What we're asking the board to set
Draft 2027 goals
This is the chapter to read closely. Every number below is mine — drafted so the board has something specific to push against rather than a blank page. None of it is adopted until December. Your job on Saturday is to tell me which of these are wrong.
Everything shaded like this is a drafted figure, not an agreed one. On a computer, hover any of them to see where it came from. The 2025 actuals and the 2026 budget figures are real and unshaded.
The revenue shape
Actual / budgeted
2027 draft target
| 2027 revenue line | Draft target | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| Partnerships — LOWA expansion, Fjällräven, Title Nine, CAMP | $85k | The most bankable single swing. Requires the LOWA commitments to be in writing. |
| Institutional grants | $55k | TEW round two plus two new grants through board networks. Proven and repeatable. |
| Flagship campaigns | $65k | Three campaigns on the First 50k model. Depends on a named operational owner. |
| Year-end & recurring giving | $35k | The unbuilt standard play. Chapter 6 is the plan. |
| Earned — calendar, podcast sponsorship | $20k | Only real if the calendar ships and shipping policy changes. |
| Total | $260k | +52% on the 2026 budget. |
A tension worth naming: the strategic plan puts $330k on the conservative path by 2029. A $260k year in 2027 runs ahead of that plan. I think that is right — the plan was written before the film, before two $25k-plus unrestricted gifts proved major-gift capacity, and before AI took a meaningful bite out of the delivery cost. But it is a deliberate departure from an approved plan, and the board should approve or reject it as such rather than absorb it quietly.
Goals by functional area
Revenue is the easy part to argue about. These are the ones that determine whether 2027 is survivable.
| Area | 2026 where we are | 2027 draft goal | By when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarships funded | 14 | 24 | Cycle close |
| Application throughput | 2,150, largely manual | 5,000 with no manual bottleneck | Mar 31 |
| Flagship campaigns run | 2 | 3 | Across the year |
| Recurring monthly donors | Effectively zero | 150 | Dec 31 |
| Warm leads converted to any gift | Not tracked | 10% | Dec 31 |
| Donor-development lead | Board-approved, not started | Hired | Feb 28 |
| ED compensation | $12k against ~$80–110k of donated labour | Booked at market rate in the budget | Dec budget |
| Operating reserve | None designated | 3 months (~$45k) | Dec 31 |
| Board size | 5 | 7 | Jun 30 |
| D&O insurance | Not in place | Bound | Dec 31, 2026 |
| Legal transition closed | Open since founding | Asset transfer, sponsorship ended, bylaws corrected | Mar 31 |
| Impact measurement | Not tracked | Outcome data on 100% of recipients | Dec 31 |
Ask What I need from the board on this page
Not line-by-line approval — direction. Three questions: Is $260k the right ambition, or are we over-reaching in the film year? Is 24 scholarships the right way to express success, or should it be women served, dollars awarded, or something else entirely? And which three of these would you protect if the year goes badly? That last one is the most useful thing a board can tell an executive director.
Everything above is a draft with my name on it. December adopts the final set alongside the budget. If you change nothing else on Saturday, change these.