Editor's note - this post was contributed by Matt Gardner, Co-founder & CEO of Hiline.

In 2026, operational credibility will separate nonprofits that thrive from those barely surviving. The good news? You don't need a massive budget to build that credibility—you need to focus on the right priorities.

Over the past year, I've interviewed dozens of nonprofit leaders on the Fiscally Awesome podcast and worked with hundreds more through Hiline. The conversations keep circling back to the same challenge: organizations doing incredible work are struggling with the operational side of their mission.

The numbers tell the story:

• 52% of nonprofits have three months or less in operating reserves
• 84% are bracing for funding cuts
• 86% are dealing with inflation outpacing their budgets
• Executives spend 15+ hours weekly on financial administration instead of advancing their mission

Here are five financial planning considerations that can position your nonprofit for sustainable growth in 2026.

1. Strategic funding evaluation

I recently talked with Rebecca Bostwick, a nonprofit strategy consultant, and she said something that stopped me in my tracks: "There's no money that doesn't have strings attached to it – unless you're fortunate enough to get a Mackenzie Scott grant."

We don't talk about this enough in the nonprofit world. The pressure to say yes to every funding opportunity can actually hurt your organization more than it helps.

Before you sign that next grant agreement, evaluate:

• Experience level - Have we done this work before? If it's completely new, do you have capacity to learn while executing?
• System requirements - Do we have the infrastructure to manage complex reporting? Federal and state grants often require specific billing systems you'll need to invest in upfront.
• Donor management time - How much time will funder relations require? Some want deep involvement in how you spend their money. That's time your team isn't spending on mission work.
• Cash flow impact - If it's reimbursable, can we float the expenses? Being "rich on paper, broke in reality" is real. Do you have reserves or credit to wait for reimbursement?
• Strategic alignment - Does this align with our strategy, or is it just available money? Sometimes "no" is the right answer.

The hidden truth: Stakeholder management costs money. Federal grants might require system investments before you can even submit your first invoice. Restricted funding can lock you into programs that drift from your core mission.

The 2026 reality? Build your infrastructure first, then accept complex funding. Not the other way around.

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2. Creating cash flow forecasting systems

Grant reimbursement delays aren't going away. Neither are timing gaps between when you deliver services and when you get paid for them.

The problem isn't that you don't have money—it's that you can't see when it's coming. This creates the nightmare scenario where you have $500K in committed grants but can't make payroll this Friday.

The solution is building visibility directly into how you manage your cash flow. At Hiline, we call it the 13-week cash flow.

Why 13-week cash flow forecasts work:

Rolling 13-week cash flow forecasts changed the game for our nonprofit clients. Instead of reacting to crises, they can see 90 days ahead. They know when grant reimbursements will hit, when payroll is due, and whether they'll need to tap their line of credit, before the crisis happens.

Organizations that implement cash flow forecasting report significantly less financial stress. Not because their funding situation changed, but because they can finally see what's coming.

What this enables:

• Shift from reactive crisis management to proactive planning
• Leadership stops firefighting and starts making strategic decisions
• Board confidence increases with transparent, forward-looking data

3. Diversify your donation infrastructure

High-net-worth donors increasingly hold their wealth in assets, not cash. The average asset-based gift is over $8,000 compared to $150 for typical cash donations. Yet 90% of nonprofits can only accept checks and credit cards.

That's a massive gap. Donors want to give generously, but organizations lack the infrastructure to do so. I talk all about it with Karen Houghton here. 

The Mackenzie Scott lesson:

Look at what Mackenzie Scott demonstrated: $19 billion to 2,000 organizations, most of it unrestricted. The Center for Effective Philanthropy studied what happened next. Organizations didn't squander the money—they thrived. Why? Because unrestricted asset-based gifts let them invest in infrastructure, not just survive until the next payroll.

Modern donation infrastructure requires:

• Brokerage capabilities to accept and liquidate securities
• Cryptocurrency acceptance for tech-savvy and younger donors
• DAF integration to capture giving from donor-advised funds
• Transparent fund stewardship that shows donors how their gifts are invested and deployed
• Seamless experience from initial gift to acknowledgment to impact reporting

Critical evaluation questions:

• Are we equipped to accept the gifts our major donors actually want to give?
• What percentage of potential major gifts are we losing because we can't accept them?
• Do we have fiduciary partners who can help steward restricted gifts and endowments properly?
• Can we demonstrate to donors that we manage complex gifts with the same sophistication they expect from their wealth managers?

Donors conduct due diligence before making major commitments. The ability to accept diverse gift types signals operational maturity. Building this infrastructure before your next fundraising campaign positions you to capture gifts you'd otherwise miss.

The good news: You don't have to build all this in-house. Specialized platforms and fiduciary partners like Infinite Giving can provide enterprise-level donation infrastructure without requiring you to become experts in securities trading. This lets you focus on mission while ensuring professional gift stewardship.

4. Set up real-time financial reporting

Waiting 2-3 weeks after month-end to see your financial reports is like driving by looking in the rearview mirror. You're making decisions based on old information.

The 2026 standard is real-time dashboards that show your current cash position, grant balances, and program spending right now. Not three weeks ago.

Why this matters for nonprofit financial planning:

Integrated systems eliminate manual data entry. Fund accounting tracks restricted versus unrestricted funds automatically. Program-level visibility shows you which initiatives are actually sustainable.

The competitive advantage:

You can make data-driven decisions in days instead of weeks. When a new opportunity comes up, you can see immediately whether you have the capacity to take it on.

The board benefit:

Transparent, up-to-date reporting transforms your board from questioners into advocates. When they can see real-time financial health, they become confident ambassadors for your organization instead of gatekeepers asking the same variance questions every meeting.

5. Automate compliance systems

Finance teams are spending 20-30+ hours every week on manual grant reporting. That's time not spent on strategic analysis, planning, or anything else that moves the mission forward.

Before accepting any grant, ask: "Do we have the infrastructure to manage this well?"

Federal and state grants require specific billing systems. Foundation grants often have 15+ "soft requirements" beyond what's written in the agreement. Program officers' expectations can shift mid-grant, and suddenly you're managing new reporting requirements.

The 2026 priority: Systems that automate tracking, allocation, and compliance before you accept the funding.

When this works well, you get:

• Clean audit trails built into daily operations (no more scrambling before audits)
• Grant-specific reporting generated automatically
• Time shifted from data entry to strategic analysis

The strategic advantage: Clean systems mean you can confidently say yes to the right opportunities and no to the wrong ones. You're not taking on grants you can't manage well. You're not burning out your team trying to comply with requirements your systems can't handle.

The funding connection: Audit-ready systems signal competence to funders. They see an organization that has its act together operationally. That matters when they're deciding between your proposal and someone else's.

How these priorities work together

These aren't five separate to-do items. They're an interconnected system for effective nonprofit financial planning.

Here's the equation: Mission + Operational Credibility = Fundability

Donors don't just invest in missions. They invest in organizations they trust to steward their gifts well. All the passion in the world won't overcome doubts about your operational competence.

Without these systems, you get the doom loop:

• Poor cash visibility leads to leadership burnout
• Which leads to compliance failures
• Which leads to lost funding
• Which puts you right back in cash crisis

But with all five pieces working together, you get a virtuous cycle:

• Clear systems enable strategic leadership
• Which builds board confidence
• Which attracts mission growth
• Which generates sustainable funding
• Which lets you build even better systems

Your 2026 nonprofit financial planning roadmap

Rebecca Bostwick told me something else that stuck: "Problems don't age well."

Whatever financial operational challenge you're avoiding right now? It's not going to fix itself. Schedule that hard conversation.

What you can do this week:

• Download a 13-week cash flow template and start forecasting (we have one at Hiline if you need it)
• Audit your donation capabilities - Can you accept stock gifts? Crypto? DAF transfers?
• Review your board reporting - Are you sending 40-page QuickBooks printouts or executive dashboards?
• Before accepting your next grant - Run through the five evaluation questions from section one
• Block time for strategic thinking - Not just crisis management

When you're ready for strategic investment, partner with specialists who understand nonprofit complexity:

• Hiline for integrated accounting, HR, and operational systems
• Infinite Giving for sophisticated donation acceptance and asset management
• Board.dev for board effectiveness and governance

The right partners bring enterprise-level infrastructure without requiring you to build expertise in-house.

From survival mode to strategic growth

2026 won't be easier. Demand is rising, funding is uncertain, and competition for donors is intensifying.

But here's the differentiator: Organizations with operational credibility will win serious funding, and they'll have the systems to evaluate which funding is actually worth accepting.

You have a choice. Keep firefighting with outdated systems, or build the infrastructure that lets you make strategic decisions about mission and money.

Your community is counting on you for the long haul. That requires more than passion. It requires financial systems that signal you're built to scale and the wisdom to know which opportunities truly serve your mission.

Matt Gardner is Co-Founder and CEO of Hiline, which provides integrated accounting, HR, tax, and operational systems for nonprofits and small businesses. Connect with him on LinkedIn or at hiline.co.

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Check out our episode on Hiline's "Fiscally Awesome" podcast

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