If this name means nothing to you...READ ON!

In Kind Direct is a charity which redistributes surplus goods from manufacturers and retailers to UK charities working at home and abroad.

This means charities can benefit by buying goods at greatly reduced prices, which has got to be music to everyones ears during these financially testing times.

There are a wide range of products available; toys, if you are a charity that works with children, work and office items which we all need, sports equipment, household goods and much more. Delivery is usually within 10 days and the customer service is very good.

It's FREE to register, but be sure to read the terms and conditions. Have a look yourself and let me know whether it has helped your organisation. It certainly works for us.

Website

Youtube Video              

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It's always sad to see empty buildings and office blocks with rental signs up for months and months.

Well someone has had a great idea. While landlords and owners wait to fill these spaces, why not let the voluntary sector make use of them? They call it "meanwhile use"

That is inspiring. I suppose it cuts both ways; the owners do not have to worry about their empty buildings being broken into and trashed and they give something to their communities. And the voluntary sector has affordable space in cash strapped times.

So there has got to be a catch. Well the obvious one is the time you can stay is a bit unpredictable, but sometimes that doesn't matter. And then there is the cost of moving (which will depend on how big the organisation is.) But it also works for organisations wanting to use some space for one-off events.

I think the idea behind this is super, and each organisation will have to decide whether this suits their needs.

It's just a shame that Telford is not on their list yet - and we have so many empty buildings....

If you are interested, have a look at 3Space.

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The Department for Communities and Local Government has created this practical guide to delivering local behaviour change campaigns and benefit young people..

Available as an interactive PDF, it offers tips for anyone interested in running projects that set out to change people’s attitudes and the way they think about themselves and others.

The 59 pages of this document provides useful information and steps on how to go about changing attitudes. It does have a children and Young people bias, but I think it can be applied to anyone.

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Many people do not realise that the Voluntary Sector is a BIG employer.

As we are coming across many who are looking for a career change, we thought it would be a good idea to run a short workshop titled:
"Thinking of a Career in the Voluntary Sector?"

Bev Harris, our Volunteer Centre Manager, is an experienced trainer with extensive knowledge about the sector, volunteering and the potential for paid employment.

poster_july_(2).pdf Download this file

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Those of you who are frequent visitors to this blog may have noticed that it looks different.

The reason I have done this is because of the number of posts which is making it very difficult to find information on specific topics.

The new look blog will hopefully make this easier. Let me know what you think.

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"Death by Powerpoint" is a common phrase now-a-days. And don't you just hate it when you are listening to someone and all they do is read their Powerpoint slides?

To stop us inflicting this kind of pain on others, I have a couple of video clips (from YouTube) to give tips and to illustrate that it can sometimes be too much.

This next one is one of our favourites!

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Writing newsletters is a good way of getting news and messages across. The question at the back of my head is always: can we do it better?

John Grain, from John Grain Associates Ltd. has recently put a really good article together titled:

How to write a better newsletter

It contains useful tips and questions you need to ask. If you spend time and money producing a newsletter, this is an excellent tool to make sure it hits the spot.

HOW_TO_WRITE_A_BETTER_NEWSLETTER.docx Download this file

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Big Society is on the Big Agenda. But what is stopping people from helping out and mucking in?

This is what the Government wanted to know, so they appointed a task force headed by Lord Hodgson to find out.

They were asked to consider how to cut red tape for small charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises (known as Civil Society Organisations or CSO's).

They have produced a really interesting report titled "Unshackling Good Neighbours" (May 2011) and it addresses 3 questions

• What stops people giving time (Volunteering)?
• What stops people giving money?
• What stops CSO's growing?

The answers they have received during the course of their research reflects what is going on in communities. They quote real examples of the barriers CSO's face.

It is refreshing to read this and I hope it gives Government a clue about the red tape we encounter on a regular basis.

At the end of the report they also give some practical, legal pointers, which is and added bonus.

It's 42 pages, but worth the read.

Unshakling Good Neighbours

unshackling-good-neighbours.pdf Download this file

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One of my previous BLOG posts mentioned more economical ways of training staff. One of the suggestions was using a local trainer. But what if you can not find the training you need locally?

During the past years, when times were better, we had excellent training literally "thrown" at us. Training organisations were prepared to travel to locations which were convenient to us, which was exactly what we (the customer) wanted.

Things have definitely changed now. The general cost cutting is affecting everyone and I have noticed that London based trainers are only delivering in London.

That makes sense, it takes up less time and they don't have any travel expense.

NO, it doesn't make sense because the 15 to 20 people travelling to London are picking up the tab. Who benefits? Not the Sector, not the training provider: the rail company. That definitely does NOT make sense.

The reason for my frustration is a recent example. A member of staff needs follow-up training to maintain accreditation for what she does. Previously this was provided at a reasonable distance from Telford. Now it is in London. The price of the training is £87. This is a good rate and worth it. Cost of travel to London: £169 ! It would be cheaper to fly!

Why is it so expensive? Answer: because the course starts at 9.30 and finishes at 4.30 and those are peak travel times.

This is a real problem and a difficult nut to crack.

The potential light at the end of the tunnel is Virgin Trains. They have a 20% reduction scheme for charities. You do need to meet certain criteria and I am not sure whether the "only off peak" rule applies. I have registered and it takes up to 15 days to get approval.

I will keep you posted!

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Are you thinking about a career in the Voluntary Sector? Or you may just be thinking about a career change.

If you are wondering whether this sector would suit you, the FREE 3 hour workshop the Volunteer Centre is organising in Telford may help.

It is taking place on Tuesday morning 14th June. You do need to book. For more information: Training

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I came across this article by Sandy Rees, who is pretty knowledgeable on fundraising. We are trying to fundraise on-line, so it caught my attention. It doesn't just identify the problems, it also offers solutions. I like that.

Sandy writes:

"You've stuck your toe in the water to see how it feels, but you remain noncommittal. You don't want to be left behind, but you either aren't sure what to do or aren't willing to invest the time (or money) to do it well. After all, everyone else is on Facebook, so you have to be there too, right?"

Here are some surefire signs that you are an Amateur Fundraiser online:

Amateur_fundraiser_article.pdf Download this file

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With money being tighter, one of the first budget cut casualties is staff training and development. We can not afford to attend the training we would like at the moment and I am sure we are not alone.

The KnowHow wiki site has some suggestions on how to: Train and develop people without it costing a fortune.

These suggestions can help to make the (smaller) training budget go further so we can continue with our professional development.

How_to_train_and_develop_people_without_spending_a_fortune.docx Download this file

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There are many bloggers out there. Some are good, some not so. I guess it depends on what interests you and whether the blog hits the spot.

This blog has had over 2,700 views in the last month, so I would hope it provides some useful information. If anyone would like to know how to create a blog like this one, let me know. (If there is enough interest we can put on some training)

I have come across a fundraising blog which is well worth mentioning as it has some really useful information on it. I would suggest you have a quick look.

Don't be put off by the name!

Queer ideas

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If the word Social Media is alien to you, you must have spent the last 4 years on a desert island.

That is perhaps an unfair statement, but we encounter Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis, even if we don't realise it.

I'm very excited about Social Media. Not only does it allow me an insight into what my children are up to, it also allows me to engage in some serious "global eavesdropping". There are so many conversations on the internet about any subject imaginable... and we have access to this. You can not help but get excited. The thing I like about it is that we are now in a culture where people are willing to share information.

For example: if you are about to book a weekend away in a hotel, you can see what others have said about their experience in that hotel. You can then make an informed decision about whether to book or not. How good is that? Of course it needs a willingness to spend 5 minutes posting a review. But that willingness is there, and it's not just the people who want to have a moan.

Another example is YouTube. I wanted to know how to plaster a wall (as you do). A quick search on YouTube has revealed countless videos giving me practical advice and tips. Fabulous! And it doesn't costs a penny. It is just people who are happy to share.

That is what this blog is about: sharing what we know. I'm happy to share. Are you?

So how can Social Media, YouTube and all the others help you in what you do?

Have a look at this video on YouTube and things will become clearer.

Social Media

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It's difficult writing reports or funding bids at the best of times. It's even harder when you need to put the work of your organisation in context with others in the area. The Charity Commission website gives the option the search for individual charities, but you have to trawl through them all to find information like income, mission, number of volunteers etc.

Well, this little problem has been solved thanks to those wonderful people at the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). They have created a website where you can search registered charities and get the information presented in tables. This is good news for all of us. Better still, it is easy to use and the tables can be saved in MS excel, so you can create pretty charts.

I had a quick go and it works! I'm not sure they have the data about paid staff and volunteers sorted yet, but if you are looking for other statistics, it's there. Now that is something I can get quite excited about!

Below is a picture of the sorts of things you can search for.

charity_trends_search_screen.pdf Download this file

For more information or to have a go:

www.charitytrends.org

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There is a wealth of expertese and information at you fingertips if they happen to connected to a keyboard and a computer. You just need to know how to find it.

Know How non-profit has a Wiki Site (where anyone can post information) which covers all sorts of topics. The link below takes you to How to write an application to a Charitable Trust. It is one page of tips and things to think about beforehand. Essential reading before you apply to a Trust. Definitely worth the 3 minutes it takes to read!

How to write an application to a Charitable Trust

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Getting the right message to potential volunteers and getting the right volunteers for your organisation can be tricky.

Gareth Edwards from Practical Fundraising Association www.practicalfundraising.com has some useful tips when recruiting volunteer fundraisers, but this actually applies to the recruitment of any volunteer.

THINGS_TO_THINK_ABOUT_WHEN_RECRUITING_VOLUNTEERS.pdf Download this file

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I don't intend to use this Blog to encourage people to spend money. My main aim is to inform, save time and save money.

I will make this exception as I can speak from experience.

On the 27th and 28th June, the Directory of Social Change holds their annual Charity Fair. It's in London, which is a pain if you don't work near London like us. We decided to attend last year and managed to stay for both days. It was very very good and worth every penny.

What they offer is mostly one hour workshops and some 2 hour "master classes". The range of categories covered was vast like Fundraising, Financial Management, People Management, Managing Volunteers, Governance, Legal etc. To see which workshops are offered in each category it is best to have a look yourself on www.charityfair.org.uk .

Last year we came back with lots of ideas and a wealth of information. I think the beauty of it was that it was relevant. So money well spent.

We are going again this year and looking forward to it. We will share what we learn on this site, but if you have money in the budget for training, it is worth considering attending.

I doubt if we will have the funds to go next year, so we are going to make the most of it in June.

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Does Health & Safety prevent your organisation from running events?

We all know that the work of voluntary organisations and individual volunteers makes a valuable contribtuion to our everyday lives.   

Health & Safety is often wrongly blamed for preventing organisations from running events and people from volunteering.   It should not be a barrier to volunteering activities.  Taking a sensible approach is the key

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has launched new online resources designed to help voluntary organisations understand when they have duties under health and safety law.

Visit the website   http://bit.ly/hGGwxs

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Remember how cross we were about Lottery money going to fund the olympics? Well, the clock is ticking for the Government to pay it back.

The Directory of Social Change has set up a campaigning website where you can very quickly and easily ask the Prime Minister to to publicly tell us when the Government will pay back the £425 million to the Big Lottery Fund.

Can we afford to let this one slide?

visit the site:  Big Lottery Refund

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