Recommendation to adopt Holdings for banking and fund accounting
Recommendation
I recommend the board authorize opening accounts with Holdings (getholdings.com) and adopting its fund accounting software for our books, replacing . This change eliminates our banking fees, earns interest on our reserves, extends our FDIC coverage, and gives the board standardized monthly financial reports.
The financial case
Our current setup
Holdings
Monthly banking fees
$ ______ /mo
$0 — no fees, no minimums
Interest on balances
______ %
1.75% APY on all balances
FDIC insurance
Typically $250,000
Up to $3,000,000 (via i3 Bank, Member FDIC, and its deposit sweep network)
Accounting software
$ ______ /yr
$25/mo ($240/yr billed annually) — fund accounting built for nonprofits
Board reporting
Manual assembly
Statements generated from live banking data
Estimated annual benefit for our organization: fees eliminated ($ ______) + interest earned on average balance of $ ______ (≈ $ ______) − Holdings software cost ($240/yr) vs. current software cost ($ ______) = $ ______ /year.
What this gives the board
Fund accounting built for nonprofits: restricted vs. unrestricted tracking, grant tracking, and the four nonprofit statements (Activities, Financial Position, Functional Expenses, Cash Flows).
Better oversight: multi-user access for treasurer, ED, and bookkeeper; transactions flow from bank to books automatically, so reports are current, not reconstructed.
Stronger controls: sub-accounts for restricted funds, role-based access, and a clear audit trail.
Diligence summary
Banking services provided by i3 Bank, Member FDIC; deposits insured up to $3M through its sweep network.
SOC 1 Type II certified; AES-256 encryption. Security details: getholdings.com/security.
No fees and no minimum balances; we may keep our existing account open during a transition period.
Full due-diligence checklist attached (from the Holdings Board Enablement Kit).
Transition plan: open the account (≈ 1 week), run both accounts in parallel for one cycle, migrate recurring payments and deposits, then close the legacy account. No service interruption expected.
Requested action
Proposed motion: "RESOLVED, that the organization is authorized to open deposit accounts with Holdings (banking services by i3 Bank, Member FDIC), to adopt Holdings fund accounting software for the organization's books, and that the officers named in the accompanying Authorized Signers Resolution are authorized to act on these accounts."
A ready-to-sign board resolution and authorized-signers resolution accompany this memo.