During that time we have seen good projects fail because of sub-standard financial and project management systems, sloppy governance or simple lack of focus.On some occasions, these problems have been so serious that organisations have gone out of business: people have lost their jobs and those who should benefit from the organisation have lost a valued resource.
As successful practitioners we can advise on most aspects of governing and managing a third sector organisation. But we have particular expertise and experience in:
- Governance
including board development, coaching and mentoring - Project Management
including projects in difficulty and preparing project claims - read a case study - Fund-raising
strategies and grant application support - Strategic Alliances
exploring consortium working or considering a merger - Quality Assurance
including the introduction of Investing in Volunteers, MATRIX or a qualification awarding body - Volunteer Engagement
including developing a volunteering strategy - Safeguarding
protecting children and vulnerable adults while you are delivering services to them - Audit Preparation
preparing for project audits carried out by funders - Interim Management
including crisis management of organisations in serious difficulty - read a case study
How We Work
Our work is primarily throughout north west England but we have also carried out assignments across the UK, Europe and, on occasions, further afield. If the work is interesting we're not bothered about the travel.
We are always happy to meet (or email or Skype if that isn't practical) to discuss your requirements. Typically, we would then provide you with a written, fully costed proposal. This ensures that there are no surprises on either side later on.We carry out almost all of our work personally. We rarely use associates because we think that if you want to work with us, you won't want someone else turning up at the next meeting. We often work double handed as we have complementary skills and two heads are better than one. It doesn't cost you any more because the total number of manhours will be the same - maybe less - and the work gets done faster.
We are usually engaged for a specific task but sometimes a longer term relationship develops. Either way, we're always happy to discuss new requirements as they emerge.
Specialisms
Many aspects of developing a successful third sector organisation are universal and the exact nature of your particular organisation doesn't matter. But we have also developed a number of specialisms - more by accident than design - which might be especially helpful for you. These include:
- Civil society organisations, especially community anchors
- Organisations supporting people with mental health problems or learning disabilities
- Organisations which focus on community-based adult learning
Costs
We know that every pound counts and you'll find that our fees are good value. We will generally carry out some initial work at no charge so that we can give you an honest opinion on what needs to be done, fully costed.And you'll see that our daily rates are more competitive than larger firms with their larger overheads.
For many clients, we have been able to raise grant funding to pay for the work which is required - for those clients our work has been cash neutral, or better. For an example read the last part of this Case Study.
If you'd like to discuss what we can do to help your organisation, contact us now.