Organization focused on empowering girls and their communities through culturally relevant education.
The story of turning our disjointed back-end technology into a powerful, integrated, scalable system.
When we first connected, Latinitas was at a pivotal point. Like many midsize nonprofits, they had big ambitions, but their systems weren't keeping up. Financial processes needed standardization, and data was scattered across platforms.
They required more than just new templates or software upgrades. A collaborative planning approach was key to assessing and tailoring their systems to support both current needs and future growth.
With my experience in nonprofit administration, project management, and leveraging my Product Management Certification, I took in this operational challenge as an opportunity to design solutions as finely tuned products — intuitive, sustainable, and centered on the user.
We started improving the finance processes to better manage internal controls, which had become slightly scattered over time due to staff transitions. We implemented practices to align our financial management with nonprofit best practices, keeping administrative and fundraising costs at or below 15% each, and ensuring that over 70% of our budget consistently supported our programs.
≤15% Admin Costs
≤15% Fundraising Costs
>70% Program Support
This progress boosted confidence among the board of directors and leadership in financial reports, allowing them to make informed decisions based on a solid financial foundation.
"As we enhanced our financial internal controls, our narrative became clearer and more reliable. We no longer need to hastily prepare reports—our systems now provide accurate information that is accessible in real-time. This was a pivotal moment for our decision making."
Gabriela Kane Guardia
Executive Director of Latinitas
Leading the RFP process for an accounting firm to assist the board and leadership team in decision-making
Easy payroll allocation method for each program
Automated recurring bills for simpler bookkeeping
Smooth year-end closeouts & detailed audit reports
Once our operational foundation was set, we focused on strategy—creating systems for real-time decisions. We consolidated scattered data from platforms, spreadsheets, and emails into a unified, functional setup.
The Development team can now track multi-year revenue trends by donor segment,
gaining clear insights into successes and priorities. These visual tools aid decision-making. Overall, we shifted from reactive reporting to a more dynamic, proactive approach—using insights to shape strategies and actions.
As our financial systems got stronger, it became clear that the technology stack needed attention as well. Over time, the team had adopted tools reactively: a form builder here, a time tracker there, an HR platform no one remembered setting up. What resulted was overlap, waste, and frustration.
We paused to assess. What do people actually use? What's redundant? What's secure?
45%
Drop in monthly tech expenses
$50,000+
Forecasted savings over 5 years
I'm excited about the chance to join a team where I can help make a difference! I love finding ways to help a small, focused group work more smoothly and lighten their load. If that sounds like a good match, I'd be thrilled to chat and see how I can pitch in!