Weak financial management can hinder even high-performing nonprofits, including afterschool organizations. This study, the first of two, examines the early part of a Wallace Foundation project to help build the financial muscles of 26 leading afterschool providers in Chicago. Participating organizations received financial management training and peer networking opportunities, using one of two models that differed in intensity and the balance of individual vs. group-based training and support. The report also identifies three practices essential to a nonprofit organization’s financial strength and effectiveness: an understanding of the true cost of all programs; ongoing monitoring of the financial status of both individual programs and the organization as a whole; and meeting expenses in a timely manner. Successful implementation of these key practices, the authors state, requires strong financial management resources, procedures for generating key indicators of an organization’s financial status, and systems to communicate financial information to staff members. The participating organizations initially faced significant challenges in each of these areas. However, the study found that participants already showed signs of progress, particularly in their use of cash flow projection methods and program managers’ ability to develop and understand budgets and financial reports.