When Nonprofit Finance Meets Nonprofit Mission: Real Talk from the Frontlines

The Nonprofit Show

When finance and mission meet, it's often a delicate dance—but Terri Sorrentino, Director of Finance and Administration at Friends of Karen, shows that collaboration can be both powerful and transformative. In this candid and compassionate episode, Terri walks us through how her organization supports families of children facing life-threatening illnesses and how operational departments—often hidden from public view—become the engine behind meaningful impact.

FriendsOfKaren.org serves over 1,200 children annually, most battling cancer. What sets them apart? A comprehensive approach that uplifts the entire family—from social workers who visit homes and hospitals to child life specialists focused on siblings, all delivered with empathy and financial relief. Yet behind this emotional mission is a finely tuned financial machine—and a finance leader who sees herself not as a gatekeeper, but a guide.

Terri shares the often unseen tension between program needs and accounting rules, especially in emotionally charged scenarios. "Everyone has their role and every role is important...we're all trying to get to the same place, which is to help the families," she shares. Her approach centers on open communication, mutual respect, and ongoing staff education on budgeting and reporting.

Terri also dives into the evolving demands of grant reporting, emphasizing that funders now want more than expense breakdowns. They seek data-driven impact narratives that quantify emotional and advocacy-based work—especially the cost of social workers, a vital but often overlooked pillar of the mission.

This informative dialog explores how organizations can better prepare for audits without compromising compassion, and how relationships between finance, fundraising, and programming must be built on shared goals, not silos. Through storytelling and systems thinking, Terri exemplifies how to lead with heart and structure—ensuring that every dollar, spreadsheet, and report ultimately serves the mission.

00:00:00 Welcome and guest introductions

00:02:29 Mission of Friends of Karen

00:03:35 Sibling support and family-centered care

00:05:11 How COVID strengthened operations

00:06:47 Finance’s role in a mission-driven nonprofit

00:07:40 Three pillars: fundraising, finance, programming

00:10:09 Managing stress across departments

00:12:27 Building comfort with budgeting and numbers

00:15:04 Balancing compassion with compliance

00:16:30 The growing demands of grant reporting

00:21:12 Fast vs. meaningful reporting

00:24:26 Defining true mission costs for donors

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