Today we delivered a presentation to Volunteering England a volunteering development agency committed to supporting, enabling and celebrating volunteering in all its diversity.

It was a very enjoyable meeting, we received great feedback on our presentation which made recommendations and offered practical solutions on how mainstream voluntary sector organisations can ‘Empower Minority Communities in Volunteering’.

I am a real fan of the work that Volunteering England delivers, however there commitment is not matched by the actions of individual charities and community groups; read their recent report ‘From Barriers to Bridges’

If you would like to take a look at our presentation to see how we can help your charity, or organisation to reach a wider diverse pool of volunteers please contact Bronagh: mail@tabrona.co.uk

We are delivering a series of free workshops aimed at helping trustees and senior workers in voluntary and public sector organisations to take practical steps that bring immediate results. The workshops are starting in February and we have a few places remaining. Each workshop is limited to 10 attendees, please email simran@tabrona.co.uk to register your interest in attending.

Last month we went to the Cabinet Office to discuss the difficulties and barriers faced by minority communities and BME led organisations engaging in volunteering.

Central to the idea of the ‘Big society’ is the assertion that there is a willingness and capacity to get involved in voluntary action. If the vision is to be realised, local and National Government needs to listen to the struggles of minority communities around the issues to do with volunteerism.

We are meeting with Volunteering England in September to discuss our programme of support  to social enterprises, charities and other not-for-profit organisations. In preparation, we would like to hear from you about your organisation’s experience of volunteering. In January we will be launching our series of workshops and seminars ‘Empowering Minority Communities in Community Leadership’. Do you attract enough volunteers with the right skills to your organisation? How do you ensure volunteers follow your organisation’s ethics/ procedures? Do your volunteers reflect your service user group? What is stopping people from volunteering for your organisation? What are the hidden expenses and red tape that make volunteering difficult for your community/ organisation?

Please email us your thoughts and concerns by Wednesday 31^st August and we will bring your comments to our meeting with Volunteering England, and we will shape the courses and seminars to reflect your needs.

Yesterday we exhibited at the Yorkshire Business Market held at the Pavilions of Harrogate Great Yorkshire Showground.

Organised by Harrogate Chamber of Commerce the Yorkshire Business Market aims to promote Yorkshire and Humber businesses. This one day business to business networking opportunity is open to all Yorkshire businesses supplying products or services to other businesses and also business owners looking for new ideas, new customers and new suppliers in the region.

The Business market was a great opportunity to meet local businesses and raise our business profile. We thoroughly enjoyed being part of the event and look forward to exhibiting next year.

On the 22nd October we exhibited at the Footsey 2009 social economy trade fair held at the Doncaster Racecourse. Footsey is the largest annual social enterprise trade fair in the UK and is currently in its eighth year. The Footsey trade fair provides the perfect networking opportunity for anyone involved in the social economy. 

This was our first time exhibiting at the event which proved to be a great networking opportunity, not only in terms of generating potential business leads but also in meeting useful business contacts. The atmosphere within the trade fair was friendly and relaxed. Other organisations exhibiting ranged widely and included Banks, a professional catering service and a circus education provider.

Back in August 2009, Kaye Wiggins for the Third Sector Online reported on a story about how the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned a childrens’ charity’s poster adverts saying that they were likely to reinforce negative stereotypes of black teenagers. In response to the complaints, Kids Company told the ASA that 80 per cent of the children that came to the charity for help were from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds and the ratio was reflected across the campaign.

A spokeswoman for the charity told Third Sector its aim was to challenge prejudice towards vulnerable young people. She said Kids Company's beneficiaries had endorsed the campaign, but the charity would consider the complaints in its future work. We were interested in this debate. We wondered, had the Kids Company done enough to ensure racial stereotyping was not an under current of the campaign. So, to find out more detail about the campaign we spoke to the Kids Company’s Head of Campaigns, Laurence Guinness. “The campaign had a complex tongue in cheek message with a poster of black youths attacking a white man which received 2 complaints but it was intended to challenge current racist stereotypes. The campaign was seen my 1000s of commuters on bus shelters, tube platforms. We have learned that we should have contextualised the messages more, and that it was too abstract, unfortunately the adverts caused offence to two people” Laurence added “We have learned a lot as an organisation, and ultimately we want to continue to deliver the services to the vulnerable kids we support, not get drawn into a political debate”

 

We reflected on the struggles that charities and advertising agencies have in this current climate of scrutiny over racist or culturally insensitive campaigns, slogans or statements to come up with daring and innovative campaigns that shock and stimulate debate, albeit without causing offence. There is a real need to be creative in challenging racial stereotypes, and to have an awareness of how the general public can take offence if the concept is too abstract.

 

One of our favourite examples of how racial stereotypes can be challenged and have an impact on the misconceptions of the viewer is in the re-release video for Chicane’s dance anthem Poppiholla. Click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-phtXAyv5N0 to have a look at the youtube video, in it you will see a stright forward and effective challenge of negative racial stereotypes that does not cause offense to the viewer, due to the clever narative and casting.

 

We are currently contracted as consultants on range of culturally sensitive projects in the Third Sector to challenge misconceptions around race, culture and diversity and one example of this is our 2 year Screen Yorkshire contract to administer and promote the Foundation Placement Scheme.

To find out more about our how we can support you, either keep an eye out for our cultural diversity workshops and seminars starting in March 2010, or contact us directly to design a bespoke package of training or delivery for your organisation.

Today I attended the launch of ACEVO North, the professional body representing the UK's charity chief executives. I was inspired by the words of Key note speaker; Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Leeds Central. In recognising the plight of the Third Sector during this period of financial uncertainty, he empathised with Charity Chief executives who are seeing increasing demand for their services but a decrease in income.

Benn advised to share aspirations, be positive, inspirational to teams working with those most in need.  He asked the audience of Chief Executives from across the Yorkshire and Humber region to bear in mind that Martin Luther King did not begin his infamous public address with, “I have a nightmare…”

Also speaking at the launch, Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP, Minister for Yorkshire and Humber offered her support to the sector as she recognises that it provides much needed support to deliver essential services on agendas such as homelessness, mental health, education, social cohesion and vulnerable people.
 

As I listened to the outstanding performance from Opera North whilst snacking on my mini gastro burger in the plush Grant Thornton Leeds offices in the company of many of our Third Sector leaders and senior politicians I reflected on an article I read in week’s Yorkshire Evening Post highlighting the plight of charities in Yorkshire. The headline was selling the nightmare “Yorkshire Charities in Crash Crisis” with the article outlining how charities “could end up multi-million pound losers as a result of the credit crunch.”

After the launch, I asked Erin Mc Feely of ACEVO North what practical advice she would give to the charities I support who are also concerned about the current financial situation, she commented “We really need charities to speak out about how they are being affected – too many are hiding the full consequences of this financial crisis." I will continue to encourage the Chief Executives of the organisations I support to attend ACEVO North events and join as members to receive their support to promote a modern, enterprising third sector during these difficult financial times.  

With the current global financial problems widely reported in the US and here in the UK, some would think that the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector would be suffering from the problems that the Retail and Commercial sector is expereincing. The opposite appears to be the case.

Charity shops couldn’t be doing better.

In Society Guardian last week, Robert Booth reported second-hand and bric-a-brac shops benefiting good causes now take more than half a billion pounds a year, with tills ringing loudest at charities including the Salvation Army. It has a network of 47 stores and clothes recycling banks and netted profits of £6m, an increase of 64% on last year.

Sue Ryder Care made £2.8m, up 35%, and Age Concern England, Save the Children and the Children's Society all saw profits rise by more than 15%. The country's most profitable charity shop chain, Oxfam, increased profits to more than £21m following a fall of 20% in the previous year, when the economy was stronger.

The charities I am working with are currently increasing their applications to trusts and foundations as well as tendering for services in a bid to secure their survival. Yesterday the Press Association reported that just over three-quarters of charities interviewed said they had ramped up their fundraising activities in a bid to boost their income, while 63% have increased their grant applications. The problems associated with the credit crunch come at a time when most charities are facing increased demand for their services, with 72% of those questioned reporting a rise.

In order to ensure the Voluntary, Community Faith sector is sustainable to deliver essential services, it is important that in fundraising we remain focused on full cost recovery in both trust/ foundation applications and tendering.

Who could be your major donors? What connection do they have to you? What do they enjoy and what do they want you to do with their donation?

If you were thinking of designing a template donor letter my advice to you is “Don't write the letter”. There is no such thing as a good major gift donor letter sent out of the blue. So instead I recommend that your charity or voluntary group draws up a list of potential major gift donors and have the chair of your board or another senior representative of your organisation sit down with you and help you identify three things:

1. Connection to your organisation Ask the chair/ trustees/ senior staff if no connection exists, how can one be created? Do your research, they may have had a connection to your organisation in the past or maybe had a bad experience with your organisation which needs to be managed sensitivley.

2. Interest in your organisation Ask yourself why would they be interested in your organisation and what things interest these people?

3. Ability to give  Ask the donor how much they would like to give and offer them a range of size of projects they could support. Bring along a menu of fundable programmes/ projects as they may want to donate £10 or £10k.

Your strongest prospects are those with an interest in your cause and a person-to-person connection with the organisation via a colleague/ friend or relative. It is useful to ask someone who knows the prospect donor to make the initial contact and suggest a luncheon between you, your contact, and your prospect donor. The purpose of this meeting is to get acquainted and it is important to find some concrete reason for holding the meeting. Do bear in mind that many potential donors will try to put you off but don't be offended, it's just part of the dance and they will come around. I recommend that you send them your newsletter, personal invitations to see a speaker, review a program, etc. Don't send them a get acquainted letter as it offends more often than not and they most likely will throw it away. Most importantly you've given them an opportunity to be on guard before they get to know you making the donor feel it is their choice to support you and your organisation.

Writing in today’s Third Sector, Hannah Jordan reported that The Remember a Charity coalition has won the right to do what it wants with a legacy of nearly £1m left to it by an anonymous donor. Remember a Charity is a coalition of 140 charities that promotes legacy giving in general however does not solicit legacies for itself or specific members.

I encourage the charities I work with to utilise the Remember a Charity website so that members of the public and the supporters of their good causes already thinking about leaving money in their wills can look for the charity of their choice to donate to when they are gone. I spoke to Susanne Levy, Remember a Charity’s Interim Director, and asked her what return on investment charities will see for their annual membership fee.   “We appreciate that some charitable causes find legacy marketing a challenge; wills are a very personal subject and charities need to be equipped with the right words to say. Our organisation offers guidance in the form of a marketing toolkit, promotion of member charities to the general public, a Will Making Guide for the general public, as well as skills sharing and networking opportunities. We also commission research each year with the general public and professional will writers which are available for our members” said Levy

Have a look on the Remember a Charity website to see how legacies and wills could become an integral part of your fundraising strategy www.rememberacharity.org.uk   [external website]

I continue to be a big fan of theBigGive.org.uk and in my opinion, it is the most accessible on-line search engine for Philanthropists to see what are the funding needs of the voluntary sector.

The Founder of theBigGive, Sir Alec Reed (pictured below) says charities must remember that giving away money is very personal and some wealthy donors find it problematic. "For people with a hell of a lot of money, it can be hell getting rid of it. Some donors like to match funding; others like to pay for core costs. I particularly like to pay for fundraising."

TheBigGive was born from Reed's realisation that "there was no shop window if someone wanted to give large amounts of money away".

 

 

Reed says the project's advantages include its low cost, its anonymity and the way it enables the wealthy to make direct contact with exactly the right people. Charities can ask for a minimum of £100,000 for a project. There is no upper limit. "You can submit a world-changing £10m project that someone might be attracted to," says Reed. www.thebiggive.org.uk (external website).

The voluntary sector struggles to secure funding for skills development projects for the most vulnerable communities they support including ethnic minorities, disabled people, low income families and ex-offenders. Contracts increasingly are awarded to National or Regional charities and private companies. In yesterday’s budget, Alastair Darling announced an extra £60m over 3 years for people to gain the skills needed to enter the labour market. Along with this investment there are proposals for additional apprenticeships with leading employers to plug the skills gap.

I revisited the much talked about Guidestar website to see if it had implemented changes since my last visit in Nov 07. I wondered if the claims made in this week’s broad-sheets were true and that it isn’t living up to it’s grand promises. So…I clicked on the website’s ‘about us’ section to learn more and read, “GuideStar UK was set up in 2003 to provide for the first time, a single, easily accessible source of detailed information about every charity and voluntary organisation in the UK”

Although Guidestar UK was meant to secure public trust and confidence in charities, something went wrong along the way. Annie Kelly wrote in Wednesday’s Society Guardian, 19^th Feb, that the new CEO David Brocklebank was brought in to turn the organisation around and she was curious to know if things were on the up.

There are over 180,000 charities of all sizes registered on the site providing as far as I could see it provides information as on the Charity Commission website, just in an easier to find format. I wonder what my Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) pals will think of it, they may already be using it to find info and send their volunteers in to help much needed causes. I’ll let you know!!

Regardless of the organisational and funding teething problems that Guidestar have experienced, it is worth a visit for Charities and funders alike to understand more about the Third Sector.

Guidestar’s ambition is to become the first place that anyone wanting information on a charity will look. It intends to promote greater public understanding of the work of charities and how they are managed. The website hopes to become an invaluable source of statistical and financial information for grant makers, researchers and public policy makers.

Click the following link and check it out www.guidestar.org.uk  [external website]

Phi-lan-thro-py noun, plural – pies

Meaning: altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.

In a recent article on the Third Sector website I read about the Big Give which is a free to use website that helps major donors find high-level charity projects in their field of interest. I will be encouraging not only the charities I am currently working with but the voluntary sector in the whole to register their details, an outline of their project along with the amount of funds they require to attract the attention of large Philanthropic donors. I am sure there is a philanthropist out there looking to fund a project just like yours.

It is really important to let as many funders know about the projects the voluntary sector needs funds for. The Big Give website offers a free and straightforward way to get your campain know to potential funders. Click on and have a go using the link below.

www.thebiggive.org.uk [external website]