Join Hiline CEO Matt Gardner in conversation with Rebecca Bostwick, Principal at Bostwick Strategy Group, as they tackle one of the most important truths in nonprofit management: not all funding opportunities align with your mission, and saying yes to the wrong money can cost your organization more than saying no.

In this episode, Rebecca shares her 25 years of experience working with nonprofits from grassroots organizations to national institutions, revealing how to thread together strategy and funding decisions. Learn why accepting a grant without proper systems can drain resources, damage donor relationships, and pull your organization away from its core mission.

Key Takeaways:

• The four Ps framework: Purpose, People, Practice, and Product/Program
• Red flags to watch for when evaluating grants and major donors
• Why cashflow matters more than you think with reimbursable grants
• How board composition must evolve as your organization grows
• Essential questions to ask before accepting any grant

Perfect for: Executive Directors, nonprofit leaders, board members, and anyone navigating the complex world of nonprofit funding and strategy.

Connect with Rebecca Bostwick:
🔗 Rebecca A. Bostwick – linkedin.com/in/rebecca-a-bostwick/
🔗 Rebecca's Website: bostwickstrategygroup.com

About Hiline:
Hiline specializes in R&D tax credits, AI-native accounting solutions, and nonprofit financial services. We help organizations build the financial systems needed to manage complex funding requirements and scale sustainably.

Schedule your free consultation: hiline.co/get-started

Discover how R&D tax credits could put hundreds of thousands of dollars back into your startup's pocket! Join Matt Gardner, CEO of Hiline, and Meenal Garg, Head of Tax Services, as they break down everything you need to know about R&D tax credits and the game-changing 2025 legislation updates.

What You'll Learn:

• How to unlock up to $500K in payroll tax offsets during your first 5 years
• The 4-part qualification test that determines if you're eligible
• Biggest misconceptions keeping businesses from claiming credits they deserve
• Documentation strategies to maximize your credit and minimize audit risk
• Why failed projects still qualify for R&D credits
• Amendment opportunities for 2022-2023 to recover taxes you've already paid

Key Takeaways:

• You DON'T need to be profitable to claim R&D credits
• Failed R&D projects still qualify for credits
• New 2025 legislation allows 100% deduction of US R&D expenses (reversing the 2022 capitalization rules)
• Businesses can amend 2022-2023 returns to get refunds
• Credits offset payroll taxes dollar-for-dollar in early years
• Qualifying expenses include wages, contractors, supplies, and cloud hosting costs

‼️ Special Offer: FREE R&D study for first-time customers with credits up to $20K!

Connect with Hiline:
🌐 Website: https://hiline.co
🧮 Free tool: R&D Tax Credit Calculator
💼 LinkedIn - Meenal Garg
💼 LinkedIn - Matt Gardner
📧 Contact: info@hiline.co

About Our Expert:
Meenal Garg is a California-licensed CPA with 25+ years of experience helping tech companies and startups unlock millions in R&D tax credits. She leads Hiline's tax services team of 8 professionals with over 50 combined years of expertise.

Why Choose Hiline:
✓ 15% fee (vs industry standard 20-30%)
✓ Comprehensive documentation & audit protection
✓ State credits included at no additional cost
✓ Holistic approach combining accounting, tax prep & R&D studies
✓ Partner-focused, not just a service provider

Subscribe for more insights on small business finances, accounting, and tax strategies that actually make sense!

• Why the Fortune 5 Million deserve the same tools as the Fortune 500
• How BILL's new W-9 Agent and Expense Reconciliation Agent work, potentially saving 650,000+ hours of work across their customer base
• Why "deleting" workflows (not just digitizing them) is the future of accounting technology
• How AI agents create competitive advantages for forward-thinking firms while improving talent retention
• The shift from compliance-focused accounting to tech advisory and strategic guidance
• Real talk about AI replacing accountants and why capacity—not technology—is the biggest challenge facing firms today

• Learn more about BILL
• Read BILL's AI Agent announcements
• Connect with Ariege on LinkedIn
• Connect with Matt on LinkedIn

Is your nonprofit board equipped to navigate today's rapidly evolving digital landscape? Hiline CEO, Matt Gardner sits down with Alethea Hannemann, CEO of Board.dev, to explore how strategic technology expertise at the board level transforms nonprofit effectiveness and sustainability.

🤓 What You'll Learn:

Nonprofits are 4x more likely to achieve their missions when tech-savvy, yet most spend only a third of what comparable for-profits invest in technology. This episode reveals how filling this critical gap through strategic board composition can revolutionize your organization's impact and financial health.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why technology expertise now ranks alongside finance and legal as essential board competencies
• The three technology archetypes every nonprofit should consider
• How tech-fluent boards strengthen financial oversight and donor trust
• Cybersecurity risks facing nonprofits (the second-most attacked sector) and essential protections
• Practical first steps for executive directors to strengthen board capacity
• Why clean data systems are foundational to both financial accuracy and AI readiness

Whether you're managing a nonprofit with a $500K or $10M budget, this conversation provides actionable guidance for building the governance capacity needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• https://www.Board.dev - Strengthening nonprofits through tech-savvy boards
• Board Tech 28 Assessment
• Hiline's Board-Ready Finance Kit

About Fiscally Awesome
Fiscally Awesome is produced by Hiline, where we make small business finances stress-free so you can focus on building a great company. Visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn to learn more.

Hosted by Matt Gardner, CEO and Co-Founder of Hiline. New episodes drop every other Thursday.

Corporate giving just got more complicated – and more strategic. Join Hiline CEO Matt Gardner as he sits down with Maureen Flynn, VP at Changing Our World, to break down what's really happening in the world of nonprofit funding and corporate partnerships.

Maureen brings a rare dual perspective. She works with both sides of the equation, helping corporations design their social impact programs while advising nonprofits on fundraising strategy. Translation: she knows what actually works and what gets your proposal tossed in the trash.

What you'll learn:

• Why competition for philanthropic dollars is fiercer than ever (and how to cut through the noise)
• How to build a prospect list that actually converts
• Why your CRM data is probably holding you back
• The corporate partnership playbook that turns one-time sponsors into long-term allies
• What gets a funding request noticed vs. what gets it ignored

Reality check: Most nonprofits treat prospects the same way, send cookie-cutter pitches, and wonder why corporate partnerships fizzle out. Maureen breaks down the simple (but not easy) fixes that separate organizations that thrive from those that just survive.

🔗 Connect with Maureen
🔗 Changing Our World Website
🔗 Connect with Hiline

More Fiscally Awesome:
Subscribe for more non-jargon finance and fundraising insights that'll change how you think about growing your organization.

Struggling with payroll complexity, skyrocketing health insurance costs, and HR compliance headaches? This episode reveals how Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) can transform these business burdens into competitive advantages.

What You'll Learn:

• What's a PEO vs HRIS
• How PEOs negotiate better health insurance rates through collective buying power
• Why 14,000+ small businesses choose Justworks for payroll and benefits
• The real cost savings potential when moving from traditional payroll providers
• Why nonprofits are rapidly adopting PEO solutions
• Revenue growth strategies from a Chief Revenue Officer's playbook

🧍Guest: John Belle, Chief Revenue Officer at Justworks
🎙️ Host: Matt Gardner, CEO & Co-founder of Hiline

Listen to this episode if you're a small business owner, nonprofit leader, or entrepreneur looking to reduce administrative burden while improving employee benefits and compliance.

Resources:
🔗 Learn more about Justworks
🔗 Hiline's HR & People Services

About Fiscally Awesome
Fiscally Awesome is produced by Hiline, where we make small business finances stress-free so you can focus on building a great company. Visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn to learn more.

Hosted by Matt Gardner, CEO and Co-Founder of Hiline. New episodes drop every other Thursday.

Think you're too small to offer competitive benefits? Think again. In this episode of Fiscally Awesome, Hiline CEO Matt Gardner sits down with Leah Brite, Head of Product Marketing, Benefits at Gusto, to break down exactly how small businesses can attract and retain top talent without breaking the bank.

What you'll learn:

• Why offering health insurance delivers a 109% ROI (with real numbers to prove it)
• The smart benefits progression from 1 employee to 20+
• ICRA vs traditional health plans - which saves you more money?
• How benefits reduce employee turnover by 25-40%
• State-by-state requirements you need to know about
• The biggest myths costing small businesses great talent

Leah manages benefits for over 400,000 small businesses on Gusto's platform, giving her unique insights into what actually moves the needle for employee satisfaction and business success.

Ready to make your small business a talent magnet? This episode gives you the roadmap.

🔗 Links mentioned:
👉🏻 Gusto: https://www.gusto.com
👉🏻 Hiline: https://www.hiline.co

Ever wondered what it really takes to build trust and make confident decisions in nonprofit leadership? Join Matt Gardner as he sits down with Stephanie Pasquale, Director of Neighborhood Development at the Allyn Family Foundation, for an eye-opening conversation about the financial realities facing nonprofits today.

From "shoebox accounting" to streamlined operations, Stephanie shares her unique perspective as someone who's worn every hat in the nonprofit ecosystem - funder, board member, government official, and strategic partner.

What You'll Learn:

• The shocking truth about nonprofit financial management
• How smart systems can free organizations to focus on mission work
• The "calm before the storm" in nonprofit funding right now
• Why transparency beats perfection every time
• How to build organizational capacity without breaking the bank

Whether you're drowning in financial chaos or dreaming of operational excellence, this episode is packed with actionable insights that'll change how you think about nonprofit leadership.

Resources Mentioned:

• Gusto (HR/Payroll platform): https://gusto.com/
• Divvy (Expense management): https://www.bill.com/product/spend-and-expense
• Blueprint 15 Project: https://blueprint15.org/
• Good Life Youth Foundation: https://gly.foundation/
• Allyn Family Foundation: https://allynfoundation.org/

Connect with Hiline:

• Website: https://www.hiline.co
• Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hilinehq/

Don't forget to LIKE this episode if it helped you rethink nonprofit operations, SUBSCRIBE for more fiscally awesome content, and SHARE with a nonprofit leader who needs to hear this!