Slides from presentation given to members of Charity Leaders Group run by PEM and Pure 26 Feb 2020

1. Some thoughts on
collaboration

2. CCVS is a registered charity set up
to champion and support community
and voluntary groups, and promote
volunteering across Cambridge City,
South Cambridgeshire and Fenland.

4. The skills that local charities are most interested in are IT, strategic planning,
fundraising and leadership through trustee roles.
What we found
Business employees with specialist professional skills have heavy demands on
their time, so to engage them, volunteering needs to be more appealing and
flexible.
Businesses are motivated to engage in skilled volunteering as it develops staff
leadership skills, builds community links, aids employee retention and supports
employee health and well-being.
Unskilled team volunteering activities, are popular with businesses because they
are appealing to employees, but these activities are resource intensive
for charities and are regarded by most as not delivering direct benefit,
Relationship management is crucial to successful partnerships between
businesses and charities. Skilled volunteering is most likely to arise out of an
existing relationship.

5. Conclusions
This research has to lead
to change
To achieve this we will
need:
Funding and resources
Champions from all camps
New ways of working
A shared vision for better
communities

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
These fall into three distinct
areas
Enlighten
For relationships to happen, there has to be
an understanding from both parties about
how the other party works, what drives them
and what motivates them.
Engage
Once there is greater understanding of
business in the charity sector, and of
charities in the business sector, then we have
to develop ways to bring them together to
build relationships
Enable
To work effectively, it is essential that the
necessary skills and resources are in place
for charities to make the most of
opportunities.

7. ‘We think of charities
as equal business
partners -
we gain as much from
the relationship as they
do.’
‘There is a massive appetite
among our colleagues to use
their skills to benefit others.
People get a great deal of
satisfaction from helping local
community projects and at the
same time they can gain new
skills.’‘Employees get a buzz from
helping people and some relate
to the charity as parents. It
gives them perspective and
links them more closely to the
local community.’
staff have
‘a real sense of personal
wellbeing, a sense of a
difference being made and of a
team being brought together.’

8. Rebalancing the
relationship

9. Why this research was
started
The rise of commissioning
At local and national government level
there has been a rise in commissioning
and outsourcing.
Impact of austerity of small charities
All the research shows that small
charities have had funding streams
across all areas disproportionately cut
due to the impact of austerity.
Fears expressed by small charities
Small charities worried about issues
including unsustainable payment models,
concerns about losing control and identity,
or the appropriation of ideas

10. Every sin is the
result of
collaboration
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

11. Is Competition bad?
www.ccvsblog.wordpress.com/2019/08/01/is-competition-bad/

13. Thank You
&
Questions
Contact Us
cambridgecvs.org.uk
01223 464696
enquiries@cambridgecvs.org.uk
twitter.com/CambridgeCVS
linkedin.com/in/mark-freeman-
charities/