Assembly’s Voluntary Sector Scheme and the Funding Code of Practice: 1. Be Prepared

Collect together and review the terms of funding arrangements with public sector bodies. Identify and diarise key dates for funding reviews and renewals.

Trustees should be supplied with all necessary information to assess and manage risk of funding withdrawal. Ensure that appropriate financial recording and reporting procedures are in place. Supply your trustees with regular and accurate financial information and ensure that they review the solvency of the organisation on a regular basis.

Document all appraisals and evaluations undertaken by your funder. Record your achievements. Don’t give your funder the excuse of terminating an agreement on grounds of non performance. Be clear about your performance indicators and how your funder will evaluate performance. Collect and document the relevant evidence.

Network, find out what others have experienced.

Understand the Assembly Government’s Voluntary Sector Scheme and use it to your advantage. Contact your local CVC and WCVA with details of your experiences and concerns. These can be raised at the Partnership Council, at a relevant Ministerial meeting, or with the local authority body as appropriate. WCVA is keen to hear about your experiences.

Review and revise the governance of your organisation. The Charity Commission’s Big Board Talk sets out 15 key questions trustee boards need to ask. Big Board Talk can be downloaded from the Charity Commission website. It may be appropriate to introduce or revise performance and risk management procedures. Contact your local CVC and WCVA for details of relevant training courses which are now available.

It is generally accepted that public sector expenditure will decrease. A heavy reliance on public sector funding may increase an organisation’s risk.

• Can you access other income streams? Your local CVC and WCVA can offer advice on accessing funding from charitable trusts and foundations, and other sources. See also : www.sustainablefundingcymru.org.uk
• Can you share costs with other charities? The Charity Commission has recently produced two Toolkits that will help charities who are considering merging or collaborating with another charity. Both Toolkits are available to download from the Charity Commission website Choosing to Collaborate and Making Mergers Work

As the facts become clearer WCVA, aims to develop resources which will support the third sector.