Spotlight On Safer London

Young people in London are at greater risk of violence than ever before. Between January and July 2021, 29% of all homicides in the capital involved teenagers. Evidence has also shown that each year, between 5,500 and 27,000 young Londoners are at risk of sexual abuse.

The statistics are shocking.

But Safer London is on a mission to make the capital a safer place for young people to live.

If you want to help them, this is your chance, as they’re hiring.

A Safer Vision

Safer London is an award-winning, London-wide charity that supports young men, women, and children affected by violence, exploitation, and crime.

The charity works closely with statutory, charitable, and community partners across each London borough to provide specialised, one-to-one, and group support and mentoring to young people, their families, and peers.

This support takes many forms, such as:

• Advocating for emotional well-being and mental health

• Supporting and advising peer groups at high risk of harm and exploitation

• Boosting families’ confidence to keep their children safe

• Helping young people access training, education and work

• Advising on housing, and helping young people find secure and safe homes

• Helping boys and men understand harmful sexual behaviours and the importance of healthy relationships

• Helping young women and girls who have experienced sexual abuse and exploitation

• Delivering emotional support to victims of abuse

• Helping teens escape County Lines via their participation in the Mayor of London’s Rescue & Response project

Safer London has three key areas of focus:

1. People

They work 1:1 with young people who have been affected by crime. The intervention is tailored to meet the young person’s needs - be it safety awareness, improving their health and well-being, or helping them find safe accommodation.

2. Peers

They provide training and mentoring sessions to peer groups who may be at a higher risk of exploitation or harm. Through these sessions they help young Londoners increase their awareness and confidence.

3. Places

They work with local authorities, charities, and businesses to ensure the places where young Londoners spend their time - be it schools, parks, youth groups or shopping centres, are safe.

Achievements

Safer London has made great strides since launching in 2005. Click here to see their 2020/21 Impact report. They’ve helped tens of thousands of young people escape the threat of gangs, exploitation, sexual violence, and abuse. But they’re not done yet. With the help of a savvy Trusts Fundraiser, they want to help thousands more.

This is where you come in.

Featured Job

The charity relies on charitable grants to carry out its essential work in the capital.

If you’re a system builder and perfect planner with Trusts and Foundations fundraising prowess, you could be just what they’re looking for.

Trust and Foundations Fundraiser:

• £35,000-38,000 P.A.

• Permanent

• 35 hours per week

• Based in Southwark

• Reporting to the Head of Business Development

If you’re a safe bet for this role, we want to hear from you. Send your CV to info@bamboofundraising.co.uk, or give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to find out more. 

Five great reasons to join the Kickstart scheme

Could you do with some help around the office?

Would you be open to the idea of taking on an enthusiastic 16–24-year-old and showing them the ropes of a career in fundraising?

And would you like their wages to be paid by the government?

If the answer to these questions is yes, the Kickstart scheme might be for you.

The Kickstart scheme was introduced by the Chancellor in 2020, as part of his ‘Plan for Jobs’ programme. It was designed to help 16–24-year-olds on Universal Credit secure good jobs.

The scheme, which is open to employers of all sizes, provides young people with crucial work experience at no risk to the employer. It’s a win-win.

If you’re still unsure, here are five great reasons to become a Kickstart employer.

1. We need more fundraisers 

Fundraisers are in short supply. Join the scheme and you could ignite someone’s passion by introducing them to a career path they might not have considered or have the opportunity to try otherwise.

That’s got to give you a warm fuzzy feeling.

2. It’ll cost you nothing 

The government covers the costs, from the young person’s wages (national minimum wage for up to 25 hours a week, over a six-month period), to Pension and National Insurance contributions.

They’ll even give you £1,500 to train your young employee.

If your apprentice turns out to be a natural, you can keep them on and renegotiate the terms.

3. You get extra support with your projects 

There are never enough hours in the day, right?

Your apprentice can lighten the load by tackling that mountain of tasks you never seem to get around to.

4. You’re offering someone a great opportunity 

It’s not looking great employment-wise for young people unless they want to work in hospitality or retail.

Giving someone a chance to try something new could change their life.

5. There’s no minimum number of placements 

You don’t need to be a big organisation to join the scheme. The ‘minimum of 30 places’ rule was scrapped in 2021. So even if your organisation is small, you can still reap the rewards of the scheme.

What now?

If you think the Kickstart scheme might work for your charity, get in quick, as it’s due to end in December 2021.

There’s a chance it might be extended for another six months, but, despite the likes of the CBI putting pressure on the government, it’s not a done deal.

You can find out more about the scheme and apply here.

A day in the life of a Community Fundraiser

Wondering what a Community Fundraiser does?

We caught up with Cathy Coulthard, Community and Events Development Manager at Home-Start Royston, Buntingford & South Cambridgeshire, to get the lowdown.

What does a Community Fundraiser do?

Being a community fundraiser means getting out into the community and raising the profile of the charity through face-to-face interaction, putting on large and small-scale events, organising activities for local people, and making sure the charity is known about.

The charity I work for is very localised (geographically, we cover a 50-mile stretch over the Cambridgeshire/Hertfordshire border), so our community is like a family.

Some community fundraisers work at a national level, but the same things apply: community fundraising is about engaging with people from all walks of life, and the key to doing it successfully is to enjoy it.

What skills would you say are essential for the role?

Being organised, approachable, flexible, and ready to do absolutely anything!

What does a typical day look like for you?

Generally, it starts with three cups of tea and the school run!

Once that’s dealt with, every day is different.

I might spend an hour designing posters or promoting social media posts, then another hour on a stall selling homemade cakes and cups of tea. Then I’ll be online, creating an interactive puzzle to sell as a fundraising activity, write a finance report for our board of trustees, and finish off chairing a meeting about fundraising activities for the next financial year.

It’s a rollercoaster!

What’s the best thing about your job?

The variety of activities I get involved in. From organising a marathon and selling Christmas cards to holding a collection tin in the market square and launching a pop-up tea shop – there really is nothing we don’t do!

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

Making money! Fundraising through community events, especially in the last 18 months when most public activities have been cancelled or vastly reduced, is challenging. But sometimes it’s not about the financial gain. Sometimes it’s about making connections or creating a good impression. So one day in the future, someone I once spoke to will suddenly remember and – hey presto! There’s that donation we’ve been looking for.

What advice would you give a budding Community Fundraiser?

Volunteer first. Most charities would love to have a volunteer community fundraiser on board (I know I would) and there’s no better way to learn how to do it.

Cathy works for Home-Start Royston, Buntingford & South Cambridgeshire. (Home-Start) is a voluntary charitable organisation that offers practical and emotional support to families with at least one child aged nine or under.

They help families from all backgrounds through their most challenging times because childhood can’t wait. https://www.hsrsc.org.uk

Happy Hires: Good Food Institute

Here at Bamboo, nothing makes us happier than knowing our recruitment efforts have paid off for our candidates and clients.

One of our successful pairings was the Good Food Institute Europe – (a charity that focuses on advancing alternative proteins), and Emily Johnson (their new Philanthropy Manager).

We caught up with Alex Mayers, (Head of Operations) and Emily, to find out how they found the recruitment process and how the role is working out.

Alex Mayers, Head of Operations

Why did you employ Bamboo to recruit rather than do it yourselves?

As a small charity, we push our vacancies very hard to find the very best talent - we explore our networks and send out job adverts, but realistically, we can only reach candidates who are already looking for a role and are therefore already looking for adverts like ours.

What Bamboo has helped us to do is find amazing candidates who were not necessarily looking to change their roles. This was invaluable as it enabled us to access a huge, untapped market.

Why did you choose Bamboo over any other agency?

Bamboo are specialists in the fundraising field and understand the market, sector, and role. So they were the clear choice.

How did you find the process of working with Bamboo?

Bamboo has been a real pleasure to work with. From the first phone call, Graham took a personal interest in our mission and accurately conveyed it to candidates. He was respectful and thoughtful with his questions and comments, and the candidates he delivered were excellent.

Even the invoicing was smooth and effortless!

How is Emily getting on?

We are absolutely delighted with what Emily is delivering. She has integrated with the team brilliantly. All the feedback from our affiliates around the world is universally positive. I'm excited for the future!

Emily Johnson, Philanthropy Manager

Had you used Bamboo before?

No. One of the Bamboo team sent me a direct message on LinkedIn asking if I was interested in a senior philanthropy role with a sustainability charity. I said I was happy to receive the details. They followed up with the job description, and I was immediately captured by the opportunity as it looked really unique and exciting.

How did you find the process of working with Bamboo?

I loved working with Bamboo on my application. I'm not sure I would have been offered the job without their help!

Graham took the time to get to know me and he’d clearly done the same with GFI, as he was able to provide me with a great deal of information on what they were looking for, the mission and ethos of the charity, their work culture and the people I'd be working with. This helped me picture myself in the role.

He also offered valuable advice at every stage of the recruitment process. I felt really supported. He offered smart suggestions to improve my cover letter and CV and regularly checked in with me to see how I was finding the process.

He coached me before the interviews and gave me the opportunity to test out some of my answers to possible questions.

At no point did I feel his advice was generic or formulaic, or that he was trying to get me to present myself in a way that was not authentic. His advice enabled me to present myself in a genuine but flattering light.

I would recommend Bamboo to anyone, as a recruiter or an applicant.

How are you getting on in the role?

I’m loving my role at GFI. I feel incredibly lucky that Bamboo reached out to me about it. I look forward to work every day and find it hard to imagine working anywhere else.

We can help you find your perfect match

We’re delighted that our matchmaking paid off for Emily and the Good Food Institute Europe. If you need help finding the perfect fundraiser for your charity, don’t hesitate to contact us on 0203 750 3111.

The Future of Event Fundraising: Hybrid Events

COVID-19 has changed the face of event fundraising forever. Sure, we’re slowly moving back to in-person events, but virtual events won’t be going anywhere, soon.

In fact, there’s a growing trend for ‘hybrid events’ that combine the best of both worlds.

Let’s put hybrid events under the microscope.

What are hybrid events?

Hybrid events are, quite simply, a mix of live and virtual events.

You take your live event, complete with an audience, content, and more, and add a virtual component to it so your audience can participate online.

What do hybrid events look like?

There’s no set formula for a hybrid event. You can have as much or as little virtual interaction as you want. But the best hybrid events treat their live and online audiences equally, so everyone gets the most from the event.

For example, during the pandemic, Vietnam-based charity, Saigonchildren could have cancelled their annual charity ball and taken a big fundraising hit.

Instead, they pivoted to a hybrid virtual and in-person event.

To minimise the number of people at the venue, guests had the option to enjoy the event from the comfort of their homes.

Guests who chose this option were sent pre-packaged food and drink, and televisions were set up so they could watch a live-streamed broadcast of the event.

The benefits of hybrid fundraising

Not convinced by hybrid fundraising events? You should be. The benefits are endless. Here are three for starters:

1. They enable people to participate who might be unable to attend in person, due to travel or time zone constraints, lack of COVID jabs etc.

2. They open up new revenue streams (online donations, auctions, raffles) and engagement opportunities. As virtual audiences actively participate from mobiles or laptops, they can still talk, share, like, and get involved.

3. You can host a high-quality hybrid event with accessible technology that doesn't require years of experience to master. Platforms like Enthuse can do it all for you.

Three tips for running a smooth hybrid fundraising event

Now you know the what and why, here are a few tips to help ensure your hybrid event runs smoothly:

1. Merge the in-person and virtual experience

If you want your hybrid event to be a success, make sure your virtual attendees aren’t missing out on key engagement opportunities. Here are a few tips:

• Before the event starts, build a sense of community through an event-specific Facebook group. This is a great place to post event details and encourage attendees to engage with each other.

• During the event, use features that in-person and virtual attendees can interact with, such as live polling and Q&As.

• Implement a live Twitter feed that displays donations from physical and virtual attendees. This can be shown on a screen at the event and on the cast that people are enjoying from home.

2. Provide a quick and easy way to give

Your hybrid fundraising event is not just about your guests having a good time. It’s a key opportunity to raise funds. So make sure your in-person and virtual guests know how to give. Invite physical and virtual guests to donate by text. And make sure the text-to-donate number is clearly displayed on screens and event signage.

3. Be mindful of your timing

According to 2Connect, ‘the attention span of a typical audience lasts about 7 minutes’.

If you’re hosting a conference and your sessions are engaging, you may hold their attention for longer, but to be safe, stick to ten minutes, with breaks in between.

Also, be mindful of time zones. If you’re catering to a global audience be sure to record and upload the event so people can watch it at a time that suits them.

Final Word

Pandemic or no pandemic, hybrid events open up events to more donors. And more potential donations. What charity doesn’t want that?