Nonprofit Finance Summit

The role of the modern-day nonprofit CFO is often misunderstood. Yes, we establish policy, procedure, and enforce rules around organizational finances. But the CFO’s role has evolved into one of strategic leadership, financial alignment, and creative problem-solving. To successfully deliver what our organizations need, a CFO must think critically about how to address challenges with limited resources. Enter the concept of the curious CFO – one who asks questions to understand, works with colleagues to collaboratively determine solutions, and combines performance data with passion to achieve goals. Through a combination of management practices and techniques, this session will provide attendees with concrete resources that support the work of the curious CFO and drive long-term success.

Attendees will leave the session with tangible tools (e.g. 5 Whys/Fishbone and Value-Stream Mapping) that can be used as soon as attendees return to their workspaces. Attendees will practice these tools together during the session.

Nonprofits are scaling, right-sizing programs faster than their financial infrastructure can support. This workshop introduces a Strategic Finance Re-Alignment Framework that strengthens organizational health by modernizing the finance function across four core pillars: Controllership, Treasury & Cash, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Systems Integration.

The session demonstrates how to transform fragmented processes into a connected finance ecosystem that protects cash, drives clarity, strengthens compliance, and advances mission impact. Participants will leave with practical tools, templates, and phased approaches adaptable to organizations of any size.

Let’s talk overhead — what it really means and why it matters. In this presentation, nonprofit accounting experts will break down functional expenses, explore real-world cost allocation practices, and discuss how overhead affects external perceptions — from watchdogs to funders to other stakeholders. We’ll move beyond the myths and into how overhead can be a powerful strategic tool when understood and communicated clearly.

This session will walk attendees through the development and use of an Excel spenddown tracker for grants or other funding sources, which will include listing eligible activities or expenses for easy determination, with a summary dashboard that can be interactive, showing amount spent, amount remaining, and color coding for spending targets based on goals (monthly, quarterly, etc.).

Join us to learn how this was implemented at FSC and used as a teaching tool for program managers, allowing them to see what funding is available and if an item will be eligible. Program managers can also use this tool for frontline staff. Templates will be provided to participants for their own use.

This interactive learning session is designed for finance professionals working in nonprofit and mission-driven organizations who want to maximize their impact by building stronger partnerships with program staff. Participants will learn how to translate financial concepts into program language, understand program priorities, and communicate financial information in ways that support program goals.

AI is quickly becoming a practical productivity tool for nonprofit operations—not a future concept. Publishers and financial solution providers such as Sage Intacct and other finance platforms are increasingly embedding AI into their products to automate routine tasks, surface insights, and improve day-to-day efficiency. At the same time, nonprofits are leveraging tools like Microsoft Copilot and Gemini within their existing environments to support content creation, analysis, and operational workflows.

This session will focus on real-world, everyday applications of AI that nonprofit teams can adopt today. Attendees will explore how AI is being used to streamline administrative work, improve communication, support finance and operations, and help teams do more with limited resources—without requiring advanced technical skills or major system changes.