When we start working for a cause, we want to get stuff done.
Most of us don’t want to know about money, and we don’t really care about policies and organisational structure.
We’re interested in impact… but impact usually takes time.
If someone doesn’t have a good handle on the finances (where the money comes from, where it’s going), and someone isn’t documenting decisions and culture in a way that’s easy to use and share, you’re unlikely to be able to ‘do the stuff’ very well, or for very long.
Money and structure are the blood and bones of your organisation – they enable it to keep going and to be more than a bag of jelly.
Getting these things right early – starting light, staying flexible, but working regularly to strengthen them – will save you a huge amount of time and energy later.
For policy, start with notes in a googledoc, and roll from there. It’ll make things easier tomorrow.
For financial stuff, start here.