International Womens Month – Celebrating the Women of H&F, Sharon Tomlin, Sobus Community Organiser

“International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality”

International Womens Day – https://www.internationalwomensday.com/About

I have had the pleasure of working with phenomenal women who live, work and operate in Hammersmith and Fulham who go the extra mile to support residents who volunteer and work in organisations in this borough. These are colleagues from across the borough who work hard to strive for gender equity in the spaces they operate in.

Based on the listenings (dialogue) that I have had the privilege to conduct with women (workers, volunteers and residents) in the borough, I have found that many aspects of the service and work being delivered aim to address gender equity by developing and sustaining good practices, whilst being aware of the complex behavioural and societal challenges residents face.

As we get ready to attend and participate in activities organised in Hammersmith and Fulham, I wish to take this time to mention the immense body of work and service delivered by women colleagues from across the sectors in the borough.

The range in areas of work and service delivered by colleagues many of whom I have worked with directly or groups that I have supported the development of aim to address gender equity include:

  • Activism of women’s health such female genital mutilation
  • Raising awareness and hosting discussions on gender- based abuse and violence
  • Domestic abuse and violence against women and girls
  • Addressing harassment and “being believed” in matters of physical and emotional intrusion into the homes particularly of single women
  • Mothers of children involved in the justice system
  • Addressing digital poverty
  • Developing the discussions around menopause
  • Isolation and loneliness of mothers and teenage girls
  • Female led local grassroots sports voluntary groups
  • Addressing child care costs
  • Youth Justice leadership
  • Day to day challenges of unpaid carers
  • Inspire women and girls into science, technology, engineering and mathematics
  • Creating informal groups that address particular areas of interest, issue and or concerns

I wish to thank our women colleagues of Hammersmith and Fulham for the transformational work they do that include:

  • Residents
  • Volunteers
  • Voluntary Organisations
  • Community Groups
  • Local Authority
  • Health Authority

List of some events planned for March 2023 and beyond:

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Co-production – A Brief Perspective, Shad Haibatan, Sobus Head of Engagement & Partnerships

Co-production in service design and deliver is a principle that has been widely adopted by statutory and other service providers. In Hammersmith & Fulham the local authority and health providers are committed to implementing co-production. It is seen as a means of co-designing and co-producing services, which involves all stakeholders, who are affected or have an interest in that service. This should lead to the development of more effective and appropriate services, which are accessible to all potential beneficiaries and achieve the intended outcomes.

Development is centred around a partnership approach involving all stakeholders as equal partners. Developing a targeted service for older people may include health, local authority, voluntary and community sector, as well as service users and residents. Everyone should have an input from the drawing board stage to final delivery of a service. This would mean identifying needs more effectively, designing a service that meets those needs more effectively as users perspectives are taken into account and reaching marginalised communities who may have been excluded.

A co-production approach should therefore lead to more efficient, better-targeted and arguably more cost effective services, addressing needs identified and achieving intended outcomes.

From a voluntary and community sector perspective, participation in co-production often presents challenges. These will often discourage involvement.

These challenges include:

  • Being marginal to the process even when involved.
  • Not being invited at the earliest stage of development
  • Not being treated as an equal partner
  • A top down hierarchical approach to decision making
  • Exclusion through communication language and culture of statutory and larger institutions
  • Lack of adequate resources to participate in the process

All these factors mean a lack of voluntary and community sector participation in co-production.

This often leads to lack of progress in achieving a co-produced outcome despite the commitment of all partners to achieve this aim.

Sobus is working with the local authority, health and voluntary sector and community sector partners in trying to address these challenges to achieve a genuine co-production environment in Hammersmith & Fulham.

For more information on co-production in Hammersmith & Fulham please contact shad.haibatan@sobus.org.uk

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Almost 40% of One-Off Donations Now Made by Digital Wallet

‘Digital wallets are now used to make nearly four in 10 (39%) one-off donations, according to the latest annual report from goDonate, with their use for regular giving also growing. The Online Donations Insights Report is compiled from an analysis of anonymised donations data as part of £25m in income handled by goDonate in the past 12 months on behalf of UK charities…’ Read more here.

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CEOs of Large Charities Report Soaring Energy Costs & Fundraising Obstacles

‘The UK’s largest 100 charities by income are facing significant increases in energy bills, with one reporting an increase of £1m a year, according to new research.  Leaders of charities including Cancer Research UK, Jewish Care, and Methodist Homes told Charity Finance magazine they faced soaring energy costs in 2021-22…’ Read more here.

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Only Half of Charities Confident of Meeting Current Overheads

‘With the Government’s support for charities’ energy costs set to be cut from April, research by Charities Aid Foundation shows that just half are confident they can afford to meet their current overheads, including energy, rent and supplies…’ Read more here.

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How to Make Sure Your Proposal Stands Out

‘Are you proposal ready? If not, what do you need to do to get there? As fundraisers, we are all faced with two main constraints:  our budget and time. This can lead to feeling overwhelmed and the need to rush and churn out proposals. However, the art of proposal writing is not just in the narrative but is in the preparation, planning and research that needs to go beforehand…’ Read more here.

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Charities Have Until 5 April to Find Estimated £564m in Unclaimed Gift Aid

‘Charities have until 5 April to search for any unclaimed Gift Aid for this tax year – an amount HMRC has estimated is as much as £564m. While Gift Aid declarations for this tax year can be collected after this date, it then becomes a more complicated process. Swiftaid has launched the ‘Great Gift Aid Hunt‘ to encourage charities to make sure they don’t miss out…’ Read more here.

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Charities Consider Permanent Four-Day Week Switch after Trial ‘Success’

‘Charities that took part in the world’s largest four-day week trial have said they are now considering making the change to working patterns permanent. The initiative, which was piloted in the UK between June and December 2022 by 61 organisations with around 2,900 workers, published its results today. Around seven charities piloted the scheme, whereby employees received 100% of their pay for 80% of their usual hours and a commitment to deliver 100% of their normal productivity…’ Read more here.

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Fundraising for Core Vs Project Costs, Sue Spiller, Sobus CEO

A useful article from https://nonprofitgrowth.co.uk

Trust fundraising for core costs is one of the biggest challenges for trust and grants fundraisers out there.

Firstly, there are a lot of trusts out there that are offering core support, though this may have decreased due to Pandemic. During the first two years of their Covid-19 response, many Trusts decreased their restrictions on funding, with many offering no-strings funding and though some have continued to do this, in the past year project and specific sector funding has returned.

When you first start researching Trusts to fund your organisation it is natural to feel that most trusts are focused on issues not relevant to your cause and that fewer and fewer trusts are accepting unsolicited applications. Add that to the fact that you are looking for core costs and it can want to search for a needle in a haystack.

Sadly, there is no silver bullet or short-cut answer, Trust fundraising requires rigour and focus when searching for organisations to apply to. Read on

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Cost of Living Crisis – Charity Excellence Update, Sue Spiller, Sobus CEO

A useful article from Charity Excellence on the impact of the Cost of Living crisis on UK charities.  You can find more on their website https://www.charityexcellence.co.uk/

There are no major changes to our previous forecast, as the crisis appears to be following our modelling predictions.   

Good News. 

  • There has been some hopeful economic news, such as falling gas prices giving the Chancellor some head room
  • Inflation expected to fall soon.
  • Plus, the deterioration in fundraising that began in late 2021, has been slowing in recent months.
  • We think we may see some signs of recovery earlier than our predicted mid-year 2023.

Not So Good News. 

  • The Bank of England forecast suggests that economic recovery will take longer and.
  • We are seeing signs of deep financial distress amongst charities.
  • If there are significant closures as we fear, those charities won’t be coming back, and.
  • For others that are liquidating large amounts of reserves, restoring those will take years, with a commensurate impact on service delivery.
  • Our forecast for full sector recovery has moved from 2024 to 2025.

Read on

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