Nonprofit Reserves

Organizational Slack (or Goldilocks and the Three Budgets)

Organizational slack is an important concept in the management literature, but you won’t find it mentioned in articles on nonprofits. It has several definitions, but all boil down to extra resources or resources held in reserve. The difference between a hand-to-mouth organization and a vibrant one is slack. Think of slack as the financial aspect of organizational capacity.

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How PRIs Work: A Basic Primer for Nonprofits

In addition to grants, foundations have been increasingly using Program Related Investments, or PRIs, to support nonprofits. PRIs can be a powerful tool to support foundation and nonprofit missions, but they only fit some projects. Understanding their value and uses can be useful for both foundations and nonprofits.

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Keeping It in Reserve: Grantmaking for a Rainy Day

Many nonprofits know that they should be building reserves over time, but find it hard to do so without hobbling their work. Perhaps with a better understanding of full costs, we should all be educating funders about their responsibilities in that regard. Here’s a way for readers to approach the endeavor.

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