How did the winners of the Association TRENDS 2023 Nonprofit CFO of the Year awards achieve their success? They benefited from CEOs who nurtured their career growth. They were put in positions of broad responsibility early in their careers. They embrace a sense of mission. They overcame challenges like corporate bankruptcies, personnel changes, real-estate moves and CEO transitions.  

They didn’t see themselves solely as accountants; they learned to think strategically. They were the first in the door in the morning, and the last out at night. They put themselves forward for more senior roles. So much so that they hold titles above that of CFO, such as EVP and COO. 

Nonprofit CFO of the Year Justin Waller, EVP and COO of the $204 million-revenue U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told CEO Update he took on greater responsibilities early in his career, first at magazine publisher Atlantic Media and then at newspaper publisher Gannett. He was recruited to Atlantic after graduating from Duke University and later earned an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. 

He was able to rise in part because Atlantic Media didn’t have a deep bench of executives on the financial side, and in part because he worked long hours, he said. 

“If you’re the first one in and the last one out and want to really drive outcomes, people see that and give more to you,” he said. 

Ann Bittman, Association CFO of the Year, is EVP and COO of the $24 million-revenue Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA). But her first association job came in 1989, two years after graduating with an accounting degree from Georgetown University. She became an accounting manager for what was then known as the Grocery Manufacturers of America (now the Consumer Brands Association). There, she interacted with CEOs of major American companies. 

Bittman worked for a succession of association CEOs who trusted their subordinates and encouraged their careers, such as the late George Koch; his successor at the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Manly Molpus; and Henson Moore at the American Forest & Paper Association. 

While she was working for Moore, the group’s CFO left. Bittman boldly put her hat in the ring, even though it was a stretch from the role she then held. 

“I talked to [Moore] and said, ‘I think I can do this job. Give me some time, don’t hire anyone.’” 

Someone with more experience got the job, but Moore encouraged Bittman to take the lesser role of senior director of finance and controller. 

“A year later, I was promoted to the CFO job. Henson was right,” Bittman said. “Taking the No. 2 financial position enabled me to learn about the organization and its numerous financial and organizational issues so that when the opportunity presented itself, I was the best candidate.” 

As she moved up the ranks, Bittman strived not to be a “CF no”—constantly telling others they can’t have the money they ask for.  

“I worked hard to try and say, ‘We want to be a resource. You are internal customers; how can we change things to support you? How can we streamline things?’’’ she said. 

“Something else I try to do is connect the budget to the strategic plan,” Bittman said. “To help my staff and other staff see where they fit into HDA priorities.” 

Navigating CEO transition 

When it came to meeting challenges, Philanthropic CFO of the Year Rick Robinson had his fair share. Robinson, who is COO and CFO of the $5.5 million-revenue Independent Sector, inherited an organization in late 2019 that had seen a complete turnover of its fundraising staff, was approaching a CEO transition, was on the verge of increasing its DEI efforts, and found itself owning and leasing office space during the pandemic’s remote work era. 

Robinson was interim CEO for a few months in late 2022 and early 2023 following the departure of longtime CEO Dan Cardinali and before Akilah Watkins started.  

The organization also received a $6 million donation in 2020 from novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. That presented a challenge because it was a one-time donation. 

“You have to keep your eye on the size of your infrastructure and your overhead because it’s not a perpetual gift,” he said. 

But Robinson had overcome challenges before, particularly when he was the first COO with a business mindset at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 

“They had not had a COO and I had been consulting not just in finance but in operational strategy,” he said. “So, it was a way to take the tool kit that I built professionally and put it back to work in a nonprofit setting.” 

Whether in a nonprofit or for-profit environment, customers, donors and members have to want to keep coming back. 

“You have to deliver value because your members can opt in or opt out,” Robinson said. 

Independent Sector plans to sell its building at 16th and L Streets NW in Washington, D.C., pending board approval. 

Engaging members 

Like Robinson, Waller must ensure that the Chamber keeps members engaged. The association does not charge dues but instead relies on companies committing to levels of funding depending on the issues the Chamber is advocating on. 

“We generally try to first listen to what our members’ goals are and then present them with a proposal for their investment in any one year,” he said. 

Such an arrangement can cause revenues to change significantly from year to year. 

“Our finances are in the best shape they’ve been in over 20 years,” Waller said. “And part of that is running the chamber as our companies do, and having a mind for client service and making sure that those members are happy with what we do.” 

Waller started at the Chamber as a senior adviser in 2015, later rising to chief marketing officer and SVP of operations and then EVP and COO.  

He had to oversee renovations to the Chamber’s 100-year-old building on H Street NW, in Washington, D.C., just across Lafayette Park near the White House, working in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Work proceeded through the pandemic even as unrest roiled the area following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in May 2020.  

“That would probably be the one that was [my biggest challenge] but it was great to see so many people rise to the occasion to keep all of our neighbors safe and to get the building project done on time and on budget,” Waller said. 

His last promotion, in 2021, coincided with longtime Chamber CEO Tom Donohue stepping down. 

“We were going to face our first CEO transition in 25 years, and there was an opportunity to get the organization prepared for that, and also just to invest in modernizing and transforming the business side so that all of the advocacy work that we do can have even more wind at its back,” he said. “A lot of my focus here has been on investing in top talent that can drive the modernization — investing in our brand, being bold about who we are and proud of it, and investing in our technology.” 

Mission-focused 

Neither Bittman nor Robinson liked public accounting, which is how they started their careers. Bittman started at what is now CohnReznick, and Robinson at Arthur Andersen. 

“I didn’t like how I was going to different clients, and they all just wanted to get you out of there as quickly as possible. And I hated billing my hours,” Bittman said. 

In his 20s, Robinson got a taste of working for a mission-focused organization during his time at the Carter Center; as associate director of finance and administration, he got to interact with former President Jimmy Carter. Later in his career, after getting his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he worked at Circuit City in roles including director of corporate development as the electronics retailer filed for bankruptcy protection. 

“That has stayed with me, this responsibility in a leadership position to make sure that I’m humble where I need to be, and decisive about the stability of the organization,” Robinson said. “You see the impact on people, it’s really devastating. It has forced me personally to take the responsibility more seriously as well as make sure that I’m joining a place that I feel has good leadership.” 

The Association TRENDS Nonprofit CFO of the Year Awards ceremony will be held Oct. 4, from 4-6 p.m., at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. 

The 2023 Nonprofit CFO of the Year Awards also recognize an esteemed class of rising stars in the nonprofit financial space. Read more.