our promise
Ministry is lonely. We will never leave you alone.
That coin has two sides. For one, we will never leave you alone to fend for yourself. We partner with you to both devise and implement solutions. Then, when it comes to your deadlines and deliverables, we will never leave you alone. We will encourage you. We will hold you accountable. We will hound you if necessary. But we won’t let you slack. Because we know you don’t really want to be a slacker, and your constituents certainly can’t afford for you to be one!
We believe that we are better together. And we love to solve problems. We believe that helping others find solutions to their problems will help us achieve our goals, too.
You and I are the same. I run a small but growing nonprofit where I pursue with vigor the burden, the calling that God has placed on my life. I’m constantly seeking and finding solutions to for the obstacles I encounter. I’m also looking to raise awareness of our mission, raise money to fund our mission, and maximize the impact of the donations we receive. Every dollar counts, so finding cheap or free solutions isn’t just good stewardship, it’s a necessity. But cheaper isn’t always better, so sometimes I pay for the solution if I’ve determined that the ROI is worth it.
Believe it or not, when we launched our nonprofit, we actually had you in mind. At every step along the way, and even now as we are navigating our way through the start-up phase, we’re being observant and learning what works and what doesn’t so that we would be better prepared to help you! We started our journey with a sort of objectivity, thinking, “Let’s tackle each problem we face with the idea in mind that we may someday be able to help someone else tackle this problem, too.”
We also love connecting dots. If we can’t solve the problem, we are confident that we know someone who can. We have a team of partners and collaborators who can help you overcome any obstacle that you may find in your way.
Where should we begin?
We have an introductory project that lets you get familiar with us and lets our team get to know you, all while providing immediate value. Here’s how it works. For $195, we will come in and do a detailed analysis of your recent spending. Based on that analysis, we’ll show you some easy ways to quickly recover expenses. We’re so confident that we can help you save money that if we don’t save you more than our fee, we’ll gladly waive it. We want to add value. We don’t expect you to pay us if we can’t add value. What good does that do?
[This project] is completely risk-free. If we don’t find savings for you, you don’t pay a dime.
Are you wearing too many hats? Are you tired of dealing with aggravation of administration? Do you need help figuring out what to do next? Or maybe you just really need someone to do it? We can help. Let us talk it through with you. That call is free. We just want to understand your business, to feel your pain, then we can make a plan to alleviate some of that pain.
“We needed a better solution to track our donors. ICNU identified a new platform that saved us thousands of dollars a year. But they didn’t just tell us about it, they secured it, configured it, exported our old database and then imported it into the new one! We were dragging our feet on making a change because we had too many other competing priorities and we knew we didn’t have the manpower. ICNU stepped in and made it happen!” Clint Lyons, Chief Executive Officer, The Root Cause
FRACTIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Not every church or nonprofit is large enough to employ a Director of Operations or VP of Finance, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need one! What if you could hire someone with that skill set, but on a part-time, fractional basis? Now you can! Outsourced financial and operations management for all aspects of church and nonprofit backoffice operations. And while our left-brain is fully functional, our right-brain is what sets us apart. We can provide a level of creativity that is ordinarily unexpected from professionals with our skill set.
SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT AND ADMIN
Donor management software? Accounting software? Website management? It can all be so overwhelming. And expensive! We have experience with using and managing various software packages, including popular solutions such as Salesforce, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Xero, Basecamp, Asana, Office365, Wordpress, Squarespace, and more. Wherever you are with your technology implementations, we can help you get to the next level.
PEER Mastermind GROUPS
A roundtable environment may be the only time a pastor can get truly objective feedback, and the only time to obtain the truth (both good and bad) about how their church is doing in its mission. In addition to a formal Peer Group Roundtable Benchmarking Study we’ve developed for churches, membership in our nonprofit group includes more informal virtual conversations with other nonprofit leaders. These calls create a forum for participating organizations to review their financial results and operating practices in relation to their peers, then discuss those results in a safe, encouraging environment with each other, learning and teaching effective leadership strategies.
Copywriting and Editing
[Ask Mike Pettus for blurb.]
Donor engagement and management
Do you always feel like you’re behind in thanking donors? From the day-to-day donation acknowledgements and record-keeping, to the communication strategies and tactics, we can help you decide what needs to be done, and we can help you do it. Your donors need to hear from you. We help make that happen.
Virtual Assistant Services and Coordination
Unlike traditional management consultants who tell a manager what needs to be done. we actually help you get it done! Your board told you that you need a budget, but do you now how to prepare one? Your fundraising coach told you that you need a social media presence, but do you have time to build one? The marketing book you read talked about perfecting your SEO strategy, but do you even know where to begin? We blur the lines between coaching and virtual assistant services. We’ll tell you what needs to be done, but unlike many coaches or management consultants, we’ll actually help you get it done.
AUDIT PREP
An audit or review by an independent CPA demonstrates healthy financial oversight and accountability.Whether you’re accustomed to an annual audit, or are considering one for the first time, it can be an intimidating and time-consuming process. It doesn’t have to be! We want to make it easy. We won’t actually perform the audit, but we can help you prepare before they arrive, and walk beside you during the process. We also speak their language, so we can serve as an interpreter and help explain the complicated technical jargon and concepts in plain English. Our involvement will help you lower your fees, and more importantly, lower your stress.
If you don’t have an auditor, we have relationships with several great firms that specialize in churches and nonprofits. We will be happy to connect you with one that is a good cultural fit for you and your organization.
BUSINESS STRATEGY and tactics
What’s right? What’s wrong? What’s missing? What’s confusing? With these simple questions, we can help you evaluate where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going! We know you have no shortage of tasks vying for your attention. We can help you figure out where to begin and what to do next.
SEO, web design, Social Media and Internet Marketing
[Ask Marcus for blurb]
Fractional Operations Management
[This started getting a little long. Maybe this should be a news post, then summarize it here with a link to read more? Or maybe record a short video instead, then link to an article.]
According to [insert citation], most companies can’t afford or easily justify the expense of a CFO until they reach revenues of $20 million or more. In our experience, churches often consider hiring an XP when they reach about 1,000 in attendance or approach the $2 million mark in giving. And nonprofits seem to hover around that $2+ million floor as well. So where does that leave the small nonprofits? Are you a startup that’s trying to figure things out as you go? Or maybe you’ve been serving for years, but you’ve found your niche and are comfortable staying small? Either way, hiring a full-time CFO or COO may be out of reach for you. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need the insights and assistance that a CFO or COO would bring you.
What does this amazing service cost? It’s cheaper than you might think. According to [insert citation], the salary of a CFO can range from $xxx,000 to $yyy,000, or more. Most companies that size who hire a CFO, this usually works out to be a small percentage of their overall revenues. For a small nonprofit, this same CFO might cost them all of their revenues! Obviously, that makes hiring a CFO a nonstarter for many small organizations.
That’s why we take a different approach. We want you to have ready and available access to the expertise you need, just like you would if you hired a CFO. Rather than bill by the hour or the day like an attorney or CPA, where you’re less apt to call because you don’t want to incur the expense. we base our billings on your organization’s revenues. For that flat fee, you know that you have a CFO at your disposal, ready to provide guidance and lend you hand. As you grow, and your needs grow, we can scale with you step by step.
Look at it another way. Why pay for a CFO full time if you only need him or her part time? Hiring full time employees is expensive. Hiring C-Suite executives can be very expensive. But most CFOs aren’t looking for part-time work. Our approach gives you the benefit of immediate access to the full expertise, guidance and direction of a CFO, but only when you need it.
If you meet certain criteria, we will instead charge you a flat retainer rate of 3% of your annual (running twelve months) revenues, billed monthly. To put that in perspective, that’s probably more or less what you pay your merchant services provider to accept credit cards. If we can’t add more value than your merchant services, don’t hire us. It’s that simple. Our goal is to add value, plain and simple.
“Any fool can make it complex, but it takes a genius to make it simple.”
Bookkeeping and other fractional help
Want more than just a CFO? We can handle your entire back office operations for you. We will step in and be your finance and administration team!
So what all do we include for that? In a lot of ways? That depends on you! What are your pain points? Where would you feel the most relief? For some, that means handling the budgeting and bookkeeping, and helping you communicate with the board about all financial matters, much like a traditional CFO. Maybe you already have a bookkeeper and just want help interpreting the data and planning for the future. Or maybe you need more help managing some day-to-day back office administration? Or you need help building and maintaining your website? Or developing your communication strategy? Or integrating your social media and web presence? Whatever it is, we will roll up our sleeves and help you make it work. We can customize the arrangement to meet your particular needs, but we will never bill you more than 10% of your revenues unless you agree to that ahead of time. You should never, ever be surprised by a bill, from us or anyone else. We will communicate with you tirelessly and relentlessly to make sure you are completely clear about what we’re doing and not doing.
Are you ready for some much needed support in your back office? Contact us today!
Coaching and peer group discussions
We will schedule a 30-60 minute one-on-one call with all of our retainer clients once a month to talk through your financials, help you tackle your operational struggles, and think through some short-term goals for the next month. We will also invite you to participate in a monthly peer group session on Zoom or WebEx with other nonprofit leaders who are wrestling with many of the same issues. We discuss the hot issues the group is currently facing, identify solutions together, then we will help you implement those solutions.
Sometimes we have guests, like a pastor or executive director who has “been there done that,” or a business professional who is an expert in a given area or topic
These sessions are informative, but they are mostly designed to be strategically focused
We are partners to help you achieve your mission, not simply day laborers or subcontractors with no vested interest in your success
Case study/Projects/Portfolio—You don’t have to pay sales tax to Squarespace. [Learn how we did ____ by (or without) ____]
Common myths—things they THINK they know but they probably don’t (or only know from a layman’s perspective). Goes hand in hand with case study.
It’s not all about the numbers. I’m not really a numbers guy. I’m more of a creative, a problem solver. Sure, I have degrees in Finance and Accounting, but I’m much more of an right-brained, musician, artist than a purely analytical introvert.
Our Expertise—Some CFO stuff, last 2 years at BB, humble brag, I sharpen my No. 2 pencil better than most.
Bake in the document management story from CPD. (Use a summary with a drill down to a news story.)
I’m new to the Executive Director seat, but I am not new to nonprofits.
