How do we manage and motivate volunteers effectively?
We go through cycles where we have loads of enthusiastic volunteers and then they gradually drop off. We had a big intake at the start of the year and we're already seeing numbers fall. I don't think it's the cause — people seem genuinely interested — but I wonder if we're not giving them a […]
How do we develop or revise our organisation’s mission statement?
Our mission statement is about fifteen years old and it really doesn't reflect what we do anymore. We started as a youth sports programme but now we do much broader community development work. The board has been trying to revise it but every time we try we end up in a long debate and can't […]
What does FATF Recommendation 8 mean for our NGO?
I've been seeing a lot about FATF and the 2024 legislative changes in newsletters from sector bodies but I honestly don't understand what it means for us on the ground. We're a small community organisation — after-school programmes, community events, nothing that sounds remotely like money laundering. Does FATF Recommendation 8 actually affect small organisations […]
Do volunteers have the same legal rights as employees in T&T?
We rely heavily on volunteers — probably 20 regular volunteers who give a serious amount of time. I've always assumed that because they're not paid we don't really have any legal obligations towards them. But someone recently mentioned that if a volunteer got injured at one of our activities we could be in serious trouble. […]
What core policies should every CSO in T&T have in place?
We're trying to do a policy audit and figure out what we have, what we're missing, and what we actually need. Right now we have our constitution and a basic financial policy and that's about it. I've seen lists of all the policies an organisation should have and it's completely overwhelming. For a small organisation […]
What safeguarding obligations do CSOs working with children have in T&T?
We run after-school programmes for children aged 8 to 16. We've never had an incident but I'm increasingly aware we don't have any formal safeguarding policy in place. We do some basic common sense things — no staff alone with a child, that kind of thing — but nothing is written down. I've been told […]
What strategies help CSOs achieve long-term financial sustainability?
We've been operating for seven years and we're still almost entirely dependent on one government grant that gets reviewed every year. Every year around renewal time we're holding our breath. I know this is a risky position to be in and we need to diversify but every time we try to develop new income sources […]
What are the specific accountability challenges for umbrella CSO organisations?
Our organisation is an umbrella body for about 30 smaller community groups. Our accountability situation feels different from a typical service-delivery NGO because we're essentially accountable to our member organisations, not just donors. But we're not sure we're handling this well — some members feel disconnected and don't really know what we do with their […]
What are the key elements of a beneficiary feedback mechanism?
We do a survey at the end of each programme cycle and it gives us some useful data, but by the time we have the results the programme is over and we can't act on the feedback until the next round. I want something more real-time — a way for beneficiaries to give us feedback […]
How do we set up a complaints and grievance procedure for our beneficiaries?
We've never had a formal complaints process. If someone has an issue they usually just tell whoever they know in the organisation and it gets handled informally. That's mostly worked but we recently had a situation where a beneficiary felt their complaint wasn't taken seriously and it escalated unnecessarily. We want to put something formal […]
How do we maintain accountability to our donors without drowning in reporting?
We currently have four active grants and the reporting requirements are honestly overwhelming. Between narrative reports, financial reports, mid-term reviews and site visits I feel like I spend half my time reporting and not enough time doing actual work. I know donor accountability matters and I'm not trying to avoid it — but there has […]
What should be in a grant proposal to strengthen our chances of success?
We apply for grants fairly regularly and our success rate honestly isn't great — maybe one in five. I know our work is good but I feel like our proposals aren't doing it justice or we're missing something funders are looking for. Is there a structure or checklist for what a strong proposal should include? […]
How should we approach performance management for our small staff team?
We have four staff members and I'm the ED. We do annual reviews but they always feel awkward and nothing really changes as a result. I write something up, we have a chat, everyone says things are fine, and we carry on exactly as before. I know this isn't good practice but I'm not sure […]
How do we conduct an accountability self-assessment for our organisation?
We've been talking about doing a governance review or self-assessment for a while but we're not sure where to start or what tool to use. Is there a specific self-assessment tool designed for T&T CSOs, or do we have to adapt something from overseas? And practically — who should complete it? Just the board, or […]
Who counts as a stakeholder for our CSO, and how do we prioritise them?
We're reviewing our stakeholder engagement and trying to figure out who we actually need to be engaging with and how. Right now we mostly focus on donors and beneficiaries. Does government count as a stakeholder even if we don't have a formal relationship with them? What about other NGOs doing similar work to us? And […]
What are the core principles of CSO accountability in Trinidad and Tobago?
I've been asked to run a session for our board on accountability and I want to make sure I'm covering the right things. When I think about accountability I mostly think about financial accountability but I have a feeling it's much broader than that. What are the core principles that CSOs in T&T are expected […]
How do we involve beneficiaries in programme design and evaluation?
We design all our programmes internally and then consult with communities once things are pretty much finalised. I know that's the wrong way round but we're always working to tight funder timelines. We did a focus group at the end of our last project and got really useful feedback that would have changed how we […]
What is the difference between outputs, outcomes, and impact in a project?
I always get confused between these three terms and I've been a bit embarrassed to ask before because everyone else seems to know. We're putting together a grant proposal and they're asking us to describe our 'outcomes and impact' and I want to make sure I'm answering the right question. Like if we run a […]
What project management principles should CSOs follow?
We've had a couple of projects that didn't go brilliantly — not complete disasters but they ran over time, there was confusion about who was doing what, and the final reports felt like we were scrambling. I know we need to be more organised about how we manage projects but I don't want to go […]
Do CSOs need to comply with T&T labour laws even though we’re non-profit?
We've always kind of assumed that because we're a non-profit we have a bit more flexibility with employment stuff — like if we can't afford to meet every single requirement at least people would understand. But someone recently told me that's not how it works and we're fully subject to all the normal labour laws […]