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Good for Girls Programme

Supporting 11-14-year-old girls to develop healthy relationships, skills and resources to maintain positive mental health.

Providing a safe space for young girls to boost their self-confidence, self-empowerment and discuss mental health.

• Engage in talking circles to express your thoughts and feelings.
• Work together in a group on a new social action project.
• Join a range of art and sports activities such as yoga, football, tie-dye, digital graphics
and much more.
• Get the chance to attend a 2 day residential and become a ‘Wellbeing Ambassador’ for
our organisation!


Good for Girls is helping youth clubs become mental health hubs to extend mental
health support for young women outside of school. Apply | Learn more

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Community Takeover: Power Plants – Community Open Week at Kew

7 – 11 May 2022
11am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm

Discover the power of plants we eat and grow your own microgreens to take home with you. This workshop is led by Paulette Henry, master grower at Black Rootz, the UK’s first multigenerational black-led community growing project. Book at the welcome tent near Victoria Gate. Learn more

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Insights into the Lived Experience of Black-led Impact Organisations

Black-led social impact organisations operate in an environment of structural inequalities and a brand new report by Do it Now Now’s initiative Centre Black explores the lived experience of management and staff at Black-led impact organisations within the UK’s voluntary sector. Early this year, Centre Black conducted a study to explore the lived experience of management and staff at Black-led impact organisations within the UK’s voluntary sector. Learn more

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Free Workshops For Women

The Labyrinth Project, led by Solace Women’s Aid, has launched a programme of free workshops for women and training for professionals in the voluntary sector working with women, that we are eager to share with your network.

The range of free training and workshops seeks to strengthen the skills and knowledge of both women and organisations supporting them. All sessions take place online and existing knowledge is not necessary.  The training and workshops are delivered by three expert organisations:

Working Chance 
Working Chance provides training for professionals and volunteers, as well as group workshops for service users focused on employability. Topics covered include practical advice such as CV and interview techniques, disclosing criminal convictions, and workplace skills. Sign up here. 

Surviving Economic Abuse   
Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) delivers training and online workshops for professionals, volunteers and service users on debt, finances, and economic abuse along with online support guides. Additionally, SEA provides access to the Financial Support Line, which provides general money advice to those residing in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Sign up here. 

Rights of Women   
Rights of Women delivers training to professionals supporting women survivors of domestic abuse on a range of legal topics, including sexual harassment in the workplace, coercive control, and family law legal aid. Sign up here. 

The next upcoming workshop will be next Tuesday 26th April and supports women to develop their interview skills: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/292472221287

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New FREE Images Showing Older & Disabled People Getting Active

The Centre for Ageing Better and Get Yourself Active have launched a publicly accessible collection of 300+ free photos depicting older and Disabled people getting active!

Ageing Better created the age-positive image library as a way of showing ‘positive and realistic’ images of people aged 50 and over. The library provides an alternative to commonly used pictures, which are often offensive and unrepresentative.

Ageing Better is urging the public to use these new photos to challenge negative stereotypes. Find out more.

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Donate To Feed Ukraine

Find out how you can help here

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10 Tips to Survive Hard Times in Business – Post Covid19

The past few years has affected every business in so many ways. Any business can be prone to tough times but how do you survive those difficult times and whether through the storm post Covid 19? It is crucial to ‘be prepared’ just like the boy scouts would say.

So what steps can you take to be prepared as a business.

Below are ten useful tips that have proven useful to many businesses in these extraordinary times.

1) Cash Flow Management

Making sure your customers are invoiced regularly and promptly is key to maintaining a healthy cash flow. Needless to say it is vital to chase up all late payments to ensure credit terms are not exceeded. Similarly, expenses have to be kept in check to avoid unnecessary spending. A good bookkeeping/accounting system should be in place to keep track of both income and expenditure

2) Credit Control

All credit customers must be credit checked to avoid bad debts and high-risk customers. If their business fails it will most definitely affect yours. The same goes for suppliers as well. You need reliable suppliers to avoid letting down your own customers.

3) Cutting Costs

Look for areas of wastage in the office such as paper usage and consider going paperless or by using cloud solutions. Also review energy consumption, internet and telephone providers. Is it possible to switch to a cheaper provider without losing quality? 

Staffing costs can also be reviewed to increase efficiency or promote working from home, part-timing and flexi-working. All these could reduce costs in the long run.

4) Marketing Strategy

There is a temptation to cut down on marketing during difficult times but the truth is there is a lot of competition out there. You cannot therefore afford to cut-down on marketing but you can consider switching to a more effective marketing system that best suits your business.

5) It is good to talk                                                

In difficult times, the temptation is to keep mute and under the radar. The reality is you must keep in touch with your bank, suppliers, customers and employees. They can help you identify problems before they arise, and also help them feel confident in your business. It is good to talk.

6) Get Online Get Noticed

It goes without saying that a business with no internet presence is planning its own funeral. The internet can be an inexpensive way of advertising your company. Websites, twitter, Facebook, monthly newsletters, WhatsApp, Instagram can all help promote your business. Keep them updated and you could be in for a pleasant surprise!

7) Pricing

A regular review of your pricing to make it more competitive can help you maximise your profits and stay competitive.

8) Spend wisely

Avoid the temptation to buy on impulse things that you probably do not need or may never use in your business. Sometimes what you have currently can do the job just as well. Leasing equipment can be a useful way of buying new without splashing out too much. Besides the costs are all tax deductible.

9) Expand Your Customer/Supplier Base

It is always a good idea not to put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure that as with a wider customer base, you also have a range of suppliers. That way you are not vulnerable to the whims of a particular supplier or customer for that matter.

10) Don’t Wait, get assistance now

Finally, don’t wait until things have reached a crisis point. At times like this you need an ally that can help with planning and putting the right structure in place.

We at Maisanda & Co Chartered Management Accountants are ready and willing  to work with you and your business to identify any areas of concern for effective resolution and regular monitoring. We specialize in SMEs and have a vibrant team based in Sobus, Freston Road Hub, Kensington.

Please feel free to contact us for all your accounting, payroll, tax and business advisory needs.

Article written by: Ily Maisanda ACA, ACMA, CGMA, M.Sc. CEO, Maisanda & Co

ily@maisanda.com

Tel: 02089613888

You will be able to download lots of free business advice and subscribe to our monthly newsletter from our website.

https://www.maisanda.com

You can also download our FREE Maisanda & co app on both apple and android.

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Fuel Poverty in H&F, by Sharon Tomlin, Sobus Community Organiser

The impact of fuel poverty today is wide reaching across households in the UK as energy bills as of April 2022 have faced huge increase for most. The picture is no different for residents living in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham that is now considered part of the nationwide cost of living crisis.

According to the organisation, “End Fuel Poverty” the definition of fuel poverty is “the condition by which a household is unable to afford to heat their home to an adequate temperature”

Residents of Hammersmith and Fulham have been sharing the concerns and challenges in meeting living costs and the impact both personally and within families. The choice between heating and food has revealed the huge gaps – decrease in income whether from being lower paid or changes in welfare benefits for those facing fuel poverty. Below are some thoughts shared.

  • Pre-payment meters: feeling ashamed when purchasing fuel top ups on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis as many are on fuel debt repayment plans that are on higher rates to those paying through the standing orders or direct debit
  • Contacting energy suppliers: feeling helpless and disempowered when trying to contact suppliers and not being able to get through. Phone calls are costly especially when calling from a PAYG mobile phone.
  • Most reported poor living conditions in properties that are fuel inefficient with problems such as damp, moulds and general poor insulation
  • Tariffs: residents reported that tariffs ought to be fairer in that many are not equitable to especially to those that are on pre-payment meters owing to the imposition of higher costs
  • Debt repayment: to consider changing the way debt is taken to be more proportionate for those on pre-payment meters with a repayment plan who experience paying more when topping up with less energy that last for the week

The stories kindly shared by residents of Hammersmith and Fulham have suggested that dialogue ought to be continued as this has highlighted the need to involve community more widely to engage the experiences of those organisations supporting residents from the frontline. Sobus plans to do so.

Current support available to residents in the borough include:

 

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Important News If You Hold AGM or Trustee Meetings Online, by Sue Spiller, Sobus CEO

The Charity Commission says charities need their governing documents to permit them to hold official meetings remotely.

Since April 2020, the regulator has allowed charities in England and Wales to hold meetings remotely outside of what was permitted in their official documents because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the commission has updated its online guidance for charities on Covid-19 to say that charity meetings such as AGMs, member or trustee meetings must be held in person unless the organisation’s governing documents permit otherwise.

All registered charities will need to ensure that their governing documents permit them to hold official meetings remotely if they wish to continue doing so after 22nd April 2022.  

H&F registered charities are strongly encouraged to check their governance document to see whether it includes that meetings can be held remotely.  

 

Paul Latham, director of communications and policy at the Charity Commission, said: “We’ve taken a flexible and supportive approach to regulation during the pandemic, being understanding when charities have had to hold meetings outside of the terms of their governing document.

“As restrictions have been lifted it’s right that charities return to meeting the requirements of their governing document or making the necessary changes to allow them to hold meetings in the way that works best for them.”

Submitting returns to the Charities Commission:

The regulator said it also wanted to remind charities that they no longer had an automatic right to apply for a Covid-related filing extension for annual documents, which was introduced during the pandemic.

The ability for charities to do this was removed last year, meaning charities must again submit their annual returns within 10 months of the end of the financial year, but the commission said it was still receiving applications from charities for such extensions.

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