Overview
Small voluntary organisations have always been my priority (see my experience below). As CEO of the BBC Children in Need Appeal I was privileged to read and assess grant applications from thousands of small charities and voluntary organisations, over 13 years and throughout the UK. At the same time as marvelling at the range and quality of work that was being carried out by those small organisations, I could see that many of them also needed help: with their strategic planning, presentational skills, finance, fundraising, monitoring, and evaluation. I was also aware that most of them couldn’t afford it.
I have been providing consultancy to small charities for 20 years and this includes:
- Facilitating away days for trustees and/or staff
- Taking the mystery and the pain out of strategic planning
- Help with fundraising from trusts and foundations including research and bid writing
- Organisational and project reviews (whole or part)
- Identification and articulation of project outcomes and their measurement
- Working with boards/management committees to improve governance
I have also reviewed and evaluated grant making programmes for trusts and foundations.
Clients
Most of my clients are small national or local voluntary organisations with whom I work either directly for a reasonable fee or, for free, on behalf of a grant-making trust or foundation. They include:
- Bobath Centre (strategic planning away day)
- Bonded Thru Cancer (obtaining charitable status)
- Caring Hair Charity (strategic planning and fundraising research)
- Caxton Youth Centre (organisational review)
- Centre for Armenian Advice and Information (governance review)
- Clock Tower Sanctuary (strategic planning)
- Dads Unlimited (governance review and services evaluation)
- GALOP (strategic review) & Immigrant Counselling and Psychotherapy (strategic planning)
- John Lyons Charity (consultancy for grantees)
- Lloyds Bank Foundation (Enhance programme consultancy for grantees)
- Nationwide Foundation (evaluation of grants programme)
- Tudor Trust (consultancy for their grantees)
- Triangle Trust (evaluation of grants programme)
- The Nightingale Fellowship (membership review)
- United St Saviours Charity (impact evaluation)
- Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (strategic planning away day)
Qualifications
London University: Bachelor of Education/Child Development
Brunel University: MA Social Policy & Administration
Ongoing training throughout my working life