Creating a sustainable funding plan that works

Creating a sustainable funding plan that works

Sponsored by:

Julie Lawes: Catch Up Olof Williamson: NCVO

Overview

• What is sustainable funding?• The income streams – big picture…• Scanning and planning• NCVO Kite – structured thinking

• Catch Up’s experience

• What will you do?

What is sustainable funding?

• A principle• An approach• An ever-moving target?

Scanning and Planning

• What is going on out there?• How do you plan for it?

Funding strategy kite

1. Where are we?2. Where do we want to be?3. How do we get there?

Vision Mission Values

Income Spectrum options

Sun Tool improvements

Focused actions

Delegation and responsibilities

Funding goals

An independent charity:Working to address the problem of underachievement that has its roots in literacy and numeracy difficulties

www.catchup.org

Catch Up is a not-for-profit UK registered charity: 1072425Catch Up is a registered trademark

Catch Up Ltd is an endorsed charitable institute ABN: 62154644498

• Background to Catch Up• Creating a sustainable funding plan:

• Mixture of grants and earned income• Not chasing the money!• Planning products and market

development

Catch Up was established in 1998

Mission:

‘To address the problem of underachievement that has its roots in literacy and numeracy difficulties’

Sustainable Funding Plan

Structured one-to-one interventions for struggling readers and for learners who struggle with numeracy

Centred on 15 minute sessions delivered twice a week, targeted to the needs of the individual

Grounded in rigorous academic research and shown to be effective in schools (and other settings)

Realistic, practical and inexpensive

Catch Up Literacy Catch Up Numeracy


offers integrated training and resource packages to support the management and delivery of the Catch Up interventions

provides ongoing support, through the Catch Up Community, for those who deliver the Catch Up interventions to struggling learners

undertakes research into the development and enhancement of the Catch Up interventions, and into extending the support it provides to struggling learners

Catch Up is a not-for-profit charity that:


Number of Catch Up trainees and learners


Trainees


How many learners have been helped?


A Sustainable Funding Plan



• Mixture of grants and earned income

• Not chasing the money!• Planning products and market

development

Mixture of grants and earned income

The most important general principles are as follows:

The majority of our income has always come from sales of training and resources to schools and local authorities, in England and Wales.

In many ways we operate like a medium sized business with some commercial advantages in being a charity: some schools have said they prefer to buy training from a charity rather than a company; and all surpluses are reinvested in the charity core costs rather than required for dividends.



The price of the integrated training and resource packages is set in order to cover core costs after direct costs of providing those packages have been met, with most future developments being funded from other external sources.



The demand for training is hugely influenced by government initiatives and corresponding funding. The annual variations in numbers of trainees can, therefore, be greater than might be expected.

We control trainer costs and manage peaks of demand for training by the use of freelance staff (Catch Up Accredited Trainers) rather than permanent payroll employees.



In 2010-11 we were affected by changes in school level expenditure and in government spending at a local government level and demand for training fell

We made cost reductions 2011 (staffing, premises and resources)

We also extended our training resource package and increased its price in 2012



Not chasing the money!

Grant funding from organisations with an overlap of mission and goals

Not chasing the money!


Catch Up developments have relied largely upon:

Loan funding from Charity Bank and trustees (eg the amalgamation of age-related Catch Up Literacy programmes into one integrated training and resource package, creation of Digital Games).

Grant funding from organisations such as the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (eg the creation of Catch Up Numeracy)



Grant funding has also helped:

Accelerate the growth of Catch Up. For example, the Charles Dunstone Charitable Trust has provided a series of grants to help fund our marketing and communications.

Facilitate further research into Catch Up Literacy and Numeracy. (Two grants from the Education Endowment Foundation)



Planning products and market development

Ensured that products remain relevant within a changing national context

Appointed a lead marketing consultant – development of marketing plan

Planning products and market development


Next steps

Exploring potential partners to help further growth of Catch Up through:

Grants/loans and also consultancy expertise

……so that we can support many more learners who struggle with Literacy and Numeracy

Next steps??


An independent charity:Working to address the problem of underachievement that has its roots in literacy and numeracy difficulties

www.catchup.org



Your sustainability

Group work

•Current biggest source of income•Vulnerabilities•Opportunities•What action do you need to take?

What works and what doesn’t

• Early action – advocate• Sound planning• Taking opportunities• Planning for skills• Ambition• Realism

• Wait and see approach – year after year

• Disinvesting – it’s taken up enough time already

• Chasing the money• Wild targets

Zoology returns

Creating a sustainable funding plan that works

Economy & Finance

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