P3 A1: FYEG - Financial Plan 2023 - 2024

Note: This is the written financial plan for the budgets of 2023 and 2024. They
run from:

• January 2023 - December 2023

• January 2024 - December 2024

1. Summary

FYEG’s Executive Committee and Secretariat planned the activities for 2023 as
the run up toward the 2024 EU election Campaign, aiming to use this momentum to
strengthen FYEG, its structures and member organisations while building the
Green wave we hope to see.

FYEG was granted a much bigger grant than usual from the European Commission for
2023. After the catastrophic developments with the youth sector / Erasmus+ grant
in 2022, FYEG now benefits from the CERV operational grant that offers a bigger
budget and more sensible and sustainable framework for the development of its
activities. This is visible in the 2023 Activity and Financial Plans that show
the growth and renewed strength of FYEG as well as its path for the next two
years. With its increased revenues for 2023, FYEG will have more capacity to
organise more activities, also by supporting decentralisation actions through an
MO grant program, and to set the path towards a successful election campaign in
2024.

FYEG’s financial plans for 2023 and 2024 are presented below. In order to
increase the accessibility of the information the 2023 budget plan is first
presented through a simplified version with a few important comments and then
through a detailed version with both a narrative breakdown and the full budget
plan in Annex. This financial plan also includes a section on gender budgeting.
The 2024 budget plan annotated is presented in Annex.

2. 2023 Budget plan

Simplified Plan

Below you will find a simplified version of FYEG 2023 budget plan annotated to
briefly explain the difference between the provisional budget voted by the
General Assembly in 2022 and the updated budget.

Explanation of the difference between the budget voted and the budget report:

1. FYEG increased working hours in the administrative unit and hired 2
   additional staff

2. Administrative expenditures will be higher because of the legal
   consultancy and procedures needed to update the Statutes and the Office
   guide

3. Expenses will increase to support FYEG’s live statutory activities

4. Expenses will increase to support bigger educational activities and a new
   MO grant program

5. Administrative revenues are increasing thanks to the CERV admin grant.

6. Detailed version

Annexed to this plan you will find a table with the detailed budget plan for
2023. The difference between the budget voted at the GA 2022 and the updated
budget plan is briefly explained in the ‘Comment’ column, only when it diverges
by more than 10%. Below is the detailed narrative version.

Expenditures - Category 1: Personnel costs

This budget category includes all the personnel costs for FYEG: salaries,
benefits, social security and other employment tax contributions, payroll
service fee, worker’s insurance, etc.

The total personnel costs for 2023 will see a significant increase compared to
2022. Thanks to the new CERV operational grant, FYEG will be able to: (1) create
2 new full time positions until June 2024 to support the 2024 Campaign and new
activities; (2) raise the working hours for it’s Administrative Assistant to 27
hours/week (from 24) and for it’s Office Manager to 32 hours/week (from 27); (3)
decrease working hours for full time staff from 38 to 35 hours/week while
maintaining hourly rate for junior staff and maintaining monthly salary for
senior staff. This brings working conditions closer to FYEG’s Political Platform
and wages in line with the non-profit sector in Belgium. The raise in working
hours and additional staff will allow the FYEG Secretariat to invest more in the
2024 EU Campaign and increase its support and training for Member Organisation.

Please note that under Belgian regulation, salaries are automatically indexed to
follow inflation. The salary raise and the total personnel costs for 2023 were
calculated to take this into account, with an estimated 5.5% indexation at the
end of 2023 compared to January 2023, in line with the current inflation rate in
Belgium and official projections. These calculations and the proposed budget for
2023 might however need to be adapted following the evolution of the inflation
rate.

Expenditures - Category 2: Infrastructure and operating costs

This budget category includes all office-related expenses: rent, office meetings
and retreats, staff training, softwares and equipment, office supplies, postal
charges and utilities, etc.

The total infrastructure and operating costs for 2023 will slightly increase,
mainly because of the increased expenses linked to the increased staff and to
allow the Secretariat to organise a proper residential retreat after the arrival
of the new Secretary General, this will help speed up the onboarding process and
swift transition in leadership.

Expenditures - Category 3: Administrative expenditure

This budget category includes all FYEG’s general administrative expenses:
extraordinary administrative costs (such as work-permit costs, costs related to
the internships, etc.), external accountant, official registration of newly
elected Executive Committee members, bank account fees and insurances.

The total administrative expenditures will double in 2023, due to the needs for
one shot legal consultancy linked to the Update and publication of the new
Statutes as well as the update and registration of the Office guide.

Expenditures - Category 4: Meeting and representation costs

This budget category includes all expenses related to the meetings of FYEG’s
network and bodies, as well as representation in partners meetings: Executive
Committee meetings and allowances, the General Assembly, Member Organisations
training, Young Greens Forum, FCAC meeting, membership fee to EYF, contribution
to CDN, visits to Member Organisations and representation to meeting of the
European Green Party, the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament and other
partners.

The total meeting and representation costs for 2023 will increase for three main
reasons: (1) the increase in live EC meetings from 3 to 4 to better fit the
timeline and requirements of FYEG activities; (2) the overall increase of the GA
budget (to balance with the decrease of the Spring Conference budget) that
reflects higher expenses due to inflation; (3) the continued higher level of
FYEG’s contribution to CDN compared with 2021, permitted by the increase in
membership fee and other administrative revenues; (4) the increase in
representation and visit towards MOs and partners. These changes continue FYEG’s
focuses towards strengthening its network and membership coordination and
bringing forward the youth perspective.

Expenditures - Category 5: Direct Costs: projects and campaigns

This budget category includes all expenses related to projects and campaigns:
the Annual EYF work plan, the Spring Conference organised together with the
General Assembly, the activities organised around COP, Study Session organised
with the Council of Europe’s Youth Department, Campaigns, Ad Hoc projects and
working group projects.

The total direct costs for projects and campaigns in 2023 will almost double
because of the increase in the size of the EYF Work Plan activities, the early
start of Campaign expenses toward the 2024 elections and the introduction of a
new MO grant program. All of this is made possible by the new CERV
administrative grant, increased cooperation with the Greens/EFA Group in the
European Parliament and funds secured through the FYEG Campaign Fund.

Ad hoc expenses in 2023 will include a live South region meeting and Ecosprinter
edition.

Expenditures - Category 6: Allocations to the next year and reserves

This budget category includes allocations and reserves for next years. As of
2023 FYEG only has two strategic reserves: a campaign fund for the 2024 EU
elections and a payroll safety fund as a safety net for salaries in case of a
decrease in administrative grants.

The allocations and reserves for 2023 are in line with the budget plan adopted
at the 2022 GA. FYEG will continue to allocate 5 000 EUR yearly to its Campaign
Fund, on track to collect the 20 000 EUR planned for 2024.

Revenues - Category 1: Administrative Income

This budget category includes all of FYEG’s administrative grants and revenues.
The total of this category for 2023 is significantly higher than previously
planned, mainly because of the new CERV operational grant.

The CERV operational grant is a four year framework program that the Secretariat
had applied for in 2021. The framework partnership was confirmed and granted in
2022 but the yearly grant attached to the framework was not granted for 2022 and
FYEG was put on the reserve list for the rest of the program. Thanks to the
perseverance and hard work of the Secretariat, FYEG secured the grant for 2023.
This grant makes a big difference in FYEG’s budget as it significantly increases
administrative revenues and brings short-term stability to the budget until 2025
(as the Secretariat believes they will be able to secure the yearly grant for
2024 and 2025). However it also comes with a lot of challenges as the
requirements for the yearly grant application and reporting significantly
increase the Secretariat’s workload and the grant only covers participants and
activities within EU member states. This means that securing other revenues is
essential in order to continue serving FYEG’s non-EU members and participants.
In this endeavour, FYEG is lucky to benefit from the EYF administrative grant
that covers activities across all Council of Europe countries and raised the
grant amount for 2023.

Revenues - Category 2: Projects & Campaigns income

This budget category includes all of FYEG’s projects grants and revenues as well
as the funds available for cooperation with the Greens/EFA Group in the European
Parliament. The total of this category for 2023 is in line with the budget plan
adopted at the 2022 GA. The total amount planned through cooperation with the
Greens/EFA group is maintained but secured through direct cooperation.

Gender budgeting

As a feminist organisation, FYEG believes it is important to realise its budget
from a Gender perspective. Through its quota systems and attention to balanced
representation within all its bodies FYEG already has the essentials in place
for gender budgeting. For 2023 FYEG will also continue to plan its activities
and work through the gender budgeting lens by implementing the following
measures:

• Ensure the basis elements of a safe space when budgeting and planning for
  activities;

• Improve the working conditions and workload for all its employees;

• Improve the conditions and workloads for its volunteers, especially
  amongst volunteers in elected positions;

• Review the use of the gender budgeting and reporting framework to better
  fit the needs and vision of FYEG and its member organisations.

2024 Budget Plan

Executive Committee’s considerations of Financial Control and Advisory Committee's recommendationsFrom the next period of reporting onwards the financial report and the financial plan are comprising a paragraph in which the treasurer explains the Executive Committee’s considerations on the Financial Control and Advisory Committee's recommendations and declares which of these recommendations were implemented in the past year, which were not for what reasons (financial report) and which are planned to be implemented in the next year (financial plan).

2024 Budget Plan

In Annex to this plan you will find a table with the detailed budget plan for
2024.