The Real Cost of Impact: Understanding Your Nonprofit's True Costs (presented by Nonprofit Support Group)

Date & Time: MONDAY, September 21, 2026 | Time: 9:30am - 4:30pm

Register Here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/deyh3uc

Workshop Overview: 

 Most nonprofit leaders are making high-stakes financial decisions without a clear picture of what their programs actually cost to deliver, which leaves them undervalued in funder conversations and stretched thin in their own budgets. This full-day workshop gives participants the tools and language to identify their true costs, build budgets that reflect reality, and walk into funder conversations with confidence. The day closes with an introduction to scenario planning and financial modeling, so participants leave with a path from understanding their costs to planning for the future with them. This session will be led by Stephanie Skryzowski from 100 Degrees Consulting.

What We Will Cover:

This session is designed for nonprofit leaders, finance staff, and program leads serving the 8 counties of WNY and Monroe who want to move from undervalued to fully funded. This session is also open to funders who want to better understand the costs nonprofits are facing. Participants should bring their current operating budget, a program or grant budget, a chart of accounts, and recent financial statements to work with their own numbers throughout the day. This workshop is designed specifically for nonprofit leaders and funding professionals and is therefore not open to consultants.

Workshop Agenda:

A full-day, in-person workshop on Monday, September 21, 2026, running from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM at Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship (150 Sawgrass Dr, Rochester, NY 14620). The day moves from foundational understanding into hands-on application using each participant’s own organizational data and closes with a forward-looking block on scenario planning and financial modeling.

•  9:30 – 10:00 Welcome, framing, and why true costs matter
• 10:00 – 11:00 Setting the foundation: financial picture, chart of accounts, programs, and grants
• 11:00 – 11:15 Break
• 11:15-12:30 Identifying and allocating your true costs: direct, indirect, and shared
• 12:30 – 1:30 Lunch
• 1:30 – 2:30 Building budgets and forecasts that reflect true costs
• 2:30 – 3:30 Calculating your indirect cost rate and crafting your rate story
• 3:30 – 3:45 Break
• 3:45 – 4:30 Looking ahead: scenario planning, contingency budgeting, and financial