Sandi McKinley
After more than 20 years serving nonprofits she founded SectorWind, a consulting firm that works with leaders and philanthropies to build financial strength and strategic resilience within their organizations.
Sandi is drawn to this work because she knows it is critical to address the structural inequities and inefficiencies in how money is dispersed and used in the nonprofit sector.
Prior to SectorWind, Sandi was Vice President of Advisory Services at Nonprofit Finance Fund where she served for nearly 14 years, including on the Advisory Services Leadership Team, where she led day-to-day activities of the national consulting team, ensuring that services provided to nonprofits and funders were innovative, relevant, and accessible. She created and grew signature services including the Financial Leadership Clinic, Program Economics Analysis, and the original Full Cost Methodology.
Before joining NFF, Sandi provided strategic and philanthropic advice to foundations and family offices and their grantees. And previously she served in leadership roles for the Institute of Contemporary Art, American Repertory Theater at Harvard University and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sandi has worked with over 1,000 nonprofit clients, deepening her insight into the array of opportunities and challenges that nonprofit leaders face related to management, strategy, and financial health. She is a sought-after authority on nonprofit finance and strategic resilience, is a regular writer and speaker on those topics, and has made multiple media appearances.
Sandi holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rosemont College and a Master of Business Administration from Simmons College School of Management, where she also serves as a faculty member. She serves on several nonprofit boards and regularly speaks and writes about the role of nonprofit finance, strategic resilience, and the nature of money in the nonprofit sector.
She is an avid hiker and resides near Boston with her husband, two teenage sons and five pets.
In a rapidly shifting policy and economic landscape, nonprofits and philanthropic organizations must be prepared for multiple possible futures. This one-hour session introduces leaders to the fundamentals of scenario planning, distinct from contingency planning, and is an essential tool for strategic foresight and decision-making.
Participants will:
- Identify Critical Uncertainties – Explore key drivers of change shaping the sector.
- Develop Rapid Scenarios – Explore ways to identify plausible future scenarios.
- Assess Strategic Implications – Consider how different futures might impact organizational strategy, funding, and advocacy.
- Take Action – Leave with concrete next steps for integrating scenario thinking into your organization's planning
- This session is designed to provide a high-level yet impactful introduction to scenario planning, equipping leaders with a structured approach to navigating uncertainty.
Please choose one session per 1:45pm time slot.
Presenter: Sandi McKinley, Founder, SectorWind
Speakers: Sandi McKinley
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