"The next step in [NGO] strategy is the training of your own people. Everyone must be [customer]-conscious. That's a training job -- not just preaching. It isn't attitude, it's behavior." --Peter Drucker
When there is a lack of good training opportunities available, leaders are tempted to seek it only for themselves. The danger in this is that it can encourage the tendency to avoid delegating the substantial work of the organization to other staffmembers. Leaders usually intend to brief the other staff on the trainings but, as happens all too often, other things take priority and soon it is forgotten altogether. The fact is that the more training an NGO provides to the NGOs staff and volunteers, the more effective workforce the organization will have. It also has a positive impact on morale because people feel they are valued when an organizations leadership makes an investment in them by providing them with new skills.
Q. 94: NGO?
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Q. 95: Is it clear to all who know of your organization that its effectiveness and longevity are not dependent on any single individual's leadership?
A sure way of demoralizing talented staffpeople is for the leader to take all the credit for everything the organization does and everything it accomplishes. But theres another important reason: if the leader were to leave the organization, the public may lose confidence in the organization, fearing that the quality of the programming will diminish.
Budgeting, financial and inventory management (Q96-116)
Q. 96: Have you budgeted for all your planned activities and know from where the funds will come?
Budgeting is an integral part of strategic planning since it defines the boundaries for the number of staff an organization can employ and the type of activities it can undertake. Sometimes, however, leaders and the NGOs planning committee will get carried away by certain initiatives without thinking carefully about the money required to accomplish them. It is necessary to determine ahead of time if an initiative is feasible before launching it so that the organization doesnt get a reputation for being unreliable by starting projects it cant finish.
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Qs. 97-99: Are draft budgets prepared and circulated well enough in advance to enable full discussion and analysis before the budget is adopted? Are budgets ready in a timely manner to support development efforts? Do you refer to actual income and expenses of prior years in preparing budget projections?
Planned activities that somehow get overlooked in the budgeting process; or when budgets are not circulated to appropriate staff in advance, both are good ways to sabotage a plan even before you begin the implementation phase. Once a budget has been passed, and if no additional funds can be secured, activities vital to the organizations success may have to be postponed or canceled simply because of not double-checking the budget with staff beforehand.
Budgetary and accounting procedures should be accomplished in a way that doesnt delay activities the organization has planned. This can give the public the unfavorable impression that the organization is always late in its delivery of services and lacks professionalism.
It is very easy for spending to get out of hand before anyone is aware of it. Thats why reviewing the previous years spending can be helpful to understand where the additional expenses are so that a plan can be developed to rectify or accommodate them.
Qs. 100-103: Is cash flow projected on a regular basis? Are budget projections and actual income and expenses reviewed periodically to aid in making adjustments? Are expense projections made so as to contain costs as much as possible? Are internal controls sufficient to ensure that the budgeted costs are not exceeded without careful analysis and approval?
Right now, most Russian organizations are 1) fully funded or 2) funded on a project-by-project basis or 3) getting by with an all-volunteer staff and with donated space and services. None of these options require cash flow projections. However, as organizations become more reliant on
