Update from the CEO:
Cost of Living Crisis - What can we do and how can you help charities through this time?
There seems to be little good news at present, public services are under threat as local authority failures start to have a real impact, and the need for charities to step into an ever-widening gap in social care is growing.
Government funding for charities, which makes up around 17% of sector income, much of it through local government contracts and grants, is likely to fall, and donations from the public, the sector’s main source of income, are already under pressure in the cost of living crisis.
In this dark situation, what can we do right now to sustain vital charity services?
At Cranfield Trust, we’re advising charities to focus on forecasting: be proactive in managing costs tightly, forecasting cashflow and reviewing reserve levels. We’re suggesting that they update business plans and be bold in setting out their Plan B – better to be realistic than optimistic at present.
We have high demand for our support, thank you for volunteering with us and helping to sustain so many vital charities in this tough climate. We’ve started over 220 new consultancy projects and mentoring assignments in the first five months of our financial year, 35% ahead of our expected activity level, but we’re trying not to turn away charities with real challenges to address.
We know that having a volunteer consultant, mentor or adviser through Cranfield Trust helps to create headspace for stretched leaders and managers, and enables people to think ahead with more confidence. We have lots of resources on our website – webinars, templates and guidance, so please do signpost charities to these if you think they would be helpful. The volunteer hub also holds information that you might find useful – and our team will always help with information or other sources of support for the charity you’re working with.
In spite of the uncertain climate, we are confident that charity leaders and managers will continue to do an amazing job for people in need – and we’re proud to stand next to them as they do.
Keeping you up to date
We currently share a 'Volunteer Essentials Update' by email every six to eight weeks to all of our volunteers. In this e-newsletter we share important information to keep you updated on Trust developments, training opportunities or policy changes. Please keep an eye out for this newsletter and spend some time reading it, and please also let us know what else you would like to hear about in this newsletter.
This volunteer hub will also be constantly under review and will be updated on a regular basis. We will alert to you to any additions or changes through the Volunteer Essential Update, but also check in on the hub from time to time to pick up the regular updates. Please also give us your feedback on this hub and what else you would like to see on here.
We have a LinkedIn group just for our volunteers. This is only open to you and you will need to send us a request to join, we will then connect you into the group. This is a good place to also receive timely updates and share information with fellow volunteers.
Request to join the private volunteer LinkedIn group
Request to join the private volunteers LinkedIn group
You can share on LinkedIn that you are a volunteer with Cranfield Trust in your profile. Please make sure it is clear that you are a volunteer and not employed by the Trust as it can give a false impression of the number of staff we have if it looks like you are working in an employed position.
Social media
Please follow up on our social media channels to get regular and timely updates, and please like them and share with your networks, as you can help to spread the word about the Trust and everything we do to support #smallcharities.
Keeping us up to date
While you volunteer for us, we will keep your details confidential and they will only be accessible by a member of Cranfield Trust staff. Please let us know if any of your details change, such as your skills or contact information, and we will change them on the system. It's important we have the most up to date contact details for you, so we can get in contact when a volunteering opportunity arises.
We understand that circumstances can change and you need to step away from volunteering with us permanently, or just for a while, please get in touch and we will remove your details so that we don't keep contacting you.
Keeping charities up to date
We send a Charity Focus e-newsletter to the charities we have connected with on a six weekly basis, which provides information on the services and information we have available to support them.
In addition, we also send regular webinar alerts and other marketing updates, which we will also share with you to provide an opportunity for you to also sign up to the latest webinars.