Friends' Resource Center
These materials are intended for general reference only with the understanding that the Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service.
Of Dollars & Cents: A Beginner’s Guide for Friends Board Members to Reading Financial Reports
Webinar Description
As board members, you play a vital role in upholding the organization’s mission and ensuring responsible management of its financial and other essential resources.
In this presentation, you’ll learn how to read and interpret the core financial reports that guide effective nonprofit oversight:
- Balance Sheet: Shows the organization’s financial position at a specific point in time
- Profit and Loss Statement: (also called the Statement of Activities) – Details income and expenses over a period
- Grantor/Donor Statement: Tracks restricted funds and how they are being used
- Budget vs. Actual Report: Compares planned income and spending with actual results to monitor progress and adjust as needed
Understanding financial reports will give you the tools to assess the financial health of your organization, make informed, strategic decisions and keep donors, funders, and other stakeholders well-informed. These tools will enable you to fulfill your fiduciary responsibility and support the organization’s long-term sustainability.
Webinar Recording & Slides (7.28.25)
Presenters:
- Jon d’Alessio, Treasurer of the CORFA Board as well as Friends of Bosque del Apache NWR and Friends of Midway Atoll NWR. Other nonprofit experience includes serving as CEO of the Fred Finch Youth Center.
- Willem Stoeller, a CORFA Board Member and Past Treasurer and Vice President of Friends of Tualatin River NWRC. He also serves as Treasurer for the Friends of Champoeg State Park in Oregon.
Responses