NGO Cost Recovery: Theory, Practice, and Transformative Strategies

Achieving full cost recovery – getting funders to pay for both direct project costs and a fair share of your organization’s indirect costs – is challenging. Donors apply different indirect cost rates, so it can be hard to benchmark whether or not your organization is achieving full cost recovery on each project. And yet, without full cost recovery, your organization’s financial sustainability may be uncertain.

This course covers the nuances around indirect cost recovery and offers solutions to the issues that organizations face. Learn essential cost theory as well as the practical application of applying different recovery methods. Through exercises and training materials, you will gain a global perspective when considering different donor mixes and their respective cost recovery rules.

This course includes two in-depth modules explaining the details around USAID’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) and FCDO’s Non-Project Attributable Cost (NPAC) fair share cost recovery approaches.

By the end of this training, you will be able to:

• Understand the theory of different types of costs
• Appreciate the full cost recovery philosophies of USAID and FCDO
• Apply different strategies in situations where a donor’s rate is limited
• Build an organizational strategy to respond effectively to donors and funders

Learners will gain insights into optimizing organizational cost recovery rates while maintaining donor compliance and consistency in operations. Throughout the course, we will share strategies for overcoming common challenges in cost recovery and discuss methods for implementing lasting financial health now and in the future.

This training is designed for:

• Those that have some previous experience of cost recovery
• Finance, Business development, and compliance staff
• Those who struggle to make sense of the different donor indirect rates

Not sure if this training is for you? Feel free to contact us.