What are opportunities for improvement based on the benchmarking,and what strengths and weaknesses does the benchmarking suggest?

F I N A N C I A L  A N D  S T R A T E G I C  A N A L Y S I S  O F  A  S O C I A L  S E C T O R  O R G A N I Z A T I O N

For the final team project, each team is to select one social sector organization as the focus of its work.
The organization can be a nonprofit / NGO, a social enterprise (for–profit or not–for–profit) or a
governmental entity. Teams should have access to the organization’s financial information (typically
from IRS Form 990) as well as its audited financial statements. (Organizations’ websites and GuideStar 
Candid can be a source of this information. GuideStar premium memberships seem to be automatic
when logging in from an NYU physical location). You should also be sure that you will be able to obtain
impact data for the organization you choose. This is increasingly available online through organizations’
websites.

Be sure to incorporate material and tools from across the course. The presentation and memo should include the following items:

1. A very brief description of the organization, its history and intended impact.

2. A benchmarking of the organization’s financial, operating and impact performance against
comparable programs and organization. What are opportunities for improvement based on the
benchmarking,and what strengths and weaknesses does the benchmarking suggest? (This is in
essence a “landscape scan”).

3. A financial and impact performance dashboard of the subject organization and a description of
the thinking behind the dashboard. Why are the measures you have chosen the most important
for the organization?

4. An analysis of the organization’s financial condition that highlights areas of strength and
especially risks (any financial weaknesses, threats, areas of concern, misalignment, or potential
external forces that may have come to light in the landscape scan). Please be sure to use
financial statement analysis in your assessment.

5. Most importantly, based on your benchmarking and financial analysis,provide recommendations to improve (a) the organization’s financial performance and (b) the alignment between the organization’s finances and its strategy.