What Committee Members Have Said About Rizana

The Situation

The association had a new treasurer with no previous experience. Receipts were collected inconsistently, and the outgoing treasurer's records were difficult to follow. The committee chair wanted to put a cleaner system in place before the year-end reporting period.

What They Did

The new treasurer and committee secretary attended the Basics Session together. They worked through the starter templates during the session and left with a clear approach to organising receipts by month and recording both income and expenditure in a single document.

What Changed

By July the association had two months of tidy records. The year-end report preparation was significantly less stressful than in previous years. The secretary noted that having both of them at the session meant they had a shared understanding of the process.

"We should have done this when the committee was first formed. It is not complicated — it just needed to be shown to us properly."

The Situation

A welfare association in Sungai Siput had been operating for eleven years but never had a structured record-keeping process. Different treasurers had used different approaches. Planning for the next year's activities was done informally, without reference to past income patterns.

What They Did

Three committee members, including the treasurer and two committee representatives, completed the five-week course. Each week they brought a specific question from their own organisation to the group discussion. By week four they were already applying the planning tools to their actual funding cycle.

What Changed

The association adopted a standardised monthly summary format for committee meetings. For the first time the AGM financial presentation used a consistent layout that members could follow. The treasurer reported spending notably less time preparing the quarterly summary compared to the previous year.

"The group discussions were the best part. You realise other associations face the same things and there are practical ways to address them."

The Situation

A charitable foundation with multiple programmes running simultaneously struggled to maintain clear separate records for each. Planning across a full year was reactive rather than structured. The management committee wanted a more organised approach before applying for a grant that required detailed financial documentation.

What They Did

Four committee members completed the full programme over several months, attending workshops and completing self-paced modules. They used the template library to build a document structure for their programmes. During the three months of post-programme support they refined their annual planning process with guidance from the group facilitator.

What Changed

The foundation completed its grant application with well-organised financial documentation. The committee now holds a monthly financial review meeting using a consistent format. The printed manual is kept in the foundation's office and referenced regularly when new committee members are brought in.

"The investment was worth it. We are a much more organised committee now, and that shows when we present our work externally."