I have just signed up for an excellent one-day conference aimed at helping charities overcome some of the huge challenges they face today in order to survive.
I am attending in my role as chair of trustees for Headway Cambridgeshire, which 
supports those with an acquired brain injury, and their carers.
Surely never before has the need for charities been greater, particularly those aimed at helping the most vulnerable sections of our community, including battered wives and abused children, the disabled and our increasing elderly population. Let’s not forget the soaring demand for financial advice provided by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, often a first stop for those in debt who don’t know where else to turn.
This conference is really timely: those charities that didn’t sink from the Iceland bank collapse today face considerable competition for grant funding. Many charities are losing out financially because Lottery funding which they previously used is being diverted to pay for the London 2012 Olympics.
As a trustee, I have a huge responsibility to Headway Cambridgeshire to ensure it remains financially secure and continues to provide value for money for its service users. Many charities are a vital lifeline and their survival is crucial.
This article asks the right question: if the government can bail out the banks, who is going to bail out the charities? Isn’t it in our interest as a society to save them?
The conference has a great line up of speakers. I shall be thrilled to meet Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow, whose refusal to wear a poppy on air led to me making my TV debut! He is its keynote speaker.
There will also be UK and USA experts providing advice on the strategic use of charity communications to maximise incomes. It is designed to help charities to make news, mobilise support, raise funds and campaign effectively. Knowledge in all these areas is crucial in order to survive.
Full details of the speakers can be seen on this link.
The conference is being held on Wednesday, 18 March at Central Hall, Westminster and costs £146. Anyone interested can sign up here.
A good point. I can see the charities suffering in these difficult times.
That’s a very good question: who will bail out the charities? I look forward to hearing how the conference goes, Ellee.
I know the charities are beginning to struggle and are having to cut back with their services etc.
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So nice to see you blogging regularly again Ellee! I hope 2009 is full of success for you.
I think they’re facing a dreadful situation… but I wish they would not place uniformed-up, be-clipboarded middle-class muggers on our every highstreet accosting us whenever we try and dive into WH Smiths… “not for money; just for an address” (to send demands for money)
to be frank I cannot understand how the govt’s being so flaky they propose giving yet another multibillion pound tranche to the banks, this time on condition they spend it properly and do what they were expected to do with the first lot: ie be more solvent and return to making loans e.g. to keep the nation’s small businesses afloat.
if I were in power I’d give them not a penny more and furthermore put screws on them saying “if you do not use this money as we all assumed you would, being open-hearted reasonable people, then we, as the Government shall simply change the law and shackle you with so many new obligations you won’t know what hit you ~ haha!
Professional charities will be the only employers left in Britain.
Who’s going to man the soup kitchens ???
Sounds as though it will be really interesting.
Ellee: Thank you for stopping by. It is always an Honor for me to have you and to stop here. I must say that your sensitivity to the needs of the community endear you to the plight of so many. We are witnessing devastation on a grand scale here in terms of job losses in the tens of thousands each week. I salute you for all of your involvement and the leadership and sound heart you bring in helping arrive at real solutions during this time of turmoil when so many lives are hit hard. lol! 🙂
Good on ya Elle
I think charities like Headway are great
And yes if government can bail out banks it should be able to bail out charities, especially those which are vital and should ultimately be (wholly) part of the NHS
But alas with the NHS increasingly privatised, we do not so much see efficiencies or economies of scale, but rather increasing costs to pay for ‘profit’
However, ultimately when someone needs £100,000 for an operation and/or treatment, I always somehow feel that the surgeons & staff should be doing it for free – if it really were a charity.
Were I a brain surgeon, I’d somehow feel embarrassed if someone had to raise money thru charity to pay my high(er) wages. But I guess it is easier said than done.
[…] tomorrow I shall be wearing my charity hat and attending a conference in London which will highlight the threat to charities of the current economic downturn. One of the […]
[…] went to Action Planning’s annual conference last year and found it very helpful and met some really interesting people, including broadcaster Jon Snow. […]