Financial Management for Systems Entrepreneurship
We work with our clients to design and manage financial plans that enable achieving systems change.
For teams to be able to concentrate on systems change and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise, the organization needs to have access to the right financial resources. To gain access to appropriate resources, the organization must build a financial plan that projects and accounts for the expected and unexpected costs.
The route to systems change may not be simple, it may not be clear, and it will very likely not be short-term. Despite all that, well-designed financial plans can still provide concrete, important guidance. Indeed, if the next steps of strategy can be imagined, a reliable financial plan can be created. Good financial projections will make the funds easier to guide and manage. Also, rational financial projections can help funders better understand the route to systems change.
Project-related funding is useful as long as it supports projects related to the desired systems change. So often, however, project-related funding is too specific and too short-term. Systems change requires mission-related funding. Systems change also requires that the organization is administratively strong enough to have the bandwidth to focus on the bigger picture. Unrestricted funds – the nirvana of resources – can serve both these critical requirements. Still, raising completely unrestricted funding is not the only way. Well-defined flexible funds can also be effective and give the organization permission to pursue big goals.
We support organizations and funders to put in place the necessary financial elements, including:
- Financial planning and budgeting for systems change:
- Construction of systems-change business models.
- Development of a financial plan that fits the systems-change strategy.
- Operational budgets to fit the entire resource plan, including “full costs” of achieving the mission.
- Financial management tools for systems change:
- Dashboards that track financial measures of progress towards the systems change plan.
- Connection of relevant organizational data from accounting and funding software to the actionable dashboards
- Training of staff to understand the why and how of using financial dashboards to track progress and help with management decisions.
Financial management does not need to be complicated. Getting the right resources is necessary. Managing those resources well can make all the difference. We can help you develop or put together the tools you need to build a good financial infrastructure for your work.