Overview

• Company – Godwit builds a platform that helps conservation groups issue and sell biodiversity credits, connecting projects with corporate buyers.

• SBIR journey – Godwit first secured an NSF SBIR Phase I award to test its idea of creating a digital backbone for species survival data. With those early funds, the team built out the foundation for what became its biodiversity credit marketplace. Building on that momentum, they later won a Phase II award of nearly $1M, giving them the runway to scale their platform into a production-ready system and begin piloting with conservation partners.

• Why Forge – Godwit needed reliable SBIR financials, compliant timekeeping, and easy-to-share reports while the product team shipped features and onboarded conservation partners.

About Godwit

Godwit’s mission is to create long-term funding for wildlife and ecosystem protection by turning biodiversity credits into a practical tool for both conservation projects and companies. Biodiversity credits work like carbon credits, but instead of paying for reduced emissions, they represent measurable improvements in nature, such as restoring habitats or protecting endangered species. 

The Phase II award will help Godwit build a two-sided marketplace that connects conservation projects with corporate buyers, along with the digital tools needed to turn real conservation data into verified, tradable credits.

The challenge

• From prototype to platform – Moving from Phase I data infrastructure to a production marketplace added vendors, contractors, cost centers, and compliance headaches.

• NSF compliance – Indirect rate tracking, participant support rules, and quarterly reporting needed to be airtight.

• Time capture for mixed teams – Researchers, engineers, and outreach staff all needed accurate effort reporting by task.

What they needed

• A single source of truth for budgets, actuals, and forecasts by WBS task.

• DCAA-style timekeeping that still felt lightweight.

• Report packs that made NSF reviews simple.

How Forge helped

Instead of layering on new systems, Forge adapted to Godwit’s workflow:

• Award-tailored setup – Forge configured the Phase II budget structure around NSF’s specific chart of accounts and indirect cost rules, so every transaction flowed into the right category automatically.

• Automated burn tracking – Real-time dashboards showed spend by WBS element, freeing the team from manual spreadsheets and late-night reconciliations.

• Evidence on demand – Receipts, payroll allocations, and time entries were linked directly to Godwit’s budget, making it easy to generate supporting docs for NSF auditors with a single click.

Results

• Smoother close – Clean monthly actuals and forecasts made quarterly NSF reporting straightforward.

• Confidence in spend – Clear mapping from every transaction to the award and task.

• Less context switching – Teams stayed focused on product and partnerships while finance handled compliance.

Why it matters

Conservation tech involves partners and evolving scopes. Forge gives Godwit a steady financial backbone so the team can scale the platform and stay compliant as the market for biodiversity credits grows.