http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/news/webinars/webinar-archive.aspx

2. A New Industry Standard
Sound Financial Health
Strong Organizations
Quality Programs
Effective Solutions
Financial SCAN demystifies nonprofit data and
illuminates financial health, providing the field
with knowledge and tools for building and
sustaining healthy, effective organizations.

3. Why now?
 The sector lacks a common language and understanding of
what it takes to keep a nonprofit in business and in balance
 Existing ratings platforms focus on metrics like “overhead” that have no
bearing on nonprofit efficiency or effectiveness
 There is little agreement on what to measure, why it matters and how it
links to mission success
 Financial data collection, reporting and analysis is time and
skills intensive
 Everyday demands of running a nonprofit compete with funder/donor
demands for myriad reports and data sets
 Data-crunching can supersede data-driven decision making in grant
management and due diligence

4. Financial SCAN At a Glance
What: Data platform for assessing nonprofit financial
Data platform for assessing nonprofit financial
WHAT
health and fostering dialogue among all stakeholders
health, decision making, and informing
involved in making social impact dialogue
grantmaker-grantee
Who: Private and public grantmakers/donors,
Nonprofit organizations, private and public
nonprofit organizations, philanthropic advisors,
WHO
grantmakers, individual donors, philanthropic
consultants and advisors, consultants and media
media
Draws data directly and automatically from
How: Private and public grantmakers/donors,
IRS Forms 990,* presenting complex
nonprofit organizations, philanthropic advisors,
HOW
consultants and information in an easy-to-analyze and
media
communicate format (280K orgs)
*Note: Financial SCAN v. 1.0 does not include data from Form 990 EZ

5. What are nonprofit users saying?
 Presents numbers in an accessible, holistic “There is nothing
way along with definitions and text else available that
can both improve
our operations and
 Helpful for communicating recent financial
educate our
past with the Board supporters in such
a compelling
 Allows for clear and comprehensive way.”
comparison with peer organizations - Nonprofit Product
Advisor
 User experience of generating report is quick
and easy
 Looking at trends and benchmarking peers
can help us plan

6. How are nonprofits using Financial
SCAN?
Leadership of one nonprofit organization says they
lean on the report’s graphs to help communicate
trends
Uses include: Regularly used by:
 Board review,  Executive Director,
 Board recruitment, and  Development Director, and
 Communicating financial  Board Finance and Executive
needs to external audiences Committees
They already plan to make changes that will result in a
better cash reserve and cashflow management process

7. What’s in a Financial SCAN?
Organizational Dashboard: Five
years of key financial trends and ratios
for a selected organization
Graphs & Explanatory Text: More
detailed overview of the nonprofit’s:
 Expenses
 Revenue
 Profitability
 Balance Sheet
 Liquidity
Peer Comparison Dashboard:
Comparison with up to five peer
nonprofits you select

8. Financial SCAN Demonstration

9. Nonprofit Finance Fund
Thank you!
Peter Kramer
Senior Associate, Consulting Services
617-204-9772
peter.kramer@nffusa.org
To learn more:
www.guidestar.org/financialSCAN
nonprofitfinancefund.org 8