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Independence

Capacity without control.

We build the systems an organization runs on. That is a position of real access and real influence, and it is worth being precise about the limits we hold — because those limits are what let us serve several organizations in the same field, including organizations that compete with one another, and be trusted by each.

What we do not hold
What crosses the linesystems · documentation · training · administrator control — once, on your written acceptanceOur side of the lineWhat we holdAssessment, design, and the roadmapSystems, policies, templates, toolingDocumentation and trainingImplementation and transferThe sustainability assessmentAll of it built to be handed over,and all of it yours to keep.Never our side, at any pointWhat you hold — alwaysGovernance authorityseats, votes, vetoes, reserved powers — your boardThe governance recordminutes, packets, resolutions, Form 990 — your board, counsel, auditorMoneyfunds, contracts, charitable assets — your finance staffLicensed care and Administrator dutiesdelivery and delegated authority — your licensed staffEmployment decisionshiring, discipline, supervision, pay — you, as the employerPlacing insurancequoting, binding, policy advice — the licensed broker you engageWhat crosses backNothing. No authority, no money, no decision rights — during the engagement or after it.
The line, and the one thing that crosses it. Everything we build is designed to cross left to right, once, when you accept it in writing. Nothing crosses back — which is why we can work with organizations that compete with one another and be trusted by each. The five commitments below say the same thing in the words we are willing to be held to.
  • No governance authority. No board seat, no vote, no veto, no membership, and no reserved power at any organization we serve. We hold no right to appoint, remove, approve, or veto any client’s directors, officers, bylaws, budget, or disposition of assets.
  • No governance work. We do not prepare your board packets, minutes, or resolutions. We do not draft your conflict-of-interest determinations. We do not prepare, review, sign, or characterize your Form 990 or its schedules, and we do not perform excess-benefit or related-organization analyses for you. Those belong to your own directors and your own independent counsel and auditor.
  • No fiscal role. We do not receive or administer funds on your behalf, do not become a party to your government contracts, and do not hold your charitable assets. We are not a fiscal sponsor or fiscal agent.
  • No licensed role. We provide no direct care, hold no license to provide it, and do not perform an Administrator’s duties or accept delegated authority over program operations.
  • No employment role. We do not hire, fire, discipline, supervise, or set compensation for your staff, and we are not a co-employer or staffing agency.
The information boundary

What we learn working with one organization is not used for another. Our staff sign that obligation individually, in writing, and it survives the end of an engagement. It covers your data, your documents, your financial position, your findings, your personnel matters, and anything else we see because you let us in.

Where our work touches confidential records — juvenile case files, health information, education records, personnel files — we hold them under the specific rules that govern them, not under ordinary business confidentiality. Nothing goes on a personal device or a personal cloud account. Nothing is carried between engagements.

Serving organizations that compete

We may work with more than one organization in the same field and the same region. We think that is a feature — the alternative is that specialist capacity exists in the sector and only one organization is allowed to use it. But you should know it, decide about it, and hold us to the boundary above rather than to a promise of exclusivity we are not making.

If we believe an engagement would compromise another client’s confidence in a way disclosure and the information boundary cannot address, we decline it and say why.

How we handle our own relationships

Where any individual holds a role at both our organization and an organization we serve, the relationship is disclosed in writing to both boards. That person does not sign for both sides, does not act as agent for both, and recuses from the client’s deliberation and vote on any matter concerning us.

We do not describe any organization we serve as an affiliate, subsidiary, division, program, chapter, member, related organization, or supporting organization — and we do not permit the reverse. We name an organization publicly only in the form and context that organization has approved in writing.

Everything a client’s families, constituents, staff, and funders see carries the client’s identity. Our branding does not appear on login screens, email templates, document headers, or anything else inside a client’s systems.

Every year, we certify our independence in writing to the board of each organization we serve, or state what has changed.

What to ask any provider — including us

These are the questions we would want a board to put to anyone in our position. We publish them because we would rather be measured against them than avoid them.

  1. What authority, formal or practical, will you hold over our organization during and after this engagement?

  2. Who else in our field do you work with, and what stops what you learn here from reaching them?

  3. Do any of your people hold a role at another organization in our sector, and how is that governed?

  4. Whose branding appears on the systems our families and funders will see?

  5. When this ends, what do we own, what can we still use, and what stops working?

  6. What would you have to tell us if we asked you to write down, honestly, what we cannot do without you?

Ask us about any of this