TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
Further Notes
Topics arising from the ICFM workshops held on 7th
November
Core Funding
The perennial discussion on core funding : how do
we obtain funding to cover those elements of our work which are not directly
project-related?
I confess to getting somewhat frustrated at the
persistence of this debate. I worry that, if we separate the costs
of maintaining the organisation from the costs of delivering services, we
will all become unsustainable. The distinction permits funding bodies
– national and local government, charitable trusts, business sponsors –
to select only the bits they want to fund, leaving the unglamorous but essential
tasks of managing the organisation to fend for themselves!
Equally, if there is a move to give “core funding”
as a separate grant, there is a danger that the administrative functions
of the sector will develop in relation to the funding on offer, rather than
in response to the needs of service provision.
There is also a degree of confusion over the meaning
of the term. To many, core funding is precisely what I have described
above – admin, finance etc – but for others it means the essential, long-term
provision of key services which are seen as not fundable by statutory or
charitable bodies.
It seems to me that long-term provision of service
should be excluded from the debate : reliable funding sources, whether from
one or other pocket of the public purse, from donations or from generated
income, are essential, and worthy of investment to secure the future.
Too many organisations still look for income streams without cost, an unrealistic
goal in this competitive world.
The administration costs of the charity should be
incorporated fully into project funding budgets. Any bid for funding,
whether from a Trust or public body, should include the requisite slice
of management, administration and infrastructure cost, to sustain the organisation.
The two are interdependent, and funding should acknowledge
that. If we have costs which are unrelated to the work we do (or are
not income-generating in themselves) we should cut them out.
In order to achieve this, we need to stand together
as a sector. This is an important debate, but the voices I have heard
so far seem to be focussing on persuading Government to fund our “Core Costs”
– whatever they may be!
Has Gerry got it right? Have your say!
Back to Index