When Deb Ferris founded Thriving4Life in August 2019, she envisioned a nonprofit centered on healing, expression, and connection. Her mission: to support individuals impacted by dementia, trauma, or cognitive and developmental impairments, and the caregivers who walk beside them. With the weight of running a new nonprofit on her shoulders, Deb knew she needed a strong financial partner. Just one year later, she reached out to Chazin for accounting guidance, allowing her to concentrate on growing her programs.
A Mission Rooted in Dignity and Connection
At its heart, Thriving4Life exists to restore something essential that too often can get lost in the churn of clinical care: a sense of humanity and creativity. Founded in Tennessee, the organization brings emotional connection to individuals facing some of life’s most isolating challenges.
Their flagship program, Art4Life, isn’t just about art supplies and projects. It’s about unlocking expression in people who may no longer have words, offering a sense of identity to those whose memories are fading, and giving caregivers a new way to connect with the people they love. Through therapeutic art and music, Thriving4Life helps residents in skilled nursing facilities re-engage with the world around them.
The impact is both measurable and deeply human. Thriving4Life has found that people in the program experience:
- A 30% increase in residents’ perceived quality of life
- A 27% decrease in mood-related signs such as anxiety and irritability
- An 11% reduction in antipsychotic medication use
- 95% of participating staff reporting a better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease
Through university partnerships and federally supported initiatives, Deb and her team have brought Art4Life to hundreds of nursing homes across the South, and soon, the Midwest. And while the data is powerful, it’s the stories behind the numbers that truly reflect the mission.
Deb often says that art gives voice to those who can no longer speak. At Thriving4Life, that belief isn’t just a philosophy, it’s a lifeline. But bringing that vision to life required more than passion; it needed a stable financial foundation.
Chazin's Role: Building the Financial Foundation
As a new organization, Thriving4Life needed a financial partner who understood the unique challenges of a nonprofit startup. “We needed someone who could help us set up our accounts in QuickBooks, train me, and offer ongoing support, but we couldn’t afford full-service accounting at the time,” said Deb.
That’s when, at the recommendation of their CPA Firm, she connected with Chazin’s NFP SmartStart team —a department dedicated to small and emerging nonprofits. NFP SmartStart offers the same nonprofit accounting expertise Chazin is known for, but in a flexible, scalable, and affordable format that meets organizations exactly where they are in their journey.
Even as Deb looks ahead to hiring internal financial support, she emphasized that the relationship with Chazin remains essential. Having an outside expert to “look over their shoulder” brings peace of mind to the team and strengthens trust with stakeholders to help bridge gaps in leadership, especially as they search for a new Treasurer.
Working closely with Chazin team members Vanessa Jackameit and Jackie McLaughlin, Deb gained the structure and oversight she needed to feel confident in her financial processes even while handling much of the QuickBooks entry herself. Vanessa serves as a second set of eyes, reconciling quarterly and annually, and offering guidance when questions arise. “She’s our safety net. When I need answers, I don’t want to dig through forums. I want to talk to someone I trust. That’s Vanessa.”
Empowering the Board with Financial Training
Chazin’s support goes far beyond reconciliations. Their involvement has given Thriving4Life’s leadership and board greater confidence in their financial oversight. Deb shared that having Chazin consistently review and reconcile reports (monthly, quarterly, and annually) has helped board members feel more assured when reviewing and approving financials.
That confidence is only growing. Having already benefited from board trainings with Technical Reviews & Training Manager Jackie McLaughlin, the organization is eager to continue building on that with a new Treasurer on the horizon.
Jackie’s expertise has also helped improve internal efficiency. Deb initially built a highly detailed chart of accounts, but found it overly complex for day-to-day use. Jackie and Vanessa stepped in to simplify the structure, introduce a better use of classes in QuickBooks, and make the overall system more manageable, streamlining the way Thriving4Life tracks and understands its financials.
A Shared Commitment to Mission and Impact
Beyond the numbers and reports, Deb makes it a point to share Thriving4Life’s quarterly newsletters with the Chazin team. These newsletters showcase resident-created artwork and the heartfelt stories behind them. For Deb, this connection makes the relationship personal, helping the Chazin staff see the real impact of their work and reinforcing that “we’re all in this together, a team working side by side.”
At Chazin, we believe that strong partnerships thrive when rooted in a shared passion for mission and lasting impact, not just transactions. Supporting dedicated organizations like Thriving4Life is what drives our work.
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