Achieving financial self-reliance : a manual for managers of non-governmental organizations involved in family planning

This manual, designed for the managers of these NGO"s, introduces two sets of techniques for strengthening the financial viability of family planning providers. Part I focuses on improving financial management, describing internal changes that every NGO can make in its own operations. Specifically, it examines six areas that are key to increased financial self-reliance: fund accounting, budgeting and cash flow projection, costing and pricing, building a cash reserve, creative management of donor funds, and feasibility analysis. Part II focuses on creating and taking advantage of income generation opportunities. Based on the experiences of ten NGO"s, it describes six strategies used to earn money and reduce reliance on grants and donations. These include local fundraising, investments, innovative marketing of NGO services, and various types of fees. Unlike those presented in Part I, these strategies depend to some extent on external factors, and may be inappropriate for some environments or may conflict with local laws governing NGO"s. However, most of the strategies offer significant flexibility, and virtually any environment will permit at least one or two of them.