Course Overview

Donor Fund Management is a practical short course designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to plan, manage, account for, monitor and report donor-funded projects.

The course covers the complete donor-funding cycle, including proposal budgeting, grant agreements, fund disbursement, financial controls, budget monitoring, procurement, accounting, compliance, donor reporting, audit and grant close-out. Emphasis is placed on transparency, accountability, value for money and compliance with donor requirements.

2. Target Participants

The course is suitable for:

• NGO and non-profit finance officers
• Project accountants and finance managers
• Donor/grant managers
• Project managers and coordinators
• Budget officers
• Monitoring and evaluation officers
• Procurement officers
• Internal and external auditors
• Government project officers
• Development-partner programme staff
• Grants and compliance officers
• Financial controllers
• NGO directors and senior managers
• Consultants and development practitioners

3. Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants should be able to:

1. Understand the principles and practices of donor fund management.
2. Understand the donor funding and grant-management cycle.
3. Develop realistic and compliant donor project budgets.
4. Interpret and apply donor grant agreements and funding conditions.
5. Establish effective financial controls for donor-funded projects.
6. Record and account for donor-funded transactions accurately.
7. Monitor project expenditure against approved budgets.
8. Manage donor funds, advances and cash flows effectively.
9. Apply donor procurement and expenditure requirements.
10. Prepare accurate financial and narrative donor reports.
11. Manage supporting documentation and audit trails.
12. Identify and mitigate fraud, financial and compliance risks.
13. Conduct budget variance and financial performance analysis.
14. Prepare for donor audits and compliance reviews.
15. Manage grant modifications, extensions and close-out procedures.

4. Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Donor Fund Management

• Meaning and importance of donor funding
• Types of donors and funding mechanisms
• Grants, contracts and sub-grants
• Donor funding cycle
• Roles and responsibilities
• Principles of transparency and accountability
• Common donor compliance requirements

Module 2: Grant Agreements and Donor Requirements

• Understanding grant agreements
• Grant objectives and deliverables
• Eligible and ineligible expenditure
• Funding conditions
• Reporting requirements
• Budget restrictions
• No-cost extensions
• Grant amendments
• Donor compliance matrix

Module 3: Donor Project Budgeting

• Budget development principles
• Activity-based budgeting
• Cost categories
• Personnel and operational costs
• Direct and indirect costs
• Budget justification
• Cost allocation
• Budget ceilings
• Budget revisions
• Budget versus actual analysis

Module 4: Financial Management and Accounting

• Establishing project accounts
• Chart of accounts
• Accounting for donor income
• Recording project expenditure
• Advances and imprests
• Petty cash management
• Bank and cash management
• Foreign-currency transactions
• Financial reconciliations
• Accounting systems and documentation

Module 5: Internal Controls and Risk Management

• Internal control framework
• Segregation of duties
• Authorization and approval procedures
• Financial delegation
• Cash controls
• Bank controls
• Asset controls
• Fraud prevention
• Fraud-risk assessment
• Whistleblowing and reporting mechanisms

Module 6: Donor Procurement and Expenditure Management

• Procurement principles
• Procurement planning
• Competitive bidding
• Quotations and tendering
• Supplier selection
• Conflict of interest
• Procurement documentation
• Purchase orders
• Goods and services verification
• Value for money

Module 7: Budget Monitoring and Financial Analysis

• Budget monitoring
• Actual versus budget expenditure
• Variance analysis
• Burn-rate analysis
• Commitment tracking
• Forecasting project expenditure
• Cash-flow forecasting
• Corrective action
• Financial performance dashboards

Module 8: Donor Financial Reporting

• Donor reporting requirements
• Financial reporting templates
• Expenditure reporting
• Statement of receipts and expenditure
• Budget versus actual reports
• Cash-flow reports
• Supporting schedules
• Narrative and financial reporting integration
• Report review and approval

Module 9: Monitoring, Compliance and Audit

• Donor compliance monitoring
• Internal audit
• External audit
• Donor audit requirements
• Audit trails
• Supporting documentation
• Management responses to audit findings
• Corrective action plans
• Compliance reviews

Module 10: Fraud, Ethics and Financial Mismanagement

• Common fraud schemes in donor projects
• Procurement fraud
• Payroll fraud
• Expense fraud
• Fictitious suppliers
• Misuse of project funds
• Fraud detection techniques
• Ethics and professional conduct
• Investigation and reporting
• Recovery and corrective measures

Module 11: Grant Close-Out and Sustainability

• Grant closure procedures
• Final financial reporting
• Final asset verification
• Outstanding advances
• Unspent donor funds
• Asset handover
• Records retention
• Final audit
• Lessons learned
• Sustainability planning

Module 12: Practical Donor Fund Management Project

• Developing a donor project budget
• Preparing a donor compliance checklist
• Recording project transactions
• Budget versus actual analysis
• Preparing a donor financial report
• Identifying compliance weaknesses
• Fraud-risk case study
• Audit preparation exercise
• Grant close-out simulation
• Final assessment and presentation