Nonprofit governance in practice
Board service with 350 Chicago
The treasurer role keeps the work honest: every financial decision has an operational consequence and every commitment creates work somewhere.
Treasurer work
I serve as Board Treasurer of 350 Chicago. The role includes financial oversight, budgets, reporting, commitments, cash timing, board decisions and the capacity required to carry them out.
The job is not just reviewing numbers after the fact. It means helping the board understand what the organization can commit to, where reporting obligations sit and how financial decisions affect real staff and volunteer capacity.
Capacity and governance
One of the hardest nonprofit problems is that people often see the need before the structure can support the work. The board may want growth while staff are already carrying too much. Funding may arrive on one timeline while expenses and obligations appear on another.
The board needs current cash, restricted-fund obligations, staffing and volunteer capacity, committed work, reporting deadlines, and the owner of each action before approving another commitment.
Financial records are necessary, but the board must also review operational workload, available capacity, required learning, and external obligations.