Costing general administrative expense

General administration refers to those general costs for overseeing and managing the program. Public relations refers to those costs for building and maintaining relationships with key persons and agencies outside the program.

There are some well defined items in these categories and some which can best be described as falling into a catch-all category. For this reason, it is frequently difficult to estimate some of the costs for general administration.

Here are some cost factors for general administration and public relations:

• General administration factors including

  • rent and utilities
  • communications costs
  • general problem solving (trips, calls, faxes, emergency payments, etc.)
  • travel for administrative staff
  • costs of writing and filing reports
  • costs of accounting and administering funds, and
  • costs of covering emergencies

• Public relations factors including

  • entertainment for important visitors
  • expenses for literacy days
  • gift copies of materials, and
  • gifts in general
  • travel to visit local, regional, and national officials

• Budget copying expenses generously. Almost everyone finds this item to be higher than expected.
• Have a contingency budget of about 5 percent of the total program budget.
• Inquire as to whether your budget must include a depreciation item for equipment that you purchase.
• If you are looking for significant outside funding, make your communications and travel budget larger to reflect the costs of dealing with such a funder.
• A public relations budget is often neglected or undefined. If you are working in a situation where there is official doubt about your program, try to budget a significant amount for public relations.

• Make a list of the expense categories you want to include here.

  Here are some typical entries:

  • Communications
  • Travel
  • Vehicle maintenance
  • Rent
  • Utilities
  • Salaries for clerical help
  • Office equipment
  • Copying expenses
  • Postage
  • Public relations
  • Contingencies
• Consult with someone or some agency doing administrative work in the same country to get an idea of the administrative costs they encounter.
• Make cost estimates for the items you included in your list for general administrative expenses.

• Funding a literacy program
• Preparing a budget for a literacy program
• Costing a literacy program

• Task module: Costing general administrative expense
• In task module: Determining administrative costs
• In task module: Costing a literacy program
• In task module: Preparing a budget for a literacy program
• In task module: Funding a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter and Trudy K. Stewart (general editor)
• In task module: Identifying resources needed for a literacy progra..., by Stephen L. Walter
• In task module: Planning a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter
• In modular book: Plan a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter, Barbara K. Trudell (contributor), and Trudy K. Stewart (general editor)
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 May 1999

© 1999 SIL International