Researching a potential or current grantee's financial dynamics can be time-consuming. The lack of a consistent, objective method to analyze and compare nonprofit finances makes this task even more challenging. GuideStar has partnered with Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) to develop Financial SCAN, an online platform and report that draws multi-year financial data directly from nonprofits' IRS Forms 990, presenting a standardized and comprehensive analysis of an existing or potential grantee's financial well-being. Join Peter Kramer of Nonprofit Finance Fund to learn more about how Financial SCAN can help your grantmaking process. Presenters: Peter Kramer, Senior Associate, National Consulting Services, Nonprofit Finance Fund, and Usma Ziard, Senior Marketing Director, GuideStar

2. We believe that financial health
supports impact
Sound Financial Health
Strong Organizations
Quality Programs
Effective Solutions

3. Some common financial “pain points”
across the sector…
 It’s difficult to know what metrics to focus on for
assessing financial health
 Financial data collection, reporting, and analysis is
time and skills intensive
 Communicating a financial situation and resource
needs can be challenging

4. Financial SCAN At a Glance
What: Data platform for assessing nonprofit financial
Data platform for assessing nonprofit financial
health and fostering dialogue among all stakeholders
WHAT
health, decision making, and informing
involved in making social impact dialogue
grantmaker-grantee
Who: Private and public grantmakers/donors,
Nonprofit organizations, private and public
nonprofit organizations, philanthropic advisors,
WHO
grantmakers, individual donors, philanthropic
consultants and media and consultants
advisors,
How: Private and public grantmakers/donors,
Draws data directly and automatically from
IRS Forms 990,* presenting complex
nonprofit organizations, philanthropic advisors,
HOW
information in an easy-to-analyze and
consultants and media
communicate format (313K orgs)
*Note: Financial SCAN v. 1.0 does not include data from Form 990 EZ

5. What’s in a Financial SCAN?
Organizational Dashboard: Five
years of key financial trends and ratios
for a selected organization
Graphs & Explanatory Text: More
detailed overview of the nonprofit’s:
 Expenses
 Revenue
 Profitability
 Balance Sheet
 Liquidity
Peer Comparison Dashboard:
Comparison with up to five peer
nonprofits you select

6. What are grantmaker users saying?
 Reveals trends and critical information about “We have a small staff,
“Financial SCAN
surpluses, deficits, debt, liquidity, and so adding an in-depth
helps us manage
restricted funds financial review to our
our financial
due diligence was close
analysis in a
to impossible. With It’s
systematic way.
 Allows for consistent analysis while offering Financial SCAN, it’s tool
a very valuable
almost as if didn’t have
that we we hired a
context and accessible narrative
part-time before.”
staff member
to do financial analysis
 Helps identify strengths and raise red flags, for us. It’s really
streamlining our efforts
informing conversation among ourselves, and in a tremendous way.”
with our grantees
 Will help us present to our board the financial
issues our grantees are dealing with
 Saves us time and resources

7. How are grantmakers using Financial
SCAN?
Program officers at one foundation use Financial SCAN
as a key component of their diligence process
Uses include: Regularly used by:
 First look at applicants  Program staff
 Means of identifying areas of  Grants administrators
deeper analysis  Trustees
 Component of board packets
They make frequent use of single-page Financial
Health Dashboards and are beginning to run analyses
using grantee-provided peers

8. Financial SCAN Demonstration

9. Thank you!
Peter Kramer
Senior Associate, Consulting Services
617-204-9772
peter.kramer@nffusa.org
To learn more:
www.guidestar.org/financialSCAN
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