In any area where you already have a financial management element or policy in place, you will be directed how to upload and integrate those elements into your Financial Management Plan. For those areas where you do not have existing policies, we'll provide sample templates that you can edit for your own use.
For a short preview of what is in each of the modules below simply click on the module's name for a short description. Click here to register with the site and receive periodic emails, or if you are ready to purchase a subscription click here.
 | Get Started
Get Started This module will collect basic information about your organization including: - Organization name, location(s) and contact information
- Revenue and expenses
- Number of board members and volunteers
- Sources of funding/income
|  | Board Fiduciary Responsibility
Board Fiduciary Responsibility
This module will help you clarify and set up a policy regarding the your board of director's roles around the nonprofit's finances.
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 | Ethics
|  | Financial Literacy
Financial Literacy This module focuses on creating a policy that promotes financial literacy amongst staff and board so that decisions about the nonprofit can be made with the best understanding of the information available.
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 | Internal Controls
Internal Controls The term refers to the safeguards used to assure that transactions are properly authorized, appropriately executed, and accurately recorded in accordance with management's intentions. Every organization that has at least one checking account should establish internal controls to protect its financial assets, and this module will help you come up with a policy to do so.
|  | Managing Fraud Risk
Managing Fraud Risk Fraud is a risk that is common to all organizations—from the corner convenience store to city hall. Nonprofits require all of their assets to fulfill their missions and that necessitates diligence on the part of the nonprofit's management. This module will help you outline a policy for preventing fraud in your nonprofit.
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 | Budgeting
Budgeting The development and use of a budget is essential to sound financial management. While the process used may differ from one organization to the next, every agency needs some process in place by which it considers, reviews, adopts and monitors an annual budget. This module will guide you though the creation of a budgeting policy.
|  | Managing Cash Flow
Managing Cash Flow Measuring cash flow is critical to all organizations. This module will help you create a policy for tracking and monitoring the cash in your nonprofit.
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 | Return on Investment Analysis
Return on Investment Analysis In recent years growing attention has been drawn to the issue of "outcomes." What change did the nonprofit inspire or create as a result of the funds it received from Donor X? Or what was the per-client cost of providing emergency housing, crisis counseling or a training program on first-time home ownership? This module will walk you through the process of creating a return on investment ("ROI") policy and conducting an ROI analysis on key programs.
|  | Joint Cost Issues
Joint Cost Issues When something has both a program element and a fundraising element you encounter joint cost issues. This module will help your organization create a policy for recognizing joint costs and accounting for them properly.
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 | Grants and Contributions
Grants and Contributions A contribution is an unconditional, nonreciprocal transfer of assets, relief of liabilities, use of facilities or utilities (including advertising), or provision of services. This module will break that definition down and help you create a policy that will help your organization manage these income sources.
|  | Individual Donations
Individual Donations Many nonprofit organizations receive donations from individuals, from cash to clothing to items a nonprofit will resell to raise money. It is imperative that nonprofit organizations make sure these kinds of transactions are handled correctly, from the financial and regulatory side to good donor management. This section will walk you through the rules regarding individual donations, what the nonprofit is supposed to do and what the responsibilities of the individual donor are. You will then be able to create relevant and usable policy for your organization.
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 | Government Money
Government Money Government reporting and allocation rules are often not the same as normal accounting rules. Federal guidance tells nonprofits how to calculate costs that are reimbursable by a federal award. It does not address financial statement presentation. This module will help you create a policy (or policies) for any government contracts you may have.
|  | Investment Policies
Investment Policies Organizations are well-advised to adopt an investment policy describing the agency's investment philosophy and goals, acceptable investment instruments, and the selection of investment advisors. This module will walk you through creating such a policy for your nonprofit.
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 | Chart of Accounts
Chart of Accounts Choosing and setting up your chart of accounts is one of the first steps in creating your nonprofit's financial system. This module will walk you though what a good chart of accounts looks like and allow you to include your own (or access resources for creating and improving yours) as a part of your financial management policies.
|  | Functional Accounting
Functional Accounting A functional accounting system tracks the money that moves through your organization by account (income or expense item), funder and either program, admin or fundraising. This module will help you create a policy to make sure your system will be set up to track your resources this way.
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 | Cost Allocation
Cost Allocation Critical goals of cost allocation are reporting costs equitably amongst differing activities and maximizing the spending of restricted funds and government contracts. Every organization needs a cost allocation plan and this module will help you through the process of creating one and getting it into your financial policies.
|  | Financial Statements and Financial Reporting
Financial Statements and Financial Reporting The preparation of timely and accurate financial statements is necessary to achieving organizational accountability. But what do we look for in those reports? This module will walk you through several of the key reports all nonprofits should be preparing and help you develop a policy for creating them.
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 | In-Kind Contributions and Expenses
In-Kind Contributions and Expenses This module will help you formulate policies regarding in-kind contributions and their related expenses. Donated items collected by a nonprofit that will be then given out, sold, auctioned or raffled will be covered in the next module, Individual Donations.
|  | Classifying Net Assets
Classifying Net Assets Is this money restricted or unrestricted? If it is restricted, how is it restricted? This module will help you make sure you are classifying your assets correctly.
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 | The Audit Process
The Audit Process Who needs an audit, and if we do how do we manage it? This module will help you create a policy for preparing for and managing your nonprofit's audit.
|  | IRS and the Form 990, Part 1
IRS and the Form 990, Part 1 In 2008 the IRS introduced a new version of the form 990, the first major update to the form in 30 years. These sections will go over some general 990 issues and rules and will also go through what the new form is "looking" for in our organizational policies, especially around governance issues. We will address what nonprofits need to do to get ready to complete the form 990 (or 990-EZ or 990-N as appropriate).
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| IRS and the Form 990, Part 2
IRS and the Form 990, Part 2 In the 990 Part 2 section we will go though policies that are more specific and will only apply to certain organizations: - Joint venture policy (only if applicable)
- Policy regarding chapters and affiliates (only if applicable)
- Charity care policy (for hospitals)
- Written debt collection policy (for hospitals)
- Other recommendations for hospitals
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