Founder / CEO spotlight Adele Chazin Two decades ago, Adele Chazin, our founder and CEO, unwittingly set out to transform the way nonprofits manage their finances — from her basement. At the time, her daughter was just 6 years old, and Adele was balancing a successful career at an architectural firm with a deep desire…
Category: All Posts
The Top 11 Financial Mistakes Nonprofits Make (and What to Do Instead)
Navigating the financial landscape of a nonprofit can be tricky, which is why smart financial decisions are crucial to achieving your mission. Unfortunately, some pitfalls can derail even the most well-intentioned organizations. Let’s walk through some of them and more importantly, address how to avoid them. 1. Relying Too Heavily on One Source of Funding…
Choosing Your Audit Firm: A Nonprofit’s Guide to Selecting the Right Partner
Selecting the right audit firm is an important decision for your nonprofit. Many organizations may be required to undergo annual audits by their state’s Charitable Solicitation License requirements, their loan agreements, grant agreements, or other contractual obligations. Auditors not only provide an opinion on the material accuracy of your financial statements, but they also suggest ways…
Building Financial Resilience: Key Strategies to Prepare for Uncertainty
Financial uncertainty is an ongoing reality for many nonprofit organizations, whether due to shifts in government funding, policy changes, economic downturns, or unexpected disruptions. While organizations may not always have control over these external factors, they can take proactive steps to strengthen their financial health and prepare for challenges. The most resilient nonprofits are those…
Employee Spotlight: Samantha Fraser
Employee Spotlight is a blog series meant to offer an inside look at our company culture and, most importantly, highlight the talented individuals who help make our company special. From accountants and software implementation specialists to operations, marketing, and HR professionals, get to know the people behind Chazin. Today, we are getting to know…
Love at First Sight: How to Present Your Nonprofit’s Data with Heart
As we start the year with renewed clarity and vision, we recognize that data visualization is key to achieving nonprofit success. But there’s another crucial element that often gets overlooked—how we present the data that reflects our progress. Data is the backbone of any nonprofit’s operations, yet too often, it’s presented in a dry, impersonal…
Nonprofit Financial Statements: Key Insights + Applications
Nonprofit financial statements are essential to optimizing financial health. Read this guide to deepen your understanding and explore strategic insights….
Chazin San Antonio Retreat Recap 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJD2BHritBg For this year’s retreat, we put our spreadsheets away and headed to the state where everything’s bigger: TEXAS! After countless online meetings, gathering face-to-face was a breath of fresh air (even if the Texas heat had us sweatin’ like a glass of sweet tea in August). Team members traveled in from every corner of…
Tales from the Nonprofit Accounting Crypt: 2024 Halloween Special
As the fog rolls in and shadows lengthen across the books, we beckon you to gather ‘round for a night of financial fright. In this chilling collection of tales, we’ll peel back the cobwebs on some of the most terrifying trials faced by nonprofits—where unchecked ledgers, runaway expenses, and haunted software conversions lead to unspeakable…
Understanding Your Fiduciary Responsibility: Protecting Your Nonprofit and Its Mission
Being a fiduciary is one of the most critical roles a nonprofit leader can undertake. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to understand. Whether you’re a board member, executive director, or another nonprofit decision maker, you may have found yourself unsure about what this role entails. You’re not alone; many nonprofit leaders feel the same way. …
