Our Support to Groups

Our three sites in Sleaford. Lincoln and Gainsborough offer services to support community and voluntary sector groups, clubs, charities and organisations in the west area of Lincolnshire.

We offer advice, information, training and resources for anyone involved with community and voluntary organisations, whether you are a trustee of a charity, part of a management committee, a volunteer or a paid member of staff.

If you’re interested in setting up a new charity or project, or need help finding funding, or need any other help to grow and develop your group or idea, contact our Groups Development Officer, Mr. Jody Raggo, on jody@voluntarycentreservices.org.uk.

Setting up a new group

If you have an idea for a charitable or community project, we can offer one to one advice on:

• Finding out if there is a need, and proving it.
• Setting clear aims and objectives.
• Choosing the right legal structure and business model.
• Budgeting.
• Constitutions, governing documents and roles of committee members.
• Raising funds and generating other income.
• Involving volunteers and other people who can help.
• Organising meetings and running your group.
• Planning ahead.
• Assessing risk.
• Handling the finances.
• Measuring success, monitoring and evaluation.

Getting the basics right will help to prevent problems arising in the future. Our Project Officer is experienced in running community-based groups and projects, and has access to a wide range of templates, toolkits and other practical resources such as policy templates, examples of constitutions and other governing documents so you don’t have to ‘re-invent the wheel’.

We can help you make sure your committee members fully understand their roles and responsibilities and can comply with appropriate legislation. Please contact your nearest centre to arrange an appointment with our Project Officer.

Funding Advice

We provide advice and resources to help community organisations:

• Search for grant funding schemes that suit your needs
• Understand and meet funders’ eligibility criteria
• Write a realistic plan and budget
• Complete, review and evaluate funding applications
• Get a constitution and/or appropriate policies in place
• Set up basic financial procedures
• Find out about public sector tendering opportunities
• Look at other ways to maximise your group’s income, such as using gift aid and other tax-efficient methods or running trading activities / fundraising programmes.

We also offer the opportunity to meet potential funders at fairs and events, and run training workshops on funding and income generation.

We also manage a dedicated table showcasing Funding Opportunities and other information around Grant News and how to sign up to our dedicated Funding Newsletter here.

https://lincolnshirevolunteering.org.uk/find-funding/