Financial SCAN
Important Links
Situation and Comparables Analysis
Assessing a nonprofit's financial health is time-consuming and challenging. Which metrics and trends should you focus on and what do they mean? What should you consider when comparing organizations?
NFF and GuideStar have partnered to create Financial SCAN, an affordable, web-based way for nonprofits to show a clear, comprehensive picture of their financial condition and history. Financial SCAN brings meaning and insight to financial information, helping organizations make the connection between money and mission in financial reporting, communications and planning.
REVIEW A PRODUCT DEMO
Want to jump right in and see the Financial SCAN in use? Click on a link below for the video demonstration that best fits the kind of Financial SCAN user you are:
What’s in a Financial SCAN Report?
“At Surdna, we’re using Financial SCAN to help us manage the financial component of our due diligence in a more systematic way. Financial SCAN helps us foster discussion internally and with our grantees about the issues they are dealing with. It raises red flags that warrant further discussion and helps us understand trends in profitability, liquidity, liabilities and restricted funds. In combination with audited financials and organization and project budgets, Financial SCAN paints a powerful, comprehensive and visual picture of risks and opportunities associated with a potential grant. It provides great value for the cost.”
Jonathan Goldberg, Surdna Foundation
Financial Health Dashboard: What is the big picture?
The dashboard is a snapshot of up to five years of financial trends and ratios for a nonprofit. Knowing an organization’s past can guide decision-making and help stakeholders better understand opportunities and challenges.
Graphs & Data Interpretation: What can you learn from the financial details?
This section uses graphs to assess a nonprofit's profitability, expense trends, revenue dynamics, balance sheet health, and liquidity. It also includes a primer on financial terms and calculations, and analytical questions to help focus discussions.
Peer Comparables Analysis: How does a nonprofit look relative to its peers?
You can review a nonprofit’s financials side-by-side with up to five peers of your choice to better understand broader trends. Explore how differences in programs, environments, or populations served affect financials. And remember, peers may have different structures, access to resources and ways of working.
“Financial SCAN is easy to use and helps us see our organization’s financial statements with an investor’s eye. It is a valuable training tool for staff, helping them connect the work they do in the field to the financial information that foundations and other institutional investors use in making their funding decisions.”
Denise Galatas, Southern Mutual Help Association
Consultations: Develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding of a nonprofit's health
If you have questions about how to interpret the financial data in your report or need guidance on how to use this information for decision-making, please contact NFF at nonprofitfinancefund.org/financial-consultations. A seasoned NFF consultant can work with you to develop a customized approach to meeting your needs.
Nonprofit Services
how Financial SCAN can help:
Brought to you by NFF and GuideStar
Contact an NFF Consultant to Help Interpret Results:
If you have questions about how to interpret and use the financial data in your report, please contact NFF: consultations@nffusa.org. Learn more about our services here.
Things to keep in mind
- Financial SCAN draws data only from IRS Form 990 tax returns. Nonprofits that file the Form 990-EZ and foundations that file the Form 990-PF are not included in the SCAN analysis.
- Financial data and analysis should be paired with data on the impact and effectineness of an organization's progams
