Checklist: criteria for financial planning

The following checklist will help you to adapt the criteria to your own organization’s situation. Try to consider the following points. How can a selected financial method be assessed in terms of:

Governance/ethics

• Which governance arrangements are necessary for this method?
• Can the method be reconciled with the purpose of the organization?
• Does the method correspond to the values ​​of the organization?

Competence

• What competences exist in the organization?
• Where can external expertise be bought?

Efficiency

• What are the costs associated with the method?
• What is the relationship between costs and expected returns?
• What is the distribution between internal and external costs?

Volatility

• How well can the expected returns be planned?
• How flexible is the method?
• What contribution does the method make to planning and securing total returns?

Interdependencies

• Does this method influence other revenue streams?
• What are the effects on other methods (positive or negative)?

Note: You can find a print version of this checklist in the ‘downloads’ section below.

This week, we will look at different aspects of financial management in nonprofits from a theoretical and practical perspective. The first half deals with general financial management for nonprofits, the second half with new financing methods that have been developed to apply more private means and more own revenues to the nonprofit sector.