Category: Blogs

Before You Hire a CFO: What Every Nonprofit Leader Needs to Know

Posted on by Anna Estes
Blog header for "Before You Hire a CFO: What Every Nonprofit Leader Needs to Know," showing two women meeting at a desk with a laptop and coffee, one smiling during a financial job interview. Article on nonprofit CFO hiring.

Passion builds nonprofits. Strategy makes them successful. You need to know how to best use your resources and not squander your hard-won dollars. That’s where your CFO comes in. The CFO is like the co-pilot of your flight: You’ve got the dream destination and the plane to get there, but your co-pilot knows how much fuel you need to make the trip, where you’ll encounter turbulence, and when it’s time to change course. A high-performing finance function is essential to the success of every nonprofit. A bad hire can leave…

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The Nonprofit Leader’s Guide to Financial Resilience in a Changing Giving Landscape

Posted on by Anna Estes

Tax reform. Economic shifts. Changes in federal funding. Evolving donor behavior. For nonprofit leaders, external forces that impact charitable giving aren’t a matter of if, they’re a matter of when. And the organizations that weather them best aren’t the ones that react the fastest. They’re the ones that were already prepared.  When things shift, the instinct is to ask, “What does this mean for us?” But the more pressing…

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American Society for Public Administration and Chazin: Accurate Numbers, Confident Leadership

Posted on by Anna Estes

When Karen Cooper, Executive Director of The Modern Quilt Guild, took the helm she inherited more than just a thriving creative community; she inherited a financial system held together by spreadsheets, paper checks, and a bookkeeper with no real oversight. With Karen’s arrival and subsequent partnership with Chazin, MQG has more than doubled its revenue and achieved 400% growth since pre-COVID. The real story isn’t just the numbers; it’s the tangible results from a solid financial foundation that has allowed them to thrive with their community right alongside them. …

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When the Money Finally Arrives: Why Multiyear Funding Raises the Bar, Not Lowers It

Posted on by Anna Estes

For most Executive Directors, their problem isn’t mission focus; it may not even be funding. It’s timing. Unrestricted annual funds mean that each Jan. 1 feels like starting over. Windfall years can lead to a cash reserve, but that reserve is accidental and reactive, not strategic. Multiyear funding promises to change that; however, accessing it and making it work demands more than most organizations expect. Key Takeaways: Multiyear funding is not the…

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The Modern Quilt Guild and Chazin: A Solid Financial Foundation for a Vibrant Community

Posted on by Anna Estes

When Karen Cooper, Executive Director of The Modern Quilt Guild, took the helm she inherited more than just a thriving creative community; she inherited a financial system held together by spreadsheets, paper checks, and a bookkeeper with no real oversight. With Karen’s arrival and subsequent partnership with Chazin, MQG has more than doubled its revenue and achieved 400% growth since pre-COVID. The real story isn’t just the numbers; it’s the tangible results from a solid financial foundation that has allowed them to thrive with their community right alongside them. …

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Financial Storytelling: Engage Boards and Prove Your Impact

Posted on by Liza Gagne

Financial Readiness in Today’s Funding Climate Do your board members’ eyes glaze over during financial report reviews? The problem isn’t the numbers themselves; it’s how they’re delivered. Financial storytelling transforms your statement of financial position and statement of activities into compelling stories that engage boards, inspire confidence, and demonstrate mission impact.   Key Takeaways: Financial storytelling transforms compliance documents into strategic tools that engage boards and prove mission impact.  The framework that guides you from defining your audience to…

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Nonprofit Financial Stewardship That Will Help You Get Funded

Posted on by Anna Estes

Financial Readiness in Today’s Funding Climate The funding landscape has shifted, and many organizations are now evaluated with early filters that focus on financial readiness, risk, and stewardship rather than the mission narrative alone. Policy and economic changes, reduced funding, heightened competition for fewer dollars as demand for services increased, and evolving federal and donor expectations have raised the bar for what it means to be “funding ready.” Now, nonprofits…

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Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Chazin: Building Financial Stability Behind the Music

Posted on by Anna Estes

Thinking about finances during a global pandemic is not an ideal place to be, but it was exactly the situation Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) faced when David Fisk joined the organization in 2020. The immediate task for him? Make a decision about their accounting systems going forward.

David led a formal request for proposal (RFP) process, evaluating three firms to find the best fit. By the end, the decision was unanimous. “There was no doubt in our minds at the end of that process,” he recalls, “that picking Chazin was the smart decision to make.” …

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Mastering Budgeting: A Crucial Guide for Nonprofit Financial Health and Mission Fulfillment

Posted on by Haley Neitzel

In an environment of rising costs, shifting funding sources, and heightened accountability, nonprofit financial health depends on more than good intentions—it requires disciplined planning. A well-constructed nonprofit budget is one of the most powerful tools leaders have to translate mission into action, align resources with priorities, and anticipate financial risk before it becomes a crisis. Unlike a static…

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What to Consider Beyond Credentials: The Case for Nonprofit Accounting Specialists 

Posted on by Anna Estes

Many nonprofit leaders start their search for accounting services with a simple assumption: If someone has CPA credentials, then they must be qualified to handle nonprofit accounting. While CPAs are highly trained, this assumption misses a crucial point: Sector expertise matters as much as credentials. Nonprofit accounting isn’t just business accounting with a different tax status. It operates under its own rules and its own unique language. Donor restrictions, grant requirements,…

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