(Second Series: October 1, 15, 29 and November 12, 2009. Click here for details.)
"Financial Management in Tough Times"
Free Advice for Managing Your Organization Through the Recession
Web Chat Series Hosted by NFF and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (May – June 2009)

The global recession is forcing many nonprofits and foundations to make crucial and unexpected financial decisions. In many cases, nonprofit leaders and board members are confronting these decisions without knowing which questions to ask - and without having a clear understanding of what these moves will mean to their long-term financial health.

To help, Nonprofit Finance Fund and The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently hosted a web chat series: "Financial Management in Tough Times". Our panel of funders, nonprofit leaders and consultants responded to challenges and questions from both funders and nonprofits as they face crucial financial decisions during the recession.

Transcripts with the advice from each discussion will continue to be available.The topics and panels of experts include:

Financial Management in Tough Times: Financing Options (Click for transcript).
Beyond the Grant: What nonprofit leaders need to know about PRIs, loans, tax-exempt bonds and recoverable grants. What are they, how do they work, and what are their risks and benefits?

Panelists:

• Clara Miller, President & CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund
• Tom Manning, Director of capital access programs for the Primary Care Development Corp. in New York. He manages financing programs that have created more than $200-million in health-care facilities in underserved communities in New York State.
• Elizabeth C. Sullivan, Vice President for community investment at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan in Detroit, where she oversees program development and grant making, and is chairwoman of Nonprofit Finance Fund. Previously, Ms. Sullivan was senior vice president of The Kresge Foundation, where she developed and managed the foundation's PRI program.

New Ways for Arts Organizations to Finance Their Operations (Click for transcript)
Arts organizations face unique challenges in weathering the recession. In this discussion, arts leaders and those who support them talk about new, promising approaches to overcoming financial pressures, driving profits and business outcomes, managing high capital costs in the current market, and connecting with audiences in new ways.

Panelists:

• Clara Miller, President & CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund
• Chris Elam, Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer for Misnomer Dance Theater, a repertory dance company in New York. In this role, Mr. Elam blends his experiences with choreography, public policy, and computer-science training.
• Steve Runk, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, where he manages the agency's operations, programs, communications, planning, and budgeting. He is a member of the board of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, past president of the board of the Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County, a founding member of the Cultural Access Network of NJ and has served on grant review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Holly Sidford is president of the Helicon Collaborative, a consulting company for cultural institutions in New York. She has more than 25 years of experience as a strategic planner, program developer and fund raiser for nonprofit cultural and philanthropic organizations.

The Changing Role of Foundations (Click for transcript)
With endowments shrinking and demand for help on the rise, foundations are being forced to confront a series of circumstances that were difficult to imagine during more stable times. How can foundations manage themselves through this crisis while also keeping an eye on their long-term health? What are some creative ways to support nonprofit groups that need immediate help?

Panelists:

• Clara Miller, President & CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund
• Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, leads the foundation's arts grantmaking activities. Mr. Cameron was executive director of the Theatre Communications Group for eight years, and previously worked as a senior program officer at the Dayton Hudson Foundation and as manager of community relations at Target Stores in Minneapolis. From 1988 through 1992, Mr. Cameron worked for the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Ralph Smith, Executive Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. He also serves on the boards of directors for the Council on Foundations, the Foundation Center, Wachovia Regional Foundation, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and Venture Philanthropy Partners.

Making Capital Campaigns Work in the Recession (Click for transcript)
The recession is particularly tough for nonprofit organizations that are conducting capital campaigns. Many donors are holding off of making major gifts. At the same time, access to credit is tight. This session offers guidance to nonprofit groups that are managing capital campaigns in this challenging climate.

Panelists:

• George Overholser, Founder and Managing Director of Nonprofit Finance Fund Capital Partners, a division of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. He previously founded North Hill Ventures, a venture-capital firm in Boston, and was a member of Capital One Financial Corporation's original management team.
• Leo Arnoult, President of Arnoult & Associates Inc., a fund-raising consulting company in Memphis. He serves on the board of the Giving Institute, and is a past chairman of the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes "Giving USA," an annual report on charitable giving and philanthropic trends.
• Elizabeth C. Sullivan, Vice President for Community Investment at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, where she oversees the program development and grantmaking activities. Previously, Ms. Sullivan was Senior Vice President for capital programs at The Kresge Foundation. Ms. Sullivan currently chairs the board of Nonprofit Finance Fund and serves on the board of the University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan.

We will host our second series of free web chats with The Chronicle of Philanthropy beginning on October 1, 2009. Please click here for details.