The BetterSchools team helps your team ask and answer the right questions.
Strategic Consulting Services
Unlocking Sustainable Financial Futures
In today’s educational landscape, board members and executive staff face a daunting challenge: ensuring a predictably sustainable financial future for their schools. With external pressures from traditional approaches to school finance emphasizing cost over revenue, many institutions find themselves trapped in a culture of scarcity – investment in the future is overridden by a chronic need for cost control. Operating with a constant budget emergency mindset undermines the quality of education and the confidence of staff to propose mission-expanding ideas. A culture of scarcity also makes parents who know wonder whether the school’s financial footing is truly sound.
The Challenge
The issues are multifaceted. Externally, traditional budgeting practices focus on variable income rather than fixed income, making profitability seem like an inappropriate goal for non-profit schools. Internally, board members and staff may lack familiarity with school economics, leading to shortsighted decision-making. The instinct to apply business expertise from other sectors often results in a misunderstanding of pricing strategies that could undermine enrollment growth. Philosophically, the belief that long-term sustainability can only be achieved through profitability is often overlooked.
Our Strategy
At BetterSchools, we provide a comprehensive plan to tackle these challenges head-on. We guide board members and executive staff through a two-step process that begins with understanding the unique elements of school economics and market forces. From there, we build a multi-year financial plan that empowers decision-makers to grasp the long-term effects of annual pricing and expense/investment choices.
The Outcomes
Imagine a future where your school operates with a multi-year financial model that produces or moves aggressively toward profitability. Picture cash reserves and investments that allow for well-resourced programs and staffing plans. Envision predictable rates of tuition increases that provide families with the financial stability they crave. Our approach ensures that fundraising efforts are focused on the future, not just the present or past.
On the flip side, consider the consequences of failing to adopt this approach. Year-over-year shortsighted budgets that barely break even can lead to cash flow shortages and limited financial flexibility. Under-resourced programs and underpaid staff can diminish the authenticity of the mission. Erratic tuition increases can exacerbate parents’ concerns about affordability, while reliance on fundraising apart from tuition and fees can create instability.
Transforming Your School's Future
The transformation we offer is profound. Board members and executive staff will move from shortsighted decision-making regarding tuition and costs to a disciplined, long-term vision for revenue and expenses. This newfound certainty about profitability and future financial flexibility will allow for competitive compensation for staff, improving the overall value proposition of the school. A profitable school will also be a more welcoming school, providing access to families from a broader spectrum of household incomes and family sizes. And fundraising can finally support strategic goals through major gifts and long-term campaigns.
Solutions
Product Options to Unlock a Sustainable Financial Future for Your School:
- The iHat Template, which includes instructional videos and two virtual consultations
- Strategic/Financial Plan Consulting Agreement tailored to your specific needs
Don’t let your school’s financial future be dictated by wishful thinking. Take the first step toward a sustainable, profitable, accessible future today. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you transform your school’s financial landscape.
Testimonials
“Chuck Evans and BetterSchools LLC have assisted our school with long term financial and strategic planning since 2018. The insights and planning that has come from Chuck is invaluable as we consider a variety of directions and growth.
The 2018 version of the financial plan guided us through the impact of the COVID shut downs by giving us a road map to return to for our 2023 version of the strategic financial plan. A main output from this time period identified focused planning with financial aid and two ‘start up’ efforts.
The IHAT model allowed us to test scenarios of future growth as well as isolate the specific income and expense parameters we might face in the strategic outlook. The model is flexible for our purposes as well as provides snapshot views for governance and board approvals.”
Kirk Hudson - COO
Grace Community School
Tyler, TX
“Grateful that we were able to do the strategic planning process and IHAT back in 2020. We worked that plan, and we just updated our strategic plan and will be working on the financial modeling this Spring.”