Phoenix
Charity Consultancy
Supporting small charities to achieve their full potential
Services
I specialise in mentoring and supporting small / medium charities and community groups to achieve their full potential. Small organisations sometimes struggle to develop and transform due to time, staffing, financial, or knowledge restraints.
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Strategic planning is essential for long term sustainability of a voluntary sector organisation but it is often relegated to the bottom of the priority list when staff, trustees, and volunteers are attempting to provide a support service on limited resources.
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I aim to share my knowledge and experience in the voluntary sector with you so that I can support you to form strong leadership qualities in order to make the necessary decisions to transform your organisation.
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I am able to approach your organisation from an external perspective whilst acting in the role of a 'Critical Friend' and adviser.
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The qualities of an effective 'Critical Friend' must include:-
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Mutual respect and trust
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An understanding of your needs
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Honesty
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A skilled listener and observer
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A willingness to ask challenging questions and highlight concerns
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I can also provide mentoring / reflective practice for staff in order to ensure wellbeing
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Areas of Expertise
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10 Safeguarding Actions for Charities - which trustee boards need to take to ensure good safeguarding governance
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Organisational Management Calendar - a yearly planner for all those necessary governance tasks
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Desktop Review of Charity Documents - all policies, procedures, governing documents, strategic plan, annual report etc.
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Face to Face Consultations with Trustees, Staff, Volunteers & / or Beneficiaries
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Situational Analysis - where your organisation is right now, handy to know before you decide where you wish to get to
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Priority Ranked Recommendations - giving you a clear time framework in order to implement any suggestions
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One-to-one mentoring / reflective practice - it is becoming increasingly necessary in order to ensure staff wellbeing
Aspects of a Charitable Organisation
Charity Status
Setting up a charity can be a daunting prospect. I can help with the necessary steps to ensure that your organisation meets the legal requirements. Services include choosing the structure, creating a governing document and registering as a charity
Digital
A digital strategy is often overlooked by small charities due to a lack of knowledge or availability of resources. However, it is a crucial element in ensuring sustainability of an organisation by using technology to attract new opportunities to both internal systems and public facing services such as websites, social media, engagement with supporters etc
HR & Employment
The HR role in a charity is to look after the team of staff and volunteers. Often, in small organisations, this role will be carried out by the Chief Executive and the trustees. HR includes many different functions including employment relations eg working conditions, employment law, health and safety, pay and benefits, recruitment (staff, volunteers and trustees), training and development
PR, Marketing & Social Media
Building the awareness of a charity organisation or a fundraising event is important in order to encourage donations and support for the cause. Small charities lack the resources to bring in specialist services, and therefore it is essential to develop an internal annual PR and marketing strategy.
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Social media has become an unavoidable part of our lives and small charities can utilise the various platforms very effectively in order to fundraise, promote positive storytelling, recruit volunteers, etc by being much more creative than through the more traditional media methods. The majority of small charities only have one person managing their social media presence.
Impact & Evaluation
Measuring impact is an essential tool for a small charity to prove to funders that it has used the finances donated to make a difference, through the provision of a service. Information is gathered, analysed, interpreted and then evaluated to make judgements about the value of the changes created by a project. These results can subsequently be used to find areas of improvement.
Volunteers
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Let's be honest managing volunteers can sometimes be likened to attempting to herd cats. But volunteers are the backbone of any successful charity if they are effectively recruited, supported, mentored and trained. Communication and recognition are the key factors to remember when managing volunteers in order to ensure a high retention rate. There is fierce competition for successful volunteers in the voluntary sector and If they do not feel valued or appreciated then they will leave.
Financial Management
Good management of a charity’s finances and other assets enables it to succeed in delivering its charitable aims. The board of trustees have financial responsibilities and are expected to apply proper accounting procedures like any other organisation. The trustees must ensure that there are realistic funding strategies in place and effective management controls. They must also plan for the charity's assets and resources to be used in the best possible way for their beneficiaries
Governance
The trustees are responsible for the long term direction of the charity including the objectives and purposes; the implementation of policies and procedures in order to achieve those objectives; the compliance with legal requirements; and the accountability to those who have a stake or interest in the charity.
Strategic Planning & Development
Strategic planning ensures that a charity is sustainable, balancing short term achievements with the long term financial health of the organisation. A strategic plan provides a written statement of intent, setting out a charity’s activities, aims and objectives – and also provides a benchmark against which stakeholders can measure the performance of the charity.
GDPR & Data Protection
The general data protection regulation (GDPR) is a new EU law that came into effect in 2018 to replace the outdated Data Protection Act. New requirements have been implemented for how organisations process an individual's personal data for campaigning, marketing, managing volunteers and recording information about service users etc
Risk Management
A risk is any event that could prevent a charity achieving its aims or carrying out its strategies. Some risks charities can face include: damage to the charity's reputation. receiving less funding or fewer public donations. losing money through inappropriate investments.
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Charity trustees should regularly review and assess the risks faced by their charity in all areas of its work and plan for the management of those risks. Risk is an everyday part of charitable activity and managing it effectively is essential if the trustees are to achieve their key objectives and safeguard their charity’s funds and assets.
Fundraising
Every charity is entirely reliant on fundraising in order to ensure continuation of service provision . Small charities will invariably find themselves competing for both public donations and from funding streams from larger organisations, trusts, and statutory funders by creating grant proposals and applications.
Wellbeing & Non-Managerial Supervision
With one in four of us experiencing a mental health problem, it’s imperative that charities implement tools, techniques and procedures to ensure the wellbeing of the staff and volunteers.
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Running a charity can be a very isolated role. Many chief executives (or managers), within small organisations, are responsible not only for the overall strategic planning, but also for the practical day to day tasks. There may be times when things get overwhelming and a manager may feel that they are unable to ask for help or support from the staff and trustees for fear of appearing incompetent. In these circumstances there is a real need to recruit an external mentor to provide a non-managerial supervision service.
I can provide you with a safe, supportive, and non judgemental environment in which you can explore the issues. I will listen to you and enable you to devise the necessary solutions in which to cope better with the challenges.
