ADMINISTRATION COSTS
CASE STUDY
Source: Orange Sky Australia
“Understandably, donors want to be sure that their money is being used to help others and want to know that we’re spending it appropriately, but they can be reluctant for their donation to be put towards the people who are going to make this happen.”
funding an organisation’s administration is funding the organisation's INTERNAL CAPABILITIES and sustainability, enabling the organisation to achieve a better scalable services frontend.
Orange Sky Australia delivers free mobile laundry services for people experiencing homelessness across Australia. For two years, the organisation was run entirely by volunteers, but it became more and more difficult for Orange Sky to operate in an efficient and professional manner when so much of their funding was restricted, curbing their ability to attract great people and invest in growth and sustainability.
Untied funding allowed Orange Sky to grow from 400 to 1000 volunteers by having professional and skilled staff members handle the organisation’s complex logistical, safety and training issues, vehicle maintenance, accounting and governance.
Emma Young, Head of Finance at Orange Sky Australia notes that “appointing the right staff members to specific positions enables the nurturing of our donor dollars and ensures their contribution has a greater impact.” Funding administration and infrastructure facilitated a solid base for Orange Sky to develop the best processes and employ skilled staff.
funding an organisation’s administration expenses is funding the organisation’s longevity and sustainability, enabling the organisation to carry out their regular business and deliver greater impacts over time.
It is important to employ a nuanced and holistic understanding of how impact is created, acknowledging that administration costs will always be inherent to the running of any organisation.
The English Family Foundation provided early funds to support an operational specialist to coordinate the schedule of doctors at the World Wellness Group. This boosted the Group’s capacity to focus on providing services and allowed them to do more good with the same number of specialists through better scheduling and coordination.
Here’s some food for thought: untied funding or funds for administration empower not-for-profit organisations to invest in the resources they need, allowing them to grow effective services that meet the needs of their beneficiaries.
“When WWG received the $50,000 grant from the English Family Foundation we had just set up a clinic but had limited resources to establish the necessary infrastructure. Three and a half years later the clinic has 10 GPs and 22 allied health/mental health practitioners and delivered over 10,000 health appointments in the last financial year to vulnerable people with complex health conditions. This would not have been possible without the early EFF support to establish a strong foundation.”