Planning Library · Quarterly Business Review
Q1 FY26 · One quarter, one page.
The single artifact I share with the board, fiscal sponsor, and Founder's Table each quarter. Purpose · Direction · Progress on top; themes, financials, WhyGos, health, and outlook below. Pulls from /northstar · /dashboard · /financials.
Mission & values.
A community food hub that reconnects the Banks–McMinnville corridor to the growers and craft behind its food.
- Belonging
- Stewardship
- Craft
- Transparency
- Patience
3-year vision + goals.
Open a values-aligned café + farm stand + education center in McMinnville by late 2028 / early 2029.
- Stand up the entity and the first dollars.
- De-risk the site and the build.
- Build the programming and grower foundation.
Nine outcomes.
Three goals × three measurable outcomes each. Live status below and on /northstar.
Three things to take away.
Legal foundation filed.
1023 submitted with the IRS, bylaws + COI ratified, two board seats filled. The org is real enough to receive money and hold contracts, even before determination lands.
McMinnville site search defined.
McMinnville is the target. No site or letter of intent is confirmed; the next step is to validate suitable spaces, zoning, access, and real buildout costs.
Community response is validating.
First listening session drew 22 attendees. Email list at 480, three producers verbally aligned, one partner MOU signed. The demand hypothesis is holding — the pacing constraint is capital and site, not audience.
Pre-open tracker.
| Line item | Status | Q1 actual | Q1 plan | YTD actual | YTD plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total raised (grants + majors + small) | $8K | $15K | $8K | $15K | |
| Signed major-donor commitments (count) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Grant applications submitted | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| Pre-open spend (legal, filings, printing) | $2.4K | $3.0K | $2.4K | $3.0K | |
| Cash on hand (end of quarter) | $8K | $15K | $8K | $15K |
Grants pacing behind; majors are the bottleneck. Six 1:1 meetings scheduled through Q2 to close the $45K baseline gap. See /fundingsequence for the phased raise strategy.
The three WhyGos.
| Metric | Owner | Q1 FY26 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Actual | Goal | % Goal | ||
| Goal 01 · Stand up the entity and the first dollars. | |||||
| 501(c)(3) determination letter in hand | Founder | Filed | Received | — | |
| Founding board seated ([3 – 5] members), bylaws + COI ratified | Founder | 2 | 3 | 67% | |
| Lead-gift commitments (LOIs or signed pledges) | Founder | $8K | $15K | 53% | |
| Goal 02 · De-risk the site and the build. | |||||
| McMinnville site finalists under active review | Founder | 0 | 1 | 0% | |
| Build-out cost validated by licensed contractor walk-throughs | Founder | 0 | 0 | — | |
| Conditional-use / permitting path mapped with city planner | Founder | Not started | Scoping | — | |
| Goal 03 · Build the programming and grower foundation. | |||||
| Signed MOUs with named valley producers | Founder | 2 | 2 | 100% | |
| First public programming cycle scheduled (film + workshops) | Founder | Drafting | Outline | — | |
| Education partnerships initiated with school districts / youth orgs | Founder | 1 | 1 | 100% | |
The four dials.
| Metric | Owner | Cadence | Q1 FY26 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Actual | Goal | % Goal | |||
| Acquisition | ||||||
| Email list (subscribers) | Founder | Monthly | 480 | 600 | 80% | |
| Founding donors | Founder | Monthly | 12 | 25 | 48% | |
| Site visits / quarter | Founder | Monthly | 1,900 | 2,000 | 95% | |
| Retention | ||||||
| Donor renewal rate | Founder | Quarterly | — | — | — | |
| Founder's Table renewal | Founder | Quarterly | — | — | — | |
| Café weekly repeat-visit share (post-open) | GM | Quarterly | — | — | — | |
| Financial | ||||||
| Cash on hand | Treasurer | Monthly | $8K | $15K | 53% | |
| Months of runway | Treasurer | Monthly | — | — | — | |
| Y1 revenue (planned) | Treasurer | Monthly | — | — | — | |
| Earned vs. contributed mix (Y3) | Treasurer | Monthly | — | — | — | |
| Team | ||||||
| Board seats filled | Board chair | Quarterly | 2 | 3 | 67% | |
| Named advisors | Board chair | Quarterly | 3 | 4 | 75% | |
| Volunteer hours / quarter (pre-open) | Founder | Quarterly | 45 | 50 | 90% | |
| First FT hire (GM) | Founder | Quarterly | — | — | — | |
Where the year lands.
WhyGos
- Goal 03 (programming + growers) on pace to full-year target.
- Goal 01 (entity + first dollars) hits if two grants land by Q3.
- Goal 02 (site + build) is the real risk — 1 LOI by Q2 or slip target open.
Risks
- Majors pipeline thin — Founder's Table cadence must accelerate.
- Permit path unmapped until city planner meeting week 12.
- Cook commitment contingent on lease — no fallback candidate warm.
Investments
- Contractor walk-throughs on top two sites (Q2).
- Grant writer contract after eligible corridor and Oregon funding cycles are confirmed (Q2).
- Brand + fundraising collateral refresh before Founder's Table event (Q3).
- 👍On pace to achieve goal
- ✋Off-pace, within 10% — watch
- 👎Off-pace, more than 10%
- —Not yet tracked / pre-open