The decisions you make today shape what your organization can do ten years from now.
We help mission-driven organizations develop financial plans that align their resources with their mission and long-term goals, so boards and leaders can see where they're headed and weigh big decisions before they make them.
One organization's next ten years, planned before they arrive.
A regional land conservancy protects more than 20,000 acres of farmland, forest, and river frontage. Hannah is its executive director. Owen chairs the board's finance committee. Follow their plan in six chapters.
An illustrative organization. Names, figures, and projections are hypothetical and do not represent an actual client or predict future results.
Know where you stand
Before looking ahead, we looked closely at today: how cash moves through the conservancy's year, how much it holds in reserve, how easily its assets can be reached, and what it spends to carry out its mission.
What we do
Develop financial plans that align your organization's resources with its mission and long-term goals, starting with an evaluation of cash flow, liquidity, reserves, and spending needs.
What you leave with
A clear picture of your organization's financial position today.
Look ahead
Then we projected ten years forward. Costs were rising faster than revenue, a major grant would end in 2028, and every newly protected acre added stewardship costs. If nothing changed, reserves would slowly run down.
What we do
Help your organization plan for future financial needs and changing circumstances.
What you leave with
A view of where your finances are headed, while there's still time to change course.
Set the rules for reserves and the endowment
With Hannah and Owen's committee, we developed strategies for the reserve and the endowment: a reserve target of six to nine months of expenses, an endowment spending policy the board could hold steady, and a rule that surplus years rebuild reserves first.
What we do
Develop strategies for managing your endowment and reserve assets.
What you leave with
Clear policies for how much to keep, and how much to spend.
Connect the plan to the portfolio
A financial plan and an investment strategy have to agree. The reserve is invested for stability and access, the endowment for the long term, and operating cash is timed to when it will be spent. The endowment's annual distribution is built into the plan, year by year.
What we do
Coordinate financial planning with your organization's investment strategy and operating needs.
What you leave with
A plan and a portfolio working toward the same goals.
Test the big decision first
When a 1,200-acre ranch along the river came up for sale, the board had to decide quickly. We modeled the options side by side: buy now with a bridge loan, raise the money first and buy in two years, or pass. The board chose to launch a campaign.
Compare the options
What we do
Help your board and leadership evaluate the financial impact of major decisions and initiatives.
What you leave with
Major decisions made with their financial impact in view.
Keep the plan current
A year later, we compared actual results to the plan, updated the projections, and brought a revised plan to the board. It will be reviewed again next year, and any time the conservancy's priorities shift.
What we do
Regularly review and update your organization's financial plan as its needs and priorities evolve.
What you leave with
A financial plan that changes as your organization does.
Chapter 1 of 6
A plan everyone can work from.
A financial plan is only useful if the people making decisions trust it and use it. We build it with your leadership, and keep it connected to the rest of your organization's work.
Your boardApproves the plan and its policies, and weighs major decisions against it.
Finance committeeReviews the plan with us, and tracks results against it.
Leadership and staffUse the plan to guide budgets, programs, and fundraising.
CPA and auditorKeep the numbers the plan is built on accurate and current.
Begin with a conversation about where your mission is headed.
Bring your budget, your latest financial statements, and the decision you've been weighing. We'll help you see what it could mean for the years ahead.
