Impact Report SPREADS 121223 - Flipbook - Page 16
Management Consultancy in action
Families in Grief was founded to
provide bereavement support to
children and families in North Devon
and Torridge over the phone, face to
face, as bereavement champions in
schools and via a range of support
lea昀氀ets online. In 2023 the charity
supported 123 families and 188
individual children and young people.
Families in Grief approached Cran昀椀eld Trust for
assistance in developing a strategic development
plan for the next two to three years, and for advice
and guidance on growth and strategy. The strategic
development plan was to include an income generation
plan that would help to improve the charity’s
sustainability in the long-term by diversifying sources
of income and focussing on unrestricted income
to reduce reliance on grant funding.
After discussing the needs of the charity to fully
understand the support it needed, it was agreed the
project would be a Sustainability Review to cover all
aspects of the organisation’s future operations and
growth, not just fundraising. It would also deliver an
action plan to achieve the transition of the charity from
its current position to a more sustainable model, backed
up by raising funds from a diverse range of income
sources. This will support the charity’s future strategic
growth so that it is available to its bene昀椀ciaries for many
years to come. Devon based volunteer consultant Paul
was identi昀椀ed as having the right skills and experience
and was matched to the charity to work directly with the
CEO Naomi Jefferies.
Naomi and Paul met regularly and tracked their progress
throughout the project using an action plan with set
dates to review progress.
As Naomi added,
“with the best will in the world – you are
pulled from pillar to post in a small charity
and don’t always have this time to focus
and properly re昀氀ect.”
Naomi appreciated having a local volunteer, living in the
area and understanding the locality, but also with a much
wider management view, as it helped her to think about
what is possible without being unrealistic or playing too
safe.
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