Many community organizations have more work to do than they have people available to do it. A funded project needs a work plan. A new program needs a schedule, a budget and people to coordinate its activities. Partners need to be contacted, meetings arranged, records maintained and reports prepared. These tasks are part of delivering a project, but they can quickly overwhelm a small organization.
Our Arts Incubator program provides program development, project coordination and administrative services to nonprofits, charities and community organizations. We can help develop a program, organize its implementation or take on specific administrative responsibilities under a service contract.
We work with organizations at different stages. Some need help turning a proposal into a workable project. Others have received funding and need assistance coordinating the activities. Some have established programs but need regular support with records, scheduling, communications and reporting.
Program planning and development
A program needs a workable plan before the activities begin. What will happen? Who is responsible? What will it cost? Which facilities, materials and people are needed? How will the organization know whether the program is progressing?
We work with organizations to answer these questions and prepare plans that can guide actual delivery. This may involve reviewing the original idea, defining activities, preparing schedules, identifying partners, estimating costs and setting out responsibilities.
For a new initiative, we can help develop the program structure and implementation plan. For an existing program, we can review how it is organized and help make changes to its activities, scheduling or administration.
The result is a practical working document rather than a general statement of aspirations. It should give the people involved a clear understanding of what needs to happen and when.
Project coordination and delivery
Project coordination is the day-to-day work of keeping an initiative moving. It involves communicating with participants, arranging activities, following up on decisions, tracking deadlines and making sure that the necessary information reaches the right people.
Our Arts Incubator team can coordinate a defined project or take responsibility for particular parts of its implementation. This may include maintaining the project schedule, organizing meetings, communicating with contractors and partners, arranging facilities, tracking deliverables and preparing progress updates.
For projects involving several organizations, we can help coordinate the shared work while keeping each participant’s responsibilities clear. This is especially useful when partners contribute different resources or have separate reporting and administrative requirements.
Grant implementation and administration
A funding agreement creates a set of commitments that must be carried through into the work. Activities need to match the approved project, expenditures need to be documented and progress needs to be reported.
We help organizations organize the administrative side of funded projects. This can include preparing implementation schedules from approved applications, tracking activities and deliverables, maintaining supporting records, organizing invoices and expenditure information, and preparing material for progress and final reports.
We can also help develop a reporting calendar so that important requirements are not left until the end of the funding period. Where an organization is managing several projects, we can establish separate records and schedules to make each agreement easier to administer.
The organization’s authorized representatives retain responsibility for approvals, financial decisions and formal submissions. Our role is to provide the coordination, documentation and administrative work agreed in the service contract.
Administrative support for small organizations
Many nonprofits do not need a full-time administrator, but they do need someone to keep recurring work organized. Board and committee meetings generate agendas, minutes and follow-up tasks. Programs create attendance records, correspondence and schedules. Funding agreements require files to be maintained and deadlines to be monitored.
We can provide recurring administrative support through a monthly service agreement or a defined block of project work. Depending on the arrangement, this may include meeting preparation, document organization, project correspondence, scheduling, record maintenance and reporting assistance.
We can also help organizations establish templates and simple procedures for work that happens repeatedly. A consistent way of recording decisions, tracking tasks and organizing project documents makes it easier for staff and volunteers to work together.
Partnerships and multi-organization projects
Community projects often involve several organizations working toward a shared outcome. They may have different boards, budgets, staff, facilities and funding agreements. The project needs a way to coordinate their contributions without confusing their individual responsibilities.
We can help develop the project arrangements, organize planning meetings, document roles and maintain a shared schedule of activities. Where appropriate, we can also prepare coordination records and progress summaries that allow each partner to understand what has been completed and what remains to be done.
Our work in this area draws on experience with arts, recreation, community facilities, food systems, research and collaborative initiatives. We understand the practical effort involved in bringing different kinds of organizations into a working relationship.
What the contract covers
A contract can cover a single planning assignment, a period of project coordination or ongoing administrative support. Before work begins, we agree on the responsibilities, expected outputs, reporting arrangements and level of support required.
| Service | Indicative contract value |
|---|---|
| Program planning and development | $2,500–$8,500 |
| Project setup and implementation planning | $1,500–$4,000 |
| Project management and coordination | $3,000–$12,000 |
| Grant implementation support | $2,000–$7,500 |
| Funding administration and reporting | $1,500–$6,000 |
| Partnership and project coordination | $2,500–$8,500 |
| Ongoing administrative support | $750–$2,750/month |
| Multi-partner project management | $7,500–$20,000+ |
The final price depends on the length of the contract, number of partners, volume of records, reporting requirements and amount of coordination involved.
A practical working relationship
Our team works with organizations that need additional capacity to get projects organized and completed. We can take responsibility for a defined piece of work, provide regular administrative support or coordinate a project through several stages.
The arrangement is established around the organization’s needs. We agree on the work, identify the people responsible for approvals and decisions, and set out what will be delivered under the contract.
If your organization has a project to organize, a grant to administer or a program that needs more coordination, contact us to discuss the work.
