Enhancing the Nonprofit Treasurer Role and Relationship
Most treasurers for nonprofit organizations do not venture outside their traditional role of stewardship of the organization’s financial assets. Financial stewardship is important, but the perspective of the treasurer has value far beyond this singular role. Treasurers and the organizations they serve both need to correct this narrow perception and look for opportunities to expand the sphere of influence of this important officer position.
Treasurers serve in a key fiduciary leadership position, with the primary responsibility to oversee and protect the origination’s financial assets. Definitions and descriptions of the treasurer role for a nonprofit organization typically include:
Making sure that the Board receives timely financial reporting.
Chairing the finance committee.
Presenting budgets to the Board for approval.
Helping to ensure financial assets are protected and used within Board approved budget parameters.
These traditional “job” responsibilities are important and the cornerstone of the treasurer position, however the role of the treasurer should not be limited by this narrow perspective.
Treasurers are generally viewed with great respect, trust, and admiration. Treasurers need to work together with the organization they serve to expand the role of the treasurer and build off the trust and confidence carried by this leadership position.
To begin, focus on expanding the treasurer role to include opportunities for interactive relationships outside of the traditional finance committee and financial reporting duties. The goal is to shift the treasurer position to become more visible and present, and an advocate for strategic change during their service term.
Visible and Present
For the treasurer to become more visible and present, look for opportunities to increase synergistic interactions and exchanges of information. These expansions should be done with purpose and not on a random basis.
Strive to increase the treasurer’s interactions with individuals with whom the treasurer might not have regular access. The treasurer typically has frequent opportunities to exchange information with Board officers at executive committee meetings and with the CFO, controller, and/or bookkeeper on a regular basis. Facilitating interactions with other fellow Board members, senior management, and staff will require more effort but be fruitful in return.
Encourage the treasurer to reach out to non-officer Board members. Their input will be insightful and will help fellow Board members to be more engaged and appreciated. This is also a perfect opportunity to mentor Board members and encourage them to extend their Board service and maybe even seek an officer position in the future.
Likewise aim to expand the treasurer’s interactions with senior management and staff. The exchange of information will be useful to both parties. As a volunteer treasurer, some of my best and most enlightening discussions came from meetings with the building manager, the head of the development department, the director of marketing, and other staff members. The exchange of information was always beyond my expectations and very useful to me as a treasurer. Additionally, the gratitude of the staff for being included in discussions was a boost to the organization’s morale and culture.
Next, have the treasurer plan to attend other committee meetings besides the finance committee (as discussed further in this article about different ways to use volunteers with a finance background). All decisions and planning impact finances at some level so any opportunity for the treasurer to have a “seat at the table” will be a valuable opportunity to share information. The treasurer usually will not have the time to attend all committee meetings, so be judicious by selecting committee meetings that will benefit the most from the treasurer’s presence. This can be done on a formal rotational basis or on an ad hoc basis. Even a one-time visit to a marketing committee meeting, for example, will have a positive impact.
Most people would not think of choosing a treasurer to serve in an ambassador role. This is shortsighted because treasurers are ideally situated to serve as ambassadors for their organization. Treasurers are generally regarded as trusted and respected professionals with a comprehensive knowledge of the organizations they represent. Consequently, they can be excellent spokespersons, representing the organization at major events, leading coalitions, negotiating major transactions, and even serving as a public representative at news conferences, public hearings, and on social media.
One more role to consider is assisting with the recruiting process for the next treasurer. Treasurers can be crucial to this process, since they will have intimate knowledge related to skills needed, time commitments, leadership styles, and challenges to be addressed by the next treasurer. This process could be further enhanced by adding an assistant treasurer position, as we discussed in this 5-minute lesson video.
Advocate for Strategic Change
Because treasurers are generally viewed with great trust, they are in a strong position to advocate for change and help lead efforts for strategic repositioning to enhance mission delivery and push for opportunistic growth and expansion. Treasurers usually sit in the background providing analytical support for these efforts, but they are not often out in front helping the CEO as an active thought-leader.
To embrace this thought-leader role, treasurers need to shed the perceptions of being “just about the numbers.” They can do this by shifting their financial messaging and communications to talk about mission first and numbers second, as we discussed in this article about expanding the role of the CFO.
Treasurers have a tendency to message only through financial reports and data analysis, leaving the reasons behind the numbers for others to explain. Treasurers should talk more about the why, as well as how the numbers would be different if programmatic and operational strategic changes were considered and implemented.
In addition, treasurers must work empathy into their financial messaging and communications. Treasurers need to anticipate where challenges and pain points exist and address them up front, rather than just let the numbers do all the talking.
For example, hard decisions that need to be made in a downsizing situation will have many ripple effects beyond the numbers. Reductions in force, curtailment of expenses, and programmatic and operational changes will impact people (staff, recipients, donors, and others) and can lead to negative feelings. To make the best decisions in tough situations, addressing empathy first will show awareness and help spur additional innovative thinking to develop alternative solutions.
Another effective strategy is to switch financial messaging from a single-year perspective to a long-term, multi-year perspective. The process of change (from planning to implementation to finishing) will often span multiple fiscal years. For example, adding two additional staff positions to the development department could take two or more years to have a positive rate of return. All decisions will have some financial impact on the future, so it is imperative to “paint a picture” of the future in your financial communications.
Planning Tip – Add a formal onboarding process for new treasurers. This will help to acclimate the new treasurer to the position and ensure a faster start. Divide the onboarding process into three steps. First provide a virtual notebook that contains financial reports from the prior year (such as the financial statement audit, Form 990, and operating budget) and messaging documents provided at the last Board and finance committee meetings. Next, set up a meeting with the new treasurer and the controller, CFO, director of finance or other key financial point of contact. Use this meeting to go over the reports and establish a working relationship covering communication channels, contact information, and the expected frequency of follow-up communications. The last step of the process should be to discuss the agenda for the first finance committee meeting and how best to conduct the meeting. This discussion should include a brief description of the other finance committee members, key challenges, and other unfinished work from the last finance committee meeting.
The treasurer for a nonprofit organization is truly a unique position that is both separate and at the same time totally overlapping with the other Board member positions. This is because there are financial implications in all strategic and operational decisions. Treasurers need to embrace this unique perspective and venture beyond their traditional role to serve as a trusted thought-leader, an active spokesperson for the organization, and an ambassador for the mission in front of donors, supporters, and the public.
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