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 […]
What is the National Accountability Framework (NAF) and how do I use it?
I keep hearing about the NAF in sector meetings and I picked up a copy but it's quite a long document and I'm not sure how to actually use it practically for our organisation. Is it something we're supposed to formally adopt? Is there an assessment we're supposed to do first? I don't want to […]
Do we have to publish our financial information to the public?
Someone on our board raised the question of whether we're legally required to make our finances public. We currently share financial reports with our donors but we've never published them anywhere publicly. A local journalist once asked to see our accounts and we genuinely weren't sure whether we had to share them. What does the […]
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 […]
How do we communicate effectively with our stakeholders?
We do most of our communication through Facebook, Instagram and a monthly email newsletter. Our donors get formal reports every six months. But I feel like different groups need very different things from us and we're not really tailoring anything. Our beneficiaries for instance — a lot of them aren't on social media or don't […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 set up a simple M&E system for a small CSO?
We collect loads of data — attendance registers, photos, feedback forms — but honestly none of it feeds into anything useful. When donor reports are due we kind of write up what we remember happening rather than drawing on solid data. I know we need a proper M&E system but everything I've read seems very […]
What should be included in a CSO’s annual report?
We've never done a formal annual report. We send grant reports to our donors and we post on social media but we've never pulled everything together into one document. A board member recently suggested we should start doing one and I agree in principle but I don't know where to start. What should actually go […]
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 […]
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 […]
How do we retain good staff when we can’t compete with private sector salaries?
We keep losing our best people to better-paying jobs in the private sector. Last year we lost two programme officers within a few months of each other. We genuinely cannot match the salaries but I know there must be other things we can do. We've tried talking about mission and impact but that only goes […]
What is a Fund Accounting System and does our CSO need one?
We manage all our finances in a single Excel spreadsheet right now. We have about four different funders and each one gave us money for specific activities — it's getting really messy trying to track which money has been spent on what. Someone mentioned we need a 'fund accounting system' but I'm not sure what […]
How should we develop an annual budget aligned with our strategic goals?
Every year we basically take last year's budget and add a bit for inflation. Our ED puts it together and the board approves it. It kind of works but I feel like it's not strategic at all — we're just carrying forward the same things year after year without asking whether they actually serve our […]
What financial policies should every CSO in T&T have in place?
We have a financial policy from about 2015 that nobody really looks at anymore. I dug it out recently and it's very basic and definitely out of date — doesn't even mention electronic payments. I want to do a proper update but I'm not sure what a good financial policy for an organisation like ours […]
Are CSOs in T&T required to have an annual external audit?
We're trying to figure out whether we legally need to get an external audit every year. We're fairly small — our annual income is around $300,000. Our previous auditor retired and finding a new one has been expensive and difficult. A colleague told me that small NPOs below a certain income threshold don't actually have […]
How should we record and report in-kind donations?
Our organisation gets quite a lot of non-cash support — free use of office space, printing done for free by a local business, professionals volunteering their time. We've never formally recorded any of it. A donor recently asked about our total resource base and I realised I had no way to include all this non-cash […]
What is the difference between the board’s role and the Executive Director’s role?
We're a small organisation and I think we have a pretty blurry line between what the board does and what our Executive Director does. Our ED is very hands-on and sometimes makes decisions I feel should have come to the board, but then the board sometimes gets too involved in day-to-day operations too. I want […]
How long is an NPO’s Certificate of Registration valid, and do we need to renew it?
We registered about four years ago and I've been getting anxious about whether our certificate is still valid. I vaguely remember something about a five-year validity period when we first registered but I can't find the paperwork and I'm genuinely not sure if anything has changed recently. Does anyone know the current rules on this? […]