A strategic financial partner for organizations built to grow.
The Upgrade Collaborative helps nonprofits and growing businesses build the financial infrastructure, executive leadership, and operating discipline they need to lead their next chapter with confidence.

Our mission
To empower founders, executive directors, and leadership teams to lead with clarity, confidence, and conviction — powered by financial infrastructure that finally matches the scale of their ambition.
We believe finance should be a source of leverage, not a source of stress. Our work is to transform how financial operations run inside growing organizations — designing scalable systems, strengthening internal controls, and providing the executive-level financial leadership that turns raw data into confident decisions.
Led by seasoned finance executive Chianeva Smith, our team partners with mission-driven nonprofits, growing businesses, and organizations preparing for their next stage of growth. Chianeva's career spans technology, media, nonprofit, and professional services, with a proven record of transforming financial operations, building high-performing teams, and preparing organizations for fundraising, audits, and complex transitions.
The services we deliver — fractional CFO leadership, accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, cash flow forecasting, grant compliance, QuickBooks consulting, internal controls, and finance department design — are the tools we use to create that transformation.
Throughout her career, Chianeva has:
Spearheaded financial strategies that supported the rapid growth of billion-dollar organizations.
Established robust control frameworks to safeguard assets and ensure regulatory compliance.
Created scalable processes and systems that improved financial performance and streamlined operations.
Built empowered, high-performing teams to drive innovation and deliver exceptional results.
How we work
Our values
Collaborative
We work as an extension of your team, not a vendor at arm's length.
Rigorous
Clean numbers, sound internal controls, and defensible financial reporting every time.
Strategic
CFO-level judgment: we don't just record the past, we help you shape financial strategy for what's next.
Lead your next chapter with financial confidence.
Book a complimentary 30-minute conversation. We'll listen to where you're headed, share where a strategic financial partner would create the most leverage, and outline what a stronger financial foundation could look like for your organization.
Schedule Your Free Consultation →