Cosmos is A Bookkeeping Cooperative’s education branch where we work to build collective skills and confidence around resource management!
Online workshops currently open for registration:
- Financial Foundations series
- Building Shared Futures: Planning with Budgets, Cash Flow, Savings and Reserves
- Patronage in Worker Cooperatives
Details below!
Financial Foundations Series
Want to strengthen your finance skills in a way that’s aligned with your values?
Part of a coop, business, nonprofit, or other project and interested in shared power around finances?
Register for our 4-part financial foundations workshop series. We welcome people at all levels of comfort or discomfort with finances.
There are two more opportunities to take the Financial Foundations series in 2023: October and November. Register for the series in your chosen month via the links below:
OCTOBER series — Wednesdays 10am-12pm PT / 11am-1pm MT / 12-2pm CT / 1-3pm ET on the following dates:
Wed. Oct. 4 Understanding My Org’s Finances
Wed. Oct. 11 Budgeting with Values
Wed. Oct. 18 Multiple Futures: Cash Flow & Scenario Planning
Wed. Oct. 25 Beyond Spreadsheets: Engaging Financial Reports
Sign up for October Financial Foundations series at this link.
NOVEMBER series — Mondays 12-2pm PT / 1-3pm MT / 2-4pm CT / 3-5pm ET on the following dates:
Mon. Nov. 6 Understanding My Org’s Finances
Mon. Nov. 13 Budgeting with Values
Mon. Nov. 20 Multiple Futures: Cash Flow & Scenario Planning
Mon. Nov. 27 Beyond Spreadsheets: Engaging Financial Reports
Sign up for November Financial Foundations series at this link.
We recommend attending the full 4-part series via the full series tickets linked above. Single session tickets are also available below for each workshop.
Financial Foundations Series Workshop Descriptions
Understanding My Org’s Finances
single session registration link
Basic financial concepts and four reports: Profit & Loss, Budget, Cash Flow Projection, and Balance Sheet + how these tools can help you put your values front and center. An interactive workshop designed for people at all levels of comfort with finances. Whether you are an absolute beginner or totally fluent and looking for ways to communicate more clearly with others, you are welcome.
Budgeting with Values
single session registration link
Budgets as tools for both group planning and evaluation and as a support for mapping more just futures. We’ll ground ourselves in a basic and empowering understanding of what a budget is, discuss how it relates to governance, and share ways to engage your entire organization in the process.
Multiple Futures: Cash Flow+Scenario Planning
single session registration link
How do we plan for multiple futures in uncertain times? Learn to map out possible paths, assess their viability, and see potential problems ahead of time so you can move with greater confidence and intention.
Beyond Spreadsheets: Engaging Financial Reports
single session registration link
Conventional financial reports can often feel intimidating, confusing, or boring. We’ll share facilitation tools for fostering full group connection with finances as a crucial part of building shared power. There will be games, stories, charts, & scavenger hunts!
Before contacting us, please see this LINK to some Frequently Asked Questions for Public Workshops.
New!
Building Shared Futures: Planning with Budgets, Cash Flow, Savings and Reserves
In this 3-session workshop, we’ll explore how to create a budget, how to use a budget as a guide throughout the year, and how to plan for savings and reserves in service of your group’s goals. We’ll also cover methods of comparing plans to reality as you go, and adjusting when things don’t go according to plan.
This workshop is a mix of both process and technical pieces. We’ll share frameworks for the who, what, when, and how of group involvement in the budgeting process as well as some of the mechanics of calculation for Budgets, Budgets versus Actuals, and Cash Flow Projections, including spreadsheet templates with formulas and options for format and organization. We’ll build skills and confidence for directing resources with greater clarity and intention together.
Who is this intended for?
Building Shared Futures is designed with the expectation that participants are already somewhat familiar with the main purposes and basic content of four financial reports–Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Budget, and Cash Flow Projections–and with core financial terms such as income, expense, equity, asset, liability, accounts payable and receivable. For grounding in this material, we recommend first attending the Cosmos Financial Foundations workshop series above before taking this workshop.
This series will be most applicable for those who have a financial role in their organization. For example: Member of finance committee, Treasurer, Finance Director/Manager/Coordinator, Program or Operations Manager/Director/Coordinator, Co-/Executive Director, coop member, and others who significantly interact with budgeting, as well as people interested in skilling up for such roles.
Learning is applicable to cooperatives, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups who budget. The focus is on group finances, but individuals and sole proprietors may find some parts applicable too.
Learning Goals:
Increase understanding and confidence on
- Creating a Budget
- frameworks for group processes
- technical spreadsheet creation
- Actively using a budget throughout the year
- Analyzing Budget versus Actual reports
- Updating Cash Flow Projections
- Building the skill of prediction and planning
- Working with savings and reserves
- Definitions and concepts of savings and reserves
- Aligning savings and reserves goals with your values
- Methods for setting savings and reserves goals
- Calculating goals using Cash Flow Projections
Three 2-hour sessions across three successive weeks.
The two options to take Building Shared Futures this Fall are:
OCTOBER – Thursdays on October 5, 12, and 19
10am-12pm PT / 11am-1pm MT / 12-2pm CT / 1-3pm ET
Sign up for October Building Shared Futures linked.
NOVEMBER – Wednesdays on November 1, 8, and 15
10am-12pm PT / 11am-1pm MT / 12-2pm CT / 1-3pm ET
Sign up for November Building Shared Futures linked.
Patronage in Worker Cooperatives
Monday December 4, 2023
12-2pm PT / 1-3 MT / 2-4 CT / 3-5pm ET
registration and details linked here
A special workshop on profit sharing in worker coops: Internal capital accounts, member equity, ways to calculate, and ways to educate membership on this key part of coop finances.
Free recordings of some past ABC workshop special events are available on our Resources Page.
Talleres en Español
Comprensión Básica de Los Estados Financieros – taller gratis
11 de Diciembre
3-5pm PT / 4-6pm MT / 5-7 CT / 6-8pm ET
Desarrollar confianza y claridad con los estados financieros de nuestras organizaciones es fundamental en la lucha para la justicia social. Repasaremos los conceptos financieros básicos y los cuatro informes: Pérdidas y ganancias, Presupuesto, Proyección del flujo de caja y el Balance General.