Building Shared Futures – A Bookkeeping Cooperative

Building Shared Futures: Planning with Budgets, Cash Flow, Reserves, and Savings

Register for March here Wednesdays 11am-1pm PT/12-2pm MT/1-3pm CT/2-4pm ET on the following dates (2-hour sessions each):
Wed. Oct. 12
Wed. Oct. 19
Wed. Oct. 26

Register for May/June here Thursdays 11am-1pm PT/12-2pm MT/1-3pm CT/2-4pm ET on the following dates (2-hour sessions each):
Thurs. May 22
Thurs. May 29
Thurs. June 6

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.

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

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.

Three 2-hour online workshops using Zoom with at least one break per session.

Cosmos workshops are participatory and we will invite you to engage in several ways: video on (when possible and comfortable), interacting with a shared slide deck, using reactions, and answering or asking questions in chat or aloud.

Zoom automatic closed captioning will be enabled.

ASL interpretation, CART, and/or advanced copies of the slides are possible if requests are received at least 2 weeks in advance of the first session in the series. Please note on the registration form anything that would make this series more accessible to you.

**Workshops will not be recorded, however resources and slides with an overview of the main topics covered will be shared with attendees.**

Cosmos public workshop tickets are available on a sliding scale in an attempt to distribute resources more equitably. We invite you to select a ticket level that corresponds with your access to resources using the guide below.

There are a limited number of tickets available. If your level is sold out, we encourage you to sign up for our mailing list linked here to get updates on future workshops.

Cost is 1 ticket per person attending the entire 3-session series.

Refund requests accepted up to 1 day before the start of the first session with a 5% payment processing fee. Requests received after this time can get a transfer to a future date of the same event.

Level 5-Redistribution: $1,440

If your organization is paying for your participation and has an annual budget of $1M or more.
If you’re an individual paying for your own ticket and some of the following may apply to you: your salary is over $100K; you have inherited or expect to inherit wealth; you do not need to work in order to meet your basic needs; you do not have any debt.

Level 4-Full Cost: $880

If your organization is paying for your participation and has an annual budget below $1M.
If you’re an individual paying for your own ticket and some of the following may apply to you: you consistently cover your basic needs + some extras; your salary is over $75K; you have some debt that you’re able to make regular payments on: you have higher education degree(s); you have family with assets such as a home or retirement fund)

Level 3-Solidarity: $480

If your organization is paying for your participation and meets the following criteria: A) Has an annual budget below $200,000 AND B) Is majority owned or governed by people who are: of color, immigrants, disabled, LGBTQIA2+, working class, and/or poor AND C) focused on solidarity economy or collective liberation work
If you’re an individual paying for your own ticket and some of the following may apply to you: you consistently cover your basic needs + occasional extras; your salary is between $60-75K; you have some debt that you’re able to make regular payments on: you have higher education degree(s); you have family with assets such as a home or retirement fund

Level 2-Solidarity: $250

If you’re an individual paying for your own ticket and some of the following may apply to you: you consistently cover your basic needs; your salary is between $45-60K; you have some debt that you’re able to make regular payments on: you have higher education degree(s); your income supports people other than yourself

Level 1-Solidarity: $75

If you’re an individual paying for your own ticket and some of the following may apply to you: you struggle to consistently meet basic living expenses; you do not have savings; you are unable to make payments on debts; you have not had access to higher education (e.g. college or graduate school) or you may be one of the first in your family to go to college; your income supports people other than yourself

The above are guidelines and are not prescriptive. We recognize that some individuals and groups might have specific situations that don’t fit neatly into a single category and we welcome you to select based on your own assessment of your resource access.

Before emailing us, please see answers to some Frequently Asked Questions linked here.