Creating a realistic budget, with accurate forecasts for costs and income, is only part of the battle to effectively manage your NFP finances. As the volunteer treasurer, once you’ve created the budget, the real hard work begins as you will need to keep to it! Like any other resolution or plan, the farther out you go from the beginning, the easier it is to get sidetracked and allow your organisation’s precious funds to slip through the cracks! The following tips will help you and your nonprofit stay on track with your budget.

Do Your Homework Before You Spend Money

One reason why so many nonprofits seem to find themselves invariably over budget is that they fail to thoroughly research items before they buy them. From office furniture to insurance, and everything in between, make an effort to learn all that you can about the item your NFP proposes to buy before you allocate the money.

Be careful not to be “pennywise and pound foolish” and always take into consideration the quality and durability of the items that you buy. Rather than seeing purchases from the point of view that the lower the price, the better it is, analyse how today’s spending can set your NFP up for increased growth and future sustainability.

Try to keep the big picture in mind and be on the lookout for purchases that can pull “double duty” to help you save vital resources, such as time and money. For example, the inherent inefficiency that comes from using outdated bookkeeping software is likely to be costing you more than what it would cost to upgrade to a more fully integrated system. A system like Admin Bandit allows you to record and update data automatically, which speeds up your processes and increases accuracy. It also offers the added security and convenience of storing your financial information. While you will need to spend a little money upfront to upgrade, the benefits of upgrading will likely save your organisation money over time!

Avoid Hidden Pitfalls and Money Pits

Purchases are not the only area that deserves increased scrutiny in a nonprofit. Various everyday activities often carry hidden costs that can quickly spiral out of control. For example, significant events such as a gala, carnival or other festival may be very popular and draw a lot of attention to your nonprofit and its work. But, if you’re not careful, the cost to host these events can easily dwarf any funds that would be raised, wasting both time and money.

Before you agree to host a specific event, always do an in-depth analysis of both direct and indirect costs to make sure that this is an activity that will help build your capacity and fuel growth.

Keep Your Donors Close

Depending on which body of research you study, the cost to recruit a new donor is 3 to 10 times higher than it is to simply focus on building and strengthening your relationships with existing donors and encouraging them to continue to support your NFP. While your NFP should attempt to recruit new donors to expand your support, the focus of your fundraising and recruitment drives should be in learning what your donors want and need from you, and then meeting those needs so that they want to remain actively engaged with your cause.

Take Care of Your People!

How will you create a genuine, lasting impact, without your staff and volunteers? Not only do they perform the lion’s share of the work, your team is literally the public face of your organisation. Donor relationships, member satisfaction, public reputation all rise, and fall based on how happy and engaged your team is with all your stakeholders!

Invest in your people and take care of them so that they will take care of the needs of all your stakeholders. Provide them with opportunities to learn, socialise and grow by investing in their training and development. Don’t forget to show your gratitude for their hard work and efforts and offer them public recognition for their excellent results! While there are some upfront costs associated with providing your team perks, rewards as well as just compensation and a great working environment, both you and your service community will reap the benefits of your team’s improved morale, effectiveness and superior performance!