LatinxEd Latinx Education Center Case Study
CASE STUDY:
LATINX SECURES A SUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL FUTURE WITH THE HELP OF GOOD STEWARD FINANCIAL COMPANY, LLC
Executive Summary
In its earliest stages, North Carolina based nonprofit LatinxEd sought the services of Good Steward Financial Company, LLC. Key leaders recognized that, while they valued transparency and organization in finances, they lacked the expertise to set up the financial infrastructure they needed.
Since then, Good Steward Financial Company has not only established the nonprofit’s financial systems but also supported LatinxEd in scaling operations from two full-time staffers to nine, putting structures and processes in place for a solid financial foundation and sustainable future.
WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE OR THE EXPERTISE TO CREATE IT, THE NONPROFIT LEADERS FELT A SENSE OF ISOLATION AND OVERWHELMING STRESS FROM THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF RUNNING THE ORGANIZATION.
The Story of LatinxEd
Executive Director Elaine Utin and Director of Advancement Ricky Hurtado founded LatinxEd in 2018 in response to their own experiences as children of Latinx immigrants and first-generation college students. They share a desire to open doors for other first-generation college students and expand opportunities for immigrant families.
When they first started LatinxEd, Utin and Hurtado felt the strain of navigating all the operational pieces. “As a small crew, we felt one of the biggest strains on our bandwidth was operations, especially those tied to finances,” says Utin. “And that was probably the one thing that kept Hurtado up at night… worrying about forgetting things like payroll or thinking about having so much on his plate as we tried to keep everything afloat.”
Without a financial expert to help LatinxEd put financial infrastructure in place, the leadership was experiencing pronounced stress trying to figure everything out on their own. And they felt very alone in the process.
We’ve found a feeling of home, belonging, support, and communication with Jasmine Simpson and the Good Steward Team.
Elaine Townsend Utin Executive Director
The Challenges Facing LatinxEd
In spite of the big vision LatinxEd held onto and the potential to impact Latinx students throughout North Carolina and the Southeast, the nonprofit could not sustain growth with the operational challenges they were facing.
“The need for a financial expert was one that kept coming back up as where we needed to invest as an organization,” Utin explains. “We needed someone who could really help us fulfill our roles and responsibilities as leaders. Without help, our operational efforts were not sustainable. And the level of scale or growth we’ve experienced would not have been possible.”
Why LatinxEd Chose Good Steward Financial Company
The nonprofit explored several options when the leaders decided to move forward with contracting a financial expert, including some bigger companies serving clients in multiple states. They chose Good Steward because the virtual firm has local headquarters just a few miles down the road from LatinxEd. Though the service remains a virtual service, Utinsays their mutual relationships in the local community were a strong draw.
We didn’t want to get lost in someone’s Rolodex, but we wanted someone who would be attentive and responsive to our needs,” she explains. “Because Jasmine Simpson is homegrown in NC, I feel like she can really relate to us. She’s also built her own business, so she can relate in that way. And we simply felt the most at home with Jasmine. That feeling of home, belonging, support, and communication — we felt like we could find all those things in Jasmine, and that’s proven to be true.”
How Good Steward Financial Company Responded
When the Good Steward Financial team stepped in to assist LatinxEd, they were starting from scratch to set up the organization’s financial infrastructure — the systems and processes for a sustainable financial future.
“Not only did we start from scratch,” says Utin, “but jasmine and her team have also helped us evolve since then to improve our processes and improve our structures, even more, each year. They helped us get going and then have helped us continue growing”
We’ve found a feeling of home, belonging, support, and communication with Jasmine Simpson and the Good Steward Team.
Elaine Townsend Utin Executive Director
The Results
One of the most significant changes for the LatinxEd executive director is she’s no longer afraid of the budget. “Jasmine encouraged me not to be afraid of it, to make it my own,” says Utin. “Now, I’m looking forward to the next one.”With the financial infrastructure in place, LatinxEd is now facing the future with confidence.“ We started out as leaders feeling scattered and having limited bandwidth,” adds Utin. “Now, we feel like we can scale our team however we need to. We have the supports in place to make sure our operations are flowing and fluid and organized. We feel the most organized than we’ve ever felt as an organization and feel extremely supported in the financial aspect of our work.
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