Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofits should be run like businesses but, in many ways, they are more complex. Anyone new to the concept of fund accounting or grant accounting, especially federal grants, will agree. Also interesting are the dynamics between the board and the nonprofit’s CEO. It takes continuous effort to develop the board, and strengthen the partnership between the board chair and the CEO through chair rotations. Leaders of the best for-profit companies still learn a lot when they join a nonprofit board.
Warren Whitney understands the needs of these nonprofits and offers assistance through three service models:
- Contract Role – We will become a part of your team at the level you need us, for as long as you need us. Most of our engagements involve taking an operating role in a client organization one or two days per week, for several months to several years.
- Advisory Role – An advisory role involves a greater emphasis on counseling than on an operating role. We have an outside view, and our only agenda is to help your organization be successful.
- Consulting Engagement – Sometimes a traditional consulting engagement is the right approach. We work with you to define the scope and then recommend an approach. Each engagement is different, and we take special care to understand the culture of your organization.
Using these service models, we provide assistance in the areas of:
Finance and Accounting
Our finance and accounting professionals range from bookkeepers to CFOs who have experience in planning exit strategies, managing banking relationships, evaluating accounting systems and procedures, preparing financial statements, unraveling accounting systems messes, and conducting forensic accounting.
Read or watch the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s “60 Seconds With: Cyndy Lowery” to learn more about how forensic accounting can help businesses and organizations. (Access a direct link from our Press page, under the About menu.)
Case StudyHuman Resources/Recruiting
For companies that don’t have a fully staffed human resources department, we can help with recruiting, human resource policies, compensation plans, and ad hoc efforts to address a particular need. We often serve as a senior human resource advisor to your financial or administrative personnel who handle day-to-day details.
Case StudyBoard Development
Developing a strong board is among the most important, challenging, and interesting responsibilities of the current board and the CEO. Cultivating the board you need, assessing the board’s performance and effectiveness, and transitioning the responsibilities during chair rotations is often not an intuitive process. We can help develop the right process for you.
Case StudyStrategic Planning
A good strategic plan is integral to the success of a nonprofit. The process helps engage the board and gives management the direction it needs to move forward. Most importantly, it affords the opportunity to look carefully at the organization’s position with respect to other nonprofits addressing similar needs. That exercise can help you confirm the current strategy or decide to adjust it.
Case StudyOrganizational Planning
What happens next? First, we help determine whether you have the right people doing the right things. Then we look at ways to move forward while balancing the demands of various functions and the resources of your company. Ultimately, we create a map that helps you make decisions that align your organizational structure with your goals.
Case StudyOperational Assessment
This is where we focus on tactics, not strategy. Which parts of your operation are running smoothly? Which need improvement or a little tune-up, and where are the risks and pitfalls? This engagement can take the form of a high-spot review for a single department or a larger engagement that looks at your whole company, top to bottom and everything in between.
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