Congratulations Charlie Barnes, CFO of Disability Rights North Carolina
Charlie Barnes, Chief Financial Officer of Disability Rights NC, has been presented Triangle Business Journal's 2010 CFO of the Year Award for Small Nonprofits (annual budget under $5 million).
As the organization's founding CFO, Charlie created all of the fiscal systems necessary to operate a sizable nonprofit organization that is funded with multiple restricted grants. Executive Director Vicki Smith credits Charlie with playing a prominent role in managing the organization's enormous growth during an economic downturn.
Disability Rights NC has seen tremendous growth since July 1, 2007 when it opened its doors as the federally mandated protection and advocacy system for persons with disabilities in North Carolina. Starting with 26 staff members and a budget of $300,000 in July 2007, the organization now has a staff of 42 and an annual budget of nearly $3 million.
Charlie applauded by federal fiscal reviewer
Charlie's expert handling of the grant funding resources was recognized in late 2008 when the organization's leadership met with a federal review team charged with examining the organization's policies and procedures. After a thorough examination of the accounting policies and practices, the fiscal reviewer reported "this is the first time, and I have done hundreds of reviews, that I did not find any area that needs improvement - this is the first time!"
What keeps Charlie busy?
As CFO, Charlie directs all financial operations of the organization. He manages seven federal grants and two private foundation grants that fund the organization's work, and he reports quarterly to the federal agencies that issue the grants. Managing the grant expenditures to ensure maximum program impact requires careful balancing. Each grant provides funding for advocacy and legal work for a specific subgroup of people with disabilities (e.g. mental illness, development disability, traumatic brain injury). Charlie has been instrumental in creating tools and systems to monitor spending for each of the grants. He helped develop an electronic timekeeping system which links spending to the organization's annual priorities and cases. He provides regular reports to the board of directors, management team and team leaders on the grant fund balances, including graphs and charts that demonstrate the impact of adjustments to program spending. Charlie's detailed and user-friendly reports help the team leaders manage program spending.
Charlie has dedicated his career to working with nonprofits. Before joining Disability Rights NC, Charlie was the Senior VP of Finances at Easter Seals UCP NC for 23 years. Charlie has been an avid marathon and ultra runner for close to thirty years and sits on the board of the NC Ultra Running Association.
Read Charlie's interview in the Triangle Business Journal (7/16/10) http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2010/07/19/focus7.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article&b=1279512000%5e3655001