Financial Modeling & Budgeting for CalAIM Enhanced Care Management (ECM) Implementation

Restorative Community Solutions (RCS) is a Bay Area–based nonprofit preparing to launch Enhanced Care Management (ECM) services under California’s CalAIM initiative in partnership with Partnership HealthPlan of California. We are seeking a Taproot volunteer with financial modeling or budgeting expertise to help us analyze the cost structure and financial viability of our ECM program as we move from startup to sustainable operations. The project will use tools developed by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and PATH to build a customized financial model for RCS. The volunteer will work with our leadership team to:
1. Review our existing staffing model (3 case managers, 1 LMFT supervisor, 1 CHW) and program design.
2. Input real cost data into CHCF’s CalAIM Budget Estimator and Financial Viability Tool.
3. Model several financial scenarios (caseloads, staffing levels, PMPM reimbursement rates, incentive earnings).
4. Produce a short financial analysis summary that outlines our breakeven point, cash flow projections, and sustainability strategy.
5. Create a clear, shareable Excel or Google Sheet dashboard that we can continue using for board and funder presentations.

The volunteer will collaborate with our program and finance leads for 2–5 hours per week over 6–8 weeks.

This project will directly support RCS’s ability to deliver sustainable, trauma-informed care coordination for justice-involved and high-need residents in Solano County under Medi-Cal. Restorative Community Solutions (RCS) was founded by people with lived experience of incarceration to build community power and equity in California’s health and justice systems. Our mission is to help small, justice-aligned organizations—and now our own team—become sustainable providers under California’s CalAIM initiative, which allows Medi-Cal to fund community-based, whole-person care.

This project directly advances that mission. By working with a Taproot volunteer to create a financial model and budget analysis for our new Enhanced Care Management (ECM) program, RCS will gain the tools to sustain and scale services that keep people healthy, stable, and out of crisis. The analysis will help us determine the number of clients we can serve, the staffing needed, and the resources required to pay fair wages to community health workers and case managers—many of whom have lived experience themselves.

Your work will help us make the case for equitable investment in grassroots, justice-led health models. The outcome of this project will shape how RCS—and our network of partner organizations—access Medi-Cal funding to deliver trauma-informed care and violence prevention across Solano County and the Bay Area.

In short, this project helps us transform our mission into a financially sustainable reality—turning community wisdom into measurable, funded impact.

Our leadership team is fully prepared to make this project successful. The Taproot volunteer will work directly with RCS’s Co-Founders Erin Kennedy, JD, Chief Operating & Compliance Officer who is overseeing CalAIM implementation and nonprofit finance planning. We’ve secured internal buy-in from our Board and staff, and this financial modeling work is identified as an essential strategic priority for our next phase of growth.

We already have the CHCF and PATH financial-viability tools identified, along with detailed budget data for our ECM startup (staffing, supervision, and operating costs).

The volunteer will be supported through weekly check-ins, and quick access to any organizational data needed. Deliverables from this project will directly inform our 2025–2026 business plan, board financial dashboard, and funding proposals currently in development.

RCS has a track record of implementing Taproot-style partnerships successfully. This project is mission-critical and high-priority; we’ll ensure the volunteer’s time is respected and their expertise fully applied to a real, measurable outcome: a working financial model that secures RCS’s sustainability as a CalAIM provider.