OUR APPROACH
Observe, Ask-Listen, Analyze, Recommend
We partner with social impact - whether non-profit or for-profit - enterprises to help form a more insightful picture of themselves. Client insights are developed by mapping organizational information, processes, activities and roles, then having objective discussions with the client team. Our goal is to develop enterprise sustainability by fostering deeper knowledge of financial and operational dynamics for improved enterprise decision-making and mission impact. In essence, we apply expertise, perform analyses and provide useable information to help organizations make more data-informed and timely decisions.
These organizational decisions can affect the enterprise for years to come and range from exploring new mission-aligned ideas, to creating strategic options, to helping clients understand the right questions to ask themselves – all by partnering with the enterprise team to develop insights, and a framework for action.
Our Mission
VeraCruz helps social impact enterprises, fulfill their missions by providing strategic, financial and enterprise consulting.
By lacking particular knowledge, too often organizations allow finances to drive decisions. It is an organization’s mission that should drive strategy, planning decisions, and resource allocation. VeraCruz approaches each engagement from a bottom-up, client-mission centric viewpoint to ensure that any advice, plans, or financing is structured in a way that is suitable and aligned with furthering or strengthening the client’s mission.
Our Inspiration
VeraCruz was born from seeing far too many good, selfless people and organizations fall short of reaching their full potential. Coming from the for-profit business and banking world, we came across too many non-profit enterprises and for-profit businesses with a desire to help others, but not operating in a sustainable or intentional manner. We used to think of it as trying to fly a plane without instruments and training.
Too often, these well-intentioned and essential organizations were offering valuable services and products, but could not look too far beyond the next payroll or lease payment. At other times, these mission-driven enterprises had trouble developing a coordinated plan of action that involved their board, the various internal functional areas (e.g. Development, Finance, Operations, etc.) and external stakeholders. Yet these same organizations were performing vitally needed work, ranging from helping provide equitable access to education, affordable housing, job-skill training, etc., to offering a host of services to fulfill human, social, spiritual or cultural needs and aspirations such as meaningful jobs.
OUR PURPOSE
We exist to support social impact enterprises by concretely:
Performing on-going activities such as capital and strategic planning, financial modeling, or special projects.
Providing specialized knowledge and expertise to fulfill client needs such as, how to best finance a new charter school, expand a food bank distribution facility, or start a community arts center.
Adding organizational capacity for a specific assessment, finite project, or temporary enterprise situation without the need to hire permanent staff.
Offering expertise and helping execute events such as a facilitated strategic planning board retreat.
Consulting on how to best finance a new facility, service or program.
