Winter 2009 Newsletter

Well it’s gone quickly but would you believe 2009 is nearly over?! It has been another busy year for us, as I am sure it has been for you too. We have had the opportunity to work with a range of fantastic organisations helping them to achieve higher levels of funding and ultimately strengthen their service delivery. Recently we have been delighted to welcome Kidscape, Commonweal Housing and Elfrida Society to name but a few. We always strive to achieve substantial funding for our clients and this week has capped off a great year with news of successes for two clients, one of which being a tender worth around half a Million pounds!

We believe we have earned a nice break over Christmas so we will be closing the office from 24th December and reopening Monday 4th January. I’ll therefore take this opportunity to say Happy Christmas and we wish you all a successful year in 2010. We hope the articles below will be of interest and if you are looking for some support with bid writing, tenders, strategy or training in the New Year then do get in touch.

Very best wishes to you all.

So, what is going to happen to statutory funding of the voluntary sector in the coming years? This is one of the most important questions for the sector at present yet unfortunately there is no simple answer. However, let’s consider some of the issues:

• Political pressure to restore the finances of the nation is acute, but balancing this is continued pressure to maintain economic stimulus through spending
• Local Authorities that currently provide a substantial element of public sector funding for charities are facing substantial budget cuts. The impact will undoubtedly be highest amongst services that they do not have a statutory requirement to deliver
• Looming general elections could see a change in Government. Both Labour and Conservatives state a commitment to support the voluntary sector and utilise them to deliver public services. However whichever party wins next years General Election may find this commitment hard to deliver in practice.
• The agenda to ensure all public procurement is open and competitive continues to put long term grant recipients at risk while also creating opportunities for others
• The agenda towards personalised budgets is putting block grant and contract recipients at risk but again creating opportunities for some

Those are just some of the issues that need to be considered. It is however clear that those charities that depend on a limited number of grants or contracts from statutory agencies need to ensure they are prepared for change. Although the level and nature of public funding cuts is unclear at present, we are facing a period of rapid and substantial change to statutory funding of the voluntary sector.

Read more: Uncertain times for public funding

Your reserves policy can have a big influence on your opportunities to raise funds. Is your reserves policy clear? Are your reserves being calculated correctly by your accountants? If you are unsure about either of these questions then you could inadvertently be damaging your fundraising prospects.

Read more: Straighten up your Reserves Policy for Successful Fundraising

Here’s a summary of some upcoming grant funding deadlines:

• 31st Dec 09 - Civil Society Responsive Grants
• 8th Jan 10 - MIND – Ecominds (Medium Bids)
• 11th Jan 10 - Comic Relief: UK grants
• 23rd Jan 10 - Youth Sector Development Fund
• 29th Jan 10 - Heathrow and Community Environment – Large Grants Awards
• 31st Jan 10 - English Heritage - Historic buildings, monuments and landscapes
• 7th Feb 10 - Trust for London
• 15th Feb 10 - Polden – Puckham Charitable Foundation
• 15th Feb 10 - SITA TRUST: Enriching Nature Programme
• 19th Feb 10 - Lottery Programmes – HLF – Skills for the Future
• Ongoing - BIG - Reaching Communities

Read more: Upcoming Grant Funding Deadlines

The range of legal structures available for voluntary sector organisations is wide. The following sets out some of the key points to consider if you are formally establishing a new organisation; require changes due to growth, or; because you will be undertaking new activities such as trading to generate income.

Is the choice important?

Choosing a legal structure is one of the most important decisions to be taken in setting up or expanding an organisation; it is vital that the chosen structure reflects the purposes, sources of funds and style of management that the organisation will adopt. Choosing the wrong structure can result in limits on eligibility for or access to funds as well as limitations on trading. Subsequently modifying or converting a structure can be complicated, time consuming and costly.

Read more: Legal Structures for Charities and Social Enterprises