Fundación Guanacas Bosques de Niebla is dedicated to the conservation of water resources and biodiversity, and seeks to strengthen its financial sustainability to support long-term environmental impact.Through this inter-institutional cooperation agreement, CSF Colombia and Fundación Guanacas worked together to build practical financial tools, strengthen institutional capacities, and identify viable pathways for diversifying income in support of conservation.
The partnership combined CSF’s experience in conservation economics and financial analysis with the Foundation’s local conservation priorities and institutional knowledge. The work included a partial institutional financial diagnostic, identification of current revenue sources and financial risks, analysis of operating costs and sustainability gaps, and the development of strategies to diversify income in ways that aligned with the Foundation’s mission and the conservation of water resources and biodiversity.
A central component of the cooperation was the joint formulation and financial evaluation of one prioritized initiative. CSF and the Foundation worked together to develop investment and operating budgets, revenue projections, projected cash flow, break-even analysis, and an assessment of economic and financial viability based on assumptions validated by both parties.
The process also included applied capacity building on budgeting, financial projections, and project viability assessment. Using a practical and participatory methodology, the cooperation supported the Foundation’s team in building financial inputs with real information, validating results throughout the process, and ensuring that the tools and recommendations could be used institutionally after the cooperation period ended.
The main outputs included a partial institutional financial analysis, a working document with income diversification strategies and financing opportunities, a financial projection and viability analysis for one prioritized initiative, capacity-building materials and session records, and a closing document with findings, recommendations, and next steps for institutional use by both organizations.
This work was made possible thanks to Fundación Guanacas Bosques de Niebla.
Photo: Flickr/Peter R.