In this episode of Nonprofit Architect, Travis talks with Courtney DeRonde, a CPA and Co-Managing Partner of TDT CPAs and Advisors, a boutique advisory and accounting firm for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. They help overwhelmed, successful leaders, understand and maximize financial information so they can achieve better results and move their organization to the next level. 

Conversation Highlights: 

{00:51} Courtney explains her role

{03:50} Why nonprofit organizations have a mission and why you have programs that support that.

{05:01}  Why you need to know which programs are providing the funding you need to be sustainable in this organization

{08:43} Why failure comes from not having accurate, timely financial information

{11:21} Why you need to not go in alone. Reach out to someone like cornea, TCP, and advisors

{21:26} The situation where nonprofits actually owe taxes

{28:43} Start by listing out all the things that you do in the organization and then put them in buckets of which things are really best done by you.

{34:05} Why spending a lot of time putting out fires instead of preventing them leads to failure

{38:09} The surprising problem of having more cash than you're used to.

{41:44} Why you need to be good at thinking through  vision

Remarkable quotes: 

most people just match someone up with the next person available

What we really need to be looking at is where do I expect my bank account balance to be going up or down? 

 Nonprofit is a tax status, not a business plan. 

Just because something like COVID happens doesn't mean your mission stops doesn't mean there are no longer people in need.

People give money for specific restricted purposes. You have an obligation to account for those restrictions

If someone comes to you as a donor and offers you money with restrictions, you can decline their donation.

I love quality feedback so I can do it better next time

Resources: 

Courtney DeRonde 

courtneydr@tdtpc.com 

tdtpc.com 

515-657-5814 

in/courtney-de-ronde-10381180 

 Bio: Courtney DeRonde

Courtney DeRonde is a CPA and Co-Managing Partner of TDT CPAs and Advisors, a boutique advisory and accounting firm for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. They help overwhelmed, successful leaders, understand and maximize financial information so they can achieve better results and move their organization to the next level. 

Courtney is primarily responsible for the firm’s vision and strategic direction. Her professional background includes almost two decades of serving small businesses and nonprofits. As an owner in her firm and co-managing partner, she also has firsthand experience running and scaling a small business. Courtney and her husband Brian live in Des Moines, Iowa, along with their three children, M’lynn, Brady, and Callen, and their Whoodle, Oscar. 

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