Pilot Program Check-In by

That I would be able to have some initial questions that can help guide the conversation.

2023-11-13 15:34:02 UTC

Some of the line items in the FTA are unfamiliar to me and I feel I don't have enough expertise nor experience to be able to discuss things without difficulty

2023-11-13 15:35:42 UTC

A nice surprise is that the organization I am paired with is very closely aligned with my previous profession (education) and the person I will speak with is from the county I currently I reside in.

2023-11-13 16:09:03 UTC

So far, what worked well is the time, space, and organized process of training and self-paced learning to prepare for the discussion. The toolkit BDO and PEAK provided has been extremely helpful in preparing my very novice yet growing knowledge in this area.

2023-11-13 16:11:07 UTC

I am learning that an organization 's financial story is one important dimension of its journey to where it is now. It is a key to the organization's governance and culture.

2023-11-13 16:13:57 UTC

Some of the FTA items are very familiar; like the other commenter, I had a few things that were brand new and harder to think about in concrete terms.

2023-11-13 18:09:23 UTC

I haven't had my meeting with the nonprofit yet, but I feel like I'm going to have trouble telling if I am accurately interpreting the financial information. May be helpful to get some coaching while meeting with the nonprofit for both of our learning.

2023-11-13 18:09:57 UTC

I would suggest we do this not so close to the end of the year; we're pretty busy here every November. I did start my work in October to space it out but still, a spring cohort would be even better.

2023-11-13 18:10:29 UTC

2023-11-13 18:14:05 UTC

I think the initial training session was very helpful and gave a great overview. Personally, I work better being able to converse with people as I figure things out. So maybe additional session(s) with either small group analyses or small presentations of what we're seeing so far.

Case studies, partnering with another funder in the pilot to compare notes.

kristen321 — 2023-11-13 18:16:44 UTC

I knew more than I thought lol! But I have learned so much about the importance of looking at trends over time.

2023-11-13 18:21:11 UTC

I liked the amount of time we've been given between the first session and the check in session to be able to process this information and to reach out to the nonprofit. It gave me the ability to manage my workload a lot better than if it were on a more compressed schedule.

2023-11-13 18:28:52 UTC

My partner organization contact shares the same name as me :)

2023-11-13 18:39:34 UTC

Connection

2023-12-06 22:40:40 UTC

Connecting with the nonprofit leader given my previous experience as a nonprofit ED!

More training/coaching needed

2023-12-06 23:43:07 UTC

I feel like the first training was helpful, but still a broad overview. would want to go through at least a few more examples, have more time for questions, and do more application of the theories!

Improptu consulting :)

2023-12-06 23:44:49 UTC

Given the organizations fundraising challenges and my experience there, we spent 10 minutes going over fundraising strategies for her to try out! We also discussed how she should present her financial info to other funders to better highlight their strengths and clarify their areas of improvement.

2023-12-06 23:45:27 UTC

More training, Q&A time, examples, ways to test our understanding, etc

2023-12-06 23:47:24 UTC

Financials are a representation of a much bigger story that includes culture, board, staffing, power dynamics, etc. Viewing the financials as a way to get to that story as opposed to an end in and of itself has been very helpful.

industry standards

2023-12-06 23:48:49 UTC

One of the best things I've learned is what the industry standard is for sustainability re: cash reserves and LUNA. Having a sense of when we should be concerned vs. where most nonprofits are is really helpful. It was even helpful for the nonprofit to understand where they should be!