Every Body Texas

"A translator who can help me navigate the numbers...."

Every Body Texas was founded in 1977 to offer all Texans equal access to high-quality reproductive healthcare and control over the timing and spacing of their children. In 2013, Every Body Texas’ role as an association of local member agencies became more complex when it became the sole grantee in Texas for the federal Title X Family Planning Services grants, providing reproductive healthcare to low-income and uninsured individuals. Every Body Texas now had to distribute Title X funds to clinics throughout the Lone Star State and provide training, technical assistance, program evaluation, quality assurance, and grants management for sub-recipient agencies. This network of 28 public health, nonprofit, university, and Planned Parenthood agencies operate 94 family planning clinics serving 200,000 clients, the overwhelming majority of whom are uninsured and living below federal poverty levels. Meanwhile, the organization was undergoing dramatic growth while contending with such challenges as government funding levels that remained flat, the Zika virus outbreak, and Hurricane Harvey.

Kami Geoffray, JD, was named CEO in 2016 after several years of advancing women’s health policy at the state government level. “I’ve been writing and administering grants for most of my professional life but being responsible for an organization’s overall budget was new to me,” she says from her office in Austin. She quickly discovered that Every Body Texas had two distinct financial needs: oversight of the organization’s internal operations, including the $14 million Title X grant, $12 million of which gets passed through to the network of sub-recipients; and oversight of those sub-recipients’ programs to ensure that they are billing appropriately and getting reimbursed for their services.

“We were never going to find a CFO with the skills to do both. Our programmatic staff could look after the sub-recipients, but I needed someone who was truly a financial whiz, but who didn’t need to be in here all the time,” she recalls.

Geoffray was referred to Your Part-Time Controller by a Title X grantee in Philadelphia. Associate Vivien Chang, who was relocating to San Antonio, was assigned to work with Every Body Texas, and Geoffray couldn’t be happier.

“It’s a great fit. Vivien comes in here once every two weeks, and works remotely at other times. She’s
helped us get our financial systems ready for our annual audit and has created a package of monthly
reports that’s current. She’s helped us get our finances streamlined to keep my board informed and help them with their financial oversight.

“I have no accounting experience,” she admits. “It’s been great to have Vivien as a translator who can help me navigate the numbers within my time constraints. We’ve been able to do so much even without a lot of face-to- face time. I lucked out!”

Chang had to get up to speed quickly, looking at the five-year history of the Title X grant and
understanding it. “Our accounting is complex. I’ve been in women’s health in Texas for years and it’s
taken me awhile. What Vivien has set up has been easier. I feel confident that even though Vivien had not worked on this grant previously, she has a wealth of knowledge and experience and a support network of her YPTC colleagues who can help her with whatever she needs,” Geoffray adds.

Given the current political climate, the future of funding for women’s reproductive health is always of
concern, and Chang is helping Every Body Texas plan for the potential of tracking multiple funding streams in the future. By costing out staff time and overhead expenses, the organization is preparing itself for a more diversified funding portfolio, being audit-ready, and addressing sustainability should major changes become necessary.

“I’m glad to have a partner who has helped me make our finances easier and still be compliant. It’s great to have a partner like that as we’re moving through this space. It’s been a godsend!”