Financial Management in Tough Times: Financing Options

What nonprofit leaders need to know about loans and tax-exempt bonds, as well as tools foundations can offer, such as program-related investments and recoverable grants. As the recession deepens, some charity and foundation leaders are looking at financial tools that are not now in wide use. Such moves might make sense for some grant makers and for some nonprofit groups, but leaders should understand the risks and benefits of loans, tax-exempt bonds, and other tools. This discussion will include answers to specific questions about how different financing options work, the benefits of each, and helpful hints about managing potential challenges.

• Clara Miller is president and chief executive officer of Nonprofit Finance Fund in New York. Ms. Miller and her consulting firm provide financial advice to nonprofit groups nationwide.
• Tom Manning is 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 is vice president for community investment at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan in Detroit, where she oversees the program development and grant making, and is chairwoman of the 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

Arts organizations face special challenges in weathering the recession. Many groups will see a significant decline in ticket buyers as patrons cut spending, while others have seen charitable contributions stall. This discussion will give arts leaders and those who support them an opportunity to talk about new, promising approaches to overcoming financial pressures, increasing revenue, managing costs, and connecting with audiences in new ways.

• Recession and the Arts: Act II(5/7/2009)
• Painting a Grim Picture(1/15/2009)

The Guests

• Clara Miller is president and chief executive officer of Nonprofit Finance Fund in New York. Ms. Miller and her consulting firm provide financial advice to nonprofit groups nationwide.
• Chris Elam is the 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 is Executive Director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in Trenton, N.J., 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. A transcript of the chat follows.

The Changing Role of Foundations

With endowments shrinking and demand for help on the rise, foundations must now handle 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 lessons can be learned from this recession? What are some creative ways to support nonprofit groups that need immediate help? Our experts will examine these questions in a format that will be instructive to foundations and the nonprofit groups they support.

The Guests

• Clara Miller is president and chief executive officer of Nonprofit Finance Fund in New York. Ms. Miller and her consulting firm provide financial advice to nonprofit groups nationwide.
• Ben Cameron is program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, in New York, where he leads the foundations 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 is executive vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, in Baltimore. 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. A transcript of the chat follows.