Just about 10 years ago, I was brought to a dinner party by a good friend. By way of introduction, my friend announced that I was visiting from Vermont where I was in grad school. Someone said, “Grad school in Vermont? With all the hippies up there?” My friend replied, “Yep, she’s a Tree Hugger!”
 
I remember bristling at the time, both because I worried the crowd wouldn’t respond well to the Tree Hugger label, and also because I never really thought of myself that way. (Truth be told, I bristle at pretty much any label applied to people – labels are for food and packages. Not for humans.) But I realized later that being called a Tree Hugger was actually a critical moment for me. From that point on, I started to embrace my innate passion for nature, conservation, ecology, and protection of our natural resources.
 
When I was a little kid, I was outside as much as I could be, especially after we moved from my birthplace of New York to North Carolina (mountains!) and then later to Florida (beach and climbing oak trees!). I was one of those kids who always came home filthy and was sent straight to the bath. I used to run around the woods by our house barefoot, delighting in the feel of grass and earth between my toes. I played outside in the rain constantly and stared out the living room window whenever a thunderstorm put on a lightning show for, in my mind, my own viewing pleasure.
 
My parents brought me up with a keen sense of respect for and love of all that nature has to provide. As I grew up, one of the only clubs at school I joined and actually liked was the Ecology Club. We studied the weather and hosted coastal cleanups around the Tampa Bay area, where I made collecting trash on the beach into a competitive sport.
 
I suppose that deep down it just always made sense to me that we should be the guardians and stewards of our Mother Earth – that if we fail, we will ultimately become extinct, or at the very least, homeless.
 
The fact that so many of my fellow Earth-dwellers simply do not accept their responsibility as caretakers and stewards of the planet drives me absolutely nuts. With all the data and scientific tools we have today, we know – we KNOW – that we are:

• Drowning in our own trash
  • Americans throw away their body weight in garbage every month on average
• Ignoring the effects of climate change and the security risks it poses, never mind the risks to life and property
  • The US Department of Defense has something to say about it, and it’s not good
• Recklessly polluting our water, air, and now (because we can?), space (NASA has to track space waste now!)

 
Needless to say, I continue to be a passionate advocate for the work done by conservation and environmental education organizations around the country, but especially at home here in Florida. As Den Mother at Blue Fox, I proudly support a focus on service to nonprofits and social enterprises that operate in these arenas. From electronic recyclers to conservation organizations to environmental engineers, each of these Blue Fox clients play a critical role in safeguarding and protecting our natural resources. We are honored to serve them and help magnify their impact in a small but meaningful way.
 
If you’re considering making a charitable donation this holiday season, please: send some (or all!) of your dollars to a nonprofit that you trust to make an environmental impact. The global focus on environmental improvements since the first Earth Day in 1970 are impressive! We can accomplish big, great things when we put our political and financial will to work for a cause.
 
I am a Tree Hugger – there’s no denying it. Question is: are you?

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Author:  Founder & CEO, the Original Blue Fox, Chantal Sheehan, MS, CFP(r)
​
Company Info: Our team at Blue Fox provides customized, boutique financial and back office services for social impact organizations. Services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services, to coaching and consulting, to full-blown virtual CFO services. Our mission is to disrupt the traditional accounting model through technology, innovation, and a radically client-focused approach that truly empowers nonprofits and social enterprises. For more information call (321) 233-3311, email [email protected], and visit www.YourBlueFox.com.

​Yesterday, I was wandering the interwebs looking for US-based conferences dedicated to nonprofit finance. Know how many I found? 1. Precisely – 1. Whaaaattt??? That can’t be right! Can it?!
 
In an effort to be charitable (haha – pun intended!) to any conferences I did not find, let’s handicap the wide world web’s results and offer that there could be some conferences out there that didn’t come up in a Google search due to some SEO-related reason. Let’s say there are 10, just for argument’s sake.
 
Now anyone, in any industry, but especially a leader in the social impact space, must know that there are 1000s of conferences every year. Indeed, there are ad nauseum lists online of the Top 10, Top 15, Top 20, even Top 65 nonprofit conferences each year. And yet, only a handful (or 1!) is dedicated to the financial-layperson-cum-nonprofit-leader?!?!
 
Reconcile that with constant hum in the social impact space that chants, “Be sustainable. Earn revenue, don’t just solicit donations. Insure your organization’s future. Be responsible stewards of your donor dollars.”
 
How do those two things line up for you? It’s a paradox, wouldn’t you say?
 
If you are a nonprofit or social enterprise leader, you know the value of a trusted accountant, bookkeeper, or board treasurer. If you’re lucky enough to have one of these magical, numerically gifted unicorns in your life, you know you need to treat them like gold.

That’s because without a good financial manager in place, your organization operates at its own peril. The wheels of the bus take no time to come off if you don’t understand your financials and are blindsided by unforeseen events.
 
So why, oh why, Sweet Universe, are there not more gatherings focused on nonprofit finance and financial leadership?
 
I offer two possible reasons:

1. Sexiness. Money, and talking about money, isn’t sexy. It’s hard. It’s uncomfortable. It’s raw. And if you’re lacking confidence in financial management, it makes you incredibly, painfully vulnerable.
2. Taboo. Money conversations in Western culture are taboo. Many of us are taught to avoid the subject in public as often as we can (it’s in the same category as religion and politics). Take the personal taboos around money and TRIPLE them when it comes to nonprofits and money. Got a cash flow problem? Tell NO ONE. Don’t know how to read your balance sheet? PLAY DUMB and defer to the finance committee chair at board meetings.

 
The ironic thing about our avoidance of finance as a topic is that the avoidance only serves to deepen our dysfunction with money and increase our feelings of incompetence. Nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs who fail to build their own capacity in finance are tying their own hands and blindly trusting someone else with “the numbers.”
 
Is that right? Is it healthy? Is it okay? I’m not one to judge. But it’s certainly not functional.
 
Major donors and institutional investors/funders everywhere want to see the impact of their investments. They encourage their grantees to network and learn how to be better leaders, better fundraisers, and better managers.

But, alas, no money, no mission. No money, no leadership needed.
 
Times are flush again for nonprofits. But remember about 10 years ago when they weren’t? Remember when organizations were shuttering and merging at breakneck pace? Remember when every funder didn’t want to be your only funder, and when “social enterprise” and “sustainable revenue streams” first came into nonprofit parlance?

The Great Recession spurred innovation and scrappiness from an already scrappy nonprofit sector. But where are we now? Where is the capacity building grant for financial education? Where is the investment in helping nonprofit leaders become A+ students in finance?
 
Answer: I have no idea.
 
Happily, that’s why I launched Blue Fox. Financial services for nonprofits and socially responsible business leaders and coaching to level up your financial knowledge. It’s all here.
 
You’ve come to the right place…  What we can do for you?

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Author:  Founder & CEO, the Original Blue Fox, Chantal Sheehan, MS, CFP(r)
​
Company Info: Our team at Blue Fox provides customized, boutique financial and back office services for social impact organizations. Services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services, to coaching and consulting, to full-blown virtual CFO services. Our mission is to disrupt the traditional accounting model through technology, innovation, and a radically client-focused approach that truly empowers nonprofits and social enterprises. For more information call (321) 233-3311, email [email protected], and visit www.YourBlueFox.com.