What if there was a different approach to funding our NFPs | This Week’s Blog | Upcoming Events | Finance Tips From Julie | How Can I Help?
Hi there – thanks for checking out my latest Good Governance Newsletter!
I know you are here because you are committed to good not-for-profit governance and leadership, and you want to make sure you do everything you can to steer your organisation in the right direction.
So, to support you with that, through my regular Good Governance Newsletters I strive to bring to you valuable information and updates, happenings and events, that will help you do exactly that!
So grab yourself a cuppa and take a moment and check out what I have to share with you in this week’s newsletter…
Read on for:
- An inspirational TED Talk (and a new feature-length movie!) by the wonderful humanitarian activist Dan Pallotta about thinking BIG to fund our NFPs
- My latest Blog – What’s important and why: Risk Management
- My Final Online Event for 2024 is on:
26 November – Join me online for my final session for 2024 of my flagship governance training program – Good Governance for NFPs. Get your new and returning Board members booked in for this great session as part of their induction or regular upskill
Plus get ready now for 2025 – My calendar of next year’s events is now live on my website at: Events - Finance Tips from Julie – Monitoring Fundraising-related Expenses
- Working with me – The many ways I help NFPs
I’m so glad you have found me and all the resources I share via my newsletters and emails.
I am sure I will have something to help you in the not-for-profit work you do, whether it be as an Executive, a Board member, or a grass-roots community volunteer.
So dive on in and let me know what resonated with you this time!
Have a lovely week.
Regards
Megan
CHECK OUT DAN PALLOTTA’S SERIOUSLY-IMPACTFUL TED TALK
(AND NOW HE HAS A MOVIE TOO!) ABOUT FUNDING FOR CHARITIES
Dan Pallotta is a humanitarian activist and fundraiser.
He is best known for his involvement in multi-day charitable events with the long-distance Breast Cancer 3-Day walks, AIDS Rides bicycle journeys, and Out of the Darkness suicide prevention night walks.
Back in 2013 he presented a ground-breaking TED talk (which has now had over five and a half million views!) that shines a light on what he sees as the double standard that drives our broken approach to not-for-profit funding.
In this bold and inspirational talk, his key message is: Let’s change the way we think about changing the world.
Too many not-for-profits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend – not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses).
And more recently he has turned his seminal work Uncharitable into a feature length film, which is well worth a look too.
So if you are looking for some inspo to turn your organisation’s approach to raising funds on its head – I highly recommend checking out Dan’s work.
It certainly gave me a number of a-ha moments!
MY LATEST BLOG
This week I have posted the second article in my new short Blog series: What’s important and why.
In this series I’ll be exploring some of the headline issues a NFP Board or Committee member needs to be across in order to effectively fulfil their duties to the organisation/s they serve, and why these things are so important to get right.
In this next article I explore Risk Management (don’t glaze over!), and I unpack – from a number of angles – why it matters to do it properly.
Check out the article HERE and I do hope you find it helpful for the NFP organisations you are a part of.
And if you want to read more of my blog articles, or listen to some podcasts I have spoken on, or even watch some of my past webinars, then check out my back catalogue of Blogs & Pods HERE.
Enjoy!
GET YOUR TICKETS FOR GOVERNANCE TRAINING NOW!
I still have some tickets available for this (my last!) online governance training session for 2024:
When? Tuesday 26 November (TODAY), from 6 pm – 9 pm (AEDT/Melbourne time).
What? Good Governance for not-for-profits online training session.
Price? Tickets are just $156 per person.
My flagship governance training program, this session explores the key governance areas of good practice, compliance, planning, and risk.
It’s a great induction for your newcomers post-AGM and an excellent refresher for those returning.
Click HERE for further information and to purchase your tickets.
🎉 Plus I’m very excited to have launched my 2025 Calendar of Events! 🎉
The new year will see me bringing you some new webinars and training sessions, plus you will see the return of some perennial favourites as well.
You can check them all out, and get them booked and in the diary for the new year HERE.
FINANCE TIPS FROM JULIE
Julie Doyle is my business finances guru, and this week she is generously sharing some of her wisdom around Monitoring Fundraising-related Expenses.
This week Julie says:
As we’ve worked our way through your Income opportunities as a not-for-profit (NFP) entity and, with the possibility you may be looking at your calendar year 2024 budgets, I am now taking a deep dive into the Expenses side of your NFP and what you should be looking out for over the coming newsletters.
We discussed Program-related Expenses last time, this week it will be monitoring your Fundraising Expenses.
Monitoring fundraising expenses for NFPs is crucial for your financial transparency, your regulatory compliance, and your donors’ trust.
Here are some key steps you can use to effectively track and manage these expenses:
Begin by setting a budget for your fundraising activities, keeping it realistic and achievable based on the NFP’s overall budget and goals.
Include line items like staff time, promotional materials, event costs, and administrative support to get a comprehensive view of projected expenses.
Organise expenses into categories such as direct expenses (e.g. event costs, mailing) and indirect expenses (e.g. staff time, overheads).
Use your accounting software or tracking software to tag each expense to a specific fundraising event or initiative.
Many costs, like salaries or office space, might benefit multiple programs or initiatives. To accurately assess fundraising expenses, use an allocation method to fairly assign these shared costs based on time tracking or other usage metrics.
Track key fundraising ratios, like fundraising efficiency ratio (total funds raised divided by fundraising expenses) and cost per dollar raised (fundraising expenses divided by total funds raised). These help gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of fundraising efforts over time.
Conduct periodic reviews, at least quarterly, to compare actual expenses against the budget. This allows you to adjust plans if expenses exceed expectations or if some initiatives are more cost-effective than others.
NFPs are often required to report fundraising expenses in financial statements and have a clear breakdown of expenses ensures accurate reporting and compliance. Consider creating separate reports for internal and external stakeholders. Internal reports can be more detailed, while external reports should focus on transparency and accountability to donors.
After each fundraising campaign, assess the cost-effectiveness of each component. Analyse what worked well and what could be improved to optimise future fundraising.
Use internal controls to prevent misuse of funds. For example, include setting expense approval policies, regular audits, and independent board oversight for financial reviews.
Share a transparent reports with your donors on how their contributions were spent, including all associated, direct fundraising expenses. This builds trust and strengthens long-term relationships.
Tracking fundraising expenses in a NFP is essential for ensuring financial transparency, meeting regulatory requirements, and maintaining donor trust.
If you have a NFP finance query you would like Julie to talk about via my Good Governance Newsletter, just email it to me on megan@mjbconsulting.net.au.
WHAT DO I DO?
In case you’re new to my Good Governance Network, or you have been around for a while, but still aren’t quite sure of all the things I do to help NFPs, then read on…
There are three main ways I work in with NFPs:
1. Governance and Strategy – my three-stage flagship program, Good Governance for Not-for-profits, includes:
– Stage 1: a Good Governance Training Session with your Board to delve into the important elements of best practice governance
– Stage 2: a comprehensive Strategy Planning Workshop, including coordinating your team’s pre-session ‘homework’, as well as taking care of the post-session write-up
– Stage 3: Implementation Support – 12 months of mentoring support and external accountability to ensure your organisation sticks to your plan (and you’d be surprised how many don’t – even the big ones!) and that you deliver on the work required to achieve the things you have set out in your plan.
Organisations may choose to undertake any or all of the three stages – it just depends on what makes sense for your organisation at the time.
2. Support Packages – Taking some of the hassle out of good governance and leadership, my ready-to-go packages have been tried and tested by NFPs across the country, and address some of the most common challenges experienced by not-for-profit organisations.
These packages compliment my flagship Good Governance for Not-for-profits program, and include:
– Executive Coaching
– Chair Support
– Succession Planning
– Board Refresh & Refocus
– Board Review & Evaluation
– Strategic Risk Review
3. Training Programs – I offer a range of training programs designed specifically for not-for-profit organisations. I can also create bespoke training programs to meet your organisation’s specific needs on request.
And in addition to my flagship Good Governance for Not-for-profits training session, my ready-to-go training programs include:
– Valuing our Volunteers
– Fundraising 101
– Succession Planning
– Risk Management Basics
– Grant Writing
– and more…
Further info…
All of my supports and services can be delivered remotely, so it doesn’t matter where you are – as long as you have an internet connection I can help you!
For full details go to:
Or get in touch with me to make a time to catch up and talk about what your NFP needs!
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