And to be honest, when you go after funding, you know what they're asking for, you know, they want to see your financials, they want to see your 990, you know, your tax return, they want to see your audit report. So if you think about it, a lot of things, all roads do still lead back to that back office accounting work, because a lot of times you can't get more money if those things are in an order. And so from working with quite a few organizations, especially some of the larger level, who are operating like government contracts and grants, I've noticed, of course, the word like these three things being super important. And it's really helps to set the foundation. And so the first one is cost allocation method having a cost allocation methodology. It is not sexy, it is. I totally get it. But honestly, in layman's terms, it really determines how do you allocate the money that you receive? We know that it's no secret that you get funds. I mean, we hate the restricted funds, right? Because we like to be able to kind of direct where the funding goes. But a lot of times we get this money. And it says right, where there are strict requirements about how we are to spend, but what I find is that we don't have a plan, when we get that money on how we spend, we think solely on you know, what is this program that we're trying to fund or how do we pay these people, but we have to couple those needs, with the requirements of that funding that we receive. And that's where that cost allocation plan comes into play. And it's super important if you're operating restricted funds, and it's even more important if you're operating federal funds, because they usually require it and a lot of times I have clients who've been asked for their actual plan before they've gotten approval to actually receive funding so it's just something to keep in your arsenal so that you can show Okay, yeah. This is something that I've thought about, I know what it is, and this is what we're doing here. Um, the second thing is policies and procedures, we can't operate off the cuff. Like you have to have a set way for how you're managing your finances. And I think that a lot of organizations like this, because they usually lack the third thing, which is the dedicated financial leadership. And so if you are a nonprofit leader, just getting started, I understand a lot of times you are the person doing all of the things. And so you usually tend to not have, you know, a documented process that you're following. But as you start to grow, and you're hiring staff, and you're moving money around, you need to have a policy, you need to have policies and procedures as to how money will be managed. When it comes in, what do you do? How do you determine where it gets spent? You know, are there internal controls in place to determine who writes the check who deposits it, like, I know, it sounds so nuanced, but these are actually things to think about. Because we know in our space, it's very common, there's, you know, misappropriation of assets. And so we want to be sure that we have internal controls in place to minimize that from happening. And that comes from or starts with having those those policies and procedures. And then the last thing is dedicated financial leadership. And of course, that's something that I harp on, because that is me, that is usually what people bring me in for. And it's important that you have someone who is accountable and responsible for how the money is being managed. And usually the nonprofit leader, the executive director, it's not them, you know, they they are usually facing, they are, you know, helping to bring in the money, right, they're doing a lot of, you know, networking with potential donors, you know, liaising with the board. And so it's usually one not in their wheelhouse. And honestly, they usually don't have the capacity. And so if you have a dedicated financial leader, that person can be responsible for making sure that you know, you're a compliant and that you are making sure that your finances are being managed appropriately.
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