Administrative basics

When you're set up a new organisation, you need

• A set of goals and strategies
  Have you worked out what you want to do and how and when you want to do it? Discuss this with your friends and associates, and with the people you'll be working with. Without a clearly defined and understood purpose, not-for-profits tend to drift and lose focus. You need to sort out your strategy. Bear in mind, too, that some legal points can impact on that strategy. If you think you're likely to be applying for tax relief or charitable status at any time in the future, for example, you must remember that raising money for old people is a charitable end but that lobbying the government to raise the pension is not.

• A strategic plan
  The strategic planning process identifies the steps necessary to work toward your organisation's potential, and determines the resources needed to implement the plan. Try and establish your operational priorities for at least one year ahead. Bear in mind, too, that once you've got this sorted out and written in it will be hard to change later. Take a bit of time thinking through all the aspects of what you want to do.

• A committee of management / board
  You need keen, motivated, competent people to fill the different roles in the organisation. You need workers, volunteers, members, officebearers - Secretary, Treasurer, President - and enough other members to make up a Board or a Committee of Management. You don't necessarily need a mass membership at the start, but you do need workers. This is the hardest part of any startup. As soon as you have a core of workers, set up a Committee that can take decisions and record them.

• A constitution and standing orders
  Constitutions deal with the basic governance structures, standing orders deal with the nuts and bolts of meeting procedures. Most organisations get by on a fairly minimal amount of committee meeting procedure - there's nothing worse than a person who keeps jumping up to take points of order - but it's still safest to have a set of meeting rules to refer to once every couple of years.

• A computer
  If the tasks you're facing are uncomplicated enough not to need a computer, they almost certainly don't need a formal organisation. You need to have access to something that will do wordprocessing, printing, and basic accounting.

• An accounting system
  You'll need a system to record and keep track of all transactions. Start an account book. If the amount of money involved is large enough for you not to want to carry it around in your pocket, look at opening a bank account (bearing in mind that banks charge fees). If you want to open a bank account, you'll probably have to incorporate or take some other steps to legal identity: see here.
  You can begin a very small organisation on the basis of chequebook stubs and receipt carbons, but you should really develop a proper basic bookkeeping system that can cope with growth. If you can, it's a good idea to have an accountant or bookkeeper help you set up a set of books from the start, then let someone who feels comfortable with numbers and figures take on the Treasurer's position.

• A budget
  A budget is not the same thing as a set of accounts. Accounts help you deal with the money you have; budgets deal with the money you need. You have to estimate how much is going to come in to the organisation and the amount you're going to spend. Because you can't predict the future exactly, budgets involve a certain amount of guessing.
  You need to make your best estimate of your likely income and your likely expenditure in order to see whether you can keep operating. Go through your strategic plan. Note everything you're planning to do and estimate what you will have to spend on it. Estimate your income; are there going to be any grants? Any fees? Will you have to rely on donations? Don't simply assume you will get enough donations to fund your planned expenditure. Be realistic. If you can't count on that income, it might be wiser to reduce your spending.

• A risk management plan
  
  • Look at what might go wrong.
  • Devise ways to minimise the risk.
  • Look at insuring yourself against the unexpected.

• A fundraising plan
  Start small and close, looking for donations from the people around you. Then think of how to set up a balanced and sustainable funding flow based on
  • Donations and bequests
  • Grants
  • Community-business partnerships
  • Memberships/Alumni/Friends
  • Special events
  • Earned income

 

 

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