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Wellingborough, England, NN29 7EH
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+44 7802 957938
julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk
Consultancy services for the charity and not for profit sector. Strategy Development, fundraising, governance, collaborations and partnerships.
Stay up to date with developments in the sector and our latest thinking on issues affecting charities and social enterprises.
Our associate and colleague John Eary has recently published a new book: Agile Working And The Digital Workspace. I heartily recommend it for any organisation wanting to enhance efficiency and improve their services by taking advantage of new technologies.
Read MoreMy colleagues Andreas Conradi and Ivan Entchevitch, have recently published a case study on a Service Design workshop they led for my client, Music for My Mind, exploring how to harness technology to overcome key challenges in using personalised music to help people effected by dementia.
Read MoreOver the last two weeks I have delivered a series of seminars exploring a range of innovations in income generation for charities and social enterprises (particularly smaller organisations), hosted by Price Bailey Chartered Accountants. This blog gives an overview of what I covered, a link to the slides and summarises the results of audience polls conducted during my presentations.
Read MoreWith public authorities increasingly imposing contracts and funding agreements, the risks run by charities and social enterprises are increasing. A particularly significant risk relates to whether the funding is classed as a grant or a contract, which can have expensive consequences. This blog explores this issue in more detail, with some pointers on when to seek detailed advice to avoid getting caught out with a big bill long after you have spent the money.
Read MoreDementia destroys who we are and the relationships we hold dear. That’s why I’ve joined the Alzheimer's Research UK Cycling Down Dementia 2018 Pioneer Challenge. My target is to cycle 600 miles over this winter. Please help me raise much needed funding by giving through my fundraising page and by spreading the word by sharing my page with your friends and family. Thank you for your support.
Read MoreProject management is often shrouded in mystery and technical language and frequently made more complicated and burdensome than it needs to be. My experience with small and medium sized clients is that simpler approaches made on key principles are often more than good enough to deliver what the client needs. In this short article I explore this approach further hoping to show that simpler is possible.
Read MoreI am delighted to have been invited by Price Bailey Chartered Accountants to deliver a series of thought provoking seminars exploring a range of innovations in income generation for charities and social enterprises. These free seminars will take place on:
4 December 2018 (5 pm in London)
6 December 2018 (5 pm in Cambridge)
11 December 2018 (5 pm in London)
13 December 2018 (8 am in Norwich)
To book your place at one of these events please visit the Price Bailey seminars webpage . Places are going fast so book soon! I very much hope to meeting you at one of these events.
Read MoreDo you have a bright idea for how to help your community? Are you thinking about setting up a new charity to do this? Or have you been running a local voluntary group for a while? Should it be a registered charity? In this short article I explore the pros and cons of setting up a new charity and some of the alternatives you could consider for your idea or group.
Read MoreSince the financial crisis of 2008/9, the emphasis in governance debates has shifted from structural matters towards consideration of the impact of behaviour on the effectiveness of governance. Recen charity scandals show that the sector has no room for complacency in this regard. The July 2018 ICSA report Improving charity boardroom behaviours, builds on the Charity Governance Code to provide detailed guidance on appropriate behaviours in the governance of charities.
Charity mergers are increasingly common, almost always good for beneficiaries and often a lifeline for one or more of the merging charities. But they can be complex and almost always run into challenges at some point, more often than not during the post-merger integration phase. This blog briefly explores the reasons why challenges arise in charity mergers and what can be done to avoid or manage those challenges more effectively.
Read MoreWhile crowdfunding has grown dramatically as a source of funding for businesses and individuals it hasn’t yet really taken off in the charity sector. This blog argues that this is because it hasn’t been used for the right causes or in the right ways and offers a few tips on how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. While It isn’t a source of free money (there’s no such thing) I believe crowdfunding does have a place in charity fundraising.
Read MoreReceiving support from businesses can cause difficulties if the values or practices of the business conflict with those of your charity. Some charities will accept funding from any source on the basis that they can use it to do good. Most adopt an ethical stance and define the types of company they will not accept funding from. This blog provides a short introduction to how charities can navigate this minefield without it becoming all-consuming or bureaucratic.
Read MoreLogic Models and Theory of Change can be powerful tools for structuring your charity’s impact story. Most small charities have good outputs data but do not have much evidence that their intervention or activity makes a positive difference to beneficiaries and almost none have evidence of impact beyond immediate beneficiaries. A simple logic model can help plug these gaps without excessive cost. At Almond Tree Strategic Consulting, we frequently use a Logic Model or Theory of Change as a simple framework for developing cost-effective impact assessment frameworks.
Read MoreAfter more than a decade helping over 120 charities and social enterprises across the UK, we have published 5 case studies of our work, to celebrate the successes of five amazing clients and to help prospective clients get a practical understanding of the help we can offer. You can now read case studies on strategy development, fundraising and project management, governance reviews, charity mergers and charity incorporation.
Read MoreThe Charity Commission has just published the latest report in their series of independent studies exploring what aspects of public trust and confidence in charities. It makes interesting reading, not so much for what it says about levels of trust, but for its conclusions about the factors affecting public trust. There is a welcome emphasis on demonstrating impact but a worrying focus on showing that most of the money donated goes directly to the end cause, perpetuating the myth that charities can deliver high quality, safe and effective services on very thin (or even non-existent) overheads.
Read MoreMost of our clients are small to medium-sized charities and we love working with them. They deliver huge benefits with very limited resources and we salute them for that. It’s not just saying this. The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales has recently published independent evidence of the disproportionate value that small charities bring to society. The research, called The Value of Small, shows what many of us have known instinctively for years and we wanted to share it to help celebrate the amazing work that our clients and thousands of other smaller charities do every single day. Thank you to every one of you!
Read MoreWith rapid growth over the last 20 years in "earned income" as a source of funding, most charities should be thinking about growing earned income as an option to diversify their funding. But what is earned income? Is it really sustainable? Should your charity be looking to increase earned income? This blog briefly surveys some of the key issues for charities to explore when considering earned income ideas.
Read MoreBeing a charity trustee is a serious role, with important responsibilities. It should not be entered into lightly, nor is it something to be scared of. If trustees act in good faith and do everything reasonable to comply with their legal duties, the risks are low. But they do need to understand those duties. In some cases, trustees should consider changing the structure of their charity to reduce exposure to personal liabilities. This blog provides a high level overview of these issues to prompt trustees to think further about the risks they may be running.
Read MoreHave you got what it takes to join a dynamic and creative team working with communities across Somerset? The Community Council for Somerset (CCS) is looking for someone who is adaptable, motivated and excellent at engaging with people to make things happen in their communities.
Read MoreExciting new charity, Music for my Mind is recruiting for a Head of Strategy and Development, to provide and deliver the long-term strategic plan and budget to develop the charity., including driving fundraising opportunities, making grant applications and managing donors to ensure a sustainable income to deliver the long term strategic plan.
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