Federation Expenses Policy v1.0

Federation’s purpose

Federation is a collective of social purpose organisations collaborating with diverse groups across Greater Manchester on opportunities and challenges to deliver a more ethical and responsible digital city that enables all of its communities to thrive.

Purpose of the expenses policy

This expenses policy is established to provide guidelines for the responsible management of the collective’s funds. It aims to ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability in the handling of expenses.

Budget management and expense categories

All expenses must be associated with pre-approved budgets agreed through a community co-budgeting workshop in advance of spending. Agreed budgets will be confirmed on our community site.

All expenses must fall within one of the following categories:

a. Approved community activities:

Expenses related to budgets for activities or events that have been pre-approved by the group.

b. Administrative:

Expenses for group administration and communication.

c. Community building:

Expenses intended to benefit all or a majority of group members e.g. group activities such as meetups or organised walks that encourage connections and promote wellbeing.

In the event of Federation receiving funding, we will accept expense claims for pre-approved budgeted expenses such as:

User research and synthesis of outputs
Podcast interviews and production
Economic/data analysis, desk-based sector research and interviews
Design and facilitation of workshops/events and synthesis of outputs
Participation in workshops for yourself and/or compensation for participants who are not Federation community members. Non members must be over the age of 18.
Reasonable travel costs for individuals participating in workshops who are not members of the Federation community
Designing/writing for campaigns, comms channels and reports
Preparation and participation in grant management/stakeholder meetings
Group administration and promotion services/subscriptions

Approval process

In order for admins to approve an expense request, you need to:

Provide an invoice, receipt or ticket for the expense - you must upload a valid receipt or invoice clearly showing the total amount, date, legal address, and what the payment is for.
Invoices must be addressed to the Social Change Nest CIC and reference the Federation collective.
Include the agreed budget ID number in your claim - these can be found in our budget codes spreadsheet (access is restricted to Federation community members).

Federation admins will approve/reject claims once a month, on the final Friday of each month. Once a claim is approved, it goes to the Social Change Nest team for processing on their next working day, which are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The Social Change Nest cannot release funds without admin approval.

Claims that are outside of agreed budgets will be rejected.

Transparency, grant and budget management

Transparency promotes trust and accountability. By using the Open Collective platform we are ensuring transparency on income and expenditure for the group.

One or more of the nominated group admins will be responsible for representing the group at meetings relating to grant management with the Social Change Nest CIC and/or grant providers. Group members may volunteer to join, or be asked to join these sessions, if required.

Violations

Intentional or repeated violations of this expenses policy may result in members being asked to step down from the group, based on consensus of our group members. If you have any questions or concerns about claiming expenses, contact FederationAdmins@paperfrogs.co.uk

Amendments

This policy may be amended or updated as needed to ensure it remains relevant and effective. It will be reviewed at least annually, with all members having the opportunity to feedback on proposed changes. Agreed amendments will be communicated to all group members via the group email.

History

Version 1.0 of the expenses policy was approved by the group on 25 October 2023.

Contribution to Federation

Manchester City Council Grant

Collective balance