Our Services

Who We Serve

Nonprofit organizations

Organizations that tackle inequity, create opportunity and inspire creativity make up the fabric of cohesive, vibrant communities.

To survive and thrive in today’s fluid environment, mission-based organizations must build the knowledge, tools and capacities to support continuous adaptation. Ask yourself:

  • How will you respond to the evolving needs of your constituents and communities?
  • Are you ready to embark on a period of change?
  • Have you considered the business implications of your program plans?
  • Do your mission, strategy and financial story align in your case for support?

RTA offers a continuum of customized training and consulting services to help your organization adapt in ways that contribute to long-term health and impact.

Grantmakers

Navigating change requires new ways of connecting money to strategy, and strategy to mission. Philanthropic leaders are called upon to re-imagine how they structure and deploy investments. Nonprofit leaders must re-conceive of how they raise and manage limited resources to increase their organizations’ effectiveness. Key questions:

  • Are your resources aligned to support the outcomes you seek?
  • Is your staff equipped to assess readiness for organizational change and risk-taking?
  • Are you effectively communicating the impact of your investments?

RTA brings strategic advice and hands-on support to help your foundation strengthen the alignment of money and mission.

The Field

RTA understands the conditions and needs of nonprofit organizations. We develop ideas and strategies for strengthening the resources and structures that underpin community impact.

In the process, we create and elevate practical knowledge about what works — and what does not — at both the systems and organizational level.

“Rebecca Thomas is an exceptionally talented professional…

…She has served as a trusted advisor to a wide range of nonprofit organizations and foundations, combining deep expertise with practical savvy that helps leaders plan and implement the changes necessary to achieve their missions. She has a national perspective on critical issues facing the nonprofit sector, and an unusual ability to help people find workable solutions to their distinct challenges. These skills, combined with her upbeat and optimistic temperament, make Rebecca a terrific resource for diverse kinds of organizations and communities.”

What We Do

We help our clients develop their organizations, design and manage critical programs, pursue sound business strategies and communicate strategically with key constituencies.

Strategy

Success starts with intention. We help our clients align their goals with a game plan.

For Grantmakers

  • Program design and development
  • Capitalization strategy

For Nonprofits

  • Organizational development
  • Business strategy and planning

Knowledge

Insight springs from experience. As our clients realize the results of their work, we share their learning with the field.

For Grantmakers

  • Communications planning
  • Sector & case studies
  • Nonprofit finance trainings

For Nonprofits

  • Communications planning
  • Storytelling & case-making
  • Financial leadership trainings

Execution

Strategy without implementation is shelfware. We help our clients get things done.

For Grantmakers

  • Grant due diligence
  • Grantee convenings
  • Portfolio management

For Nonprofits

  • Organizational assessments
  • Program and project management
  • Implementation assistance
Strategy Case Studies

RTA has been engaged by a cohort of six funders in Pittsburgh to develop — and then manage — a three-year investment program that aims to strengthen the business and balance sheet health of small and mid-sized cultural organizations in the region. In partnership with these funders, we have created a strategy that combines capital for change, risk-taking and cash flow management with intensive advisory services — all in an effort to support participating organizations’ efforts to stabilize and adapt in shifting economic and artistic environments.

A large theater engaged RTA to advise its management and board of directors in setting appropriate goals for the surplus cash coming from a highly successful production. We coached the team on how to think about savings options and set balance sheet priorities, given future business needs and strategic imperatives.
Knowledge Case Studies

A national organization serving arts and culture practitioners, grantmakers and advocates engaged RTA for strategic communications support. We developed a communications plan for the organization, coordinated communications initiatives and created smart, approachable content that connected data to insights.

RTA facilitates Conversations on Capitalization & Community, workshops for cultural funders and nonprofits that explore the financial health of local arts communities and the role managers and philanthropists can play in building more stable and adaptable organizations. Offered by Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA), the workshops develop a common vocabulary about capitalization and the relationship between financial health and creative freedom. Each discussion examines how changes in communications, management and investment practices can strengthen the local cultural ecosystem.
Execution Case Studies

RTA has been hired to evaluate two capital investment programs: one for a national private foundation and another for a local community foundation. Among the questions the evaluations have sought to answer are: Did grantees improve their financial health as a result of our investment? Did their business models become more reliable? How are they using knowledge about capitalization to improve management practices and fundraising outcomes? These projects have involved developing recommendations for how future, similar grant programs can strategically invest in capitalization as a means to mission success.

We are working with two New York-based dance companies to build business and capitalization planning tools that support data-driven decision-making. RTA’s services include: financial and program economic analyses, budgeting and cash flow planning, multi-year financial forecasting, and the development of balance sheet goals. The organizations are using this information to make and sustain changes in programming and operations.