Subsidised Workshops Help Strengthen BOP Community Groups

Did you know that BayTrust helps community groups in 8 more ways than just giving out grants? This article provides an example.

BayTrust is keen to support community organisations in other ways beyond giving out financial grants.

Building the capacity of an organisation or not-for-profit group so they can operate more effectively is also a key focus.

That’s why BayTrust offers subsidised workshops run by Kerri Tilby-Price from Exult.

Taupo Shoestring Marketing Workshop

BayTrust’s community development advisor, Terri Eggleton, says learning how to effectively run an organisation and raise additional funds are key skills which people need help to master.

“Supporting capacity development strengthens the people who attend, which strengthens the organisations they belong to, which strengthens the outcomes they’re trying to achieve and deliver to the Bay of Plenty community,” Terri says.

Subsidised Workshops

Over the past three years, hundreds of local organisations have benefitted from Kerri’s expertise and learnt how to improve the business-side of their operation thanks to BayTrust’s subsidy scheme.

Choose 3 Words to Describe Your Workshop Today

The full-day Exult workshops for community staff and volunteers cost just $50 per head instead of the normal $120 fee.

“The subsidy helps make the workshops more affordable and puts it within their reach,” Terri says. “We’re happy for any type of not-for-profit group to go along as long as their organisation or group is helping people in the Bay of Plenty.”

Five Key Topics

Kerri from Exult says there are five different subsidised workshops on offer this year including Sustainable Funding to help groups develop a long-term funding plan, and Shoestring Marketing which explores cost-effective ways of promoting services in the community.

Three new topics for 2015 include the Secret of Sponsorship, Self-Management for Non-Profit Leaders, and Managing Staff and Volunteers.

“It’s one thing to get ideas via our sustainable funding workshop to generate more funding but that’s only part of the picture,” Kerri says. “They also need to be able to manage staff and volunteers to put those ideas in place.

“In the not-for-profit sector you often get paid to work 20 hours and end up working 60. So it’s also really important people learn to self-manage, set boundaries and manage priorities so you don’t burn out.”

Kerri says the Secret of Sponsorship workshop covers the whole process of approaching and securing corporate sponsorship which is a key funding stream for many community groups.

“As grants get tighter and tighter, people are having to look at other ways to do things. Corporate sponsorship was hit hard in the recession but businesses are coming out the other side of that now and saying ‘how can we help in our community?’ So the time is right for organisations to really look at it to get some viable funds.”

Strength In Numbers

Kerri says BayTrust’s subsidy provides a valuable opportunity for many organisations who might not otherwise be able to afford to come to an Exult workshop.

“People who would have only sent one person can now afford to send two or three people. And that means the whole organisation is working on the same page rather than one person coming back and trying to explain everything.

Tauranga Governance Workshop

“It’s one thing to pass out money, but BayTrust is actually helping organisations use that money as effectively as possible which is terrific.”

ENDS

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