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Free checklist for NGOs

The Quiet Failure Checklist for NGOs

Fourteen questions for leaders of NGOs and non-profits in Ghana, seen through purpose, leadership, programmes, people and volunteers, funders and money, records, the rules you carry, and how you are found. They follow what funders ask partners to show. Answer from what you can actually show, not from what you intend. It takes about four minutes.

This is a self-check, not an audit and not legal advice. It shows where to look.

Also see where your NGO could grow: take the growth check.

Built for

  • Executive directors and CEOs
  • Board chairs and trustees
  • Programme and operations heads
  • Finance and grants managers
  • Volunteer and community coordinators
  • Founders of community groups and foundations
  • Ghana country offices of international NGOs
0 of 14 answered
  1. 1.Can you state, in one sentence, the change you are trying to make for the people you serve, and name one measure that shows it is happening?
  2. 2.For your biggest grant, can you show from your records how every cedi was spent against the approved budget?
  3. 3.If your largest funder stopped tomorrow, could you pay your team for at least three months?
  4. 4.Have you ever actually restored your beneficiary and donor records from a backup?
  5. 5.Are your registration, annual returns and data protection registration all current, with one named person tracking the dates?
  6. 6.When a staff member or volunteer leaves, is their access to your accounts, files and bank removed within the same week?
  7. 7.If something went wrong in a project, such as a loss, a complaint or a safeguarding concern, would your funder hear it from you first, within the time your agreement requires?
  8. 8.Could you show a funder where each headline number in your last report came from, without recounting?
  9. 9.If your director or finance lead were away for a month, could your grants still be reported and paid on time?
  10. 10.Does your board meet as often as your constitution requires, with minutes that show decisions on money and risk?
  11. 11.Before a volunteer or new staff member starts, do they get a written role, a safeguarding briefing and a named person to report to?
  12. 12.At least once a year, do you ask the people you serve what is and is not working, and record what you changed because of it?
  13. 13.For your main programme, is there a written plan with owners and dates, and do you review progress against it at least monthly?
  14. 14.Is your programme information kept in one shared place that more than one person can open and update?

Answer all 14 questions to see your result.