Top Ways Your Charity Can Save on Operation Expenses

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January 26, 2021 Business

As a nonprofit, you have to make sure that you don’t needlessly use up the valuable donations you collect on operational expenses. No organization can run without even the smallest of overhead so what can you do to keep this at a minimum?

Check out the top ways your charity can save on expenses:

1. Maximise Online Resources

Truly there’s a lot of free or low-cost resources available online, where you only need to register or contact them. If you need someone to run your website, a team that supports Nonprofit Website Design and Development can help you. These services offer different features and rates that are tailored to be reasonable for nonprofits.

Other online resources include email distributors like MailChimp and graphics design tools like Canva. While it’s better to have a dedicated staff for these functions, you can keep your operations costs low in the meantime with them. There’s no need to sacrifice these completely for a tight budget.

2. Downsize on Office and Supplies

The easiest way to save on expenses is to downsize the office. You can try to have the teamwork remotely and meet up online. This can save you the cost of office rentals or at least reduce it to a smaller amount.

You can also organize meetings at cafes or public workspaces if you don’t need to regularly meet up with each other. This can further reduce the costs that come with replenishing office supplies and other overhead such as utilities.

3. Constantly Evaluate Program Expenses

You then draw your calculating eye to your program expenses. Check if the money being allotted for them is being used well and not going toward unnecessary spending. Evaluate whether certain programs have to stay as they are or if they can benefit from a creative redesign.

Always evaluate your programs as a good business rule of thumb. It’s easy to inflate small costs here and there until you end up using a lot of money on things that could’ve been better controlled or removed entirely.

4. Hire Contract Workers and Interns

If you’re in need of manpower, consider hiring contract workers and interns. While there are both pros and cons when it comes to bringing them into the fold, they’re a great way to get some help when you’re cutting down on expenses.

Contract workers can bring the necessary skills and they’re best for projects that don’t come by as often. Interns are also hungry for work and new experiences; nonprofits would be a unique way for them to open their eyes to how they differ from typical profit centers.

5. Buy Second Hand and Seek Donations

When it comes to equipment and technology hardware, consider buying secondhand or even getting them as donations. The turnover for these happens very often and there’s likely a number of companies that are looking to sell some that are still working fine.

Keep an eye out for these sales or even for your entrepreneurial friends who run their own businesses. You can also see this as a good environment-friendly practice for your nonprofit since a lot of technological waste simply ends up at a landfill.

6. Recruit Volunteer Community Leaders

Apart from contract workers for interns, you should also look for volunteers that can act as the nonprofit’s community leader. The main point here isn’t the fact that they can contribute freely, but rather they can act as the best supporters of your cause as well.

Training and retention of your volunteer community leaders can help build the foundation of your nonprofit. It’s one of the most used ways to spread the word about a nonprofit and create an active community around it.

7. Treat Your Employees Well

With hiring full-time workers being very costly, it makes sense to preserve the staff you have now. Keep your employees happy with their work arrangements so that you won’t need to spend more on replacing and retraining a new hire.

For your day to day operations, motivate your employees with rewards and incentives. These people are at the heart of your organization; if they’re not interested in the workings of the nonprofit, your operations won’t go smoothly. Nonprofits are fueled by passion, and without it, your organization will suffer from underperformance.

8. Have a Transparent Business Methodology

As a charity organization, another important aspect is to always be transparent with your spendings and donations. Donors want a charity that’s fully utilizing their resources and puts their donations to meaningful use.

Once you’ve established that the money is going to where it’s supposed to be, you can convince new donors of your cause and clear business methodology. This can also influence your own employees to display their accountability in their work.

Employees who are willing to display their accountability can further help you understand the daily workings of your nonprofit. It can also promote a sense of solidarity between them in keeping costs low.

9. Reduce Meeting Expenses

Another fund diminisher is meetings. It’s easy to schedule meetings but you’d have to agree that they’re not all very important. Some things don’t require meetings and could make you spend extra to find a venue and bring snacks along.

Prepare well for meetings to save on time as well. Then, consider using video conferencing apps that work well if you only need to speak with your staff. This also helps employees maintain their productivity instead of waiting and interrupting their workflow.

10. Retain your Donors

The heart of the charity is its donors. Always listen to what your donors have to say. Apart from wanting more transparency, see if they have ideas on how your charity can further aid a cause. By keeping the donors satisfied with the results of the charity’s programs, they can be convinced to keep donating consistently.

It’s no easy feat to keep a nonprofit running well and afloat enough to carry out the programs. With the advent of the internet and technology, running a charity can be made more uncomplicated with free tools and resources.

Other than that, you also have to keep in mind the importance of the people factor. Create a meaningful relationship with your employees, your donors, and your cause since these three will be the ones who can help the charity flourish and achieve its goals.