The future of the Third Sector – How the South West is pioneering change

In this special episode of TBE Talks we focus on the Third Sector and how the South West is a pioneer for change.

TBE Talks host and professional broadcaster Graham Seaman, talks to Anita Jaynes, Founder of The Business Exchange, and special guests Miles Lloyd of Bath's 3SG (Third Sector Group), Gill Freeman, Head of Charity and Not-For-Profit at Milsted Langdon and Louise Harvey,  Executive Director of The Foundation Fund at St John’s Foundation.

Find out more about what's happening in the charity sector in our region and learn more about The Business Exchange South West Charity Conference & Expo which connects businesses, charities and not-for-profits for success.

To find out more about The Business Exchange email: press@tbesw.co.uk

Transcript

TBESW Podcast - Third Sector Special (Ver 1.0) 

[00:00:04] GRAHAM Welcome to this latest podcast from the Business Exchange South West. I'm Graham Seaman. And this time we're going to meet some of those companies and individuals from our business community who’re actively involved in collaborating to support and help charities.

CLIP - MYLES Harnessing goodwill of local people is really what has made us very unique, and we've been able to definitely punch above our weight in the last couple of years.

CLIP - GILL And obviously the pandemic made everybody quite aware of what charities do. And the expectation I think in the wider general public is the charities do pick up the slack where maybe central government or other services don't.

CLIP - LOUISE The heart of everything that we're doing is the fact that we want to be able to give back and really helped to support societal change in our area.

[00:00:47] GRAHAM The third sector, which is all about non-profit and voluntary services, is something which Anita Jaynes, Founder of the Business Exchange South West, has a real passion for, especially when it comes to improving the ways in which charities and service providers connect with each other. Shortly, we'll be hearing more from our guests who will be giving us insights into their work within this sector and hearing about why it's important to them, and could be for you too. 

[00:01:13] ID The Business Exchange South West Podcast.

[00:01:16] GRAHAM Anita Hello. It's lovely to see you again. 

[00:01:19] ANITA You too Graham

[00:01:19] GRAHAM So tell us, Anita, why this podcast is important to you?

[00:00:54] ANITA Well, I'm really excited to be working on this podcast with you specifically, Graham, because my story with working with the charity and not for profit sector starts around the same time that I met you. And my passion from the third sector really did begin back when I was 17/18. First of all, I volunteered as a community service volunteer on the Swindon and Wiltshire CSV Action Desk, which was based within the BBC building in Old Town Swindon, and learnt so much about the community and its needs.  As a result of working on the CSV action desk, I worked on local Children In Need events, as you know, for four years and it was a real eye opener, visiting projects and seeing deprivation I'd never witnessed before. And we would often go off to Children In Need projects together and see what was happening on the ground. And it really is quite shocking sometimes the things that we're just getting on with our own lives that we wouldn't necessarily see. But being involved in charities and some of the amazing work that does happen on the ground really gives you an understanding that you would never normally have. 

[00:02:08] GRAHAM And of course, another person who we worked alongside with was Dave Latham. 

[00:02:13] ANITA Yes, I worked very closely with our mutual friend David, who actually headed up Children In Need events in our area at the time. He'd previously been Head of Community affairs for BT and was really passionate about connecting businesses and charities for good. And he worked as a mentor and really supported me, he didn't have to, and really did inspire me in lots of ways in my work throughout my life up until this point.  Yeah, working alongside Dave, I really learnt the power of the two worlds of charity and business coming together for good and how infectious it is. 

[00:02:50] GRAHAM Now clearly I've mentioned you've got a real passion for the third sector. Why were you so determined to give this such a focus, though, in terms of what you do? 

[00:02:59] ANITA  Sure, so when I launched the Business Exchange, which was nine years ago this year, I was determined to find a space to support the third sector. From the beginning, we have had positive business pages in print and online, which are dedicated to sharing local charity appeals and how organisations are supporting the sector through fundraising or giving back in other ways. So inspiring others from the stories of how local businesses and organisations are supporting charities in the region. 

[00:03:29] GRAHAM And how pioneering is all that in the south west when it comes to not for profits and the way that they actually work? 

[00:03:36] ANITA Through my work, it's become really apparent that the South West is particularly unique and pioneering with many charities and organisations that support not for profits in really innovative ways. Many of the charities and service providers are really not as well connected as they should be. They work in silos. That was where some ideas of how I could pull people together through the Business Exchange started and how the idea for the Business Exchange South West Charity Conference came about. I started having conversations with key people working in the sector and people that might be able to make it happen. And thanks to the support of our founding sponsors, Milstead Langton and Stone King, the South West Charity Conference has grown from 100 people in a room at the Apex Hotel in Bath in 2019 to over 500 people this year with an exhibition element that's been added for the last few years. So is amazing to see how it's grown even though we've had the lockdowns and we innovated and we had one year, but we did a conference and expo online using HOPPIN, but we still continue to grow it now that we've come out of those. So, it shows that the appetite is there and it's something that's really needed in the community. 

[00:04:51] GRAHAM Well, we know it works, but how does it make you feel to have achieved that? 

[00:04:55] ANITA I'm really proud of what we've achieved so far, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't want to do better each time and really make even more of an impact. And it's really amazing when you hear the stories of the charities and the businesses that have connected as a result of the events and their work, whether it's collaboration, money that's been raised, there's lots of ways that people can support, it's not just the fundraising element. And if all of a sudden we have somebody that's working as a financial controller for the business or something like that or for the charity as a result of the conference, that's what gets me excited. 

[00:05:33] GRAHAM Obviously, working together collaboratively as you've spoken about, is clearly the way forward. I mean, how would you like to see this develop over, say, the next five or ten years? 

[00:05:41] ANITA I think that now more than ever, there is a societal need with a huge demand, the charity and not for profit services. And in my opinion, it's only through collaboration that we're all going to succeed and that with all of the challenges that we have financially at the moment, with things getting tighter, everybody going after the same pot, I think we're going to see a lot more collaborative working and we need to change some conversations around that to make people who don't think that way start thinking that way. 

[00:06:13] GRAHAM Okay, Anita, well, we'll come back and talk more with you a little bit later towards the end of this podcast. So let's meet the first of our guests today, Myles Lloyd, who's Project Manager at 3SG, the Bath and North East Somerset Third Sector Group, which has gained a reputation for its pioneering approach. 

[00:06:30] MYLES We essentially are here to support the third sector.  Really we're here to support them in any way that we can so we run lots of events for them. And throughout the year there's sometimes workshops, sometimes networking events. We also provide 1 to 1 support. How to grow your organisation, advocate on a regional level as well. There's a lot that we do, but we're also not always well known. 

[00:06:54] GRAHAM Miles What are the current challenges, do you think, for charities and not for profit organisations? It's a pretty tough world out there, but what are you seeing? 

[00:07:01] MYLES Funding is always a challenge for many organisations and particularly off the back of the pandemic. There was a real shift from traditional fundraising lots of charities relied on to then looking at getting more funds from grants and trusts. Getting individuals to donate, particularly during a sort of cost of living crisis, is another challenge. So there's a lot around that sort of fundraising work. The big challenge is actually looking to sort of innovate in many charities is sort of looking at how they can diversify their income stream in terms of potentially adopting more of a social enterprise model, looking what they can sell and looking at sort of trading income. So that's kind of a new area. Also staffing in the charity sector, there's a high turnover of staff at the moment, recruiting the right people. 

[00:07:49] GRAHAM How unique is what 3SG does? You aware of other people in the third sector group doing this kind of thing? 

[00:07:56] MYLES We're known as an infrastructure organisation and we're part of a national body, so we're actually a member ourselves of NAVCA, which is a national association of voluntary organisations such as ourselves, that act as a conduit, this glue between the local third sector. But we are very unique in, in how we operate. Other infrastructure organisations across the country that work in different regions are often a lot less independent, so they're often heavily funded by the local authority. They also are often a lot bigger in size as well. So we're actually a very small team with only two full time employees and one part time administrator. So despite being a small team, we managed to still deliver a lot. And with the help of a huge amount of volunteers over the last couple of years, we've really managed to grow our profile and offer a huge amount of support. So harnessing goodwill of local people is really what has made us very unique, and we've been able to definitely punch above our weight in the last couple of years. 

[00:08:55] GRAHAM This year, 2022, which is when we're recording this interview, you hosted the South-West Charity Conference and Expo and you did this in partnership with the Business Exchange. So how did that go for you? How would you look back on that? 

[00:09:09] MYLES It was so great to actually see so many charities and businesses all come together under one roof. I think one of the biggest aspects of that was just the opportunity for collaboration and shared knowledge and just the ability to sort of put a name face to an email. It really made it all the worthwhile. 

[00:09:27] GRAHAM And of course, you've also hosted a session at the conference. What kind of reaction did you get to that? 

[00:09:32] MYLES Yeah, that was really great actually, to delve into sort of learnings and understandings of volunteering over the last couple of years, which has obviously been a big part of our operations. Some of the feedback was, yeah, organisations are really keen to find easier ways to recruit volunteers and also learn so best practises when it comes to managing volunteers. 

[00:09:53] GRAHAM And what sort of opportunities Myles, are there out there at the moment for the voluntary sector right now, is there a particular trend? Is there a feel about the kind of things that people are interested in? 

[00:10:03] MYLES The traditional forms of volunteering that were very much sort of in-person potentially events or a regular shift that individuals would have to do. We've kind of discovered this new era of volunteering, which is actually almost like zero hour contracts, like volunteering where people can sort of book on two shifts when they're available. It's a lot more flexible for remote volunteering and really making it easier for individuals to get into volunteering. 

[00:10:31] GRAHAM If someone is interested in volunteering, I mean, how do they get involved? 

[00:10:35] MYLES First off, they can always contact us. We'd be happy to signpost them to where they can find out volunteering opportunities locally. So if you're ever interested in becoming a trustee or if you would like to sort of help out with potentially a local charity or find out more, then please do get in touch with us and we'd be more than happy to facilitate that. We also have a list of all of our member charities and community groups and social enterprises on our website as well. So, Miles, what is it about volunteering that ticks a box for you? I finished university right at the start of the pandemic, and so it was a definitely an unsettling time, but it always wanted to get into the local voluntary sector because this is what I was brought up, had started volunteering an early age for some local charities in Bath. 

[00:11:23] GRAHAM You said you started volunteering when you were quite young. Is this something which has been running in the family with you? 

[00:11:28] MYLES My family definitely have all got involved in volunteering in the past, but it actually started off through Duke of Edinburgh Award and so being encouraged to go and do some volunteering through that. From that I sort of started doing various bits of helping Neighbours out and doing some volunteering at the National Trust at Pride Park. It really kind of took off from there. Once you get a feeling and like these things, it's sort of the snowball effect. 

[00:11:54] GRAHAM When it comes to the business side of things. Is there anything you can share with us about that? 

[00:11:58] MYLES It's hugely beneficial to have businesses from different sectors as well support the work that we do because we've had businesses get in touch recently and off the back of the conference they have wanted to do, say, a volunteer day doing an employee volunteer day, but not knowing where to go and what charities might be approachable or suitable. So we've been able to facilitate that conversation between some charities that we think would fit what they were looking for. If there are ever any companies that would wish to sort of partner, whether it be running events, whether it's sponsorship on our website, or even if it's just a conversation to see how they could potentially either benefit us as a charity or benefit one of our members in particular. So if you're interested in volunteering or if you're a business that's interested in supporting the local third sector or wants to get into volunteering more, then please do contact us. It's three as she talked the UK. Or you can just email us. Contact at three ESG, talk to UK and yeah, we'd be happy to help. 

[00:13:03] GRAHAM That was Myles Lloyd, project manager at the Bath and North East Somerset Third Sector Group, talking about its pioneering work. Now, we've already heard about some of the challenges Myles faces in what three does. And this is where we pick up the story with Jill Freeman, who's Head of Charity at accountancy firm Milstead Langdon, based in Bath. 

[00:13:22] JILL We've got a cost of living crisis going across the country, which obviously has an impact on charities not only in their own finances, but also in the need for the services to be called on by a wider group of people than otherwise things like foodbanks. There's mental health charities swamped with wellbeing issues. You know, for charities themselves, they need money to keep going. And if people have not got as much money to spend on charities and donations, funding they might have had previously in place funders withdrawn funding. It's just a vicious circle. But obviously, the pandemic made everybody quite aware of what charities do. And the expectation, I think, in the wider general public is that charities do pick up the slack where maybe central government or other services don't. 

[00:14:07] GRAHAM So how are you helping people then to overcome some of these problems? 

[00:14:11] JILL It ranges from a whole gamut of approaches that we can help with the compliance side. Do they know where they are financially? Because that's always a big starter. Giving them a sounding board on where they might access funding that they might not thought about helping them access funding that's out there, making sure that their finances because that's the biggest problem quite often, because a lot of charities are run by volunteers and they may not have the skill set to understand how to keep the county records of any point in time they can see where they are. And with all charities, it's not a one size fits all approach. I have to say, since I started my career, I'd probably ask more questions about tax because most people think charities don't pay tax, but they do. They claim lots of exemptions. 

[00:14:55] GRAHAM You're a supporter of the Business Exchange. South West, the charity conference and expo and as a founding sponsor as well. I mean, getting behind the event every year since its inception, since, well, 2018. So what is special about this particular event and doing something like that? 

[00:15:10] JILL It's a real nice mixture between technical knowledge because I was one of the speakers, as were others. There was the ability to people to network and talk and share knowledge. Everything's free apart from the breakfast, so they could book intersections or media or I was doing sort of financial stuff and you could see people or clusters seeing people they hadn't seen for a long time. And that's how good ideas come out. And Connexions And it's just a pleasure to do. 

[00:15:36] GRAHAM It's interesting you should say that then, because I guess that's what ticks a box for you. 

[00:15:41] JILL Well, I think because every charity is very different and they have their own challenges and not one. Charities are sane, but because they do some weird and wonderful things. And I just find the people are very interesting and I also am very impressed by obviously trustees because many trustees are not only holding down a full time job, but donating significant hours of their time to make things happen. And it's that passion. And then when you actually see what they actually deliver and you speak to beneficiaries and you think, Yet what would our life be like if these organisations weren't there? 

[00:16:14] GRAHAM What kind of changes do you see coming into effect which not for profits perhaps need to be aware of over the next year? 

[00:16:22] JILL There is the standard of recommended practise being reviewed at the moment, which is basically the rule book, how accounts are prepared. The current one in place was very much geared to the very, very large charities, but the consultation group this time have got charities involved, which is the first time ever, and there is a desire to actually make the smaller charity, have less compliance from the accounts because it's almost tipped the wrong way. So that that's on the horizon. Who knows where we'll be politically in 18 months time? The way people interact with charities is going to change. More and more charities are going to have to go digital just to keep pace and keep their profile. 

[00:17:00] GRAHAM We understand what the third sector is. Every element of that works in different ways. I mean, what do you think is unique about the third sector in the south west? 

[00:17:09] JILL In the south west in particularly, there is a definite community. And I think that's where the conference showed it that people came from quite a big distance to Bath. They weren't all bath based charities. They were from much further afield. The demographic that's in the South-West, lots of people have moved for this area for a better life, particularly the pandemic want to be out of cities. So I think there's that softer, almost caring vibe in the Southwest. Lots of charities in the Southwest, probably in the smaller end, but a lot of them have grown up from the need for local issues. 

[00:17:41] GRAHAM Now to spare your blushes. You won the Successful Women in Business Award for Professional Services. What exactly does that mean to you to receive it? 

[00:17:50] JILL It was a massive surprise, and I'm glad I had a table at the back of the room to think what I was going to say to the front of the room. And because it was voted on by fellow women, businessmen, business, women, etc., I just think, well, I'm just doing what I do. So I sort of not downplay it, but I just think, well, that's what I'm here to do. 

[00:18:08] GRAHAM Do you think indirectly, though, it helps to promote what you're doing because you're profiling yourself and you stand for something? So surely that helps to promote the message and to get people on board? 

[00:18:18] JILL Yes. Anything like the conference or being very fortunate to be promoted in an article was have you? Of course. It expands people's knowledge and I do find that I do get some people reaching out to me and it's directly it's not to our advice in books it's to me specifically. 

[00:18:35] GRAHAM So, Jill, for anybody who's interested in finding out more about how you could possibly help them, how do they get in touch with you? What do they do? 

[00:18:42] JILL Probably the best way is to go and find that website because that obviously has my profile on and what we do. The website address is www.milsted-langdon.co.uk. Always happy to speak to people and see if I can help. 

[00:19:03] GRAHAM Finally, Jill, this is probably going to be a bit of a tough one for you, but if you were to offer one tip for the charity and not for profit sector, what would it be? 

[00:19:11] JILL That's quite a difficult one because each one has its own challenges. But I think be alert and accepting of potentially having to change and that can cover a whole range of things. But the way they market themselves, the way what services they do, don't rely on, well, that's how we've always done that. And those successful charities are the ones that are able to move with the times and change. 

[00:19:33] GRAHAM Jill Freeman there from accountancy firm Milsted Langton in Bath in this special podcast for the Business Exchange South West, which is looking at the value of supporting and collaborating within the not for profit and voluntary sectors. Finding innovative ways to bring like minded people together who are invested in social change is at the very core of St John's Foundation. It has renovated a Grade 1 listed building and launched the House of St John's on Queen Square in Bath. It's a workspace driven by social purpose from private office facilities and co-working two dedicated desks and lounge membership. All profits go back into the local community to support the foundation's work of lessening the attainment gap for disadvantaged children in Bath and North East Somerset. Louise Harvey is its Executive Director. 

[00:20:24] LOUISE Basically what we want to do is try and create an environment so that all businesses and independents are able to come in and use that space together and create a really strong and healthy community where we are all helping each other. 

[00:20:41] GRAHAM How long is the project actually taken to go from that sort of building blocks to where you are now? 

[00:20:45] LOUISE We're now 848 years old at St John's, so through all of our history, we've been quite quiet about what we're doing. We've always just kind of got on and done it. So we decided back in 2018 that we were going to create a very dynamic new strategy that was actually going to last for ten years. We launched in February 19, two weeks before the pandemic hit, and we went into lockdown. So I can remember standing in the Guildhall in Bath giving my speech and saying, this is it and we're going to go full throttle and we're going to be working with all of the primary schools across Bains. And then the next thing we know is actually we're on complete lockdown. Our pace hasn't stopped at all. In fact, it's getting faster, which is great. 

[00:21:34] GRAHAM Tell us a little bit more about what makes you different from other co-working hubs. 

[00:21:38] LOUISE The heart of everything that we're doing is the fact that we want to be able to give back and really help to support societal change in our area. So in doing this, we're able to link in with businesses and professionals who all want to have an opportunity to be able to give back but don't necessarily know how they can do that. And so by creating the House of St John's, if they come and work there, they know that their money is going to be recycled and it's going to go back into helping the community, in particular the 0 to 12 year olds that are living in Bath and north east Somerset who are not meeting their age related expectations. 

[00:22:18] GRAHAM Have you got some examples of where what you're doing is helping? 

[00:22:21] LOUISE Absolutely. So at the moment, we have set out with a pilot where we're working with seven schools across the county who have a very high number of disadvantaged children within their schools. And so what we've done is we've worked with all of the headteachers and we have brought in delivery partners who can work alongside their pupils and be able to give them the additional support that they need. So that could be a foundational reading. It could be or a C, it could be mathematics. And also most importantly, it can be around emotional and behavioural support. 

[00:23:00] GRAHAM Recently you were invited to be part of the National Third Sector Steering Group, which is organised by the Times newspaper, which is all about driving positive change. So what was that like to be asked to do that? 

[00:23:12] LOUISE Oh, it was just incredible. And also, I think at St John's Foundation, we are not an education charity. Our focus is to use our funds well to help the local community. So the learning curve that I'm on, being immersed in the education system on a local level is something that is really very eye opening and there isn't a day that I'm not learning. So to be asked to come and sit on this panel was incredibly privileged and fortunate, and I sat in a room with what I would say were professionals within the education system, but these were the professionals who have started to do things differently. They realise that the current structure for education does not work for all children. And so we spent an afternoon where they were sharing the different practises that they were using and the impact that it was having, not only on the child but also on the classroom and the family. And it was just inspiring. So it was really about children able to connect more into their feelings, being able to articulate how they were feeling so that it wasn't all with anger. 

[00:24:29] GRAHAM You talk about challenges, but what do you think has been one of the biggest for you? 

[00:24:32] LOUISE I don't think there's a week where I might not wake up kind of in the middle of the night thinking, okay, we are currently working with 1200 children from birth up until 12 years old who are all deemed as disadvantaged and needing extra support. But for me, it's about understanding what's the next stage of our work so that we can reach right the way across our. Because we know certainly with the economic climate being as it is, parents are really starting to feel the strain and that's only going to get worse. 

[00:25:10] GRAHAM If you were standing in the middle of Bath and shouting through a megaphone to everybody about what is so good about the South West when it comes to the kind of work you're doing, what would your selling point be? 

[00:25:20] LOUISE That's a great question. I think within the kind of third sector and the charities and organisations working in the Southwest, just seeing how everybody came together and worked tirelessly through the pandemic, there was so much learning hurdles that have been there for many, many years that all of a sudden it was just like, Well, we're not jumping over that. We've just got to remove it. To actually see the energy and the passion coming out and then being able to work alongside the business community as well. That for me has just come out so strongly in the South West. 

[00:26:03] GRAHAM On a personal level, what do you think this has done for you? How do you think it's changed you? What do you think you've learnt about yourself? 

[00:26:11] LOUISE Where do I start? Having this opportunity to be able to support the charitable delivery of this strategy is probably the biggest and most challenging project that I've ever had. It has energised me to a level whereby there is not one single day that I am not learning, that I'm not absorbing new information and just such a gift. 

[00:26:39] GRAHAM So what's the longer term plan then? Finally, Louise, what are your hopes for, say, another five, ten years from now? 

[00:26:45] LOUISE In our strategy are over arching ambition is to be able to narrow the attainment gap in Bath and North Somerset for those key stage two children, making sure that we continue to do what we're doing. We look at each and every child and we support that child to get to that age related expectations. 

[00:27:08] GRAHAM Louise Harvey talking about the House of Saint John's and how it's improving life for disadvantaged children in Bath and North East Somerset. 

[00:27:16] ID The Business Exchange South West podcast.

[00:27:20] GRAHAM Earlier on, we were talking to Anita Jaynes, founder of the Business Exchange South West. And Anita's back with us now. We heard at the beginning how you have a real passion for the third sector. So how does it make you feel when you hear from Myles, Jill and Louise there - just some of those in our region who are really embracing this kind of work. 

[00:27:38] ANITA I'm really proud to have worked with Myles, Jill and Louise. They're all amazing people that are really setting amazing example for others to follow with the projects and their work on the ground here in the Southwest. I really hope that people are inspired from their stories and what they've told us in this podcast, and that we can generate some more activity in the region and ignite things and perhaps be talking about your stories as a result of listening to this podcast at our next Southwest Charity Conference and Expo in 2023, when we'll be celebrating five years of the conference. I can't believe it. 

[00:28:21] GRAHAM There are many ways that companies can find out about the charity sector, and one is through your annual Business Exchange, South West Conference and Expo, of course.  Fifth anniversary, as you say. That's amazing. Tell us a little bit more about that. 

[00:28:33] ANITA So there will be an expo element, which is a chance for both businesses and charities to come together and talk about their current campaigns and their work in the region and how people can get involved and support. There will also be a lot of speakers throughout the day, but we always have a seminar schedule of key topics from finance to social media marketing campaigns. So there's lots throughout the day with key takeaways for charities to learn and connect with others. There'll be networking will also have key speakers. It's an action packed day filled with all of the information you need to succeed and take your charity into the next year, or the next five years. The date and agenda is yet to be announced. We will do it by the end of the year, but I'm keen for it to grow again in 2023 as we celebrate five years since the launch. So we look forward, if you've not been before, come along. We can't wait to meet you on the day. 

[00:29:38] GRAHAM Finally, for anyone wanting to get involved and connect with the not for profit sector, how do we do that? 

[00:29:45] ANITA You can give me an email. I'm anita@tbesw.co.uk or you can give me a call on 01225 300 043. 

[00:30:00] GRAHAM Thank you, Anita. And that is it for this special charity focus podcast from the Business Exchange South West.  Until next time from Anita and from me, Graham. Goodbye and thank you for listening. 

[00:30:10] ANITA Goodbye. 

[00:30:17] ID This has been a Graham Seaman Media production for the Business Exchange South West.