Outgrown a Bookkeeper. Can't Yet Justify a CFO. That's Where We Operate.
Because your board doesn't need another monthly report — they need a financial thinking partner.
Fractional CFO services for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations — grounded in 30 years of nonprofit CFO experience and delivered through our proprietary VRRR financial strategy framework.
What a Fractional CFO Actually Does.
Most nonprofits and small mission-driven organizations reach a point where the finances have outgrown a bookkeeper but can’t yet justify a full-time CFO. That gap is where we operate.
We embed as your fractional CFO — reviewing your financials with executive judgment, sitting in on board finance committee meetings, translating numbers for your executive director and staff, building the scenario models your funders and grantors want to see, and helping you make the financial decisions that keep mission and money aligned.
This is not outsourced bookkeeping. This is not tax preparation. This is senior financial leadership delivered on a fractional basis — typically 10 to 40 hours per month depending on your organization’s size and complexity.
Who Engages Us for Fractional CFO Work.
A nonprofit executive director in the $3M to $20M budget range where the financial complexity has outpaced your current staff capacity.
A Head Start or Early Head Start program director navigating federal cost principles, indirect cost rate negotiations, non-federal share requirements, and OHS reporting cadence. We’ve built deep specialization here across the DMV region.
A board chair or finance committee lead who’s realized your ED needs a financial thinking partner — not another report to review.
An interim leadership team covering a CFO departure while you conduct a search.
What a Typical Engagement Looks Like.
Monthly financial review and executive briefing
We review your monthly financial statements with executive judgment — not just accuracy — flagging what your ED and board actually need to know.
Board and finance committee support
We attend board finance committee meetings, prepare board-ready financial packages, and coach your ED on financial narrative for full board presentations.
Budget development and scenario planning
Annual budget builds, mid-year re-forecasts, and multi-scenario planning for funding changes, program launches, or organizational shifts.
Grant and contract financial oversight
Budget vs. actual tracking by grant, indirect cost rate application, allowable cost analysis, and grantor reporting reviews. Head Start expertise a specialty.
Audit preparation and coordination
Pre-audit financial review, PBC list preparation, auditor coordination, and management letter response.
Cash flow forecasting
Rolling 13-week cash forecasts, receivables aging analysis, and runway modeling.
Financial policy and internal controls review
Segregation of duties assessment, spending authority policy, expense reimbursement policy, and financial governance documentation.
Interim CFO coverage
Full CFO scope during a search or leadership transition — including hiring committee support for your permanent CFO hire.
Engagement structure: monthly retainer, typically 10 to 40 hours per month, scoped after the discovery call.
The VRRR Financial Strategy Framework.
Most fractional CFO work runs on task lists and monthly close checklists. Ours runs on a framework we’ve built and refined over three decades of nonprofit financial leadership — VRRR.
V — Visibility
Before we make any recommendation, we make the current financial picture visible to everyone who needs to see it. Cash position, grant balances, indirect cost recovery, restricted vs. unrestricted, board-designated reserves, and multi-year trend lines — all in a format your ED and board can actually read.
R — Runway
We model the organization’s financial runway under multiple scenarios. Runway modeling turns anxiety into decision.
R — Resilience
With visibility and runway established, we build financial resilience into the operating model — reserves policy, unrestricted revenue diversification, indirect cost rate negotiation.
R — Results
Finally, we tie every financial decision back to mission results. Board reports show what mission outcome the spending produced.
VRRR is why our clients say the financial conversation in their organization feels different within the first 90 days.
What Changes After 90 Days.
Concrete outcomes clients typically report after the first quarter of engagement:
- A monthly financial reporting rhythm your ED and board actually trust
- A rolling 13-week cash forecast updated weekly
- A board finance committee that walks out of meetings having made decisions, not asked questions
- A grants pipeline view that shows real economic performance, not just award totals
- A resolved indirect cost rate strategy (for federally funded organizations)
- A financial policy set that would pass audit and satisfy grantors
- An ED who sleeps better on Sunday nights because they know what next week looks like
We measure success in the second one, not the first.
Where We've Done This Work.
Our founder Raj Kapur has served as CFO or fractional CFO for nonprofit organizations across three decades, spanning multi-million-dollar turnarounds, mergers, program launches, and organizational transformations.
Recent and current fractional CFO engagements include Adventist HealthCare Lourie Center Head Start and a growing portfolio of Head Start and Early Head Start organizations across the DMV region.
References available on request.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Not Sure If You Need a Fractional CFO Yet?
That’s exactly what the discovery call is for. Forty five minutes with Raj Kapur to talk through your current financial reality and get an honest read on whether fractional CFO support makes sense for your organization right now.