Empowering Global Health Through Financial Excellence

One Heart Worldwide & Vanreusel Ventures

Executive Summary

One Heart Worldwide, a nonprofit dedicated to maternal and newborn health in Nepal, faced a common "scaling" hurdle: a rapidly growing mission led by a team of public health experts with limited financial expertise. Since 2015, James Vanreusel has served as their fractional CFO, transforming their financial operations from a source of anxiety into a strategic asset that meets the demands of rigorous boards and attracts major donors.

The Challenge: Growing Pains & Financial Complexity

As One Heart Worldwide expanded its footprint in Nepal, the organization’s financial needs outpaced its internal capacity. The leadership team—primarily composed of clinicians and epidemiologists—recognized that Excel spreadsheets were no longer sufficient to manage a multimillion-dollar international operation.

Key Hurdles:

• Rapid Growth: An influx of funding following the 2015 Nepal earthquake required immediate infrastructure and policy upgrades.
• Cross-Border Complexity: Managing multiple bank accounts and regulatory requirements in both the U.S. and Nepal.
• Audit Readiness: Difficulty navigating the nuances of restricted vs. unrestricted grants during annual audits.
• Board Governance: The need to provide sophisticated reporting to a "picky" and highly professional finance committee.

The Solution: Fractional CFO Leadership

James Vanreusel stepped in not just as an advisor, but as an integrated partner. By providing part-time CFO services, he offered One Heart the high-level expertise of a full-time executive at a fraction of the cost.

Core Strategic Interventions:

• Infrastructure & Policy Design: Established robust financial policies and controls to prevent mismanagement and ensure transparency.
• Unified Financial Oversight: Merged the Nepal and U.S. financial perspectives into a single, cohesive "unification model," enabling the organization to operate as one team.
• Budgeting & Projections: Created comprehensive annual budgets and income projections that identify funding "holes" before they become crises.
• Board & Audit Liaison: James took over the direct handling of complex financial queries from the board and auditors, freeing the CEO to focus on fundraising and program design.

The Impact: Transparency That Drives Funding

The partnership has moved One Heart Worldwide from a state of financial "lack of understanding" to a "transparent and solvable organization" with nothing to hide.

Measurable Results:

• Donor Confidence: Clean audits and clear financials have directly supported more successful fundraising efforts.
• Operational Efficiency: The audit process, which once felt like a "last-minute" scramble, has become a predictable, streamlined routine.
• Governance Excellence: The Finance Committee Chair—noted for being exceptionally demanding—is now "quite pleased" with the clarity and professionalism of the financial reporting.

Client Testimonials

"James has been extremely helpful. He’s designed a package that is very clear for the board... I don't have to worry about how we are presenting our financials. I can focus on the actual fundraising or program design. We truly appreciate his patience and the systems he's established that make us a transparent, solvable organization."
— Sibylle Kristensen, Co-CEO, One Heart Worldwide

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"As a long-standing member of the Board and the Treasurer at One Heart Worldwide (OHW), I have seen firsthand the complexities of scaling up maternal and neonatal healthcare in some of Nepal's most remote regions. Our mission is critical. The financial architecture required to sustain it is immense.

Working with Vanreusel Ventures has been a transformative experience for our Finance Committee. They didn’t just provide us with "consulting"; they provided us with a strategic backbone. As someone who has spent my career leading technology companies and managing high-growth operations, I have a very high bar for financial excellence and operational transparency. Vanreusel Ventures met and exceeded that bar.

They helped us navigate the complex transition from a founder-led startup mentality to a mature, multi-million-dollar international NGO. Their team went beyond the numbers to understand the heartbeat of our organization—ensuring every dollar we raised was optimized to save the lives of mothers and newborns. Their ability to communicate complex financial landscapes to our Board with clarity and precision has been invaluable.

If you are a mission-driven organization looking for a partner that combines elite financial acumen with a genuine commitment to social impact, I cannot recommend Vanreusel Ventures highly enough. They are, quite simply, the best at what they do.”
— Evan Kaplan
Board Treasurer & Head of Finance Committee, One Heart Worldwide; CEO, InfluxData

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About One Heart Worldwide

One Heart Worldwide is a non-profit organization focused on strengthening health systems in Nepal. Their mission is to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes, moving beyond simple "access to care" to ensuring high-quality clinical outcomes for every mother and child.