Workshops and Facilitation

We believe that financial education is a powerful tool for organizational success and social change. We aim to build collective confidence around financial decision-making rooted in the wisdom of participants.

ABC 2019 NYC Seminar participants (workshops currently available online only*)

“So helpful and practical. The workshop acknowledged the reality of how big these topics can seem but made each one approachable. Really clear and engaging-funny too! “– participant

“super fun and engaging…you’ve succeeded in leaving me wanting MORE! :)” -Julia

“…fantastic facilitators! The content was easy to understand and great for different learning styles.” -Steph

Workshops

We facilitate customized financial education workshops for cooperatives, nonprofits, businesses, fellowship cohorts, organizing and capacity-building groups. We design our workshops to address the needs of each group we work with. Contact us to share your specific challenges and learning goals.

For past and upcoming public workshops, see our events page.

some example online workshops:

Length: 2 hours

Developing confidence and clarity around financial resources in our organizations is crucial as we continue to build and fight for a just world. We’ll go over basic financial concepts and the four most common reports: Profit & Loss, Budget, Cash Flow Projection, and Balance Sheet. We’ll also share ways to use these tools to put your values front and center in your organizations. This is an interactive workshop designed for people at all levels of comfort with organizational finances. Whether you feel totally fluent and are looking for ways to more clearly communicate around finances with others, or are an absolute beginner, you are welcome.

Learning goals: 

  • Strengthen understanding of financial reports and how they interact with organizational values 
  • Increase understanding of basic financial terminology
  • Increase understanding of 4 different financial reports (budget, cash flow, profit & loss, balance sheet) and what information they hold
  • Increase confidence in asking finance questions 
  • Share experiences, templates and resources
  • Have fun!

Length: 2 hours

Budgets and budget creation are key elements of both financial management and values alignment. In this workshop, we approach 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 understanding of what a budget is, discuss how it relates to governance and accountability, and share ways to engage your entire organization in the process.  Using a mix of both presentation and hands-on interactive examples, we’ll explore how to use your budget as a living document to guide planning and accountability throughout the year.

Learning Goals:

  • increase understanding of how to create an organizational budget
  • strengthen ability to assess the viability of a budget
  • build confidence in asking finance questions
  • have fun!

Length: 2 hours

How do we plan for multiple futures in uncertain times? What are our financial goals and values? How can we make budgeting processes more accessible so we can become more powerful together? We will share templates and examples of cash flow projections, ways to present information to your team, and tools for engaging groups in financial decision-making. This workshop is infused with solidarity values and gives time and space for participants to support each other and share their wisdom.

Learning goals: 

  • Strengthen understanding of cash flow projections and how they interact with organizational values 
  • Increase understanding of basic financial terminology
  • Increase understanding of cash flow projections and what information they hold
  • Increase confidence in asking finance questions 
  • Share experiences, templates and resources
  • Have fun!

Length: 2 hours

How to ask questions, what questions to ask, and how to engage people in financial information and decision-making is a puzzle for any organization. We’ll share some tools and tips for keeping things interesting and involving members of your group in meaningful and fun ways. There will be charts, scavenger hunts, and games!

Length: 2 hours

This workshop precedes our “Identifying Financial Priorities” workshop below.

What is success? How can we create shared definitions of success and build alignment around our financial priorities? This workshop supports a group to examine conventional metrics of success with a critical eye, and then define its own metrics of success that integrate the group’s statement of purpose, vision statement, and values. The group will generate a list of success statements that they can then use in their budgeting conversations.

Length: 2 hours

This workshop is part of a series and follows the “Redefining Success for Budgeting” workshop above.

If organizational success statements help us understand what we are growing towards, then our financial priorities answer the question: in what order are we growing? In a reality of limited resources, what are this year’s priorities, and what will we prioritize in years to come? Creating financial priorities helps us figure out the order in which we will grow into our success statements, and will translate our metrics for success into measurable, concrete goals that can be integrated into an organizational budget. This activity will guide your group through discussions, priority development, and a participatory ranking process. In addition to creating financial priorities and alignment, this workshop will support your group in exploring the tension between the individual and the collective. When this workshop is completed, your group will have a set of priorities, and next steps for how to move forward with these goals.

Lenders, Foundations, Grantmakers Supporting Cohorts

ABC regularly partners with lenders, foundations, and grantmakers to support cohorts of grantees and loan recipients. We typically offer a series of full group workshops followed up by 1:1 consulting for participants who would like additional direct technical assistance. Click here for more info.

Custom Workshops & Facilitation

Finance discussions can get complicated.  Having facilitation support can help you move forward together with more ease and clarity.  ABC can work with you to facilitate money-related sections of your meetings and retreats and bring grounding education and games as needed to engage everyone involved.

Annual Budgeting Process Facilitation: ABC can support your organization’s budgeting process from start to finish so that your whole group can participate more fully. Sessions can include: Building Alignment on Definitions of Success, Generating Financial Priorities, Understanding My Organization’s Finances, Collaborative Budgeting, and Scenarios planning for different future possibilities.

2023 Cosmos Pricing Guide

Chart of Cosmos Workshop Pricing. Level 3 annual org. budget $5M+ $5,700 per workshop; Level 2 org budget $2-5M $4,500 per workshop; Level 1 org. budget under $2M $3,300 per workshop

If you are a smaller group, consider sending your staff/members to our public workshops. Public iterations of our workshops have solidarity rate tickets available and happen multiple times throughout the year.

Get in Touch

*ABC is operating 100% remotely for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis.
This means that:
ABC will not have any workers travel for work.
ABC will not hold any in-person internal or client meetings.
ABC will not plan any in-person workshops or trainings.

We will maintain this policy in alignment and solidarity with the Peoples’ Strike Demand: “No return to work or end to physical distance until health experts determine it is safe.”