Building and Maintaining Operating Reserves
GRF Webinar Series: Building a Strong Accounting Foundation for Nonprofits
As 2026 approaches, nonprofit organizations must brace for a volatile financial and operational environment. Rising inflation, increasing competition for grant funding, donor fatigue, shifts in tax policies, and increased scrutiny from funders and regulators pose new challenges. To stay mission-focused while managing through unpredictability, nonprofits need more than passion—they need robust financial foundations grounded in sound accounting principles and operational best practices.
Join GRF for a webinar series addressing the areas nonprofit leaders should revisit to build resilience and maintain fiscal health through turbulent times. You will come away with practical steps to help you and your team stay one step ahead and avoid common pitfalls.
Part 1: Building and Maintaining Operating Reserves
One of the key recommendations from financial advisors and accounting professionals is the creation of an operating reserve fund—an unrestricted pool of funds that can sustain operations during periods of revenue shortfall.
Is your nonprofit prepared for financial uncertainty? Join us for this essential one-hour webinar designed to help nonprofit leaders and finance professionals understand the importance of operating reserves—and how to build and maintain them effectively.
You’ll learn practical strategies to strengthen your organization’s financial resilience, gain board and stakeholder buy-in, and ensure long-term sustainability. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to refine your reserve policies, this session will provide actionable insights and tools tailored to the nonprofit sector.
Key Takeaways:
- The role of operating reserves in risk management
- How to determine an appropriate reserve level for your organization
- Steps to create, grow, and manage reserves over time
- Policy and governance considerations for transparency and accountability
- Common challenges and how to overcome them
Who Should Attend:
- Executive directors, CFOs, finance staff, board members, and anyone involved in nonprofit financial management.
1 CPE credit is available for this event.
Part 2 – Developing Accurate and Flexible Budgets
Part 3 – Governance Disclosures on the Federal Form 990
Additional Program Details
- Learning Objective: To provide attendees with a toolkit of best practices for building and maintaining operating reserves.
- Instructional Delivery Methods: Group Internet-based
- Recommended CPE: 1 CPE
- Recommended Fields of Study: Audit
- Prerequisites: None Required
- Advance Preparation: None
- Program Level: Basic
- Course Registration Requirements: None
- Refund Policy: No fee is required to participate in this session.
- Cancellation Policy: In the event that the presentation is cancelled or rescheduled, participants will be contacted immediately with details.
- Complaint Resolution Policy: GRF CPAs & Advisors is committed to our participants’ 100% satisfaction and will make every reasonable effort to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. Please contact nmcelveen@grfcpa.com with any concerns.