Institutional Governance · Forensic Advisory

Most organizations don't have a structural advisor — until it's too late.

Most governance failures
are visible in the documents
long before they become public.

ECONSTART identifies governance exposure, financial risk signals, and structural failure points before they reach regulators, funders, or the public — and delivers the frameworks to address them. Independent advisory. Written scope. Fixed fee.

Limited intake. Reviewed directly by principal advisor. No obligation.

Built for organizations that need clarity before problems become visible. Independent advisory. Not a law firm. Not an accounting firm.

13+
Years Applied Expertise
180K+
Workers in NY-DIGNITY Framework
119%
Funded Ratio — NY-DIGNITY vs MTA 87%
4
Multi-Entity Governance Frameworks Delivered

Governance problems don't announce themselves.
They accumulate.

A board structure that was never designed for regulatory scrutiny. Financial frameworks built before today's compliance environment existed. Benefit plans whose exposure has never been tested against current standards. Annual filings that signal risk to outside reviewers — while no one internally has looked closely enough to notice.

By the time a funder asks, a regulator reviews, or a board dispute makes internal dysfunction visible — the cost of addressing it is already significantly higher than it needed to be.

ECONSTART exists to find those vulnerabilities before they become crises — and to design institutional architecture that holds under real-world pressure, not just in the moment of calm.

Nonprofit & Exempt Organizations
§501(c)(3), §501(c)(4), §501(c)(6), §501(c)(9) — governance architecture, compliance review, and forensic financial analysis across exempt entities, including public charities, advocacy organizations, trade associations, and benefit funds operating under regulatory and reputational pressure.
Benefit Funds & VEBA Structures
ERISA-regulated benefit plan review, Form 5500 analysis, and structural alignment for multi-employer funds operating in complex compliance environments.
Workforce & Labor Organizations
Institutional design for member-governed organizations and independent workforce entities that have historically operated without formal governance infrastructure.
Forensic Financial Review
Related-party transaction analysis, UBIT exposure, excess benefit transaction signals, and IRS §7623(b) whistleblower advisory for organizations under or approaching regulatory scrutiny.

Four engagements.
One standard.

Written scope and fixed fee confirmed before work begins. Every engagement is designed to produce outputs your leadership team can act on — not reports that require further interpretation.

02
Governance Assessment
Diagnostic Engagement · Fixed Scope

Most organizations don't know where their governance is exposed until a funder asks for documentation, an auditor flags a discrepancy, or a board conflict makes internal dysfunction visible. This engagement shows you exactly where the risk sits — before any of that happens.

  • Written executive brief — every finding cited, every risk ranked by consequence
  • Governance failure point identification across bylaws, filings, and board records
  • Sequenced remediation plan — what to address first and what happens if you don't
  • Delivered within 7–10 business days from scope confirmation
$1,500 – $2,500
Fixed scope · written agreement before work begins

No obligation. Fixed scope confirmed before engagement.

Request Initial Structural Review →
03
Institutional Filing Review
Forensic Analysis · Scope Dependent

Your annual filings are public record. Regulators, foundations, journalists, and opposing parties in a board dispute can read them — and often do. Left unreviewed, the signals they contain accumulate into audit flags, loss of funding eligibility, regulatory exposure, or documented board liability.

  • Structured forensic report (10–20 pages) — what's wrong, where it appears, what it signals
  • Form 990/990-T/5500 analysis — compliance gaps and financial risk signals
  • Related-party transaction review — conflicts of interest and structural exposure
  • Governance risk classification — what must be corrected first and why
  • IRC §4958 / §512(b)(13) signal identification
$1,500 – $5,000
Scope dependent · written scope before work begins

No obligation. Fixed scope confirmed before engagement.

Request Initial Structural Review →
04
Institutional Blueprint
Full Architecture Engagement · Custom Scope

Patching governance problems one at a time is how organizations end up back in the same position two years later. This engagement rebuilds board structure, financial framework, and compliance architecture as one integrated system — designed to hold through leadership transitions, regulatory scrutiny, and growth.

  • Complete governance architecture — board authority, decision protocols, accountability systems
  • Multi-year financial sustainability model — reserve targets, stress-testing, scenario analysis
  • Regulatory alignment framework — built into the structure, not added as an afterthought
  • Leadership implementation roadmap — sequenced, assigned, board-ready
  • Full documentation transfer — no dependency on this firm to execute
$7,500 – $15,000+
Custom scope · confirmed in writing before any work begins

No obligation. Fixed scope confirmed before engagement.

Begin Structural Evaluation →
00
Rapid Structural Snapshot
Entry-Level Diagnostic · Fixed Scope

Not sure if you have a governance problem — or how deep it goes? The Structural Snapshot is a focused diagnostic that reviews your organization's core documents, identifies the most critical structural gaps, and delivers a prioritized risk summary within 5 business days. No engagement required beyond this.

  • Review of bylaws, Form 990 (or 990-T), and board composition
  • Identification of top 3–5 structural risk areas
  • One-page prioritized risk summary with recommended next steps
  • 30-minute debrief call with principal advisor
$500
Fixed fee · delivered in 5 business days

Limited to 5 organizations per month. No obligation beyond this engagement.

Request Structural Snapshot →

From diagnosis to institutional transfer.

Every engagement moves through a disciplined sequence — from identifying structural risk to delivering frameworks your leadership team can execute without us.

01
Diagnostic

Identify structural failure points, governance gaps, financial sustainability constraints, and regulatory exposure signals embedded in the institution's current documents and filings.

02
Design

Develop governance frameworks, decision structures, financial logic, and regulatory alignment systems built for the institution's specific mandate, risk profile, and operating environment.

03
Alignment

Translate the design into practical structures that leadership teams can adopt with consistency, institutional discipline, and confidence — written for execution, not for review.

04
Transfer

Deliver implementation-ready frameworks and structured documentation. Full transfer to leadership. No ongoing dependency on this firm required to act on the output.

Structural work at institutional scale.

Selected reference frameworks illustrating the depth and scope of this firm's approach to governance design, workforce infrastructure, and long-range sustainability architecture.

Featured Framework · 2026
NY-DIGNITY

A proposed VEBA §501(c)(9) retirement infrastructure system for New York City's 180,000+ TLC-licensed professional drivers — built without employer classification dependency or public subsidy.

The framework integrates actuarial projections, ERISA-ready documentation, a complete structural framework, and a tri-party contribution structure (driver + platform + per-trip surcharge) designed for long-range institutional sustainability.

Funded Ratio 119% — vs. MTA pension at 87%
Structure VEBA §501(c)(9) + NY EPTL Art. 7
Projected Benefit $1,300–$1,500 / month
Reference Base 180,000+ TLC-licensed drivers
Framework Scope Private structural model — multi-entity architecture
Request Framework Overview (PDF) →
Forensic Advisory
Exempt Organization Compliance Review

Multi-target forensic analysis of Form 990/990-T filings, related-party transaction structures, and UBIT exposure across nonprofit and VEBA-structured entities.

Work includes IRC §512(b)(13) UBIT analysis, excess benefit transaction identification under §4958, and IRS §7623(b) whistleblower program structuring for organizations under active regulatory exposure.

Discuss similar work →
Governance Architecture
Workforce Governance Models

Institutional design frameworks for member-governed organizations and independent workforce entities — addressing governance gaps, incentive misalignment, and structural continuity across leadership transitions.

Work spans benefit fund architecture, membership governance design, and regulatory-aligned structural frameworks for organizations operating without traditional employer structures.

Discuss similar work →
Selected Structural Case
Multi-Entity Governance Restructuring

A mid-size exempt organization operating across three affiliated entities — a 501(c)(3), a 501(c)(9) benefit fund, and a fiscally sponsored program — presented structural misalignment in board composition, related-party transaction flows, and Form 990 disclosure practices.

ECONSTART conducted a full governance architecture review, identifying overlapping fiduciary roles, unreported excess benefit transactions under §4958, and UBIT exposure across the affiliated structure.

Engagement Scope
  • Tri-entity governance gap analysis
  • Form 990 / 990-T forensic cross-reference
  • Related-party transaction mapping
  • Board restructuring framework
  • Regulatory exposure memorandum

Following delivery, the organization initiated governance restructuring prior to its next audit cycle and avoided external escalation.

Request similar structural review →
German
Marcelino
Founder & Principal Advisor · ECONSTART LLC
"The documents always tell the story. Most organizations just don't have anyone reading them closely enough."
IRC §501(c) Governance Architecture
Forensic Form 990 / 990-T / 5500 Analysis
ERISA Benefit Plan Review
IRS §7623(b) Whistleblower Advisory
Excess Benefit · §4958 · §512(b)(13)
NY-DIGNITY Lead Architect

I build institutional systems for sectors that have historically operated without them.

My work focuses on governance architecture, forensic financial analysis, and structural design for nonprofits, benefit funds, and workforce organizations operating in complex regulatory environments — where structural failure carries real regulatory, reputational, and financial consequences.

I am the lead architect of NY-DIGNITY — a proposed retirement infrastructure framework for more than 180,000 independent drivers in New York City, built on a multi-party funding model, actuarial projections, ERISA-aligned benefit architecture, and a complete structural framework. It is not a concept paper. It is a working institutional system designed to operate at scale under scrutiny.

This work — forensic analysis of Form 990 filings, governance gap identification, structural design under regulatory pressure — applies specifically to organizations that cannot afford to discover their structural problems after the fact.

ECONSTART operates as an independent advisory layer. No relationship with your existing auditors or counsel. Every framework is transferred fully to your leadership for execution — no ongoing dependency on this firm required.

Begin a
structural evaluation.

Describe your organization and the structural challenge you are facing. Every inquiry is reviewed personally by the principal advisor — not by an intake coordinator, not with an automated response.

You will receive a direct assessment of your situation and a proposed written scope within 48 hours.

Regulators and auditors don't wait. Neither should your governance infrastructure.

Limited intake. No obligation. Fixed scope confirmed before any engagement begins.

Independent advisory. Not a law firm. Not an accounting firm. No conflicts with your existing counsel or auditors.

ECONSTART provides independent structural and governance advisory. This is not legal counsel, accounting services, or fiduciary advice. No engagement exists until a written scope and fee agreement is confirmed by both parties.

Most organizations wait until a regulator, auditor, or funder identifies the problem. By then, the cost is significantly higher.