Finances and resource mobilization are key to an organization’s sustainability and health. While there is no single recipe for success, a financial resilience strategy that considers our organization’s needs, specificities, and context is a relevant first step.
Arianna Bizzoni, Senior consultant at Colectivo Meta
For COMETA, a financial resilience strategy is the ability of organizations to estimate their financial needs, raise funds, and adapt to circumstances and the availability of funds.
Therefore, we can speak of financial resilience when a process focuses on:
- Identifying the real needs of our organization to operate optimally.
- Learning about various funding sources, particularly those most aligned with our organizational needs.
- Strengthening communication with donors and allies to nurture our relationship with donors and attract funding leads.
- Determining that resource mobilization is a shared responsibility within the organization.
There are several models of resource mobilization for civil society organizations depending on their size, capacity, and goals. Some organizations have an institutional development area, while others have a fundraising officer. Other organizations have a decentralized structure. A financial resilience strategy is an organizational responsibility and a good practice for economic sustainability. We must keep an internal balance for team members to contribute to seeking, managing, and being accountable for our funding.
So, who is involved in a financial resilience strategy?
A) Programs and operational staff
A key aspect of a successful financial resilience strategy is the strong collaboration and coordination between an organization’s programs and operational areas. In other words, collaboration must be conducted between staff who carry out an organization’s substantive work (advocacy, support, training, etc.) and the staff who enable and uphold this substantive work (administration, institutional development, communication, etc.).
Leadership should stimulate collaboration for the funding proposal design, application, management, and accountability. Therefore, leadership can ensure that:
- Projects are developed based on the staff’s actual needs.
- Funds are spent and justified based on specific donor guidelines and requirements.
However, for this collaboration to strengthen an organization’s financial resilience strategy, resource mobilization tasks must be explicit in job descriptions. Therefore, staff can create opportunities for cooperation and coordination between various areas.
B) Communications team
Communication plays a vital role in a financial resilience strategy.
Fundraising is increasingly conducted through digital tools. Some organizations create digital platforms to increase their work’s visibility and carry out crowdfunding campaigns. Other organizations harness the fundraising possibilities that some social media allow, such as TikTok. These “new” fundraising sources require strong communication teams aligned with people involved in the financial resilience strategy.
C) Leadership
Another key aspect of a successful financial resilience strategy is the involvement of executive managers or similar positions. Their primary role is to build relationships with donors, open opportunities, and secure funding. Leadership is in touch with a wide variety of stakeholders, including donors.
Leadership does not have to work alone in these processes. A good practice is that leadership initiates the relationship and creates the funding opportunity but does not craft the funding application. This specific task has to be conducted by other people in the organization.
Concluding remarks
An effective financial resilience strategy requires active and coordinated participation across an organization’s programs and operational areas. Collaboration is essential to align operational needs with donor requirements while including resource mobilization tasks in job descriptions strengthens their implementation.
This comprehensive and collaborative approach allows us to tackle our financial needs and adapt to a changing environment, ensuring long-term sustainability, i.e., financial resilience.
This comprehensive and collaborative approach allows us to tackle our financial needs and adapt to a changing environment, ensuring long-term sustainability, i.e., financial resilience.
Does your organization have a financial resilience strategy? We share with you the 10 risks to the financial health of civil society organizations. If you have any questions, remember that COMETA can help you anytime. Contact us.
