D.3.2 Allocation of funds
Tentative budget division, AC June Working group, Utrecht 2015
Together, the AC ecosystem has decided on the ways that the funds will be allocated:
Each member organization (except DOEN) receives the same amount: 75,000 euros per year. This amount reflects two components:
Institutional Funds
Each year up to 50,000 euros will be allocated to each organization as institutional funds, to be used for the organisation’s own lifeline plan (see self-limitation).
Collective Pot
An additional 25,000 euros (21,000 in 2015) will be allocated to each organization to be used as part of the de-centralized collective pot (each organization can contribute some of its institutional funding to the collective pot if the organization decides to do so). AC members can use the funds from the collective pot for the following activities Self Organized Assembly, Banga, Experimental Tooling Projects (ETPs), Fundraising, and Communication, but also for Collective savings, which has been conceived of as a way to prepare for unforeseen eventualities and thus to consolidate AC self-determination. (See Collective Savings below.) Time-strike and Advance payment.
A shared budget sheet has been created that encompasses both the finances per activity and the time investment per activity for each organization. It is available to all of the organizations for individual and collective study.
The funds of AC, although collectively owned, are decentralized, each of the members keeping part of it. The use of the Budget and the funds is practiced through the prism of self-limitation. This will be particularly true in relation to the institutional funds provided to each organization by AC.
Currently, AC budget is still being covered almost exclusively by the funds provided by DOEN who has committed for a 3-year period; negotiations are being undertaken for an additional 2-year. Steps to locate additional income are being researched by the Fund-raising Working Group.
In total, each organization will receive AC funds for institutional purposes for a period of maximum 5 years (or a maximum of 250,000 EUR over 5 years).
In line with the ethical principle of attending to the diversity of situations and challenges faced by each organisation towards its self-sustainability, members were given the option to exceptionally request their 3-years of institutional funds in one lump sum, instead of annual instalments. This allowed for members to decide on the payment method that best suits the needs and conditions of their Lifeline Plan.
Ethical principles of self-limitation and collective care should be kept in mind by each organization while forecasting their annual budget. In particular, the amount that will be used for institutional purposes. In order for decentralisation, mutualism and trust to function in AC, organizations and individuals would have to limit themselves to only what is best for all involved. This means that each should take only what one needs and contribute as they can. This will not be controlled or enforced by the group but can only be managed by the self.
It is worth stressing that if organisations reach self-sustainability before the 5 year period, it is assumed that they will subscribe to self-limitation, and will still receive funds for collective activities. Also it needs to be stressed that discontinuation of financial support to any organisation within the network is by no means equal to exclusion from the network.
Self Organized Assembly, Banga, Experimental Tooling Projects (ETPs), Fundraising, and Communication
All logistical costs related to these activities will be taken from the collective pot. The groups involved will organize the activities, lodging, local transport and eating arrangements in their country, but each organization will contribute to the costs relating to their participation using funds from their share of the collective pot. In some cases upper limits for the costs have been established and can be found in the Administration Group (Attaya) Guidelines.
Collective Savings
An important means to build trust, solidarity and sustainability within and outside of the AC network.
Within our budgets, each AC member is to dedicate some funds to an immaterial shared ‘pot’ (an account) for times of emergency, crisis or particular needs for care. This way of managing the resources revolve around the possible anxiety and fear of whether they could lead us to sustainability.
Collective Savings might not just contain money, but time and other resources as identified in the Resource Map. The saving fund can contain the returned funds that are not used by the partner for the current year.
Rather than bringing the notion of Collective Savings back to the concepts of individualism, we take it as an idea and means by which we practice generosity. Within the generosity holds the thinking that we value imagination and speculation in relation to the future. It is a space where we transform the ethics: mutualism, interdependency, coexistence, valuing personal rhythm- into an actual practice
The saving mechanism hereinafter has been proposed by the Administration working group (aka Attaya)
Attaya suggests that each institution saves at least 10% of each year’s collective money.
From discussions in the Kyrgystan assembly, Attaya thinks that we need to increase the percentage of savings to 15% for next years.
Each institution can decide to make extra savings from their own institutional budget. You need to inform your attiya and he/she will mark it in google drive sheet.
The leftovers funds in the collective pot will also be transferred to the savings at the end of each year. You need to inform your attiya and he/she will mark it in google drive sheet.
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