Financial Education to Help Latino Network Thrive

Long-time SVP Partners Nicole Thibodeau and Ron Eiseman have teamed up to support several of our growing Community Partners as financial coaches and educators helping to build financial systems and literacy. One of the Community Partners they’ve worked with recently is Latino Network. Over the past few years, Nicole and Ron provided big picture financial education for their Board of Directors and leadership team. More recently, they’ve been supporting the organization on a more granular level by providing financial education to their Program Managers. 

This idea came from Latino Network’s Executive Director Tony Defalco, who had a vision to support his team members by building financial literacy so their organization can grow with strength. Nicole and Ron collaborated with Latino Network’s Deputy Director of Programs, Sadie Feibel, Micaela Alvarez Orgambidez, Agency Programs Assistant & Project Manager, and Veronica Leonard, Associate Deputy Director of Programs, to create and deliver a relevant curriculum for their team. This was a coordinated effort in planning and delivery.

In a joint effort, they led five sessions on topics like financial planning, budgeting, using Google sheets, and more, with space to tailor the discussion to the needs of the group. These sessions were offered in-person at Meyer Memorial Trust, with a virtual option as well. Each session was attended by around 25-35 Program Managers. 

As Nicole shared, “Everyone came in with questions and an appetite for learning, along with mutual support and understanding for one another. Numbers and finance can sometimes feel scary. Making these things, as well as the tools used to manage them, more approachable is one key to leveraging Latino Network’s skills in the community.” 

Nicole also told us about her own learning journey of understanding the challenges of finance in the nonprofit sector. “It is extremely clear that financial management and accounting skills are even more critical and complicated in the nonprofit sector [than in the for-profit sector] since funds come from multiple sources, and each funder often has specific requirements around how the money is used. Less micromanagement by funders, and more trust and coordination, would go a long way in reducing bureaucracy in acquiring and managing funds.” 

Latino Network is truly an inspiring model of success, not only because of their exceptional, community-centered programs, but also because they’ve had the foresight to understand how important building financial literacy and systems is. Managing finances at nonprofits can be complicated, and we are so grateful to Partners like Nicole and Ron for playing a role in empowering our Community Partners to feel stronger in their day-to-day management of finances, so they can ultimately be more effective for the communities they serve.