Page 17 - Sustainability and entrepreneurship for CSO's and CSO networks Cambodia 1 November 2018

Assets and Income
CSOs are not for profit institutions and often depend on external funding. Today, especially at provincial level, less donor funding is available for the same number of CSOs. While donors intensify their conditions and requirements to allocate funds, there is a need for CSOs and their networks to look at their assets and to diversify their resources.
CSO (network) assets examples:
• expertise, possessions such as brand, logo, staff, buildings, equipment
• access to information, to communities, to people in the villages, to national
networks, organisations and authorities
services such as information sharing, community building, partnership agreements, strengthening CSOs, plan exit strategies or develop social enterprises
•
• relations/stakeholders/clients
All together your assets define whether your CSO network is potentially relevant, required and respected. If so you can capitalise on your relevance, your stakeholders and reputation by mobilising resources, such as:
• membership fees
• service fees
• subsidies (Government) •
• investment capital
• loans
• income generation (social firms)
• Task
List your organisation’s assets and check whether key stakeholders (e.g. funders, partners, members, primary beneficiaries) value your assets and find them unique.
grants
Case - Subnational CSO networks in Cambodia
Provincial CSO networks have access to local CSOs in their provinces, say on average 60 CSOs. Each CSO has access to at least 80 beneficiaries and 3 CBOs and Self Help Groups with again 40 beneficiaries each. Beneficiaries have their families, friends and colleagues in total some 20 people that are close to them.
Each CSO provincial network has potentially direct access to: 60 members, to 180 CBOs and self help groups, their beneficiaries and their families, colleagues and friends adding up to some 240.000 individuals per province. Those 240.000 people have information, knowledge, possessions, ambitions and represent power to contribute to
the development of Cambodia. This potential reach is important for governments, private sector and (I)NGOs. Provincial CSO members also have direct contact to national organisations and to private sector and provincial government authorities.
Realising this potential will help the provincial CSO networks to steer their future, draft strategies and tap resources, including operational budget, from different sources.
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