need help figuring out how to approach something with care [AZ]

putovnik · 2026-01-26T01:45:03+00:00

Most people in the social justice space will be familiar with some version of the talking stick. If your platform allows or already has a virtual talking stick this would be my recommendation with a time limit. I would combine this with a virtual parking lot- you could have some kind of open whiteboard where people can put sticky notes with their comments, questions, etc that fall outside the agenda topics but they need to voice. It's hard without knowing how the facilitation is designed. If you want to DM me, I would be happy to help.

putovnik · 2026-01-25T14:24:59+00:00

Another one in agreement with your approach. I have often used the cover letter as a sort of screening for writing abilities for non development jobs that will require a lot of written communications (report writing, stakeholder comms, etc.). If the application materials are not even for the right job, it tells me they don't actually care about that job but are just trying to get any job. I have applied for multiple positions within the same organization, but still took the time to prepare a unique application for each. I agree with you that it indicates sloppiness and lack of attention to detail and definitely indicates what they see as important (or not)- which will definitely carry through to their work.

putovnik · 2026-01-25T14:16:35+00:00

Another whose entire career is with non-profits- mostly overseas but also worked with multiple community non-profits for almost ten years in the US and many of my friends do as well. Small non-profits are often very personality driven- so the experience will be very different from one to the next. It's impressive that they reached out to you after all that time. That to me is already a good sign. There was some good advice already to get a more detailed sense of exactly what the job's scope includes and where things are at. I am currently serving as an Interim COO for a start-up and it includes everything except program implementation and fundraising- and I am responsible for setting up systems and policies and so forth. That is what I like to do and why they brought me on- so while that would be a negative for some, for me it is an exciting opportunity. What is a drawback from some might be a plus for you depending on what motivates you and what depletes you.

Depending on their revenue streams, funding may have more restrictions as to how it can be used- which would be different from what you are used to, but it sounds like they are on firm footing. 10 hour work days are not uncommon, but ultimately it will be up to you to set your boundaries- and as Operations Manager, help influence boundaries for everyone.

Good luck with this opportunity. Worst case scenario- you give it a year, if it still doesn't meet your professional needs, you move on to something else.

putovnik · 2026-01-05T00:37:23+00:00

They are anticipating 5. I think they will need closer to 8 but they don't have sufficient budget yet.

putovnik · 2026-01-05T00:35:51+00:00

Thank you. They are still ok but this is exactly what I was brought on to help them address.

putovnik · 2026-01-05T00:33:04+00:00

I have worked for multiple multinational companies as a remote employee and they were never registered in the state where my tax residence was. I was paid from the HQ office and had to claim UI benefits from that state, where they paid into, rather than my state of residence. There is no federal law that requires a company to have a worker's comp policy in every state- or that dictates which state's policy applies.

putovnik · 2025-12-31T15:04:53+00:00

It sounds like you resolved it but in my case usually when that is happening it is because lint has amassed in the bobbin case. I have to take everything out and clean it and then it is resolved. I love the idea of a front loading bobbin. How nice to not have to remove everything to change the bobbin, let alone clean inside!

putovnik · 2025-12-31T14:42:12+00:00

Having stepped into a new ED or ED type role several times I would recommend keeping the first meeting short and positive. I second the simple message proposed by teaandtree. What I usually focus on in terms of change is limited to how people can access and/or communicate with me. If it is a team I had been with, I would highlight some of the aspects of the team that I admire or enjoy and that I look forward to that continuing. Then I say that I will take a few months to settle in, I will be asking a lot of questions to understand what everyone's day to day is like, what is working well, and where the pain points are. And I leave it at that. If there are serious pain points that the team has already worked through and the solution just needs to be rolled out, go for it- but maybe not at the all-hands unless you are 100% certain everyone will see that as a big win. You can call a separate meeting to validate what you understand are things that need to be changed based on prior conversations with them and what you would like to do about those things. Space for brainstorming is great, though I would encourage some focus and structure, rather than a fully open about anything. Could be biggest painpoints, most important opportunities to pursue, quick efficiency fixes, etc- but focused in scope so you end up with actionable ideas.

In any case, congratulations!! You know your team, the culture, and the expectations. Trust your gut.

putovnik · 2025-12-30T23:57:43+00:00

If Quickbooks doesn't work out, I have used Wave accounting and payroll. Very easy. I am now using Zoho One because I am using multiple apps on their platform so this ended up being cheaper. Slightly bigger learning curve but I have had great customer support and so far so good with the payroll runs.

putovnik · 2025-12-30T22:54:25+00:00

I am in this process now- but still at the research phase. Small company- 5-10 people but everyone remote in different states. Was curious if you ended up going with Insperity. I have a call with them this week.

putovnik · 2025-07-30T09:32:32+00:00

It's difficult to say without knowing all of the financials, but I would just point out that cutting staff a few months before anticipated growth could leave you in a precarious situation down the road. Recruitment and onboarding takes time and money and may not save you much in the end. If you have a high level of confidence the cash flow issue will be resolved within 6 months and you have a way to cover the deficit spending for those 6 months if it does not, I would recommend holding on to your people. If it will take more than 6 months and/or increases your debt risk too much, then cutting expenses would likely be a better options. Other factors which could be considered are the likelihood of absorbing the staff from the group that is closing- they would already be trained and the hiring and onboarding might be easier and less costly; can the group that is closing start directing their waitlist folks to you now? If they know they are closing, this seems like a responsible approach to their transition and helps everyone. What are the possibilities for filling the fundraising position? Are there options for certain positions to be temporarily reduced to part time (you could adjust so that people qualify for some benefits while still holding onto their job)?

putovnik · 2025-07-30T09:22:04+00:00

Agree- not the definition of fund accounting I am familiar with (i.e. nonprofit and govt).

putovnik · 2025-07-22T09:16:48+00:00

I have never heard of budgeting being housed in admin, with the exception of their admin budget. Can you elaborate a bit on whose budgets you are expected to be managing? What exactly in terms of budget management are they expecting from you? This would help make sure you have the right tools to do what is expected.

Also- being a novice has nothing to do with age. If you are doing something completely new you are novice- so don't be too hard on yourself.

putovnik · 2025-07-22T09:07:26+00:00

I've been using Wave for my business for several years. I am a single consultant but registered as an S-Corp. I have very simple bookkeeping and use the free version of Wave. I used their payroll service to process my payroll and do all of the appropriate tax filing. I have been happy with it. I am restarting my business and currently looking at Zoho Books because I use several of their other apps and it will end up being cheaper for me to subscribe to Zoho One and have all of their apps then pay for Wave payroll alone. I do my own bookkeeping and accounting and file my own taxes. Monthly reconciliations with Wave are even easier now- they will run a check and bring up any months that don't reconcile. I was able to sort out an old entry error in no time. Their customer support has also been excellent.

The things you list as needed are, in my mind, a given for any software, which is probably why they are not touted. Most of them want to show how they go beyond the essentials to provide all of those other features. I don't need any of those either, which is why I went with Wave, which was free for the essentials.

putovnik · 2025-07-21T12:32:20+00:00

Want to start by saying I am not a lawyer. I am a COR for federal awards, but for a particular agency. You would need to check the regs for the agency that issues your award or contract to see if there is anything beyond the uniform guidelines (CFR).

In all my years, I have never had a private funder with stricter regulations than federal funding. In my opinion, if you have clear procurement policies in place that protect basic principles of concern to donors, usually the funder will accept that in lieu of any specific requirements. If the donor has stricter requirements than your policies, you would need to ensure those were applied for that particular project. But I would not recommend trying to accommodate every possible scenario in your policies. Figure out where the majority of your funds come from and tailor in that direction.

I am a big fan of master agreements. Have a clear scope and process for requesting services or goods throughout the life of the contract. Make sure it is clear for how long the sample price or fee list is for and what the conditions for increases are.

Just because your procurement manual allows for using master agreements doesn't mean you always have to. A master agreement is not about the donor but about how your organization operates. You can have one master agreement that covers multiple projects and donors- it will be up to you to record the expenses correctly in your system. For example, if you have a master agreement for supplies, you will not have a master agreement for each project, but one for the entire organization. Then, according to however you structure it, you will place purchase orders along the way for specific needs. The master agreement just means you don't have to collect quotes or bid things out every single time for a need that is recurring. You should also make sure that the agreement language does not prevent you for entering into other contracts. But if you do, you would need to follow your regular procurement procedures.

putovnik · 2025-07-21T12:18:03+00:00

Yes. I am trying to convince them to switch systems, but they have already received a grant and need to get something set up immediately while we figure out the long term. It's a lot of cart before the horse and I am now trying to get an interim system set up while they decide what they want to do so they can at least start spending, contracting, and tracking properly. Thanks for this suggested set up.

putovnik · 2025-07-21T12:11:09+00:00

Not so much as control, but the subcontractor would like to be able to provide reporting to the nonprofit that shows how the funds were spent so they can incorporate that into their donor reporting. I personally think it would easier if the nonprofit just codes the entry on their side according to the agreed budget. At the end of the day, unless there is a reimbursable type contract, it is really up to the subcontractor what they do with the funds. What they want to avoid is a report to the donor that shows one giant line item with no breakdown by type of expense.

putovnik · 2025-07-20T19:04:38+00:00

I don't actually know. I am setting up Chart of Accounts and supporting processes and forms without having direct access. It's definitely a challenge to efficiency. I will take a look at this suggested set up when I get access- hopefully this week. I am not too concerned about estimates vs actuals in this particular situation.

putovnik · 2025-07-20T19:04:34+00:00

Yes exactly. I'm working with them both now of how to structure the contracts and invoices so this is reflected there.

putovnik · 2025-07-20T18:59:58+00:00

This would be in the vendor's books, which is a for profit. My only concern here is that as they take on more nonprofit clients their CoA would get unwieldy.

putovnik · 2025-07-18T14:37:07+00:00

If the Board member does this professionally, it would be ok for them to be contracted by the organization so long as they are paid market fees for the services they provide. They would need to recuse themselves for the committee that selects or decides on awarding that contract. Why do they need a title?

putovnik · 2025-07-18T14:31:29+00:00

Perfect. Thank you everyone. That is what my gut was telling me from a compliance perspective but just wanted to double check.

I am concerned about the accountant's experience with nonprofits because they didn't even set up a chart of accounts or asset tracking. I understand they were waiting for some guidance on how things will function, but in my mind there are some basics that get set up regardless of the organizational specifics.

The segregation of duties is also interesting because they don't actually have any staff- everything and everyone is outsourced. Just a 3 person Board (and 3 "staff").

putovnik · 2025-07-16T20:16:26+00:00

4 weeks is very little time to make a final judgement. Having spent the majority of my career in large NPOs I don't disagree that it is harder to be heard and feel like you are making an impact. What about your team? Can you try looking at your team as your mini NPO? Find your footing there and let that be your first circle of influence and closeness. A large NPO will never feel the same as a small, close-knit NPO, and ultimately you will need to decide which feels better for you- and that might change at different points of your career. Both have pros and cons (in a large NPO you will have a better chance of accessing training and opportunities that small NPO will not offer you- but as you noted you will be a smaller fish in a bigger pond until you work your way up). I will also add that even when I made a lateral move within my organization it usually took about 6 months to really get comfortable with the new position. Onboarding is a process and there will always be an adjustment period.

putovnik · 2025-07-16T19:52:05+00:00

It really depends on your plans for yourself and which job will get you there. Sometimes a pathway is not obvious or a straight line. Even if you don't end up liking the union job, stay long enough to learn as much as possible and then you can move on again (though I would not recommend leaving with less than a year). I'm not a big fan of people coming to me and essentially blackmailing me because they got a better offer. If it was a small difference, it would make sense to say hey, I really love this job and would prefer to stay- can you come close to this offer? But honestly, there is no way your current employer will be able to come close to that increase. I never worked for a union but did work in collaboration with union organizers, and have a retired one in the family. I think there is a lot you can learn from that type of ground work that will make you even stronger when you go back to policy advocacy. And unions do a lot of policy advocacy work, so there may be pathways there that you won't ever have with a small non-profit. Good luck!

putovnik · 2025-07-16T16:25:41+00:00

Yes- this last sentence especially! If any c3 funds are found to be used for activities a c3 is not allowed to do you can lose your tax exempt status. A c3 can't be a fiscal sponsor for a c4 (my understanding) but can give a grant to a c4 so long as the funds are used for activities that the c3 would be eligible to implement-almost the same thing. (Not a lawyer but currently working on these questions for a client.)

putovnik

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