Synced Operations · Matt Holbrook

Systems and process

Build a tracker or database for a program, a grant portfolio, or a process that lives in someone's head
Connect the tools you already have so the donor database, the program data, and the accounting system agree
Automate the work that repeats, with tools like Airtable and Zapier
Document how things actually get done, so they don't leave when a person does

Grant portfolio Grants FINAL v3 (copy).xlsx

Funder	Award	Report due	Status
Community foundation	$50,000	Mar 15	On track
Federal (USDA)	$180,000	Jan 31	Report due
Family foundation	$25,000	Jun 30	On track
Corporate giving	$15,000	None	Closed

One place, one format, a status anyone can read.

ABCD 1who$$due??notes 2Comm Fdn500003/15ASK FINANCE 3USDA grant180,000.00Jan 31stsee email 4usda#REF!dup? delete?? 5Family fdn.$25kjuneDONE (I think) 6Corp15000n/a

Sheet1Sheet1 (2)OLD do not use

Example

Technology and AI

Choose, set up, or revive the software nobody uses
Train staff on new tools and on AI, so they're still in use six months later
Write AI ground rules: policies, data privacy, and what's in bounds
Build AI into the workflows where it actually saves time
Untangle the tech stack, licenses, and accounts a small team keeps losing track of

Staff assistant

Can you summarize our donor list and each person's giving history?donors_2026.csv

Ground rule 1: keep people's data out. Take out names and contact details first, or run this in the reporting tool.

OK. Here are monthly totals, no names.

Giving rose in spring and dipped in July. Want a draft paragraph for the board report? A person reads it before it goes out.

1 Keep people's data out2 A person reads it first3 Use the approved tools

Example

Finance

Create budgets, forecasts, and what-if scenarios an executive director actually uses
Track restricted and federal grants: what's spent, what's left, what's billable
Design board and finance committee reports, ideally ones that update themselves
Review the monthly financials before they go to the board
Prepare for the audit and the 990; manage a move to an outside accounting firm and work alongside it

What if the federal reimbursement is late? Late by3 months

$215klowest cash, SepStays above the reserve floor

Month-end cash, fiscal year July to June. Dashed line: the reserve floor, two months of expenses.

Example

People and HR

Set up hiring, onboarding, and offboarding that run the same way every time
Draft the handbooks and policies a growing organization needs before it needs them
Sort out who does what as a team grows: an org chart and job descriptions that match the real work
Set up payroll, benefits, and PTO so they run without anyone thinking about them
Plan staffing when the budget changes
Bring an outside set of eyes when a team isn't working

New hire, week one3 of 5

Laptop and accounts ready before day one
Payroll, tax and benefits forms
Handbook read and signed
Lunch with the team
30-day check-in on the calendar

Example

Strategy

Turn the operational pieces of a strategic plan into work that gets done
Serve as a thought partner for the executive director on what's realistic
Map what a new program or funding source will really take to run, before committing to it
Organize board materials, committees, and governance documents
Guide an organization through a leadership transition or a change in funding

Plan goal: steadier revenue

Clean up the donor database

Launch monthly giving

Board giving policy

Grant calendar, all year

Example

Helping organizations get their tools, processes, and people working in sync.

The work

Systems and process

Technology and AI

Finance

People and HR

Strategy

When to reach out

Starting something new?

Outgrown the duct tape?

In the middle of a change?

Principal · Matt Holbrook

Let's sync up.