Charities and Voluntary Groups

With over thirty years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, we are well-placed to understand the joys and the challenges of being involved in a charitable organisation! From setting up a charity in the first place, to strategic planning for a charity that is looking to grow, we can help you look at the options, plan your strategies, and motivate and train your staff and volunteers.

What we can offer

We will always seek to tailor training to the exact needs of your charity but here are some of the typical issues that we can help with:

• Setting up and Managing a Charity
• Governance
• Trustee workshops
• Coaching your Board
• Strategic and business planning

Setting up and managing a charity

Deciding on the options

Many people have causes dear to their hearts and setting up a registered charity may be one of the ways to raise funds and bring that cause to the wider public. However, it is not the only way and there may be other options that would be more in keeping with what you want to achieve. We can help you examine all the options, explore the pros and cons of becoming a registered charity, and decide if that is the right way ahead for your group.

Starting out as a registered charity

If you do decide that becoming a registered charity is the way forward then we can guide you right through the setting up process to ensure that your charity is run effectively and professionally right from the start.  Here are some of the issues that we can help with:

• Understanding some of the legal implications of becoming a registered charity
• Practical help with forms and applications
• Establishing effective policies including safeguarding and equal opportunities
• Finance – finding sources of funding – completing funding application forms
• Recruitment and training of staff and volunteers

Governance Training

Put simply Governance is about how charities and other organisations work:  how they are ‘governed’. The term covers various legal and management issues that form the framework of a charity. Many of the difficulties that groups encounter are because of a lack of good governance. Where public funds are being used it is vital to ensure that there is accountability and clarity in the day-to-day workings of the organisation.

We can help you with all aspects of promoting good governance including:

• roles and responsibilities
• trustee and volunteer training
• developing and reviewing policies
• managing risk
• management frameworks
• employment issues

Trustee Training

Effective trustees are at the heart of every successful charity and are worth their weight in gold! But what exactly does a trustee do? And what makes an effective trustee?

How do you recruit people with the right skills, motivation, and time, to help develop your charity? Once you’ve got them how do you ensure that they are effective and fulfilled in their role?

If you are a trustee already, are you confident in your role? Do you feel that you understand the full implications of your role?  Do you feel that you have a proper opportunity to engage and voice your opinion or do you sometimes feel you’re just there to make up the numbers?

We can facilitate workshops and training on all aspects of governance and trustee–ship:

• How to be an effective trustee
• Recruiting new trustees
• Navigating the minefield- charity law and policies
• Involving young people and minorities

Coaching your Board

Coaching is useful where there are less specific issues, or where a board needs help in deciding a way forward. For example

• finding a fresh vision
• getting the best out of your meetings
• improving communication between board members and the organisation
• monitoring and evaluation
• help with implementing new policies and practices
• working together more effectively

We have many years of direct board experience on large and small boards.  We understand the particular pressures and difficulties of voluntary boards where members are seeking to balance the needs of the organisation with other responsibilities.

We can help by:

• offering a fresh view from outside the situation
• facilitating discussions
• acting as an impartial and independent friend
• being a sounding board for ideas and plans

If your board is not as effective as it could be, or has become divided or discouraged, has lost the bigger picture, or simply needs fresh vision for the future, then please contact us about coaching. We would be glad to meet you or to attend one of your board meetings to see if we can work together. See also Business Coaching.

Strategic and Business Planning

Starting a charity is relatively easy, keeping it going and growing is much harder. For many charities the real challenge begins with success, when they start to grow.  How do you carry forward the commitment and passion of a small founding group into a larger, more formal organisation? It is vital to have a clear vision of what your group hopes to achieve and a manageable plan if you are going to keep your volunteers and members on board.
You may need help with:

• Planning for the future
• Dealing with increased workload and pressure
• Developing roles within the organisation
• Recruiting and managing volunteers effectively

We will be glad to work with you and help your organisation grow effectively.