Beyond Reserves - How charities can make their reserves work harder
Reserves are the main resource of any organisation within our sector. However they are often not considered as a source of funding or asan asset to be managed, but rather as something which should be protected and preserved. There are many useful guides to reserves planning, but many of them focus predominantly on the role of the finance team. In this publication we address the senior management team more widely, and consider reserves as an integral part of the strategic planning process. By speaking to chief executives, finance directors and fundraising directors from a wide range of organisations, we have been able to build a picture of how reserves affect their roles, and how they are involved in reserves planning within their organisations. As is shown through the case studies, reserves are not just linked to finance, but also to fundraising strategy, risk assessments, and future business planning.
