News Special

Keeping afloat during these trying financial times (10/02/09)

A round -up of advice from Julie Hunt, Funding Information and Advice Officer at Community Links Bromley.

Over the past few months, there has been a great deal of speculation on how the economic downturn will affect the funding environment for the third sector and no doubt the discussions will continue following the announcement (on 9th February) by the Government to “pledged up to £42.5 million to help volunteers, charities and social enterprises deliver extra real help to those that need it most”. Read more about the 'Real Help for Communities' action plan.

One thing that everyone agrees on is that planning ahead is now more important than ever for organisations. Take time to look at your objectives and funding streams, and then ensure you have strategies in place to respond to changes.

Here is my quick round up of funding advice and support available to your organisation from the third sector lead agencies.

Unrestricted Income - Professional Fundraising Magazine encourages fundraisers to focus on the facts and in January’s issue (available from the CLB resource library) talks tactics and contingency plans. There is also a look at the opportunities the downturn could bring, and a reflection that some new types of donors could emerge.

Restricted Income - The Directory for Social Change’s, Director of Policy and Research, Ben Wittenberg believes that trusts and foundations could increase the range of ‘giving’ overall during the recession even if some reduce their contribution. Read his interesting article by following this link. Read more [PDF125 KB]

Sustainable Funding - NCVO are keen to promote the benefits of accessing a bespoke project specific to developing a diverse mix of income generation: The Sustainable Funding Project. Working in partnership with the South London CVS Partnership, the next event is scheduled for April: to encourage voluntary and community organisations to explore a whole range of issues around funding.

So if you want an overview of sustainable funding, with a particular emphasis on generating income from trading goods and services, then this event is for you. An interactive mix of presentations, small group work and open discussion will give plenty of opportunity to examine the issues. But as places are limited and allocated on a strictly first come basis, please book early.

For more information on the Sustainable Funding Project visit NCVO. To book on the course visit the CLB website.

Research for Fundraisers - In December, The Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Finance Directors' Group together with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP published a wide ranging research document titled ‘Managing in a Downturn’. It looks at the potential impact of an economic slowdown, or recession, on fundraising organisations. There is also a very useful article on key messages to communicate to your supporters during a downturn from the IoF’s website. To view these documents go to the Institute of Fundraising website.

Local Support from the CLB Funding Information and Advice Service (FIAS): And finally – last but not least, Community Links Bromley's FIAS service is committed to support your organisation through these testing times, and has developed a range of accessible resources including one-to-one support direct from the Funding Information and Advice Officer and access to a database to identify potential grant funders.

Your organisation could also access additional support from one of a team of thirteen mentors providing specific support in some of the areas that you are being advised to review: Marketing, Public Relations, Governance, Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Event Management.

The FIAS mentoring scheme recently achieved the Mentoring & Befriending approved provider standard – A national standard for mentoring and befriending with a programme designed to deliver a quality service.

So, if you would like your organisation to benefit from additional support in any of these areas in 2009, contact Julie Hunt, Funding Information and Advice Officer for an informal chat or to make an appointment on 0208 315 1915 or email: julieh@communitylinksbromley.org.uk.

Monitoring the downturn

Please keep Community Links Bromley informed. Have you already experienced an increase in the use of your services? What contingency plans do you have to support the demand and what help might you need?

Once we have the information we can feed it back at a national level as well as locally to our strategic partners in Bromley.

Download this simple questionnaire, complete and return to stephenb@communitylinksbromley.org.uk.

Page updated: 10 February 2009