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Designing for Strategy: Financial Modeling
October 16 @ 1:00 pm – October 30 @ 3:00 pm CST
Virtual Workshop – Live/Online
Fee: $135 for MCN members / $175 for nonmembers
This is a four-hour virtual training split into 2 two-hour sessions. See below for the descriptions and learning objectives for each session.
This series is designed for anyone in a leadership role with financial decision-making power.
Session 1: Financial Modeling to Support Decision Making
October 16, 2025 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central
In a time of shifting funding sources, rising costs, and heightened accountability, nonprofit leaders face decisions that shape both their organization’s present and future. Financial modeling helps turn uncertainty into informed choices by providing scenario analysis, cost projections, and risk assessments. Join Tangelo Tree Consulting to explore which critical questions can be addressed through financial modeling, how to structure data to guide leadership decisions, and examples from 2025 where short-term financial planning supported long-term mission and sustainability goals. Strong decisions require not just values — but numbers.
Objectives:
- Identify key strategic questions financial modeling can help answer.
- Explain essential components and formats that make financial models useful for decision-making.
- Show how short-term budget choices connect to long-term organizational health, using 2025 examples.
- Emphasize aligning financial choices with mission and values.
Session 2: Financial Modeling Monitoring & Implementation
October 30, 2025 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central
Building a financial model is only the beginning. The real challenge is using it to track progress, adapt to changing conditions, and guide leaders throughout the year. This session from Tangelo Tree Consulting will explore how nonprofit leaders can monitor key financial indicators, keep models current, and ensure the outputs remain accessible and actionable across leadership and program teams — not just finance. We’ll focus on practical tools to help organizations stay nimble and mission-focused as they navigate real-world complexity.
Objectives:
- Identify essential documentation and checkpoints for tracking financial decisions during the year.
- Share practical tips to keep financial models updated and usable for diverse audiences.
- Distinguish between point-in-time decisions and incremental adjustments — and how organizations can respond effectively to each.
Event Details
This virtual event will take place on the Zoom platform.
Your access link will be emailed to you the day before the event after 12 p.m., and will also be shared in your confirmation email.
This session will be recorded. The recording will be made available to registrants after the live event.
Captioning is provided automatically through Zoom. For information on requesting CART, ASL, or another accommodation, please visit our Registration Policies page.
To learn more about events, registration, and payment, visit our Event & Registration FAQ page.
Speaker Information
Michael Anderson (he/him) consults with nonprofits in the areas of financial strategy, strategy development, partnership development, and business planning. He has led consulting engagements with nonprofits across the country for over a decade and has worked with clients across all fields of service and with a wide range of budgets. He most enjoys facilitating nonprofit decision-making processes that require connecting strategy, finance, and structure.
Michael has previously served as staff at Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, La Piana Consulting, and Propel Nonprofits. He currently serves on the boards of Family Tree Clinic and Gender Justice, and in the past has served on the finance committee of Open Arms of Minnesota and as board chair of PRG, Inc. Michael has a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and lives in Minneapolis.
Charles Blakeslee (he/him) is a seasoned Certified Public Accountant with decades of public practice experience serving nonprofit and for-profit clients. He holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and an MS in Taxation from California State University, Northridge. Over his extensive career, Charles has held pivotal roles, including in industry as a CFO and Executive Vice President, leading a start-up through to a successful acquisition. He has also dedicated time to serving as Board Treasurer for organizations like Save LA River Open Space, focusing on preserving public recreational areas.
Charles brings a thorough, analytical, and practical approach to solving complex and ambiguous financial challenges. His expertise extends to providing clients with valuable Excel tools that enhance operational efficiency. Charles’ role includes supporting clients in navigating critical financial aspects of strategy development, business planning, and exploring partnerships or mergers.
Adelaide Rohrssen (they/them) has experience working for nonprofits in education, public operations, and directly with boards. Their lens as an educator is always present through their curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning. Adelaide enjoys supporting system development so that nonprofits can sustainably offer their resources to our community. As Project & Operations Associate, Adelaide supports the logistics of client projects and the business operations of Tangelo Tree Consulting. They hold an M.Ed. in Elementary Education and a B.S. in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota.
