Civil society organizations know the need for resources to conduct our activities. But do we know what they are and how we can use them? In this article we will talk about strategic resource management.
Keep reading and find out the relevance of an institutional budget to represent the organization’s strategic priorities instead of the organizational inertia.
Key questions on strategic resource management.
A strategic budget is the financial representation of our Theory of Change. But how do we reach that goal, and how do we know if it’s really strategic?
First, we must know our organization’s operational costs. This is a difficult task because we must learn to quantify all our activities, materials, required inputs, and team effort. For example, our organization conducts and presents research to raise awareness among decision-makers about modifying public policies. In that case, our ideal budget should show the cost of our research and presentation.
What should we consider when estimating our organization’s operational cost?
- The number of persons who conduct the research and how long they take. This will allow us to know the cost of research in wages, salaries, and benefits.
- We must include the inputs for this research: how much we pay for electricity, internet services, stationery, biscuits, printed documents, etc.
- If we are subscribed to magazines, newspapers, academic search engines, and various promotion inputs, how much are these subscriptions?
- How much will we pay for the design and printed documents if we print out every research? ● If we present the research at a public event, how much do we pay for the venue, the food, the catering service, etc.?
Why would we want this information for strategic resource management?
There are various factors, but it is crucial that, based on this information, civil society organizations can:
1) Know how much our organization’s operational costs are. We sometimes overlook that we need financial stability to meet our goals.
2) Make a benefit-cost analysis to find out where we are meeting our goals at a lower cost. This could have a snowball effect. If we start with those that bring small successes, we will gradually move forward to more complex issues more efficiently.
3) Improve our fundraising strategies. Strategic resource management is based on fundraising. We can see opportunities ahead when we know where we get more benefits.
4) Prioritize activities. For the strategic use of resources to be successful, we need to prioritize everything we want to do. Even if we have a comfortable financial cushion, it will always be finite, so we must decide where to invest first and how much. Here, we must ask ourselves: What activity gives me the highest return at the most affordable cost? From there, we can come up with a plan and make decisions.
5) Invest resources wisely in good times. One of the biggest mistakes made by civil society organizations is spending all resources when they arrive. The idea is to create a plan to make the most of these resources. A well-planned strategy will allow us to grow our resources steadily and continuously while we achieve our goals. This is how we avoid the “lean seasons.”
6) Make difficult decisions in adverse times. Even if we manage resources relatively successfully, external factors can play against us. When this happens, drastic decisions, including job cuts or prioritizing certain activities, will be necessary. Analyzing priorities makes it easier to handle these situations.
Strategic resource management = Win time
Is it complex? The bad news is that it is, but the good news is that we don’t have to do it all at once.
The strategic use of resources depends on estimating the cost of a project or calculating our fixed expenses. This way, little by little, we will be able to build that ideal budget because the cost of not starting to do it can lead us to crises we do not want to face.
There are several moments when, as a civil society organization, we must allow ourselves to pause and rethink critical aspects of our operation. This is especially important in budgeting and strategic resource management.
Doing so will allow us to achieve our objectives more efficiently and sustainably and prepare us to define the path we want to walk toward the social change we want and face our financial challenges.
Come to COMETA, and let’s discover together how to leave the footprint your organization is looking for.
