# IOI Financial Oversight Committee meetings

Last updated: 2025-12-30
URL for this page: https://hackmd.io/@investinopen/financial-oversight-meetings
URL for this site: https://hackmd.io/@investinopen/how-we-work
Charter: https://hackmd.io/@investinopen/financial-oversight-charter

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## 2025-08-08
**Date:** August 8, 2025 / 15.00 - 16.00 UTC
**FY:** Q1 FY26
**Location:** Online
**Next meeting:** November 14, 2025

**Minutes:**
* 15.00: Meeting start
* 15.00 - 15.06: **Check-ins**
* Meeting agenda overview by Executive director
* 15.06 - 15.08: **Approval of Q4 meeting minutes**
* 3 in-meeting approvals
* Action: Share out post-meeting for approval by email
* Note from Interim Treasurer: Discussed CS&S financial template requirements
* 15.08 - 15.24: **Review Q4/end of year financials**
* 15.08 - 15.13: Updates from Executive Director
* CS&S transfer to Sage Intacct is delayed
* T&E implementation
* Action: See if CS&S CFO can join upcoming Steering/FOG meeting, follow up with Board Officers
* 15.13 - 15:24: Latest financials - end of fiscal
* Overview by Executive Director
* Question from Co-chair: When do you think we should activate this (runway) mechanism?
* Question from Interim Treasurer: What has been carried forward to FY26?
* Action: Follow up with Director of Finance and Operations
* 15.24 - 15.46: **Scenario planning - what we’re planning for**
* 15.24 - 15.35: Current runway projections
* Feedback from Co-chair Eunice Mercado Lara
* Runway secure, future planning
* 15.35 - 15.46: What we’re seeing & mitigation tactics - Director of Development
* 15.40: Danil Mikhailov joins
* Question from Interim Treasurer: How are we assessing contract opportunities, re: other elements?
* Balancing act
* DeltaThink findings
* Space to pivot
* 15.46 - 15.57: **Discussion**
* Tracks to consider / feedback on planning in uncertain times
* 15.57 - 16.01: **Next steps** - Executive Director
* DeltaThink work and pivots
* Operational updates and decisions from Transition Committee
* Assumptions planning by Director of Finance and Operations
* Actions: Executive Director to follow up by email, reforecasted budget from last fiscal
* 16.01: Meeting end

**In attendance:**
* **Participants:** Kaitlin Thaney, Emma Green, Amy Buckland, Eunice Mercado-Lara, Louise Marston, Danil Mikhailov
* **Regrets:** Emmy Tsang, Joe Deville, Lorrayne Porciuncula

## 2025-05-09
**Date:** May 9, 2025 / 15.00 - 16.00 UTC
**Location:** Online
**Next meeting:** August 29, 2025 (rescheduled)

**Minutes:**
* 15.07: Meeting starts
* 15.08: **Approval of Q3 meeting minutes**
* 4 approvals
* Action: send minutes by email after meeting
* 15.09 - 15.22: **Review Q3 financials**
* ED review of timeline
* Latest financials
* Director of Finance & Operations review
* Reforecasted budget was approved by CS&S for April financial report
* 15.22 - 15.55: FY2026 **Budget Planning & Review**
* ED walkthrough of FY26 budget template
* Discussion
* Director of Finance & Operations review of FY26 budget plans and feedback
* Action: Take feedback to CS&S; share revised budget with Steering
* Notes
* Amend budget to only include 50%+ confidence
* Check timeline for funding to land this fiscal vs next, reflect in projected revenue
* Reporting asks post-system upgrade (Sage Intacct, by CS&S)
* Percentage/amounts IOI Fund grants vs operational support
* Separate P&Ls for business lines, ops vs IOI Fund; Ops aim for IOI Fund, effective rate analysis
* End of year revenue target for the Fund and ops; Contingency line for inflation and staff costs adjustments
* Cost to bring in new funding
* COLA advice coming from CS&S
* 15.55 - 16.00: **ED wrap up and next steps**
* Fund application opportunities
* 16.00: Meeting ends

**In attendance:**
* **Participants:** Kaitlin Thaney, Emmy Tsang, Eunice Mercado-Lara, Jochai Ben-Avie, Amy Buckland, Louise Marston, Robert Karanja
* **Regrets:** Lorrayne Porciuncula, Danil Mikhailov, Jeff Ubois

## 2025-02-28 meeting
**Date:** February 28, 2025 / 16.00 - 17.00 UTC
**Location:** Online

**Agenda:**
* Check-ins
* Approval of Q2 meeting minutes
* Review Q2 Financials
* Latest financials
* Diversification Strategy
* Discussion
* Next steps

**Notes:**
* Review charters - set vote quorum
* Q2 minutes approved
* Reforecasting budget
* Discussion:
* Personnel utilized for Strategic Support delivery expertise?
* Resonates. Funding move away from DPG space - shifting, funders looking for intelligence
* Having to reshape the team - data consultancy/a shift in skills is needed
* Parallel run
* Alongside the goal of diversification - horizon 2 strategic direction - future state of the system that we want to exist/future conditions we want/strategic lens vs immediate needs right now
* Services/products - margins, scale to operate, can we template this out/productize/make low cost
* Assumptions testing with the project
* Shorten period of parallel and get to the future model
* Tracking cost of providing services/small contracts can be expensive
* Cost of providing the services/“accounting is destiny”
* Tracking opportunity cost
* How will we know if we’re successful?
* Infra to track
* Incorporating learnings through iteration
* Do capabilities align with where we’re going
* What do we need as an org to execute successfully
* Build the knowledge and capabilities with existing staff - engage with new partnerships, short term contract
* InfraFinder - what lines of business can build that build and leverage
* Position perceptions by audiences
* Positive/negative perception
* Social capital is as valuable as economic capital
* What is IOI known for?
* Debates in the public around open, could move towards being louder
* Orgs we could be more like
* Pleased at funding and regranting
* Running risk management for philanthropies
* InfraFinder is interesting - critical piece of info

**Participants:** Kaitlin Thaney, Emmy Tsang, Emma Green, Eunice Mercado-Lara, Louise Marston, Jochai Ben-Avie, Danil Mikhailov, Jeff Ubois, Amy Buckland

**Regrets:** Lorrayne Porciuncula, Robert Karanja

## 2024-11-15 meeting
**Date:** November 15, 2024 16.00 - 17.00 UTC
**Location:** Online

**Agenda**
* 16.00 - 16.05 Check-ins
* Introductions
* CS&S CFO
* IOI Director of Development
* IOI Director of Finance & Operations
* 16.05 - 16.10 Approval of Q1 meeting minutes
* 16.10 - 16.20 Review Q1 Financials
* Latest financials
* 16.20 - 16.35 Update on financial reporting tooling build out
* Revenue diversification model
* Budget forecast / runway projections
* CS&S support / next steps
* 16.35 - 16.55 Discussion
* Liquidity/threshold for spin
* Funding opportunities
* Q2 Steering meeting discussion topics - budget/staffing scenarios, IOI Fund, transition timelines
* 16.55 - 15.00 Next steps

**Notes:**
* Q1 meeting minutes approved by all attending members, please check if we’ve met quorum
* Audit threshold for federal awards raised
* Raised minimum overhead percentage - private foundations
* New de minimis rate
* Historical hit rate on calls
* Connect Humanity: progress/nature of relationship - combine objective progress marker/subjective elements
* Close for financial reports
* Focusing on grant monitoring and spending/spend down timelines
* Summaries for more targeted observations/recommendations
* Sustainability/improvements on project level, win rates calculations/probabilities
* Financial info, guaranteed funds, expenses, gaps, chart out – target size of awards needed to address gaps
* Liquid position
* Hard landings and soft landings
* Spin threshold
* Cost of back office and systems
* “Steady cost” vs one time cost
* Covering the back office
* Looking at runway of covering back office/running the org/keeping lights on
* Level of certainty – how much do we want to tackle, getting stability, assessing
* Org leadership capacity
* Healthy rate

**Actions:**
* Cash flow projections - weighted future income, additional line showing variance with budget

**Participants:**
Kaitlin Thaney; Emmy Tsang; Emma Green; Ron Brooks; Eunice Mercado-Lara; Jochai Ben Avie; Louise Marston; Amy Buckland

**Regrets:**
Danil Mikailov; Berhan Taye

## 2024-08-30 meeting

**Date:** August 30, 2024 15.00 - 16.00 UTC
**Location:** Online

**Agenda & Notes:**
* 15.00 - 15.05 Check-ins
* 15.05 - 15.10 Approval of Q4 meeting minutes
* 15.10 - 15.20 Review Q4 / EOY Financials
* Latest financials
* 15.20 - 15.50 Financial Strategy for FY24-25
* Fundraising update
* Staffing needs, structure, & costs
* Org transition liquidity / threshold for spin
* 15.50 - 16.00 Discussion & next steps

**Participants:**
Kaitlin Thaney; Amy Buckland; Louise Marston; Danil Mikhailov; Jeff Ubois; Jochai Ben-Avie; Emmy Tsang

**Regrets:**
Eunice Mercado-Lara; Lorrayne Porciuncula; Berhan Tay; Robert Karanja

## 2024-05-24 meeting
**Date:** May 24, 2024 16.00 - 17.00 UTC
**Location:** Online

### Agenda:
* 16.00 - 16.05 Check-ins
* 16.05 - 16.10 Approval of Q2 meeting minutes
* Transition meeting minutes
* 16.10 - 16.20 Review Q3 Financials
* 16.20 - 16.30 Fundraising Update
* 16.30 - 16.55 FY2025 Budget Review & Discussion
* Operational Budget
* Non-Operational Budget
* 16.55 - 17.00 Wrap up

### Notes & Summary:
* Minutes approved
* Review of Q3 financials: Revenue recognition - NSF grant
* Fundraising update:
* Summary of activities
* Simons Foundation
* Development Funders update
* Separating funds needed for running new entity vs opportunity costs/budget
* Transition costs
* Opportunity cost - operational work vs new funding
* Operating cash for new entity
* Thresholds/areas of comfort
* Action: Follow ups with Nicky, Transition budget to assess

**Participants:**
Kaitlin Thaney, Robert Karanja, Jochai Ben-Avie, Lorrayne Porciuncula, Louise Marston

**Regrets:**
Jeff Ubois, Berhan Taye, Danil Mikhailov

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## 2024-05-10 Transition meeting
Date: May 10, 2024 - 17.00-18.00UTC
### Agenda:
* 17.00-17.05 Check-ins
* 17.05-17.35 Transition planning: pathways to independent nonprofit status
* Review of financials
* Note: NSF grant
* Timeline review for transition
* Mapping transition costs for upcoming FY25
* Cost brainstorm
* 17.35-17.55 Discussion & additional topics
* Non-operational cost center strategy
* 17.55-18.00 Wrap up & next steps
### Summary:
* New grants language - middle of grant period
* Forecast costs:
* HR services
* Recommendation - two operational people
* Insurance costs?
* Requirements in the existing grant agreements
* Recommendation - Divvy
* Challenge - recent funding in India
* Only certain %age of funds could be transferred to the US bank accounts without special approval
* Action: Ops call with KT/IOI

**Participants:**
Kaitlin Thaney, Robert Karanja, Jeff Ubois, Louise Marston, Danil Mikhailov

**Regrets:**
Joachai Ben-Avie, Amy Buckland, Lorrayne Porciuncula, Berhan Taye

**Location:** Online

## 2023-11-10 meeting
Date: November 10, 2023 - 17.00-18.00UTC
### Agenda:
* 17.00-17.05 Check-ins & welcome new members!
* Charter review
* 17.05-17.10 Approval of Q1 meeting minutes
* 17.10-17.20 Discussion: latest Financials
* Financials through Aug 31, 2023
* 17.20-17.40 Fundraising Update & Strategy
* FY23-24 Goals
* 2024 Fund update & discussion
* Operational Funding review
* 17.40-17.55 Discussion & additional topics
* Feedback on diligence & selection process
* Update: cost/revenue mapping
* Materiality threshold
* 17.55-18.00 Wrap up / next steps

### Summary:
* Update on CS&S audit
* Review of IOI financials for Q1
* Fund updates
* For future exploration:
* Costs per program
* Setting materiality threshold

**Attendees:**
Kaitlin Thaney, Jeff Ubois, Louise Marston; Jochai Ben-Avie; Danil Mikhailov

**Absent:**
Mmaki Jantjies; Robert Karanja; Berhan Taye

**Location:** Online

## 2023-08-18 meeting
Date: August 18, 2023 - 16.00-17.00UTC

### Agenda:

* 16:03-16:04 Check-ins + Welcomes
* 16:04-16:05 Approval of Q4 meeting minutes
* 16:05-16:32 Discussion - Q4 Financials
* 16:32-17:05 Fundraising Update & Strategy
* FY23-24 Goals
* 2024 Fund update & discussion
* Operational Funding update & discussion
* Steering recruitment update
* Discussion
* Contacts to build fund
* Markers for this fiscal
* Areas of concern or curiosity
* 17:05 Call adjourned

### Notes:

* Q4 Minutes approved
* Restricted vs unrestricted
* “Platform support” example
* “Fund management fee” terminology vs “program management” costs
* Discussion of terminology
* Technical assistance, structuring support, management expenses, pre/post-investment support
* Fund Financial markers for fiscal
* Discussion of Investment funds threshold
* Strategic Support work
* Time tracking, cost of revenue, project selection / load

**Location:** Online

**Attendees:**
Kaitlin Thaney; Jochai Ben Avie; Danil Mikahilov; Berhan Taye

**Absent:**
Lorrayne Porciuncula; Mmaki Jantjies; Amy Buckland

#### Summary of Action items:
* Updated financial statement with Balance Sheet
* Continue materiality threshold conversation in Q2
* Follow up on mapping cost of key drivers of business against revenue in Q2 meeting

## 2023-05-19 meeting
Date: 2023-05-19 / 16.00-17.00UTC

### Agenda:

* 16:00-16:05 Check-ins
* 16:05-16:10 Approval of Q3 meeting minutes
* 16:10-16:16 Discussion - Q3 Financials
* 16:16-16:25 Fundraising Update
* 16:25-16:47 FY 2024 Budget Review
* Proposed budget for approval
* Policy review: fee rebate policy & non-operational cost center
* Materiality threshold
* 16:47-16:49 Fund development update
* 16:49 Call adjourned

### Notes:
* Cash flow tracker
* Opportunities
* IOI materiality threshold
* Fund planning
* Investment thesis development discussion

**Location:** Online

**Attendees:**
Kaitlin Thaney; Jochai Ben-Avie; Danil Mikhailov; Lorrayne Porciuncula

**Absent:**
Berhan Taye; Mmaki Jantjies; Amy Buckland

#### Summary of Action items:
* FOG meetings - prepare/include fundraising strategy materials
* Materiality threshold - to be revisited in FY24
* Budget approval for FY24

## 2023-02-17 meeting

Date: February 17, 2023 / [17.00-18.00UTC](https://www.inyourowntime.zone/2023-02-17_17.00_UTC)

### Agenda
- Check-ins
- Approval of Q2 meeting minutes (KT)
- Review of updated financial reporting (KT)
- Discussion (20 min)
- Fundraising strategy & support from this group
- Upcoming expenditures / Budget adjustments (KT)
- Financial Oversight Committee Recruitment (all)
- Fund planning updates (KT)
- Next steps

## 2022-11-15 meeting

Date: November 15, 2022 / [17.00-18.00UTC](https://www.inyourowntime.zone/2022-11-15_17.00_UTC)

### Agenda

- Check-ins
- Review of updated financial reporting
- Discussion
-- Fund future planning
-- Committee recruitment
- Next steps
*Call adjourned *

Minutes:
Location: Online

Attendees:
- Kaitlin Thaney; Jochai Ben-Avie

Absent:
- Berhan Taye; Mmaki Jantjies; Amy Buckland

Summary of Action items:
- Next call: February 17, 2023
- Board recruitment for 2023 + increasing Committee members
- Ask Danil & Lorrayne to join Committee
- Add YTD comparisons to Budget vs Actuals
- Explore idea fund support / facilitation at next Steering meeting

## 2022-08-30 meeting

Date: August 30, 2022 / [18.00-19.00UTC](https://www.inyourowntime.zone/2022-08-30_18.00_UTC)

### Agenda

- Check-ins
- Overview (KT)
-- Why we started this group
-- Roles & expectations
-- Draft charter
* Key drivers of business
-- Grant funding vs reserve
-- What “diversify” means for us
* Intro to IOI’s financial reporting / tools
-- Budget forecast
-- Income statement
-- Processes in place currently for review
- Discussion (20 min)
-- What we want to build towards – and timing for that work (KT)
- Next steps:
-- Scheduling next call

Minutes:
Location: Online

Attendees:
- Kaitlin Thaney; Jochai Ben-Avie; Berhan Taye

Absent:
- Mmaki Jantjies; Amy Buckland

Summary of Action items:
- Next call: November 15, 2022
- Work on version 1 of updated financial reporting
- 100K from IOI reserve to be dedicated to Funders Summit funding pilot

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## See also
* Archived copy of this page (via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine): https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://hackmd.io/@investinopen/financial-oversight-meetings

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This page first published: 2023-03-25

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