Tris Lumley’s Post

Let's collectivise the social sector! 🎺 My last post about field building (rather than organisational capacity building) seemed to strike a chord with people. I'd still love you to share examples of interesting practice there if you have them. 🙃 But I'm interested in the flip side - what if the field decides to build the field, on its own impetus rather than funders'? 📉 This begs the question of whether that's possible: if the default business model for charities is not to have enough revenue to meet their objectives, how do they have enough time to organise collectively and work beyond individual organisational interests? 🚧 I don't take this question theoretically - I think it's a real and concrete barrier. I think if every charity were suddenly given 110% of their budget as unrestricted funding, then we might see much more of this happen. Just as we do in commercial organisations where surplus and profit enable development, innovation and yes, collaboration. 💡 But I also know that nonprofit and social enterprise leaders are an extremely resourceful bunch. Not having the resource to do something doesn't immediately mean they won't try anyway! ❓ So here's my question: who's building the field from the field side? Where are the examples of organisations coming together with a shared agenda and taking that collective approach out to the funding 'market'? And what can we learn from them about how to accelerate and support such collective efforts to build the Commons? 🫂 Who's trying to unionise the social sector? OK, the term unionise may be a bit of a stretch, but I feel comfortable using it in this context. When individual organisations come together to organise and structure for common purpose and the benefit of all the people they exist to serve, I see it as a form of unionisation and mutualism that acts against the fragmentary and isolating forces of competition for funding. Please share examples that are inspiring you! It would be great to be able to learn from all the fantastic work that's (hopefully?) going on out there, that I'm not aware of! Image credit Markus Spiske, Unsplash

Here are some insightful ways to engage rethinking about your overheads and pay in the NFP/Enterprise sector. As someone who has spent a lot of time working in the sector these conversations are pivotal and nessecary if we want to embed sustainable long term impact &equitable finances in our organisations and foundations. Thank you Social Ventures Australia & Centre for Social Impact for helping engage and reframe our lense in this sector 👏 #socialimpact #socialenyenterprise #payingwhatittakes #reframingoverheads

Are you part of the #PayingWhatItTakes conversation to empower charities to deliver the best possible outcomes for people and communities? Social Ventures Australia and the Centre for Social Impact published a seminal report in 2022 - Paying What It Takes - which showed that not-for-profits in Australia are underinvesting in critical capabilities, due to a pervasive belief that funders are reluctant to provide the full financial support needed to create impact.  https://lnkd.in/gs5YfxvB The SVA team and I are chuffed that the conversation has grown and grown since then! Check out these fantastic movements, resources, organisations and leaders who are contributing to this vital conversation. Follow them to learn and to find out how to get involved. 💡 Pay What it Takes - A movement committed to understanding what it actually takes to create impact, and paying for it. I recommend their great new interview series with Jo Taylor, Leah Armstrong, Sarah Davies AM and more to come. Masterclass at upcoming Philanthropy Australia Conference in Adelaide. https://lnkd.in/gg8BvGzV 💡 Reframe Overhead - Join 500 fundraisers from over 200 organisations that have committed to reframe overheads. I like advice like this: 📣 Focus on Accountability Over Administration, ✅ Highlight Effectiveness Over Capacity Building, 📊 Detailed Financial Breakdown, 💸 Impact of Fundraising, and 🖼 Visual Storytelling. https://lnkd.in/gRzA5zwJ 💡 Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission - Sue Woodward AM and her team recently released the latest analysis of ACNC data showing that in 2022 total revenue in the sector increased by $11 billion to a record high of just over $200 billion, but expenses increased by $22 billion in the same period. https://lnkd.in/gfRT7rrm Thanks for leading and empowering this Paul Ramsay Foundation, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI), ACOSS Australian Council of Social Service, The Smith Family, Our Community, Perpetual Limited and many, many more 🌟

Could your charity be earning more income through social enterprise? HERE'S THE POINT > Smaller charities are less likely to earn income through social enterprise. This is a missed opportunity for income generation. > Investing some time in thinking how 'enterprise' fits into your strategy may open up new income streams. > If you are a charity and want to think through how you might increase your income (and impact) through enterprise and trading, drop me a line. 1) WAYS TO EARN INCOME There are six main ways in which charities typically earn revenue through social enterprise: - retail - service delivery & consultancy - training & conferences - buildings hire, sharing, rentals - partnership with business - commercialisation of knowledge 2) STRATEGIC QUESTIONS FOR CHARITIES TO ASK Good questions to ask: 1 New MODEL? Could we deliver an existing activity in a more enterprising way? 2 New TUNE? Could we tune up an existing enterprise to improve its performance? 3 New ACTIVITY? Could we add a new activity to make the most of an enteprise opportunity? 3) HOW DO WE GET FROM HERE TO THERE? There are all sorts of issues to think through in relation to 'charities and enterprise' - governance, tax, opportunity costs and risks - but an experienced advisor can help you navigate these (and signpost you to complementary expertise where necessary). If you'd like to make progress on this issue, I can help you think through: > your enterprise options > the pros and cons of each one > how to make progress If you already have an enterprise, sometimes a review/second opinion can help you see things from a fresh perspective. If you would like to discuss this, please do get in touch (DM me) - I love helping people fix problems, I don't bite and my rates are reasonable!

🛠 Tools I use to do my job #1 GRIN (Grants Resources Information News) Over my many (many) years in fundraising I've used all kinds of different platforms to complete prospect research. For the past three years my favourite grant finding platform has undoubtedly been GRIN. GRIN is a small social enterprise. Access to the database is £60 for a year (or £100 for two) and that includes getting their daily funding bulletin emails. You get an updated database each month. Or they offer an email bulletin only membership which starts at £15 for a year. I love how affordable and easy it is to subscribe to GRIN. Combining what I find through GRIN with a good peruse of the Charity Commission website often provides me with just what I want to know. https://grin.coop/ (not affiliated, not an ad, I just love GRIN) #FundraisingTools #ProspectResearch #PipelineDevelopment #BuildingRelationships #Research

Not only in America - but this has also been happening in Australia in all jurisdictions for YEARS now. Social Ventures Australia (SVA) and the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) has found that not-for-profit organisations across Australia are, in general, not funded for the actual cost of what they do. The result is less effective operations and reduced impact. This not only decreases effectiveness, it increases risk as well – complying with regulations and funder requirements is, after all, an indirect cost. https://lnkd.in/gDRujwQg

Just because we’re all in the business of “doing good”, it doesn’t mean we can’t be ambitious and play big. If we want to drive change, we need to get strategic. This take on last week’s Labour conference by Nick Temple for Pioneers Post rang several bells. We see so many of the issues highlighted here reflected in the social value world – sticking with the bits we do well and rarely venturing into the messy grey areas, staying in our echo chamber with the same people, going over the same old debates with little real progress. There are a few brilliant people out there making an effort to shake things up, but it’s an uphill battle. Charities and social enterprises contribute an enormous amount to this country, representing 5% of the UK’s workforce and billions in turnover and investment. They deserve to have a bigger influence. This is a call to step up. But how to take that step? Or leap? Or shuffle? https://lnkd.in/eMxgY5ni

As many as 65 non-profit organisations (NPOs) have been registered so far on the #NSESocialStockExchange (SSE) platform. |Chitranjan Kumar https://lnkd.in/g7tH597t #NSESSE #nonprofitorganisations #SSEplatform #SocialStockExchange #NSECEO #socialexchange #fundraising

"The non-profit starvation cycle" As a regular donor to charities, I often want my donation to "go to the cause." However, as the CEO of a charitable foundation, I've experienced firsthand that running a charity costs the same as running a successful for-profit organisation. Attracting and retaining the right staff, investing to grow, maintaining knowledge, and renting premises are real challenges due to unrealistic expectations about overhead costs. This creates a sector starved of the funding required to create resilient NFPs capable of delivering long-term impact and addressing complex social issues. The article highlights something very important: --> "NFPs called out three flow-on issues from these effects: higher staff attrition due to low investment in training and staff mental health, limited ability to collaborate due to limited resources and time, and reduced strategy development and strategic capacity." <-- This is a powerful reminder that to make a real impact, we must build a better case for funding our organisations and looking after our people adequately. Not at the expense of the cause but FOR the cause. Read the full article here: [Paying What It Takes to Create Impact] https://lnkd.in/gbSfpu23

You get what you pay for. If you invest in impact, you get results. But as so many of us working in the for-purpose sector know there is an expectation that our organisations will pay staff less than equivalent roles in the private sector, offer less training, use cheap-and-cheerful IT systems, do no marketing, etc etc etc. Research indicates that under-funded organisations are in fact LESS effective and efficient with the money they receive. Underfunding and refusing to fund indirect costs is actually causing philanthropic, corporate, and Government funds to get less bang-for-buck. It's not all doom and gloom. At Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance we are working with a funder who recognises the value in funding the full cost of the projects they are covering and are working with us to help us evaluate and demonstrate our impact. We hope more funders, including the Government, follow the evidence and pursue this approach.