The Emerging CFO Programme

Lead the finance function of the non-profit of the future.

A 12-week hybrid executive programme for senior finance, programmes, and grants leaders in NGOs, INGOs, and donor-funded organisations.
Designed for the realities of 2026 and beyond.

Pay the $999 early-interest fee to secure your seat. Standard $1,500 · Group $1,200/seat unlock when the early-bird window closes.

Starts 1 October 2026/Live + recorded/CPD accredited/MEET-UP IN NAIROBI/CFO Roadmap deliverable

The shift

The non-profit finance role is being rewritten in real time.

The CFO who got your organisation here will not be the CFO who gets you through the 2030s. The donor landscape is splintering. Restricted funding is shrinking. AI is reshaping every workflow your team owns. Cyber risk has moved from IT to the boardroom. And your CEO needs you to be a strategic partner, not just the person who shows up with the year-end management account.

The Emerging CFO Programme is built for finance leaders who can see this shift coming and want to be the answer to it.

Over 12 weeks, you will rebuild your view of what the modern non-profit finance function looks like- how it earns, how it protects itself, and how it leads. You will leave with a 12-month roadmap for your own organisation, peer relationships across board, and the language to speak credibly at the board, donor, and executive level.

88%

of non-profit CEOs say they need a more strategic CFO than they currently have, but most cannot define what that means in practice.

3 in 5

non-profit finance leaders report being expected to lead on AI, data, and digital transformation in 2026, with no formal training in any of them.

2 in 3

say they have not had a substantive executive development experience in the last five years.

globally recognised executive programmes are designed for the non-profit CFO role, contextualised and priced for the sector. Until now.

What you will learn

What you will be able to do by week 12.

The programme is built around ten capabilities. Each one maps to a module, a practical activity, and an artefact you keep.

Diagnose your finance function honestly.

Map your current operating model against ten capability areas the modern non-profit CFO needs to own, and identify the three biggest gaps in your team.

Read the funding landscape strategically.

Move beyond grant-by-grant thinking to a portfolio view of your organisation's revenue - bilateral, multilateral, philanthropic, earned, and blended.

Build and defend a credible budget.

Translate strategy into a multi-year financial plan that is honest about restricted vs unrestricted funding, full cost recovery, and risk.

Speak to the board with confidence.

Lead finance conversations at the board and executive level with framing, language, and data that change how trustees see you.

Lead on AI, responsibly.

Use AI to make your finance function faster and sharper without exposing your organisation to data, ethics, or donor risk.

Own cyber and digital risk.

Understand the threats your finance systems face, the controls the modern CFO oversees, and what to escalate to the board.

Diversify revenue with discipline.

Build a defensible position on earned income, social enterprise, and innovative financing - including impact investing and outcomes-based contracts.

Manage treasury across currencies.

Run cash, forex, and counterparty risk in multi-currency, multi-country environments without being caught short.

Negotiate with donors as a peer.

Hold the line on cost recovery, indirect costs, and unit economics with bilateral, multilateral, and philanthropic funders.

Lead through crisis.

Run a finance function during a funding shock, a fraud incident, a forex collapse, or a sudden donor exit, without losing your team or your nerve.

“They are not training you to be a better accountant. The training prepares you to be the finance leader your organisation will need in beyond 2026.”
SAM GRANT · MANAGING PARTNER & GRANTS MANAGEMENT EXPERT

How it works

Built for working leaders, not full-time students.

5 to 7 hours a week, structured so you can stay in your job. Every live session is recorded. Every reading list is curated and short. The summit is bundled into your fee.

Live, expert-led sessions

90 minutes every Saturday with a different non-profit finance leader, AI practitioner, donor representative, or sector expert. Recordings within 24 hours.

Self-paced application

Each week you complete a practical activity using your own organisation. By the end you have 12 artefacts that map directly to your day job.

In-person summit

Two days in London to defend your CFO Roadmap, meet your cohort, and hear from senior funders, CFOs, and faculty. 17 to 18 December 2026.

The 12-week journey

Weeks 1 to 4

Foundations

The CFO mandate, the funding landscape, strategic stewardship, and the board.

Weeks 5 to 9

Tools of the future CFO

AI fluency, digital risk, innovative financing, earned income, treasury and forex.

Weeks 10 to 12

Leading through complexity

Donor negotiations, crisis leadership, capstone, and in-person summit in London.

Curriculum

The 12 modules.

Every module is led by a recognised expert, paired with a practical activity you complete using your own organisation as the case. You leave with twelve usable artefacts plus your CFO Roadmap.

Phase 1 / Foundations

WK 01The New CFO Mandate

What the modern non-profit CFO is actually expected to own in 2026, and how this differs from the role you were trained for. You leave with a personal capability self-assessment.

WK 02Reading the Funding Landscape

A portfolio view of bilateral, multilateral, philanthropic, blended, and earned revenue, with current shifts you need to anticipate. You build a funding risk map for your organisation.

WK 03Strategic Stewardship

Moving the finance function from reporting on the past to shaping the future. You produce a strategic finance brief for your CEO.

WK 04Talking to the Board

How to write, structure, and present finance papers that change board behaviour. You redraft one real board paper you have written recently.

Phase 2 / Tools of the Future CFO

WK 05AI Fluency for the Non-Profit CFO

Where AI changes finance work, what it does not, and how to lead on it without exposing your organisation. You build a use-case map and risk register.

WK 06Digital Risk and Cyber Security

What the modern non-profit CFO is expected to oversee in cyber, data protection, and digital risk — and what to escalate. You produce a cyber risk briefing for your board.

WK 07Innovative Financing

Blended finance, impact investing, outcomes-based contracts, and how non-profits use them well or badly. You assess one financing instrument against your strategy.

WK 08Earned Income and Mission-Aligned Business Models

How to build a defensible earned income line without distorting your mission. You outline a business case for one earned income idea.

WK 09Treasury, Forex and Multi-Currency

Managing cash, currency, and counterparty risk across two or more countries. You design a treasury policy outline for your organisation.

Phase 3 / Leading Through Complexity

WK 10Donor Negotiations and Cost Recovery

Holding the line on indirect costs, full cost recovery, and unit economics in donor negotiations. You rehearse a live negotiation scenario with peers.

WK 11Crisis Leadership

Running a finance function through a funding shock, a fraud incident, or a sudden donor exit, without losing your team. You draft a finance crisis playbook.

WK 12Capstone and In-Person Summit

Two days in London to defend your CFO Roadmap, meet your cohort, and hear from senior funders, CFOs, and faculty. Tentative 17 to 18 December 2026.

The capstone

The CFO Roadmap.

Your capstone is a 12-month strategic roadmap for the finance function of your own organisation, built across the programme and defended in person at the summit.

Every module feeds into a section of it. By the time you reach London, you will have done the thinking, written the document, and be ready to present it to your peers, faculty, and a panel of senior funders and CFOs.

Most executive programmes ask you to write a case study. We ask you to write your own.

What you produce

· A 12–15 page strategic roadmap covering diagnosis, vision, capability investments, revenue thesis, resilience plan, donor relationship plan, 100-day action plan, and an ask of your board.
· A 5-slide executive summary deck.
· A 20-minute discussion with a panel at the in-person summit, with structured feedback.

What you do with it

· Use it as your operating plan when you return to your organisation.
· Take it to your managers & trustees as a strategic conversation.
· Anchor your performance objectives for the next 12 months.
· Carry it into your next role as evidence of how you think.

Who it's for

Who this programme is for.

For senior finance, programmes, and grants leaders stepping into, or already in, the most senior finance role in a non-profit, INGO, UN agency, or donor-funded organisation.
Most participants will have 7+ years of experience.

01 · Finance Director / Head of Finance

The Stepping-Up Finance Lead

You are a strong Finance Manager, Director or Leader who knows you can give more. Your CEO is increasingly looking to you for strategic input on funding, growth, and risk, and you want the frameworks and confidence to lead those conversations.

02 · CFO or Director of Finance

The Newly Appointed CFO

You are in the top finance seat for the first time, or recently moved into a much larger one. You want a community of peers and a structured way to build your mandate in the first 12 months.

03 · Director of Programmes, Head of Grants, or COO

The Programmes or Grants Leader

You sit next to the finance function and may end up running it. You want CFO-level fluency in funding, risk, and finance strategy without leaving your programmes background behind.

04 · Senior Finance Manager or equivalent

The Mid-Career Finance Professional

You have 8 to 12 years in non-profit finance and want to be ready when the next CFO opportunity opens, with the strategic frame, the deliverables, and the network to win it.

This is probably not right for you if…

· You are looking for a beginners course in non-profit finance or grants management.
Start with our Grants Management Accelerator instead.
· You are looking for an accounting qualification - this won't give you ACCA, CIMA, ACA, or CPA status.
· You cannot commit 2 to 4 hours a week for 12 weeks.
· You are looking for a corporate CFO programme. There are excellent ones, this is not one of them.

Faculty

Taught by practitioners, not academics.

There is no single Programme Director. We do not believe one person can credibly teach a non-profit CFO everything they need to know in 2026. Each module is led by a different senior practitioner.

Specialist depth

You hear from the person actually running an INGO treasury, not a consultant who has read about it.

Regional credibility

We include voices from across regions where our typical non-profits operate or are looking to expand into.

Network effect

By week 12 you will have direct contact with 10+ senior leaders in the sector in addition to peers from diverse locations.

Full faculty roster published 6 weeks before launch. Featured faculty profiles to follow.

In-person summit

Two days to close the programme.

The meet-up is the moment the cohort becomes a network. You will discuss your CFO Roadmap to a panel of senior professionals, hear from invited speakers, and spend two days in a room with peers who understand exactly what your week looks like. Recommended but not required for completion.

Summit details

Friday 30 to Saturday 31 October 2026
Nairobi, Kenya · Venue TBA
· Format: capstone defence, panel sessions, networking dinner, optional pre-summit field visit.
· Attendance required for completion and certification.

Included in your fee

· Two full days of programme content and panels
· Capstone defence and panel feedback
· Welcome reception and networking dinner
· Refreshments and lunch on both days
Travel and accommodation not included. Recommended hotel list and group rates provided.

Certification

CPD accredited.
University co-certification on track.

Cohort 1 is CPD accredited through The CPD Service UK. Completers receive a CPD certificate awarding between 50 and 70 CPD hours, recognised internationally by ACCA, CIMA, CPA Australia, IIA, and others.

What you receive on completion

· A Grants Institute London certificate of completion
· A CPD certificate stating CPD hours earned
· Associate Alumni status, with access to future GI events, peer circles, and reduced fees
· Your CFO Roadmap document, ready to take into your role

Fees & scholarships

Fees, scholarships, and how to pay.

Priced for the sector, not the corporate market. The fee includes the full 12 weeks, the in-person summit in Nairobi, all materials, and CPD accreditation.

Early-bird (until 15 July 2026)$999

Standard (after 15 July 2026)$1,500

Group rate (3+ from one organisation)$1,200 per person

Cohort 1 scholarships

We award one full scholarship and four half scholarships per cohort, prioritising small and mid-size local organisations in Africa and Asia.

Payment terms

· Full payment taken on application acceptance.
· Payment plans on request: two 50% instalments, first on registration and second by 31 August October 2026.
· Invoicing available for sponsoring organisations.

Refund policy

Full refund up to 7 days before programme start. 50% refund up to 14 days in. No refund thereafter. Deferral to a future cohort may be offered at the Convener's discretion.

Apply

How to apply.

The programme is application based, not first-come-first-served. We keep cohort quality high and balance the room geographically and by experience level.

Submit your application

A short online form (~2 minutes). We ask about your role, your organisation, and what you want from the programme including the finance challenge you most want to crack.

Brief application call

If shortlisted, a 20-minute conversation with the Programme Convener. This will be a two-way conversation to confirm fit, not an interview.

Offer and onboarding

Successful applicants receive an offer the same day. On acceptance you join the cohort group and gain access to pre-programme materials.

Cohort 1 key dates

Applications openThursday 18 June 2026

Early-bird deadline ($999)Sunday 12 July 2026

Applications closeFriday 31 July 2026

Pre-programme orientationWeek of 3 August 2026

Programme startsFriday 14 August 2026

In-person summit, NairobiFriday 30 to Saturday 31 October 2026

Waitlist

Secure your seat with the $999 early-interest fee.

Cohort 1 starts 1 October 2026. Standard and Group tiers unlock when the early-bird window closes.

Joining the waitlist reserves your place. Our team confirms next steps within 48 hours.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

The questions we get most often, answered honestly. If yours is not here, get in touch.

The non-profit finance leaders the sector needs in the 2030s are being made now.

Cohort 1 applications open 18 June 2026. Early-bird closes 12 July and all applications close 31 July. Programme starts 14 August. Twenty-eight places. One full scholarship. Four half scholarships.

If you can see yourself in this, it is not an accident. This programme is built for you.

Have a question? Email emergingCFO@grants.institute

GRANTS INSTITUTE LONDON · THE EMERGING CFO PROGRAMME · COHORT 1 · AUGUST TO OCTOBER 2026