If you’ve recently been unsuccessful with a grant application, “what do funders want?” is a question you might well be asking! Although funders will give feedback – and if they don’t you should ask for it – the truth is that often feedback is quite general. If a funder has a lot of applications, yours […]
Martin Wilkinson explains what the panel of the Step Change Fund looks for in funding applications. Each fund has its own criteria but Martin’s comments about resilience are worth paying close attention to, as they’re common to most funding applications. Step Change was set up in 2014 as a semi-autonomous fund sitting within Oxfordshire Community […]
In each issue, we introduce you to one of our mentors by telling you about their experience and giving you their answers to 3 questions, to include their own ‘top time-saving tip’. John May John is currently the Secretary General of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award; Chair of Trustees of Oxfordshire Scouts; National Trustee […]
How much time do organisations spend agonising over their ‘straplines’? And how much of an impact does a strapline really have? The strapline for Charity Mentors Oxfordshire is ‘clarify, explore, plan’. These 3 words, and the order in which they appear, sum up our approach to mentoring and the time spent by us agonising over […]
Celebrating 150 projects at our Charity Mentors breakfast in July, we hear from 3 previous mentees on why they engaged a Charity Mentor, how the experience went and what advice they would give to a future mentee. Find out if there were any surprises…John May interviews previous mentees: Jill Edge, Manager at The Sunshine Centre, […]
In each issue, we will introduce you to one of our Mentors by telling you a bit about their experience and giving you their answers to 3 questions, to include their own ‘top time-saving tip’. Annette Mountford Annette was originally a health visitor. Her work in mainly deprived areas led her to recognise the huge […]
‘Wow, this is really going to make a difference!’ That was the reaction of Chair, John Hullet, and Centre Leader, Amy Spicer from The Red Kite Family Centre after their first meeting with a Charity Mentor. The Red Kite Family Centre in Thame, is one of the 150 mentoring projects completed by Charity Mentors over […]
We’re busy analysing our feedback and other data to produce the next Charity Mentors Oxfordshire Impact Report (coming soon!). We’ve already noticed that a common issue that crops up for our Charity Mentors is that of financial resilience. Many charities and voluntary organisations feel their situation is quite the opposite – an almost permanent state […]
Ruth and Richard Kennell set up SOFEA (South Oxfordshire Food & Education Alliance) in 2014 to help disadvantaged young people aged 14-24. In only 5 years, they have helped 200 young people back into full-time education or progress to full-time employment and grown SOFEA to reach a turnover of £1 million. Charity Mentors’ Roz Warren […]
In each issue, we will introduce you to one of our Mentors by telling you a bit about their experience and giving you their answers to 3 questions, to include their own ‘top time-saving tip’?! Jens Tholstrup Jens is Managing Director of Oxford Investment Opportunity Network (OION), Development Director SQW Group and Senior Advisor, Oxford […]