Accountability for not-for-profits: Why the fuss?

THE meaning of the word ‘accountability’, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is the fact or condition of being accountable; responsible. Being accountable is the requirement to justify actions or decisions; responsible.

In ordinary parlance we can say being accountable is being answerable to someone.

In the context of not-for-profit organisations, the question is; to whom are they accountable, responsible or answerable.

That is the pith of our discussion in today’s article.

The past articles have been focusing mostly on a very critical layer in the hierarchy of a not-for-profit, the Board.

Accountability in a not-for-profit, as you would imagine, must begin at that governance level.

The Board as the governing structure of an NGO, is where accountability begins.

Board members, first and foremost, are accountable to the organisation itself as a legal persona whose form and character is defined by its founding documents, values, vision and mission.

Other guiding documents may be Board and member resolutions, as they are taken from time to time, as well as policies and strategic documents.

This is the very first layer of accountability for a Board.

Being accountable in this regard means being guided by and answering to these documents.

All actions and inactions of the Board must be informed by these documents and processes.

Not-for-profits may or may not be membership-based.

Where they are membership based, the members are a very critical layer of the governance of the organisation, who give direction to activities of the

ORESOLUTIONS

organisation at both secretariat and Board level.

The views and wishes of the members are typically expressed at annual general meetings as provided for by the founding documents of the organisation.

It is critically important that these meetings take place as regularly as the founding documents dictate.

That is where members, who in essence are the custodians of the organisation, get an opportunity to be apprised of the activities of the secretariat and Board.

Through reports, the Board accounts to members on such issues as implementation of programmes and resolutions as well as other critical issue such as financials.

Holding of regular AMGs and other special meetings in between, as mandated, is a sign of accountability and a measure of good governance.

Boards must always ensure that these are well organised and give members a clear picture of the state of the organisation.

Members must be given all documents that will allow them to engage meaningfully at the AGM well ahead of time.

It is common for members to be given

NE of the hardest things in life is letting go, whether it’s guilt, anger, love, loss or betrayal.

Change is never easy. We fight to hold and we fight to let go.

One of the best ways of letting go is giving in to God. Giving in to God may seem scary at first, but our surrender will bring us total freedom.

During a race, athletes know that in order for them to make it, they have to let go of everything so that they can run with perseverance, some even shave their whole body to create a clean surface as this all makes a difference in their performance.

SURRENDERED

Every single day we must choose to let go of what is behind, so that we have a smooth surface surrendered to God.

When we let go, we give God a clean slate to do His mighty work in our lives. In Isaiah 43:19 God says: “See I am doing a new thing, now it springs up, do you not perceive it…” He wants to do new things in our lives, but in order for Him to do the new, we need to let go of the old.

ACCOUNTABILITY

complicated information during the AGM itself and not have ample time to understand the contents of the documents in order to make intelligible and well-thought-out inputs.

This is particularly common with financial reports.

The Board, in order to properly exercise accountability, must ensure that all reports are well organised, members are informed in good time of the date and venue of the meeting and present a united front at the AGM.

These meeting should not just be for box-ticking purposes but be understood as critical platforms that demonstrate credibility and institutional integrity.

IMPLEMENT

The second layer of accountability for not-for-profits is the funding partners, also known as donors. NGOs often enter into contracts or agreements with donors and partners to implement agreed upon programmes.

The basis of these agreements is contracts or memoranda of understanding or agreement.

These contracts will typically spell out the scope of the project and include such issues as the finances involved, activities to be carried out and reporting schedules, among

When we let go and let God, we are submitting fully to Him. Surrendering to God is literally giving up! It is telling God that we are not big enough to deal with our worries and He must take over. When we finally let go, we give God room to yield His power in our lives. When we are weak and tired in life, God’s hands remain other details.

These are often legal documents that establish the relationship between the not-for-profit and the funding partner.

There are often serious repercussions where the not-for-profit breached the agreement such as termination of the contract and risk of blacklisting.

Since donor organisation normally speak to each other, there is high possibility that word of the incompetence of the organisation spreads within the donor community, which may diminish chances of the not-for profit getting funding in the future.

FAMILIARISE

For that reason, it is extremely important that Board members familiarise themselves with the contract so that they can properly execute their oversight role and assist the secretariat with compliance.

Donors normally have clearly spelt out schedules for submission of financial and narrative reports. It is important that NGOs stick to these religiously.

If there are anticipated delays, which should not be a common occurrence, these must be communicated to the donor well ahead of time and indulgence for late submission be communicated. strong and powerful. “Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.”- Psalm 89:13. Giving in to God means to put complete faith in God to work things out for our good and knowing that whatever happens after putting our faith in Him will be ultimately His perfect will. Letting go and

In the scope of their work, notfor-profits may coalesce with other organisations for the implementation of projects of mutual interest. It is important that leaders of the organisation ensure that the organisation pulls its weight in the partnership and does what it commits to do.

This puts the organisation in good stead with its counterparts and improves its corporate reputation.

This may encourage other organisations to partner with the not-for-profit in the future, which expands the impact footprint of the NGO.

This same principles is also applicable in instances where the not-forprofit is a member of other organisations.

It is expected to play its part to advance the collective mandate of the groupings which it voluntarily associates itself with for strategic reasons.

ESTABLISHED

Not-for-profits are also expected to be accountable to the authorities established by the legal and policy framework in which they operate.

As legal entities, not-for-profits, through their functionaries, are expected to abide by all laws, rules and regulations which are applicable to their scope of work.

This may range to national laws on labour, enviroment and taxation, among others.

It is important that not-for-profits know which laws are relevant to their activities and endeavour, always to be compliant.

Failure to do so may put the organisation at odds with the law and harm its reputation.

Instruments of accountability can include: Project documents, financial receipts and statements, multimedia resources such as text, images or videos, meeting minutes and reports, activity outputs such as publications and products, mass media articles, bye-laws of the NGO, government rules and laws related to NGOs

In conclusion accountability serves the purpose of ensuring that it can maintain its network of stakeholders, and raise resources for its projects and activities.

letting God is a daily choice and the enemy seeks every day to bombard our minds with worries, doubts and fears.

The devil wants us to be so preoccupied with old garbage, having no room for God, then kill us slowly with depression and anxiety.

Whenever the ugly thoughts seek to invade our space, we must cut them off and give them to God immediately.

God’s mercies are new every morning, so what happened in the past, is completely gone.

Holding on to the past will only take space of what God wants to do in your life, God’s grace, favour and goodness.

RENEW

We need to renew our minds in Christ, letting Him take our burdens because He died so that we may not carry heavy loads around, but Him on our behalf.

Sometimes negative thoughts have become so much a part of our natural thinking process that we do not know we can give them to God.

All in all, God needs a space to move in our lives so we need to clear out all the debris that is clogging our minds and learn to surrender to Him. Letting go may seem simple but it is not, but that does not mean that it is impossible and it does not always have to be hard.

God is asking us to stop being at odds with him and to acknowledge His power and sovereignty.

He wants us to move forward into what He has for us. Can you see it? He wants to reveal it to you, follow His lead.

Our past has no power over us. Let it go knowing that He has made us new with His great love and merciful grace. So let it go...