For organizations
Find out what is actually wrong. It costs nothing.
Twelve diagnostics for small community organizations. Each one looks at a specific part of how the organization runs and hands back findings you can act on, with anyone or with nobody. No charge, no required followup, no referral. HxDF currently offers a limited number of audits each month at no cost, based on our capacity.
What is an HxDF audit?
An HxDF audit is an independent diagnostic of one part of how a small community organization runs. It produces a findings memo, a ranked list of priorities, quick wins, a 90 day action list, and the measures worth tracking. HxDF currently offers audits at no cost to qualifying small nonprofits and community organizations, does not require any followup purchase, and refers to nobody, so what happens next is entirely the organization's decision. HxDF currently offers a limited number of audits each month at no cost, based on our capacity.
- Cost
- No cost to qualifying organizations
- Availability
- A limited number each month, based on capacity
- Right now
- Taking first requests. None delivered yet.
The standard
Four rules that keep this a diagnostic.
A no cost diagnostic is usually the front of a funnel. These four rules exist so that this one is not, and so an organization can accept one without wondering what it costs later.
- No cost, and limited
- HxDF currently offers audits at no cost to qualifying small nonprofits and community organizations. There is nothing to buy at any point in the process. No cost does not mean unlimited: HxDF currently offers a limited number of audits each month at no cost, based on our capacity. When a month reaches capacity, requests are held for the next one and the organization is told where it stands. Availability can close when the capacity is reached.
- No obligation
- HxDF does not charge organizations for an audit or require them to purchase followup services. What an organization does with the findings is entirely its own decision.
- Independent
- HxDF does not refer audited organizations to any related commercial business and receives no compensation from anything an organization does after an audit.
- Practical
- Every finding names something a real person can do. An audit that only describes the problem has not finished its job.
Who qualifies
HxDF currently prioritizes small nonprofits and community organizations whose work directly benefits people and communities, and whose needs are appropriate for our current capacity and expertise.
- Mission aligned: the work directly benefits people and communities.
- Small or community based.
- A real organizational need, not a hypothetical one.
- Bounded enough to audit responsibly.
- Appropriate for HxDF's current capacity and expertise.
We may not be able to accommodate every request, and availability may close when our monthly capacity is reached.
What you get back
The same five things, every time.
Whichever audit you request, the output has the same shape, so you know what you are receiving before you start.
- 01
Findings memo
What is actually happening, written plainly, with the evidence it rests on. No scores, no maturity grid, no vendor comparison.
- 02
Top priorities
The few things that matter most, ranked, with the reason each one is above the next.
- 03
Quick wins
What can be fixed in days rather than quarters, so the organization gets something back before any larger decision.
- 04
90 day action list
A sequence the organization can run itself, with the owner and the dependency named for each step.
- 05
Recommended measures
What to measure so that in three months the organization can tell whether anything changed. Baselines belong to the organization, not to HxDF.
The twelve
Pick the question that sounds like yours.
Each audit is named after what it examines. The question under each one is what an organization is usually asking when it needs that audit.
- 01
Organizational Capacity Audit
In development“Where is this organization actually constrained?”
Establish a whole organization baseline across mission, people, process, technology, data, communication, and funding infrastructure.
- 02
Operations Audit
In development“Where is our time going, and why does the same work take so long?”
Identify workflow friction, unnecessary handoffs, duplication, rework, and undocumented processes that consume scarce capacity.
- 03
AI Readiness Audit
In development“Where would AI actually help us, and where would it hurt?”
Determine where AI could create value, where it could create risk, and what human review or policy requirements should precede adoption.
- 04
Digital Presence Audit
In development“Can the people we serve find us, understand us, and act?”
Improve the clarity, accessibility, trust, discoverability, and participation pathways of a nonprofit's public digital presence.
- 05
Technology Stack Audit
In development“What are we paying for, and how much of it overlaps?”
Identify duplicate tools, wasted subscriptions, disconnected systems, poor integrations, and simplification opportunities.
- 06
Workflow Automation Audit
In development“What should we stop doing before we automate anything?”
Find work that can be eliminated, simplified, delegated, or responsibly automated before an organization buys more technology.
- 07
Grant Readiness Audit
In development“If a funder said yes tomorrow, could we execute and report?”
Examine the documentation, policies, budgets, programs, measurement, and reporting infrastructure needed to responsibly receive and manage funding.
- 08
Data and Reporting Audit
In development“What are we collecting, and is any of it worth the burden?”
Improve how an organization collects, stores, uses, and reports information without creating unnecessary data burdens.
- 09
Communications Audit
In development“Why does communication take this much effort for this little reach?”
Reduce internal and external communication friction across email, messaging, content production, audience pathways, and recurring updates.
- 10
Volunteer Capacity Audit
In development“Why do willing volunteers not turn into reliable capacity?”
Improve recruiting, onboarding, role clarity, training, access, communication, and followup so volunteer energy becomes reliable capacity.
- 11
Program Delivery Audit
In development“What is the experience actually like for the person we serve?”
Examine the participant journey from intake through followup to identify service delivery friction and measurement gaps.
- 12
Sustainability and Growth Audit
In development“If demand doubled, what would break first?”
Test whether people, systems, technology, data, and funding infrastructure can support additional demand or funding without breaking.
The offer, in full
What you give, what HxDF looks at, what you get back.
Enough detail to decide before you write to anyone. Whichever of the twelve you pick, this part is the same.
Taking first requests
The protocol is being written and no audit has been delivered. Requests are open now, and the organizations that come first will shape how this works.
- 01
Who it is for
Small nonprofits and community organizations with limited internal technology capacity, one problem they can name, and staff willing to give honest answers. Fit matters more than size or polish.
- 02
What you provide
A short description of what your organization does and where the friction is, and access to what already exists: the process as it runs, the systems in use, and any documents that describe them. No new material has to be produced for the audit.
- 03
What HxDF reviews
The scope named on the audit page you chose, agreed in writing before anything starts, plus a working conversation with the people who actually run the process.
- 04
What you receive
A findings memo, ranked priorities, quick wins, a 90 day action list, and the measures worth tracking. Written for the person who has to act on it, not for a board packet.
- 05
What happens next
A conversation to walk through it, and the document to keep. You can act alone, hire anyone you like, or ask HxDF about a Blueprint. HxDF gains nothing either way.
- Typical duration
- Not yet set
- Audits per month
- A limited number, not yet fixed
Typical duration and how many audits HxDF can take each month are being set from the first real deliveries rather than estimated in advance. Timing for your audit is agreed before it starts.
Questions
The ones people actually ask.
How much does an audit cost?
Nothing. HxDF currently offers audits at no cost to qualifying small nonprofits and community organizations, and does not charge organizations for an audit or require them to purchase followup services. There is nothing to buy at any point. No cost is not the same as unlimited, so read the next answer before planning around one.
Who qualifies?
HxDF currently prioritizes small nonprofits and community organizations whose work directly benefits people and communities, and whose needs are appropriate for our current capacity and expertise. We may not be able to accommodate every request, and availability may close when our monthly capacity is reached.
Is there a limit on how many you take?
HxDF currently offers a limited number of audits each month at no cost, based on our capacity. When a month reaches capacity, requests are held for the next one and the organization is told where it stands. Availability can close when the capacity is reached.
What happens after the audit?
The organization keeps the findings and decides what to do. It can act alone, hire anyone it likes, or ask HxDF about a Blueprint. HxDF does not refer organizations to any related commercial business and receives no compensation from anything an organization does next.
How long does one take?
That depends on the audit and the organization, and HxDF has not delivered one yet, so publishing a duration now would be a guess. Timing for your audit is agreed before it starts, and real delivery times will be published once there are real ones to publish.
How much staff time will this cost us?
An audit works from what the organization already has wherever possible: the process as it runs, the systems in use, the documents that exist. Staff time is kept to what the audit genuinely needs, and the scope is agreed up front.
Can we request more than one?
Yes, though one at a time usually works better. The Organizational Capacity Audit is the broad one and often points at which of the others is worth doing next.
Are any of these running today?
Not yet. The audit protocol is being written and no audit has been delivered. Every audit on this page is marked in development for that reason, and none of them will be marked active until an organization has actually received one.
Start here