Next Steps

Times are hard.  We imagine it’s getting more difficult for you to find funding to do what you do.  And to make things worse, there’s a good chance that demand for your services is rising because of the recession.
 
Sadly we can’t sort out the economy, but we can help you to consider some of the key issues that you need to think about when planning for the future of your organisation.
 
Our three Next Steps workshops explore some of the key issues that third sector organisations need to consider when looking at how to continue to deliver social benefits to the people you serve.   Each half-day workshop is free of charge, and they will be delivered in venues across the region over the next few months.  You can come to one workshop – or all three.  If you’ve previously been to a First Steps workshop, you should find that our workshops explore some similar issues, but in greater detail. 
  • Opportunity Knocks
    •  We live in interesting times. Much of the third sector is starting to feel the pinch – with funding harder to come by and public sector budgets being squeezed. Yet the benefits that an effective third-sector organisation can bring to society are there for all to see – and needed more than ever. How can your organisation make the most of the opportunities that present themselves to deliver social change? Our aim is that by the end of our free, three-hour Opportunity Knocks workshop, you will have a much clearer idea of your organisation’s capacity to make the most of opportunities to generate income and make a difference. The workshop is practical – with plenty of work in small groups. We do an exercise to help you to assess your current activities – in terms of their contribution to your mission and their impact on your bottom line. Then we look at ways to do a quick assessment of new income generating ideas – so that you can decide which ones to explore further. This workshop will be of value to anyone working in a third sector organisation which is looking for ways to diversify its income base, and deliver social change long into the future. 
  • Organising for Success
    • How can you be most effective in delivering social change? Of course it’s what you do that matters most, but it’s worth remembering that the structure that you work within is important too. Getting the right legal structure is something that most of us usually leave to an expert. But we believe that there’s a real value in having a good understanding of legal structures yourself too, particularly so you can appreciate the implications of any trading activity you wish to undertake. Similarly, with a good overview of governance issues, you’ll be able to get to grips with important issues such as how to engage with stakeholders. Our free, half-day Organising for Success workshop is aimed at anyone who works for a third sector organisation who would like to understand more about legal structures – particularly relating to issues around diversifying your sources of income. The workshop gives a good, no-nonesense overview of important issues around governance and structures. If you are up and running, we ask you to bring your governing documents with you to the workshop – so that we can make sure that the workshop is as useful as possible to you.  
  • Sustainability Healthcheck
    • Money too tight to mention? Your probably didn’t decide to work in the third sector so that you could count beans. Yet when times are hard - with a tightening economy and more demand for your services – it’s vital to keep a close eye on your bottom line. Our free, half-day Sustainability Healthcheck workshop helps you to consider the financial health of your organisation. Our aim is to help you to get intimate with your organisation’s finances – so that you can identify, in financial terms, your organisation’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s a practical workshop – and we ask you to bring your accounts along with you – so that you can do some practical exercises on the day which will help you to assess the financial health of your organisation. This workshop is particularly useful for people who need to understand more about their organisation’s finances – but who aren’t a “finance person”. So if you’re a trustee who wants to understand the annual accounts better, or a member of staff who’d like to understand what your balance sheet says about your organisation, then this is the workshop for you.   (The links below take you away from the Charity Bank website)

Be Inspired - Visit to Royds Community Association

Royds Community Association is a pioneering example of large-scale community-led enterprise, facilitating renewal and regeneration that delivers sustainable community solutions. From its beginnings as a the deliverer of a £31million SRB1 scheme in the mid-1990’s, Royds has since embraced opportunities to create a diverse income stream with projects including their flagship Enterprise Park, Neighbourhood Wardens Scheme, Neighbourhood Management Programme and Welfare, Benefits & Debt Advice Service. This is a unique opportunity to get behind the rhetoric and see close-up the reality of a pioneering organisation that has been on the journey to financial sustainability. During the visit you will get to see some of Royds’ projects in action, meet others over a networking lunch and get up close and personal with a Q&A session with the Royds Chief Executive and Senior Finance staff.