From analysing your past to identifying the resources you require and developing options for filling gaps, this section will take you through a step-by-step plan to develop your FSP.
1. KNOW WHERE YOU CAME FROM, AND HOW YOU GOT TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW
The first step in developing your organisation’s financial sustainability plan (FSP) is to analyze your organisation’s past funding and financial history: How have your programs and initiatives evolved and changed? Who have your funders been? What have they funded? How much have they funded and for how long? What other revenue streams have you developed? How fast, or slowly, did they develop? Which ones have thrived and which are no longer operating? Why? Use numbers, graphs, pictures and words to document how you got to your current financial situation.
2. SWOT ANALYSIS
- Identify STRENGTHS: internal
- Identify WEAKNESSES: internal
- Identify OPPORTUNITIES: external
- Identify THREATS: external
Exploit your Strengths; build on them.
Address your Weaknesses; develop actions and behaviours that will mitigate them.
Focus on the identified Opportunities; while keeping a wary eye on the Threats.
3. DEVELOP/UPDATE YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN
- A strategic plan for your organisation’s work is fundamental to any fundraising or revenue generation effort. For additional information on strategic planning, see the IFEX Strategic Planning Toolkit.
- Always keep foremost the change you want to achieve = the results you will pursue.
- Identify the programme/work priorities to achieve the results and map them out over the span of your organisation’s strategic plan.
4. IDENTIFY THE RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE YOUR PRIORITY OBJECTIVES – INCLUDING:
- People
- Expertise
- Profile / reputation / credibility
- Digital capacity
- Money
- Organisational systems and capacity (and willingness to continually develop these)
- Infrastructure specific to your programme delivery (e.g., office premises, if required)
5. IDENTIFY THE GAPS BETWEEN THE RESOURCES YOU ESTIMATE TO BE REQUIRED, AND WHAT YOU THINK WILL BE AVAILABLE
6. DEVELOP OPTIONS FOR FILLING THOSE GAPS BY LOOKING AT HOW YOU CAN:
Achieve your objectives without all of the resources: partner, collaborate and/or engage in joint actions.
Achieve your objective(s) with few resources: scale back, step-up your activities over time.
Achieve your objective(s) with different resources: e.g., in-kind contributions, diversifying means of generating revenue.
7. DEVELOP SCENARIOS: THE MINIMUM FEASIBLE, TO THE OPTIMUM OR IDEAL
8. REVISIT YOUR PLAN ANNUALLY AS PART OF YOUR PROGRAMME PLANNING AND BUDGETING PROCESS:
- Update your numbers to incorporate the results of the previous year – where you are now will be different from where you were last year.
- Review the resource gaps you identified and the options you developed to fill those gaps – rewrite and update to document the progress you have made.
- Explore and document significant changes to your internal strengths and weaknesses and to external opportunities and threats and decide whether any new actions or directions are required to mitigate or exploit your changed circumstances.
- Consider the implications for your targeted Reserve level of changes in the organization or its external environment.
RESULT: A CLEAR AND THOUGHTFUL CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH TO PLAN AND PRIORITIZE.
TIP
- Start with where you are now and, with some knowledge of what got you to this point – from that look forward to see how you can get to where you need and want to be.
- Assess your capacities: financial, staff, Board, volunteers, infrastructure, reputation, connections and influence. Where are the gaps? Is there another organisation that has that gap covered? Can you collaborate or cooperate?
- Generating a surplus, every year, should be viewed as a necessity – not a luxury. Find a way to do it!
- Taking the time to discuss and plan and document minimizes unpredictability and creates a climate of confidence – not only within your organisation, but with your stakeholders, including funders.
- Your Financial Sustainability Plan is an active, living document to be referred to frequently, and reviewed and revised as you learn more and as circumstances (both internal and external) change. Make review and revision of your FSP part of your annual planning schedule.
- In a world where the only certainty is uncertainty, it is smart for your organisation to develop the capacity to be resilient and adaptive.
Financial Sustainability Plan
Ensure that your organisation survives and thrives by strengthening its fiscal framework.
Chapters
Organisational Strength Map
Use this tool to identify your organisation’s strengths and explore areas for growth and development.
Strategic Planning Toolkit
Build your strategic plan and improve your organisation’s effectiveness with these strategic planning tools and fact sheets. Not sure where to start? Check out the Starting Points page for advice tailored to your situation.
Communications Strategy Toolkit
Effective communications planning will enable you to raise your organisation’s voice on issues that matter.
Social Media Strategy
This step-by-step tool will enable you to build an effective social media strategy and engage your online audiences.
Website Optimisation Plan
This 10-step plan will help you improve your website’s impact and usability.