The next in our Meet the Teams series introduces our Organisational Development team which is made up of Brenda and Louisa.
Find out more about their work below:
Can you give us an overview of your team and your main objectives?
Louisa and Brenda make up our Organisational Development team and our main aim is to support voluntary and community organisations in Kensington and Chelsea to be resilient and sustainable so that they feel confident in carrying out their work of supporting and empowering the local community.
How does your team support and collaborate with local voluntary and community organisations?
Our OD Team offers local charities, community groups and CICs 1:1 support, advice and information around:
• Looking for and applying for funding
• Developing plans and policies
• Writing funding plans and diversifying income
• Developing project ideas
• Demonstrating impact (showing how people and communities benefit from what they do)
• Organisational health checks
We also offer workshops designed to meet the specific needs and interests of member organisations, Meet the Funder sessions and networking events that provide a space for people to collaborate and to share their knowledge and experience.
Can you share an example of a recent project or initiative that demonstrates your team’s impact in Kensington and Chelsea?
Our training programme has developed members' knowledge and confidence in key areas including fundraising, management and finance, while our one-to-one support and advice has helped them to secure funding and plan for the future. Our Grant Fundraising for Beginners online workshop, for example, was oversubscribed this summer and we needed to put on an additional session to try and accommodate everyone. We will be running more fundraising sessions in 2025.
How does your team’s work contribute to KCSC’s mission of ‘Strengthening & championing local communities and our Voluntary and Community sector’?
Through a holistic mix of advice and support, capacity building training, health checks and networking opportunities, we help local organisations to thrive and, in turn, to strengthen and champion local communities.
Are there any upcoming initiatives or plans your team is excited about, and how will they benefit the community?
The OD team will be doing outreach advice events throughout the year. We are very excited about spending more time around the borough in various accessible venues. We started this in November by going to Chelsea World’s End and offering a fundraising surgery to our member organisations and it was well received.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about the work your team does?
Everyone knows that we support organisations by delivering a great training programme, but we can also help them identify their staff training needs as we have a wide knowledge of training providers in London. Get in touch if you would like support with this.
Looking ahead, what are some of the goals or priorities your team has set for the coming year?
We want to engage more with more of our members and will be increasing our presence at events throughout the borough and meeting organisations through our outreach work. We will also be prioritising offering member organisations health checks, which helps organisations go through their systems and procedures to help them plan better for the future.
Thanks, Louisa and Brenda!