Financial Resilience Learning Cohort

Santa Barbara Foundation is excited to partner with BDO to provide educational opportunities to strengthen the financial resilience of nonprofits. You are invited to apply to participate in one or both of the following programs, which will be provided free-of-charge to selected participants: 

1. Financial Resilience Cohort

The Financial Resilience Cohort includes four two-hour virtual workshops that cover the needed skills and knowledge for exceptional financial practices within a nonprofit organization. In addition to workshops, each organization will have up to three hours of coaching available with an experienced member of the BDO team to discuss their unique organization and needs. 

This program is ideal for organizations that are:  

• Poised and ready for change 

• Willing to devote meaningful senior staff to all components of the program, which include the following services from BDO:  
  

  Component	Date & Time (in PT)
  Understanding Financial Health and Resilience	Wednesday, October 9th 10am-12pm
  Financial Planning: Creating Effective Annual Plans	Thursday, October 31st 10am-12pm
  Financial Monitoring: Managing for Results	Wednesday, November 20th 10am-12pm
  Financial Operations	Wednesday, December 4th 10am -12pm
  Coaching	Three hours between October – December

   

2. Nonprofit Financial Planning Series: Understanding the Nonprofit Business Model and Scenario Planning Considerations

The series includes two two-hour virtual workshops providing tools for evaluating your business model and learning how to financially plan for multiple future scenarios. Additionally, two one-hour group office hours sessions with an experienced staff member from BDO will be open to participants. BDO will lead the following: 

Questions and Next Steps 

Apply to one or both of the programs on or by September 18th. Attached to this email is an overview with additional information. Further questions can be sent to Bri Merling at BDO (brianna.merling@bdo.com) or Gary Clark at Santa Barbara Foundation (gclark@sbfoundation.org).

FAQ:
Is there any cost to participate? 

This program is funded by Santa Barbara Foundation and is offered at no cost to those who are accepted. 

Will my participation impact my ability to receive funding from the Santa Barbara Foundation in the future? 

No, your choice to participate or not to participate will not impact funding from the Santa Barbara Foundation.  

How many team members from my organization can participate?  

Only one application needs to be submitted from each organization. Organizations can indicate on the application which team members are interested in participating in the resources. We encourage that at least 2-3 senior leaders and/or Board members of an organization be willing to actively participate in workshops. At the same time, we understand that committing multiple leaders’ time can create a barrier. BDO will work with organizations to customize what participation may look like to accommodate very limited staff resources. 

What information will Santa Barbara Foundation receive about an organization’s participation? 

Santa Barbara Foundation will receive applications and the names of participating organization and its staff members. Themes discussed during workshops, coaching, and office hours will be reported in the aggregate. Further details and identifying information are confidential. Participants, however, are welcome to speak to their Santa Barbara Foundation contact about their experience if they choose. 

If interested in both programs, do I apply to both? 

There is one application form. Submitters interested in participating in both resources may so indicate on the form.  

Who is BDO and their Nonprofit Grantmaker & Advisory practice? 

BDO has a dedicated Nonprofit and Grantmaker Advisory practice made up of professionals with deep and direct expertise working within nonprofits. They are passionate about creating the operational conditions under which nonprofits can thrive and incorporate equity and inclusion as core tenets in its work. In particular, BDO seeks to understand the full context within which an organization works and is attuned to the realities of fundraising and running a non-profit organization in the U.S. context, including the historic and present race and geographic inequities that exist in terms of which organizations have access to funding. 

BDO’s Nonprofit and Grantmaker Advisory Group’s capacity building approach is grounded in proven benefits of group learning—leveraging participant experience and facilitating connections across a network working toward common goals—as well as one-on-one time with BDO to help apply concepts to each organization’s unique situation or tackle more in-depth projects together. 

When do I need to submit my application by? How do I do it? 

Applications must be submitted on or by September 18th. The estimated time it takes to complete the application is 30 minutes. Find the application by clicking the button above.