Equitable Access and Capacity Initiative Self-Assessment Survey Tool

Welcome!


The goal of the Equitable Access and Capacity Initiative (EACI) Self-Assessment Survey Tool is to ask key questions that will allow your organization to reflect on and assess areas critical to the type of knowledge and infrastructure support it may need to effectively access, apply for, or manage government funding.


The Self-Assessment takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and is comprised of 10 brief sections: key organization questions, organizational fiscal function, capacity strengthening, government funding, understanding financial health, financial planning, performance management, financial operations, programs and services, and additional support. As you progress through the survey, the following sections and additional resources will display. If you prefer to see the full set of survey questions as a pdf, please email lhoberman@bdo.com with your request.


We recommend including multiple members of your leadership team in conversation when filling it out. If you'd like to receive a copy of your answers, select "Send me a copy of my responses" at the end of the self-assessment.


Please note that participation in this self-assessment survey is voluntary and all answers and comments you provide will remain 100% confidential. The EACI team (comprised of BDO consultants) will have access to the data, and we will safely secure the data. We will only report the data in the aggregate.

Key Organization Questions

Answers to the following questions about your organization will help us better support those participating in EACI.

Please enter the full name of the primary respondent.

If you'd like to hear about upcoming EACI opportunities, please share your email address. To receive a copy of your results, select "Send me a copy of my responses" at the end of the self-assessment.

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For example: Name, Director of Finance; Name, Director of Development

Please use the budgeted annual operating expenses for your organization for your most recent fiscal year.

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Please use the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) for your organization. Do not include unpaid/volunteer staff.

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Fiscal Infrastructure Self-Assessment

The following statements and questions address key areas for fiscal infrastructure for organizations. Please answer questions and rate statements for your organization.

Organizational Fiscal Function

Please include where you feel you are today compared to that vision.

We have sufficient management and/or administrative capacity to meet the current or projected demand of the organization.

Capacity Strengthening

Our organization is ready to invest time to strengthen its capacity.
To strengthen our organization, our staff is open to training and staff development.*

Government Funding

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As with any new revenue opportunities, organizations should assess carefully new government funding opportunities.

Understanding and taking the required pre-requisite steps to apply for state funding opportunities can help your organization ensure sufficient time and knowledge to be ready to apply for specific funding opportunities (e.g., RFPs) as they become available.


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While government funding often can be large and multi-year, it can also require a strong fiscal infrastructure to support reporting and compliance.


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Understanding Financial Health

A common type of government funding is cost-reimbursement. This means that organizations are often required to perform services prior to being reimbursed for those services. Invoicing for these services can be a lengthy process and payments may be subject to delays.

Organizations with significant government funding in the form of cost-reimbursement funding sources may experience temporary cash shortfalls, particularly if there are delays in payments. Organizations should monitor cash on hand as well as operating reserves or "LUNA" to navigate and prepare for any temporary cash shortfalls.

Our organization has a clear strategy for building and/or maintaining operating reserves*

In order to build an organization's operating reserves or Liquid Unrestricted Net Assets (LUNA), an organization needs to generate an operating surplus. There are different strategies organization's can employ to do so such as budgeting for reserves or seeking unrestricted funding opportunities in excess of what is needed to cover annual expenses.

Financial Planning

We formalized a plan for organizational activities this year.
Our organization regularly engages finance, program, fundraising, and executive leadership in the annual operating budget development process.

Financial planning is a process to define how an organization's strategy will be funded. All organizations can benefit from team-based budgeting. Government funded organizations, however, especially can benefit given that many government contracts have detailed line-item budgets that require tracking by program/finance/development/leadership to ensure contracts are spent down at the appropriate line item level.

As part of the annual budgeting process, organizations should seek and gain Board approval. As a best practice, having a board-approved budget in place by (at latest) the beginning of a fiscal year indicates clarity about goals and plans and provides stakeholders with a guide to action.

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The annual operating budget is a 1-year, board-approved plan for all unrestricted revenue (including revenue released from restrictions) and all operating expenses by department or program. This budget may contribute to (surplus) or deplete (deficit) an organization's overall resources.

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Many government RFPs may ask for a detailed program AND grant budget. Being able to track both program and grant budgets is important in particular for government funding because there are often specific reporting requirements tied to grant budgets.


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Our organization has a clearly documented cost allocation methodology that categorizes expenses into specific and shared expenses.

Certain expenses (often including rent, utilities, office supplies, etc.) are typically shared among many or all of the organization's programs and functions. Organizations should adopt an appropriate basis (such as headcount/FTE or square footage) for spreading costs among relevant areas. Many government funders will require organizations to have a clearly documented cost allocation methodology that is used as the basis for tracking expenses.

Our organization clearly understands its indirect cost rates.

"Overhead" and "indirect cost" are often used interchangeably but have different meanings. Indirect Cost Rates are what government funders will allow to cover costs that are not direct program expenses. These are often detailed in the contract agreement. Often government funding will provide a de minimus 10% Indirect Cost Rate. Organizations may also want to explore a NICRA or Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, which is a indirect cost rate negotiated with the Federal Government and accepted by all Federal agencies in place of the 10% de minimis rate.

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For government funding, managing cash flow can be important particularly for organizations that have many cost-reimbursement funding.


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Performance Management

A budget vs. actuals report is a side-by-side comparison of the budgeted revenue and expense drivers against actual revenue and expense to date. Reviewing budget vs. actuals (variance) reports is a best practice for all organizations to monitor past performance in order to inform future financial decisions. This regular monitoring is especially important for government funding which may require organizations to "spend it or lose it" by a grant or contract deadline.

Our LEADERSHIP is reviewing budget vs. actuals (variance) reports on at least a quarterly basis.
Our BOARD is reviewing budget vs. actuals (variance) reports on at least a quarterly basis.
Our BUDGET OWNERS are reviewing budget vs. actuals (variance) reports on at least a quarterly basis.
Our organization is able to easily prepare budget and financial reports for funders in a timely manner.
Our organization is able to produce audit schedules and year-end financial statements in a timely manner.*

Financial Operations

Please list the roles of any staff performing this function.

Please list the roles of any staff performing this function. If your organization does not currently have any grant funding, please skip this question.

Please list the roles of any staff performing this function. If your organization does not currently have any government grant funding, please skip this question.

Many accounting systems allow organizations to upload budget information to produce budget-to-actuals reports. This can save time and energy in producing financial reports.

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Our organization is able to pull relevant financial data from our accounting system.
Staff understands the chart of accounts and is able to accurately code expenses and revenue.

Many government agencies will want to ensure an organization has strong fiscal policies and procedures and internal controls.

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Our organization is able to ensure compliance with our overall fiscal compliance requirements.*

Programs and Services

Our programs have recently grown or are planned to grow significantly due to increased revenue opportunities.
Our programs have recently grown or are planned to grow signigicantly due to increased demand.
We have adequate staff to support current need and/or planned programmatic growth.
Our organization tracks and analyzes meaningful programmatic data.*

Additional Support

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