Streetsmart Financial Basics for Nonprofit Managers

Chapter 25Finance Is Oil, Development Is Water

There is a battle raging behind the walls of many nonprofit organizations. It is a battle that would make the combatants of the Hundred Years' War seem like best friends on a coffee break. Its participants wage a grim struggle day after day, each fully aware that their fondest wishes could be swept away by the rules or whims of the other or by outside forces. It is a struggle for dominance. We refer, of course, to the battle between Finance and Development.

Okay, so we exaggerate.

Maybe.

Ask any CEO who has had to step between these two combatants on more than one occasion, astonished at the venom and wondering what happened to rile these two otherwise gentle souls.

It's All about Time

The answer to the “What happened?” question seems straightforward—money is at the root of it all. That is partially true because both parties deal with money as a central element of their role, but that explanation only goes so far. In the end, it's about a difference in orientation to money and to time.

Here's what we mean. Let's suppose that a development director secures the promise of a bequest worth a million dollars. The development director will be understandably thrilled with the gift and will circulate the news widely in the organization. What will the CFO say? Probably the same thing as everyone else inside and outside the organization–congratulations on the good work. What will the CFO do? Nothing.

The financial staff will do nothing because ...