BEYOND THE RAINY DAY FUND: Rethinking How Your Nonprofit Structures Its Reserves
October 20, 2026 | 1pm ET
Webinar Description:
Many nonprofits and associations hold their reserves in a single blended portfolio, or segment only by time horizon, but that approach can leave dollars with different purposes competing for the same investment strategy.
This session walks Executive Directors and CFOs through how to segment reserves by purpose as well as time horizon, and how to translate that structure into a formal reserve policy your board can adopt and maintain. We’ll cover common reserve segments (operating, planned, stability, strategic, restricted), what belongs in a well-constructed reserve policy, and how it works alongside your Investment Policy Statement. You’ll leave with a practical framework to bring back to your finance committee.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Distinguish between segmenting reserves by time horizon alone versus by purpose, and explain why the distinction matters for investment strategy.
- Identify the typical reserve pools (operating, current-year, planned, stability, strategic, restricted) and match each to an appropriate time horizon and investment approach.
- Size stability/emergency and planned spending reserves based on revenue concentration and known upcoming needs, and recognize when remaining funds qualify as strategic reserve.
- List the core components a reserve policy should include — purpose, categories, target balances, conditions/authority for use, replenishment, and review cadence.
- Explain how a reserve policy and an Investment Policy Statement function as companion documents, and what belongs in each.
- Outline next steps for bringing a segmentation framework and draft policy to their board or finance committee for review and adoption.