For Nonprofits & Faith-Based Organizations
When the mission grows faster than the back office
Most nonprofit finance problems start the same way. The organization grows. A federal grant arrives, or a capital campaign succeeds, or a program doubles — and the financial infrastructure that worked at the old size quietly stops working at the new one.
The problem surfaces later, usually in an audit finding, a disallowed cost, or a funder asking a question nobody can answer quickly.
We have spent careers on both sides of that. Our partners have distributed federal and state grant funds to nonprofit organizations from inside government, run the financial operation of one of Puerto Rico’s largest municipalities, and overseen federal grant management for public entities. We know what the funder is going to ask, because we used to be the one asking.
That is partner background. It is not a client list.
What we help with
Federal grant financial management
Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) compliance, allowable-cost determination, indirect-cost-rate development and negotiation, cost-allocation-plan design, Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) preparation, and single-audit readiness — before the auditor arrives rather than after.
If a prior-year finding is already on the letter, we work backward from the finding: what the rule required, what the file shows, and what has to be true before the next cycle.
Tax-exempt status, federal and Puerto Rico
IRS 501(c)(3) determination and the Puerto Rico Hacienda exemption process. Federal exemption does not, by itself, create Hacienda exemption.
We handle the application and we handle what comes after it: annual information returns, standing with Hacienda, and the correspondence that follows a notice.
Fund accounting and financial reporting
Restricted and unrestricted net assets, donor-restriction tracking, board-designated funds, and financial statements a board can read and a funder will accept. The work is the chart of accounts and the close — not a slogan about “fund accounting.”
Form 990 and the board package
Form 990 is a public document. It is also the first thing many funders, journalists, and state regulators read. We help organizations prepare a return that matches the books, the SEFA, and the story the board thinks it is telling.
Internal controls for small teams
Most nonprofits cannot staff textbook segregation of duties. We design controls that work with the team you actually have — dual review, documented compensating controls, bank and grant reconciliations — and that hold up when tested.
Payroll tax credits and relief programs
When Congress creates a credit or a loan program, the question is not the press release. It is eligibility, documentation, and whether the money stays yours if someone later examines the file. We have published on those programs when they were live. Expired programs are labeled as expired; see the notices on the relevant Insights posts.
Capital projects
Financial planning, funding structure, and reporting discipline for organizations building or expanding a facility. Construction does not create a second set of books by itself. Someone has to design that.
Representation before the IRS and Puerto Rico Hacienda
When there is a notice, an assessment, or a claim, we handle the correspondence. We do not pretend a website visit is representation. That starts with an engagement letter.
How we work with nonprofits
Most engagements begin one of three ways: an audit finding that needs remediation, a new funding source that brings compliance obligations the organization has not carried before, or a board that has decided it needs better financial visibility than it currently has.
We start with a financial health review — two to three weeks, fixed fee — covering grant-compliance posture, internal controls, reporting quality, and tax-exemption standing. You get a written assessment with prioritized findings.
What happens after that is your decision, not a foregone conclusion. Some organizations take the report and fix things themselves. That is a fine outcome.
The partners who scope the work do the work. We work in English and Spanish.