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LSC finance committee adopts temporary operating authority as CFO reports $350M in restricted cash and projected $7.4M surplus
Summary
The committee approved a resolution recommending temporary operating authority for FY2027; CFO Debbie Moore reported a $214M cash increase (roughly $350M on the slide), described $252M held for federal grants (including $83M earmarked for Oct–Dec payments), and projected about a $7.4M operating surplus.
The Legal Services Corporation finance committee voted without objection to adopt a resolution recommending temporary operating authority for fiscal year 2027 and to forward that recommendation to the full board.
Debbie Moore, LSC’s chief financial officer, told the committee that receipt of the full FY2026 appropriation increased cash balances by about $214 million and that the slide in the packet showed cash balances up to approximately $350 million. She emphasized that "these are not unrestricted operating funds" and that much of the cash is deferred revenue tied to grantee payments.
Moore said roughly 72% of the cash (about $252 million) is for federal grant programs and that $83 million represents grant payments for October and December that will be dispersed in the next fiscal year. She explained that under accounting rules grant funds must be classified as deferred revenue until they are dispersed to grantees and that deferred revenue is deducted from the cash balance to show the organization’s true operating cash picture.
On other revenue, Moore reported interest income through May of approximately $4.8 million and stated contribution revenue through May was about $2.3 million with a projected year-end contribution total of roughly $3.5 million. She identified planned grant awards noted in the packet: a $45,015,000 planning grant from Ascendium, $250,000 from the Hewlett Foundation and $200,000 from Microsoft.
Moore projected an operating surplus of about $7.4 million for the fiscal year, attributing the improvement to higher interest income from temporarily held cash balances, lower operating expenses due to vacancies and occupancy savings, and federally authorized administration oversight funding that offsets certain personnel costs.
During Q&A, board member Alan asked whether grantees would be paid if Congress delayed action past Sept. 30. Moore confirmed that LSC is legally obligated to disperse funds and that payments expected through Dec. 31 would not be financially impacted by a Congressional delay because those amounts are held as deferred revenue and available for disbursement as grantees meet milestones.
The committee then moved and approved a resolution enabling temporary operating authority beginning Oct. 1, 2027, to ensure continuity of operations while appropriations remain uncertain; the committee will present the adopted resolution to the full board for final action.
