Economy means Swedish nonprofits must think strategically about finances

Global conditions will mean significant changes to the financial situation for Swedish nonprofits in the next few years, says a new report from EFA member Giva Sverige and consultancy firm PwC.

The ninth edition of the annual ‘Who finances civil society?’ report shows that charitable giving as a proportion of Swedes’ disposable income has dropped slightly, but that the long term trend is positive.

However, potential for a drop in donations, pressure on public sector budgets, and economic uncertainty all mean that nonprofits in the country must think strategically about their organisation’s purpose, and their finances.

The report contains five recommendations for civil society organisations:

1. Review their financial strategy: organisations should create as diverse a funding base as possible in order to deal with the changed economic reality of the next few years.
2. Decide which role they will play: charities should consider whether their primary role is to be a ‘voice’ (political and advocacy work), a ‘service’ (operating schools, care or other services) or a ‘community’ (based around common interests and/or membership), or to be more than one of these things. This will have an impact on organisational strategy and financial requirements.
3. Cooperate around finance: civil society should look at the unique opportunities it has to act across sector boundaries and create creative solutions to social challenges, using funding from multiple sources.
4. Create solidarity across civil society: while each individual nonprofit has its own priorities and pressures, they must all recognise the issues which affect civil society as a whole, and the environment in which they operate.
5. Keep an eye on the ‘mega trends’: even in times of crisis, it is important to continue to focus on the long term, and consider ‘mega trends’ which will change the world over the next few years.

Charlotte Rydh, general secretary at Giva Sverige, and EFA president, says:

“It is clear that civil society organisations will be facing a very different funding picture over the next few years. This will make it necessary to work more closely than ever with the public and private sectors to ensure that vital services can still be delivered, and also for individual organisations to have a clear strategy for what they seek to achieve, and how to secure the financial resources they need to make that possible.”

Separately, Giva Sverige has published the Q3 version of its regular report on donations trends in the country.