The Shared Services model is specifically tailored by TSNE to provide essential administrative and operational support to small and mid-sized nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) status, with a focus on BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving organizations, enabling them to focus on their mission-driven work, while we help manage the back-office supports. This model will be implemented in two phases:

• Phase 1 (August 2024 – June 2025) consists of providing back-office operations support including accounting, payroll, and basic financial management.
• Phase 2 (coming in July 2025) expands services to include additional shared services including finance, human resources (HR), fund development, communications, evaluation, and other support services. TSNE anticipates introducing this suite of services mid-year in 2025. More to come!

The Shared Services model is appropriate for all small and mid-sized nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status working towards a just and equitable world. We are also prioritizing serving Black, Indigenous, and/or Person/People of Color (BIPOC)-led and serving organizations. In the pilot year, Shared Services will focus on nonprofit organizations in the Greater Boston area. 

The Shared Services model is appropriate for all small and mid-sized nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) status working towards a just and equitable world. We are also prioritizing serving Black, Indigenous, and/or Person/People of Color (BIPOC)-led and serving organizations. Our working definitions of the types of organizations eligible for Shared Services at TSNE are noted below: 

Small organizations are defined as organizations with operating budgets between $350,000 – $1,500,000. 

Mid-sized organizations are defined as organizations with operating budgets between $1,500,000 – $3,000,000. 

A BIPOC-led organization is defined as an organization whose: 

• Leader is BIPOC; and/or, 
• Board or staff is at least 51% BIPOC; and/or, 
• Commitment to BIPOC leadership succession plans is clear. 

A BIPOC-serving organization is defined as: 

• An organization whose primary mission, programming, and/or practices explicitly and specifically reflect and serve one or more communities that self-identify as BIPOC.

If you or your organization struggle to hire and retain knowledgeable and effective finance, bookkeeping, or payroll staff, or spend hours on accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll management that can be better spent on direct mission oriented work, Shared Services may be a good fit for you.

Shared Services is built on a tailored fee structure to accommodate various organizational budget sizes and needs. All fees are derived from a percentage of expenses and in accordance with the table below:

Services: Accounting and Bookkeeping 

Services: Accounting, Bookkeeping, and Payroll 

*With generous support from the Barr Foundation, the set-up fee will be waived for client organizations who join Shared Services in 2024 as part of the pilot program. Organizations who join Shared Services after Phase 1 will be charged a 1-month set-up fee, in addition to monthly fees.

Shared Services will be implemented with a phased roll-out of services to ensure a responsive, high-quality, and equity-centered approach to partnering with our client organizations.

Phase 1 (2024) 
Accounting 
Accounts Payable – Money Out 

• Your office will transmit your coded invoices via an online platform. Following this, our accountants will review and input all data into Concur/Intacct, providing a comprehensive report of outstanding items.  
• Payments will be authorized online by your office. Our team will send payments, either by printing and mailing or via ACH, directly from your bank account.  

Accounts Receivable – Money In 

• Our team will create and send invoices for revenue contracts. 
• We will book, track, and report on pledges and grants received, using GAAP rules of recognition.  

Deposits and Cash 

• All incoming funds will be deposited by your office directly into your bank account. Your team will code, transmit the deposit details to our accountants, who will post all data into Intacct. 
• Our team will reconcile your books to your bank.  

Reporting 

• You will be provided with access to our portal dashboards.
• A standard set of financial statements will be generated and distributed each month. This report suite includes a Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet), a Statement of Activities (Profit & Loss), and a report of general ledger (transaction-level) detail activity. 

Audit Support

• Our accounting team will provide support during your audit. We will provide backup documentation, assist in answering questions, and produce financial schedules.  

Payroll 

• We’ll gather timesheets and use our payroll service. We will oversee payroll processing, categorize by department, and allocate accordingly in the general ledger.  
• Your office will retain responsibility for HR functions. We assist in tracking paid time off (PTO), vacation, sick leave, and compile payroll data for the year-end audit. 
• Should your office choose not to utilize our payroll processing services, we request that you provide us with detailed ledgers. This will enable us to input the necessary data into Intacct, facilitating the generation of comprehensive financial reports.

Note: TSNE uses the following Accounting and Payroll systems: Concur, Intaact, and ADP. 

Phase 2 

In Phase 2 of Shared Services, we’ll be providing additional shared services including the potential for cooperatively-owned solutions such as:

• Human Resources
• Communications
• Evaluation
• Fund Development
• Strategic Planning
• IT

2024 is the pilot year for this new initiative and to ensure high-quality, responsive, and effective support, Shared Services will be serving up to 15 client organizations in the first year of service.

Shared Services aims to serve a range of nonprofit organizations with different budget sizes to continue to learn about the needs of the nonprofit sector. We’re interested in partnering with organizations that align with TSNE’s mission to advance equity and justice.

For more information, sign up for our newsletter and check back on our website in the coming months. You can also submit an inquiry form here, and a TSNE team member will follow-up with you shortly.

If you have questions about Shared Services, please reach out to the team at sharedservices@tsne.org.

The onboarding process for new Shared Services client organizations can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks depending on the services for which the organization is opting into.