A few members of NPC went to the Community Anchors: Fit for Purpose? conference last week in London, UK. The conference asked whether community organisations, multi-purpose organisations which serve the needs of people in deprived areas, are in a good position to survive the downturn. It discussed a number of interesting topics such as possible financing models for community organisations, how community organisations can build social capital, and how we can measure the impact of community organisations. Three UK based community organisations (Toynbee Hall, Community Links and Bromley by Bow Centre) gave very honest presentations about their limitations and ways they can improve.
The conference reiterated the importance of unrestricted funding, which NPC has written about. In Granting Success we talk about how unrestricted funding is useful for all charities, but something we might not have spelt out enough, is that it is especially useful for community organisations. Community organisations are valued because they are close to service users, and do whatever service users need and want. Funders praise this responsive, flexible and holistic approach. But if community organisations only have funding that is restricted to particular projects, they can’t be responsive to a new need amongst their clients, but instead have to apply to a funder and wait for more funding, which can easily take months.
Instead of funding endless innovative pilot projects, funders could instead give unrestricted funding to innovative organisations who are tackling social problems as they come up. This might be one way to ensure that funders get the most use out of their money as we head into tighter years for funding. Charities can make funders more comfortable with doing this by measuring their results and being honest about their problems. So, it was good last week to see charities examining if they are fit for purpose.
