• Nonprofits
  • Corporate
  • Volunteers
  • Resources
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • About

Re: Pro Bono Financial Management

Twenty dollar bills rolled up.
Jan 2nd, 2008 Service Area: Finance, Service Area: Strategy, Social Impact
Where do you think the nonprofit sector could effectively use financial management resources?

Some thoughts:

To start with, for volunteers from the corporate finance world to be useful to nonprofits, they need to understand how nonprofit finance works. Taproot could provide a primer: nonprofit accounting, grant process, reports, etc. This way the volunteer starts with some of the tools to speak their language. Ability to “measure/quantify results” is one of the biggest gaps for nonprofits (and corporations as well, to a lesser extent–since the bottom-line is usually the baseline). As applied to financial management for nonprofits, I wonder if “developing good financial hygiene” or “understanding where their money is going” or “introducing measurement mechanisms for their resource expenditures” might be good goals for Taproot projects. In other words–have Taproot volunteers go in (properly prepped as to how nonprofit finances work), do a quick, high level audit (starting with the annual report). Where is the money going? If it’s not clear, then you need better accounting controls. How does the resource allocation align with the nonprofit’s goals? If it’s not aligned the way they thought, some recommendations can be made as to how to improve them. Are the results commensurate with the amount of resources expended? If the answer is not clear, then better ways to measure results are needed. I think one of the biggest contribution corporate resources can make (on the financial management front) is introducing a systematic mindset of accountability and measurement, and helping to put in place the processes and tools to execute and improve on it.

Donate your professionals skills to nonprofits today.
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin
Pro Bono Week
Oct 27th, 2021 Pro Bono Week, Service Area: Finance, Taproot Plus

Pro Bono Week: Five Finance Volunteer Opportunities

Pro Bono Week 2021 is here! But what exactly is Pro Bono Week? It is a special time to celebrate...

National Volunteer Week blog image by Taproot Foundation
Apr 15th, 2022 Nonprofit Management, Social Impact, Volunteer Consulting

Time to Celebrate Volunteers!

It’s National Volunteer Week, a time to recognize the power of volunteers around the world! Established in 1974, this annual...

Let’s stay in touch

Sign up to receive news and updates about pro bono service.

Join
    • Nonprofits
    • Corporate
    • Volunteers
    • FAQs
    • Resources
    • Case Studies
    • Blog
    • Press
    • About
    • Taproot Plus
    • Events
    • Supporters
    • Donate
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Terms

Helping nonprofits and social change organizations solve critical societal challenges via pro bono.

2022 Taproot FoundationTerms Privacy