Case Study – Student Volunteer Army
“The big thing for us, because we are funded via grants, partnerships and fundraising,
is to track these different income streams making sure that we have the
accountability or reporting needed and that we are not double dipping.“
The Problem
Being a not for profit that is funded via grants, partnerships and fundraising, visibility over the funds is not just important but necessary in helping with the management of the programs in fulfilling their obligations to their funding providers and partners.
Visibility Across Funding
CEO, Emily Byrne, sums up their pain point: “The big thing for us, because we are funded via grants, partnerships and fundraising, is to track these different income streams making sure that we have the accountability or reporting needed and that we are not double dipping.”
Board Reporting
Reporting needs to reflect the activities across the teams and areas. As such, it starts with using Xero tracking categories to trace the incomes from each pavider and then the key business areas administering these programs.
Multi-Disciplinary Team
As a small organisation, we share the responsibility in delivering the reporting. We need to be able to easily manage a multitude of program budgets in line with the funding provided and ensure the leadership team has good oversight. Our Team & Governance Coordinator wants to ensure we are keeping on track with reporting and accountability.
The Solution
For SVA, using Calxa as an add on to their Xero data, has helped in improving their budgeting and reporting.
Account Trees
Setting up Account Trees helps to manage their chart of accounts that has grown over the years. As a result, it now provides a more summarised way of reporting to the various stakeholders like the board or the various team leads.
Rolling Up Budgets to the Organisation Level
Making the budgeting work for the leadership team is integral to the day-to-day. Subsequently, being able to roll up the tracking category budgets to the company level helps Emily to prepare the board reports. On the other hand, budgeting at the program or activity stage enhances the team leads’ ability to visualise where the spending is at.
Metrics and KPIs
To create a series of metrics that can be used to calculate some program specific KPIs is key in delivering program centric Dashboards and Reports. Ultimately, making this process easier and more connected to their financial data, improves the output and decision-making.
About SVA
The Student Volunteer Army (SVA) arose from a community drive to help recovery in the wake of the 2010 Christchurch earthquake.
Now with over 33,500 registered volunteers, they have evolved to become leaders of second wave crisis response, helping communities recover after disaster while empowering youth across Aotearoa through volunteering. Through programmes at primary, secondary and tertiary education levels, they equip young people with the skills and resources to support their community, cultivating a resilient volunteering culture that will last across generations.
SVA Primary: SVA’s campaign to mobilise, engage and support a new generation of volunteers in primary schools through skill-building and student-led volunteering.
SVA Service Award: A nationally recognised framework for intermediate and secondary school students to log their volunteering hours and receive recognition for their contribution, whether it’s within their school, whānau, or neighbourhood.
SVA Clubs: Self-governed SVA Clubs based at seven tertiary institutions lead the way to combat societal gaps with initiatives that are accessible, inclusive and enjoyable.
Crisis response: In times of crisis, SVA mobilises volunteers across their programmes, locations and wider networks to support community needs.
The difference: The next generation of community is empowered, resilient and values volunteering at its core.
The Organisation
- Organisation: SVA (Student Volunteer Army)
- Cause: Empower Volunteers ready for Mobilisation in the Community
- Accounting System Used: Xero
- Website: SVA