If you have ever been a board member of a nonprofit organization, you already know that the financial health of the organization is extremely important. It is a major mechanism for how the organization gets things done and reaches its goals. Financial discussions and planning, as in our own personal lives, can be daunting—even overwhelming.

As an organization, we must be good stewards of the financial health of AOSW. This means creating a realistic budget and, on a daily basis, living within that budget, just as we do in our own lives. And just as we do in our own personal lives, we need to make decisions about the difference between our “needs” and “wants.”

Working together in a thoughtful manner, the AOSW Board is working hard to decide how to utilize the organization’s financial resources. What are our goals and what is our risk tolerance for our funds? Again, just as we do in our personal lives. But we must do this with our AOSW responsibilities in mind.

Being fiscally responsible doesn’t mean only being conservative with financial planning. It also means growing our resources and continuing to have them available to align our fiscal goals with our organizational goals and strategic plans.

We have some work to do as AOSW Board members as we look into the future of this wonderful organization. But the shirtsleeves have been rolled up and the fiscal hats are in place.