‘Listening and Learning Together – the IVAR podcast‘ explores some of the knotty challenges facing the voluntary sector.
Hosted by Ben Cairns, Director at IVAR, in each episode we listen to different perspectives, and learn together about how best to deliver for communities and causes across the UK.
How is the dominance of short-term grants preventing charities from providing quality services? Multi-year funding provides a vital alternative in the funding mix and in this episode of Listening and Learning Together, we hear why.
IVAR’s Director Ben Cairns is joined by Co-op Foundation’s Charlotte Wilson, Emma Goldthorpe of the Eric Wright Charitable Trust and Lindsay Oliver, Founder of New Beginnings Peer Support.
In IVAR’s report “time to end the dominance for short term grants”, we learned that charities are calling out for revisions to the way in which funding is given, in order to enable them to do their best work.
Whilst short-term funding has a place, Ben and his guests discuss the negative impacts upon charities and their beneficiaries of working for repeated short-term bids.
The group shares consensus on how multi-year funding can improve security, retention and wellbeing of quality staff, whilst allowing smaller charities to grow more, gather powerful data and respond flexibly to emerging needs.
They discuss how multi-year models can help improve relationships throughout the chain, from communications with the funder all the way through to beneficiaries, building trust that the charities will be there to support their causes long term.
So what are the barriers to increasing multi-year funding and how can we move forward collectively?
Over 145 funders are signed up to IVAR’s Open and Trusting Grant-Making initiative. You can find out more here.
The Guests
Charlotte Wilson is Funding and Partnerships Manager at The Co-op Foundation.
Emma Goldthorpe is Head of Finance and Governance for the Eric Wright Charitable Trust, which provides grant funding to registered charities in the North West of England and South Lakeland area.
Lindsay Oliver is CEO of New Beginnings Peer Support, an after crisis domestic abuse service for women and their children operating primarily in Harrogate and Craven areas of North Yorkshire, as well as some services across the country.
Ben Cairns is co-founder and director of the Institute for Voluntary Action Research, where he leads work on open and trusting grant-making. He has over 35 years’ experience of working in and researching social change organisations and their funders.
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Music Credits: RA on Uppbeat
