analyze the organization’s position in the marketplace among similar organizations to ensure that you are fully capturing your potential donor base and resources. Lastly, we’ll consider new opportunities or earned revenue strategies for your organization.

In addition to our financial and market analysis, Spectrum also provides training on the core fundraising skill – how to cultivate donors and ask for money. Our work with boards and staff can help everyone understand the key elements of fundraising and overcome their fear of asking for money.

Our Approach: Communications & Marketing

It is critical for nonprofit organizations and foundations to get their message out to build community, find volunteers, raise funds and accomplish their mission. In today’s constant barrage of media and marketing this challenge can be overwhelming. Spectrum helps you overcome these challenges with a three-prong approach – message clarification and development, communications plans and public speaking.

Message Clarification and Development:

Many organizations don’t know the message they’re communicating. Your message should make a case for your organization by highlighting the need it satisfies and its contribution to our society. Spectrum starts by conducting a survey of key stakeholders to determine their dominant perceptions of your organization. Then, working with you, we’ll develop, test and refine a clear and concise message.

Communications Plans:

Who do you want to know about you? How will they hear it? How often will you talk with your key audiences? A communication plan focuses your message towards target audiences and plans how and when they will receive it – through mass media, direct mail, Email, online, or a combination of all. An effective plan will be coordinated with the rest of your organization to maximize efforts with fundraising and program participation. We’ll also train you how to reach out to local media and increase your chances of coverage. A communication plan can also include provisions for handling crisis in your organization.

Public Speaking:

Whether you’re speaking to a group of friends, a large auditorium or a local television reporter, your message is only as effective as the communicator. Our public speaking training works with board and staff to overcome their fears and deliver compelling speeches about your organization. Videotaped practices and a wide array of speech settings will prepare you for whatever situation you may encounter. In addition to group settings, we also provide one-on-one coaching.

Our Approach: Organizational Planning

Strategic Plans & Business Plans

Traditional strategic plans with little consideration of finances or the external pressures organizations face have little hope of being fully and successfully implemented. Likewise, business plans without a clear focus on the accomplishing the organization’s mission may lead to unintended consequences.

To overcome these obstacles and increase the likelihood of success, we treat planning as a spectrum combining elements of traditional strategic and business plans as appropriate for your organization’s needs.