Why Nonprofits Never Have Enough Money

How did the board meeting go?

“Great,” said my client. “Actually, I was so relieved! The budget passed in like 15 minutes. There were two or three minor questions, but nothing substantive.”

Um, I’ve got some bad news. This is not what I consider a great budget discussion.

Executive directors, like my client, are afraid of two key things:

1. The board members will micromanage the process and the numbers. They’ll walk among the trees and forget they are supposed to be forest people.
2. The board will believe the revenue numbers are too aggressive or too conservative and never once mention its own responsibility in where those numbers will wind up.