You would think that missing the first day of class in a master’s level Nonprofit Financial & Resource Management program would not bode well for the student-instructor relationship. Usually, it’s a recipe for playing catch-up all semester. But in our case, it was the exact detour needed to start a lifelong partnership.

I was that student (Mamie), and Mara was the instructor. Knowing I needed to make up for lost time, we set up a personal meeting to go over the syllabus and get me up to speed. What was supposed to be a standard academic check-in quickly revealed an undeniable teacher-student synergy.

We came from different sides of the same financial coin. I brought years of hands-on bookkeeping experience, making me an eager sponge for Mara’s incredible depth of knowledge. Mara, having spent decades as a CPA auditing nonprofit organizations, brought high-level insights and a deeply passionate teaching style. My energetic interest in the day-to-day numbers was the perfect match for her big-picture auditing expertise, and very quickly, a great friendship was born.

Our conversations soon moved out of the classroom and into coffee shops. The real turning point came during my Capstone project, which focused on the often-dreaded task of presenting nonprofit financial data to boards of directors. Over countless lunches, the hours would disappear as we debated a shared frustration: why is financial data so intimidating, and how can we present it in a way that is truly accessible to the people who actually need to use it?

It became clear to both of us that we had hit upon something much broader than the scope of a single master’s project. The nonprofit sector is full of passionate leaders trying to change the world, yet they are often held back by confusing fiscal details and the heavy weight of fiduciary duties.

We realized that our combined experience—the bookkeeper and the auditor—could bridge that gap. We didn’t just want to teach finance; we wanted to translate it.

That shared vision laid the groundwork for what would eventually become Fiscal Navigator. While our initial business plan took a few pandemic-induced detours (shifting from in-person seminars to the digital resources you see today!), the core belief has never wavered: “how-to” knowledge for basic foundational financial practices should be accessible to everyone.

When you understand the building blocks of financially sound actions, you empower your organization to make the best possible choices to fulfill its purpose. And that is exactly what we are here to help you do.