The Origin Story
Operational reality meets analytical rigor.
The Financial Forest was born from a simple frustration: The advice given to nonprofits rarely matches the math of how they actually survive.
The Question That Started It All
I have spent my career in the nonprofit sector in a variety of roles, from direct service to analytics to senior leadership. I sat in boardrooms and listened to well-meaning experts repeat the same mantras: "Diversify your revenue." "Keep overhead low." "Build 6 months of reserves."
But when I looked at the organizations that were actually thriving, they weren't all following those rules. And the organizations that were struggling? Many of them were trying desperately to follow that advice, and it was breaking them.
I realized we were operating on sector myths, not data.
So, I started my research with a singular focus: to test whether conventional nonprofit financial advice actually predicts success. I analyzed three years of IRS data from 100+ local organizations to find the truth.
The result is The Financial Forest, a new framework that proves success isn't about following generic rules. It's about understanding your specific organizational DNA.
Why Colorado Springs?
This research is grounded in the Colorado Springs ecosystem (2022-2024 data). This provides a unique laboratory: a mid-sized market with diverse funding models, ranging from $100K startups to $65M institutions.
By studying a specific ecosystem deeply, we uncovered universal patterns that generic national data often misses.
See the research in action.
Explore the seven archetypes and the data behind them.
Explore the Research