Training Modules

Project Management Slides

Project Management Flip Chart Notes

Getting to Grips with Governance

Governance

• Systems & processes that ensures the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision and accountability of an organisation
• Compliance with law and regulation
• That an organisation is well run and efficient
• That problems are identified early & dealt with appropriately
• The preservation of the reputation & integrity of the organisation
• That charities make a difference & the objects of the charity are advanced

Governing is about…

• Agreeing the purpose of the charity or non-profit
• Agreeing broad strategies to carry out the charity or non-profit’s purpose effectively
• Accounting for the non-profit’s performance
• Ensuring it operates within the law

A Charity is…

• An entity that is established only to deliver Public Benefit
• It does not make profit
• All its income must be used for the purpose it was established
• Recognised by the Charity Commission
• Ethical & moral behaviour – Code of Good Conduct

Charity structures

• Legal structures
• Management principles

Board

• Board is made up of Directors
• Known as Trustees
• They are custodians of the charity
• They are overseeing the operations and assets in trust for the beneficiaries and the people who have funded the charity
• They hold the vision and ensure the charity’s purpose continues onto future generation

Board & Governance

• Board there to
• Safeguard the charity’s purpose
• Ensure governance compliance
• Set strategy
• Monitor management
• Board there in a voluntary capacity

Governing principle

• Separation of Board from Management
• Board hold the legal responsibility for everything the charity does
• Management operate charity
• Management get paid

Hallmarks of an Effective Charity

• Clear about its purpose & direction (Vision/Strategy)
• A strong board (challenging/skills)
• Fit for purpose (management/Outcomes)
• Learning & Improving (Knowledge/Application)
• Financially sound & prudent (Managing finances & risks)
• Accountable & transparent (Reporting/compliance)

Framework

• Charity Consitution
• Companies Act & Charities Act
• Personal & Collective Responsibility
• Best practise charity
• Commission good
• Governance codes

Trustees and Good Governance

• understand their roles
• Ensure delivery of purpose and public benefit
• Exercise effective control
• Comply with charity’s governing document and the law
• Act in the charities best interest
• Manage the charities resources responsibility
• At with reasonable care and skill
• Behaving with integrity
• Ensure your charity is open and accountable

Trustees must:

• Act within their powers
• Act in good faith and only in the interests of the charity
• Make sure they are sufficiently informed
• Take account of all relevant factors
• Ignore irrelevant factors
• Manage conflicts of interest
• Make decisions that are within the range of decisions that a reasonable trustee body could make

Julia Unwin 5 S’s

• Stewardship
  • Safeguard reputation
  • Safeguard assets
  • Promote long term success and viability
  • Identify and manage assets
• Stretch
  • Generate new ideas
  • Raise expectations
  • Constructive challenge
  • Setting goals and targets
• Strategy
  • Establishing priorities
  • Foresight
  • Common vision and long-term objectives
  • Clarify priorities

(deliverables for beneficiaries, managing and improving operations, managing resources, financial sustainability, learning and growth)

• Support
  • Ensure adequate resources
  • Encourage and enable team
  • Stand up for charity
  • Celebrate success
• Scrutiny
  • constructive dissent
  • challenge assumptions in orthodoxy
  • decisions informed and evidenced
  • independent thinking

Trustee Equalities

• Passion
• Commitment
• Objective
• Group work
• Independent thinking
• Challenging
• Some specialist skills requirements
• Best practise- replace trustees after two terms of three or four years

Risk

• charities have to take risks
• but need to understand a manage risks
• doing nothing can be a big risk
• legal requirement for board to keep and review risk- register
• report this annually – trustees annual report

Monitoring, measuring and reporting

• the board sets the strategy and the supporting strategic objectives
• management commence delivery
• the board responsible for monitoring and measuring progress
  • is the charity on the right path?

Board Meetings – regular

• Monitoring what has happened (budgets/ management accounts)
• Planning next actions
• Allocating responsibilities & timelines
• Regular high-level reviews of specific operational areas
• Ensuring legal compliance

Board Meetings – annual

• Annual strategy review
• Annual financial accounts
• Annual General Meeting
  • Inform wider membership
  • Confirm account & reports
  • Appointment of new Trustees

Finance for non-finance managers

Background

Understanding finance is a key skill for all managers and trustees. Yet financial information is something that people struggle to get to grips with

This workshop is an introduction to using financial information to communicate key information and as a major decision-making tool for anyone in a management position

Participants

This is a workshop for anyone who is, or will be, making management decisions or providing oversight to an organisation. This is for those who would describe themselves as not familiar with using and manipulation financial data.

Workshop Content

• How do we know how we are getting on – using management accounts
• Steps in planning what your charity wants to do and understanding the resources required
• Getting to grips with costs
• Using financial forecasts to support your funding strategy
• Budgeting and budgets
• Using budgetary information to understand organisation or project progress
• Financial accounts and why they are important
• The key information that charities must provide for stakeholders
• How this information is put together and how it is interpreted

Outcomes

• Feeling more engaged with using financial information
• Using financial information to make better decisions
• Increasing your confidence to ask the right questions

Timing

The workshop is a one-day workshop, which is engaging and participative.

Managing Your Volunteers Effectively

Managing Volunteers | Strategy and Practice

Managing volunteers is not always a specific job role but absorbed as part of another role.  When considering a plan for managing your volunteers, it is worth asking key questions. You will need a clear strategy for managing your volunteers.

• Strategy is a course of action with an identifiable outcome. Your strategy should include the organisation’s vision, mission and values. A plan is the timetable for the strategy. Here are some areas ‘strategy’ might cover:
  • Developing a volunteer policy
  • Evaluation and contribution of volunteers to strategic goals
  • Developing and managing volunteer resources and capacity
  • Developing and maintaining partnerships
  • Promotion of organisation and services to stakeholders
  • Quality control of services involving volunteers
  • Reporting to internal and external parties about volunteer activities.
• Practice is the day-to-day tasks of managing and running a volunteer programme. Here are some areas ‘practice’ might cover:
  • Contribution to the development of a volunteering strategy
  • Promotion of volunteering to potential and actual volunteers
  • Managing recruitment and placement
  • Managing induction and training
  • Lead and motivate volunteers and support development
  • Provides regular feedback, both one-to-one and in groups, lead these meetings
  • Maintaining records/databases
  • Recognises and addresses issues affecting volunteers
  • Ensures volunteers are supplied adequately with all materials
  • Organises events involving volunteers
  • Manages and disseminates information for volunteer activities
• Areas that are covered by both:
  • Developing volunteering policy
  • Developing structures, systems, and procedures to support volunteering
  • Planning, organising and monitoring volunteering activities
  • Promoting productive relationships between volunteers and stakeholders
  • Identifying, assessing and controlling health and safety risks
  • Managing expenditure budget

Defining and refining your recruitment

• Define who you are recruiting
• Are you recruiting individual volunteers or corporate volunteers, or both?
• What are some of the differences in motivation and benefits?

• Individual volunteering
• When a person chooses to dedicate their spare time to contribute
• Individual will actively seek out opportunity
• Desire to make a difference to a cause that really matters to them
• Benefits are:
  • Enhancing CV and career prospects
  • Gaining new skills unrelated to industry knowledge, transferable skills
  • The choice is always at the discretion of the individual – what charity, how much time, and in what capacity
  • Expanding social network, connecting and making new friends, community with those from similar and diverse backgrounds and experiences
  • Likely to have long-term buy-in

• Corporate Volunteering
• Employer allows specified amount of paid time off to volunteer during working hours – usually with a chosen charity
• Often supports the company’s CSR programme
• Could include fundraising events and team challenges
• Benefits:
  • Team bonding and teamwork – improves communication, boosts morale and strengthens group dynamic
  • Fits in with existing routine
  • Develop skills that may benefit a career change or future career goals
  • Studies have shown that volunteering through work increases engagement, sense of achievement, and productivity
  • Might not have long-term buy-in from the volunteer
• When managing both, it is important to acknowledge:
  • Time
  • Commitment to your charity
  • Motivation level and type of engagement
  • Will all play a role in your recruitment and relationship with your volunteers?

Tools of Recruitment

• Your website may be the first time they will have heard of or engaged with your charity
• Does your website have:
• Up-to-date information on your volunteering service e.g., role descriptions, availability?
• Timeline of the recruitment process?
• How to find further information?
• Contact details?
• FAQs?
• Photos/videos/testimonials/quotes
• Other methods of recruitment
  • Talks /presentations at community centres, corporate partners etc.
  • Open days
  • Fundraising activities
  • Volunteer fairs
  • Volunteers Week events (1-7 June)
• Screening Volunteers
  • Skills, experience, availability are all important, be clear about these at the outset
  • Application forms
  • Informal meetings – either in-person or online
  • Be clear about commitments, ask them for time limitations, and make sure you both have the same expectations for the role
  • Inductions
  • Don’t be afraid to say no – better now than when in role

The Legal Framework

Risk management – assessing the risk of events, taking action to avoid negative consequences, plans to minimise negative consequences.

• Develop a H&S policy and first aid procedures, accident reporting
• Equal opportunities policy
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Ensure volunteers receive and read the volunteer handbook and key policies
• Be aware of and adhere to all data protection laws including changes
• There is no legal definition of a volunteer
• Safeguarding
  • All volunteering activities, either on or off-site should have a risk assessment in place
  • All volunteers should have an emergency contact, with access to this information for attending staff, at all events
• DBS – Disclosure and Barring Service
  • All volunteers working with vulnerable adults or children without the presence of a supervising staff member should undergo a DBS check
  • Avoid unnecessary use of DBS checks, ensure legal entitlement to access lists
  • Decide whether a standard or enhanced check is needed –refer to legal definitions to determine level of requirement
  • Use a government recognised screening website such as CBS Screening
  • Criminal disclosure certificate do not have expiry dates, only an issue date
  • How long they are valid is at the discretion of the organisation requiring the certificate
• Supporting the volunteer journey
  • Volunteer handbook
  • Volunteer Policy and Volunteer Agreement
  • Induction and training
  • Introduce your volunteers to staff members they will be working with
  • Volunteering Policy, include:
  • Vision and values – your organisation’s commitment to them – how the volunteers will contribute
  • Recruitment – induction and training, expenses, support and supervision
  • Health and Safety
  • Data Protection
  • Staff member profiles
• Volunteer Management Software
  • Recruit
  • Coordinate
  • Schedule
  • Prioritise
  • Communicate
  • Manage hours
  • Hold personal information
  • Match volunteers to events
• Decide what you want to achieve
  • What issues occur in managing your volunteers?
  • Are volunteers being utilised to their full potential?
  • Are you interacting with your volunteers regularly?
  • What communication issues are faced?
  • Is tracking volunteers’ hours and activities time-consuming?
  • Is reporting impact of volunteering resource heavy?
  • Volunteer management systems can help you develop your strategy
• Some examples
  • Better Impact
  • Assemble
  • Teamkinetic
  • Volgistics
  • Volunteero
  • Develop a plan, and how this might be realised, to work out which system is best for you
• Managing expectations and volunteer satisfaction
  • Be clear on expectations on both sides – thorough role description and Volunteer Agreement
  • Include an induction so volunteers know what to expect
  • Regular supervision
  • Development of the role
  • Continued training and support
  • Regular feedback – start/stop/continue
  • No grey areas – written policies
  • Break in volunteering or end
  • Exit interview
• Stop. Continue

A useful tool for delivering feedback and evaluating the progress of an individual or strategy:

• Start – things not currently done but can be implemented
• Stop – things to re-evaluate and either stop or redesign
• Continue – Things which are working well and should continue

• Volunteer Satisfaction
  • We found that holding regular group meetings increased satisfaction – volunteers felt more engaged and included – issues didn’t build up
  • Organise social events, so volunteers feel appreciated – this will look different for individual and corporate volunteers
  • Regular one-to-one feedback – a useful tool is Start/Stop/Continue
  • What affects satisfaction? Flexibility of volunteering, sense of community, networking, opportunity for change and growth

Why it goes wrong?

• Poor communication
• Unclear or unfulfilled expectations
• Personality fit with the culture of the organisation, and personally
• Performance, conduct or behaviour
• What can mitigate these issues?
• Addressing the problem
• Early intervention
• Unless serious offence, allow opportunity to grow and change – be clear on what change needed
• Regular communication

Resources:

• NCVO | NCVO

Fundraising Training

What is Fundraising?

• To generate funds for the organisation – short term and long term
• ‘Friend-raising’
• Raising awareness of the organisation
• Promoting the brand of the organisation
• Supporting with the overall strategy

How do we achieve it?

Understand:

• Mission of organisation, what your organisation does, what makes your organisation different/unique
• Your cause/need
• Impact
• Operational, governance and financial information
• Financial need
• Organisational strategic aims
• How to work ethically and transparently as information is registered with the Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator.

Take action:

• Make and implement a fundraising plan
• Diversify income
• Share the fundraising strategy internally
• Team effort
• Start with your existing supporters and build a supporter base from there
• Inspire – open hearts and minds

Areas of Fundraising:

Public Sector

Central Government -> Local Authority -> NLCF (National Lottery Community Fund)

• Charities can apply for funding from public sector organisations (national and local government) or a third party to deliver services to the public on their behalf.
• This includes supporting refugees, disabled people, those living in sheltered housing, elderly people, or those looking for work.
• Charities can apply for any open tender which align to their mission/purpose.
• Charities will enter into a funding agreement with the public sector organisation to deliver specific services or activities for an agreed cost.
• National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery.

Things to consider with Public Sector Fundraising:

• Charities will have to compete with other organisations to win the tender i.e. Private sector organisations.
• The application process can be resource intensive.
• Not always full cost recovery – the unit cost offered may be lower than your project cost.
• Public sector funding can be a regular source of income and help to build financial stability.
• The assessment process is thorough so successfully receiving funding indicates the charity is well-run, impactful and has a successful track record.

Charitable grant making Trusts and Foundations

• • A Trust is a specific legal entity created when two or more individuals declare that they hold assets for charitable purposes. It is a registered charity. A Foundation can be a Trust or a company limited by guarantee.
  • Each Trust and Foundation will focus on supporting charitable causes that address a particular area of need in society and often with a geographical focus.
  • Trusts and Foundations provide grants for capital and/or revenue funding. Revenue can cover salaries and running costs with one off or multi-year grants for new or existing programmes. Capital can be for equipment or building work. Grants are usually restricted.
  • Trusts and Foundations employ staff to run the organisation. The Board of Trustees/Committee Members govern the organisation.
  • Most Trusts and Foundations have a website with information on their grant making guidelines.
  • Some open to applications whilst others take a pro-active approach.
  • Each have their own application process. This usually includes a written application, numerous meetings and a visit to the charity.

Some well-known Trusts & Foundations:

Things to consider with grant funding:

• Competitive market – need to sell the uniqueness and impact of your charity.
• Grant funding helps with financial planning/stability.
• Opportunity to fund new or existing work which can support with growth.
• Continuation funding and ongoing support to capacity build the organisation.
• The application process is thorough so receiving grant funding demonstrates the charity is well-run and impactful.
• Important to nurture relationships with the Grant Managers, Trustees/Committee Members.
• Grants from Corporate Foundations can result in relationships with their core business.
• The grant making community is close-knit.
• Grant making organisations can become allies and charity champions.

Corporate

Donation -> Fundraising -> Employee Engagement -> Match Funding

• Many companies look to support charities local or national, depending upon their size.
• Companies will identify an area of need in society they wish to focus on and often with a particular geographical focus.
• Increased focus on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance).
• Companies often have an ESG Officer or a charity committee of volunteers responsible for managing the partnership.
• Open application process for charities to apply or charities are approached/invited to apply.
• Company employees are becoming more involved in the application process, nominating their chosen charity and voting for those shortlisted.
• These partnerships usually include: a donation to the charity, employee engagement (volunteering) opportunities for their staff, staff fundraising for the charity, company match funding and payroll giving.
• Charity of the year partnerships typically last for 12 months on a rolling basis however some partnerships can continue beyond this point.

Things to consider with corporate fundraising:

• Does the company align to the ethics of your charity?
• Important to steward the relationship with the organisation.
• Managing these partnerships can be resource intensive.
• Multifaceted partnerships which can be extremely beneficial for various areas of the charity, beyond fundraising.
• A great opportunity to engage with wider staff at all levels at the company who can support with other areas.
• The organisation and their employees can become long standing supporters.
• These partnerships help to build the brand of the charity and raise awareness of your work.

Individual giving and fundraising events

One-off donations -> Regular Giving -> High Net Worth

• Members of the public may choose to donate to a charity of their choice.
• Charities provide as many ways as possible for individuals to donate to their cause, typically via telephone, text donation, the charity website or the charity’s JustGiving page. This process should be as smooth and efficient as possible.
• Charities will raise awareness of how to donate through media platforms, online and within their own networks.
• Donations can be one-off or regular, restricted for a specific purpose or unrestricted for use within the charity.
• Some donors may choose to make a large donation to the charity and be referred to as high-net worth donors. E.g., Gift Aid.

Campaigns -> Public Fundraising -> Legacies -> Fundraising Events

• Charity’s can launch fundraising campaigns to raise funds for a specific purpose.
• Public fundraising focuses on generating donations from the public via street fundraising, door to door and telephone and email marketing.
• This fundraising can be conducted by authorised charity employees or volunteers. It is important to work ethically when conducting public fundraising.
• People may choose to remember a charity in their Will. This could be for a specific amount or a percentage of their estate towards the charity. It could be a general donation towards the work of the charity or for a specific purpose.
• Individuals may choose to take part in events to fundraise for charity. This could be an event organised by the fundraiser, an event organised by the charity or an external event.
• It is important to consider any relevant legislation and legal requirements when organising events. E.g., Fundraising Regulator.

Things to consider with individual giving and event fundraising:

• Everyone could be a potential donor/fundraiser!
• All charity staff are potential fundraisers.
• People give to people!
• The approach and offer must vary – not a one size fits all approach.
• Important to steward donor relationship’s by thanking and keeping them updated on the impact of their support.
• Appreciate and value all donors.
• Donors can support in many ways.
• Fundraising events support with raising awareness of the charity
• Are there any potential risks to the charity by accepting a donation from a particular individual?
• Managing donor relationships and supporting fundraisers can be resource intensive.
• Important to work ethically and within any regulations.

Final thoughts:

• Inspire; open hearts and minds!
• ‘We’ are the vehicle for people to give and make change.
• People give to people – relationships are key!
• From small acorns…..
• Always thank!
• It’s a team effort.
• Everyone’s a fundraiser!

Useful resources:

• The Fundraising Regulator – Code of Fundraising Practice
• Just Giving
• Institute of Fundraising
• SOFII (The Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration)
• Directory of Social Change
• Civil Society
• Third Sector
• Charity Choice

Session Slides