Monitoring the Finances for Youth Development Projects

Monitoring involves controlling that the financial resources are used in accordance to the agreed financial plan. A good way to approach monitoring is to write monthly reports in which all the expenses are listed, explained and compared to the projected costs. In doing so, the organisation will know whether the allocated resources are enough and whether they have been used consistently with the initial plan. You should also consider establishing an internal commission that will review the financial files of the organisation on a monthly basis. This will further ensure that all the expenses and transactions are done in a transparent way.

If you realise that the projected costs do not correspond to the actual costs, you should develop a strategy to rectify the situation. If you are spending less that what you have planned, you could use the extra-funding towards other activities or to organise a final event.

If you are spending more, you should try to understand why your plan failed to capture the real financial needs of the project. This will help you to draft better budget proposals in the future. If necessary, you should start a new fundraising campaign to collect additional funds to complete your project (you could also approach your donors and ask for extra money).

Practical Examples:

Some donors provide potential applicants with pre-designed forms to fill in. If you cannot find these forms, use the following charts as templates.

1) Budget Form

2) Project Cash Flow Projection

3) Financial Report

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