Developing your group

Developing Your Group

You have done all the hard work and set up your group. Everything is going along quite nicely, thank you. However, after a while, you may think about developing your group further. Here are some ideas you might like to consider.

Becoming a registered charity/company limited by guarantee.

A voluntary organisation will often choose to become a company limited by guarantee after a management committee member returns from a training event or advice session with the dreadful news that they are currently liable as individuals for any debts the organisation may incur.  In small organisations, unlikely to incur substantial debts, this is fine.  However, if the organisation has paid staff, owns a building or has large contracts – say with a local authority, then they may be keen to limit their liabilities.  The usual way to do this is to set up a company limited by guarantee, where all members agree to pay a small amount (for example, £1) if the organisation becomes insolvent. Most groups decide to become a registered charity at the same time.
If you decide that this is the way your group should go, contact us. A time commitment is involved but the costs do not need to be great. We can explain the pros and cons and help you with the paperwork. We can also help by explaining the responsibilities of directors/trustees.
The CIO - The Charities Act 2006 introduces a new legal form of incorporation which is designed specifically for charities, the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The CIO will combine the advantages of a corporate structure such as reduced risk of personal liability without the burden of dual regulation. The Charity Commission will be producing detailed guidance which will include how to set up a CIO; the process for a charitable company or charitable industrial and provident society to convert to a CIO, and the process for an unincorporated association to change to a CIO structure. Details of when the CIO will be available for charities to use will appear on the Charity Commission website www.charitycommission.gov.uk .

Putting in for a larger grant

You may have an idea for a project that involves putting in a bid for a larger amount of funding. We can point you in the right direction, give you advice on how to produce a business plan and help with the funding application forms. Sorry, but we don’t have the capacity to do the forms for you, but what we can do is support you during the application process, help you to develop any of the additional documentation you may need (for example a risk assessment, exit strategy etc) and check them before you send them off. With larger grants there is often a pre-application process which looks at the viability of the project before large amounts of time and money is spent on it.

Employing Staff

If your group is growing it may come to the point where you are looking at the possibility of employing staff. CVS is able to help you through the process from the advert, right through to the contract of employment. We can also advise on putting in place the right policies and procedures. You won’t find these on our website because they need to be right for your group!

Volunteers

Groups often use volunteers in their work. We can help with volunteer policies and suggesting the right way to work with them; all you have to do is find them!

Policies and Procedures

Many groups are concerned about their legal position in having certain policies and procedures in place. Even if it is not a legal requirement it is often good practice to have these policies and procedures agreed by the membership. We can discuss with you if they are a legal requirement and may well have a template that you can develop for your group’s use. Examples of these could be child protection, equal opportunities, health and safety, conflict of interest etc.

Business Planning

If you are taking on a lease for a building or looking at alternate types of finance for your groups, you will need to develop a Business Plan. However, it is worthwhile and good practice to develop a Business Plan for your group once you are more established anyway, as it will help immensely with planning for the future, keeping you on track and ensuring you are a viable and sustainable organisation. A Business Plan helps you think through all aspects of your organisation and plan for the future. It helps you get an overview of your organisation, and is a useful tool for presenting yourself to funders and supporters.

A Business Plan may be for your whole organisation, or for a particular project or part of your organisation (when it is sometimes called a Project Plan).

Contracts, Commissioning and Service Level Agreements

As your group develops and grows, you may find that the small grants you used to apply for are no longer suitable. In addition to applying for larger grants, which are becoming more and more difficult to obtain, there are other finance options out there. As well as loans and trading options, (being a charity may restrict trade & loans – so careful research and discussions are needed when considering these options) contracts and service level agreements are another source of finance and way of operating open to voluntary sector groups.

If you need help with any of the above issues, please get in touch – if we cannot help you ourselves, then we will point you in the direction of someone who can!

Many groups are happy, as they are, not wishing to grow. However issues do need to be dealt with, there are changes in the law that have to be met and there are opportunities to be grasped. We are here to help your group address any weaknesses and make the most of its strengths!