Advice on setting up a charity

hannahmaria
hannahmaria Online Community Member Posts: 4 Connected
Hi everyone,

I've had an idea for a charity that would benefit disabled people who are housebound or who are only leaving the house occasionally. 

Does anyone know of any mentoring services or charities that can help look into the idea with me and develop it? 

Thanks

Comments

  • MarkM88
    MarkM88 Online Community Member Posts: 3,119 Connected
    edited June 2022
    I actually have a lot of knowledge in this area. 

    When you say charity though, it would be worthwhile working with someone who has the knowledge and experience and can work with you to develop your idea. 

    You could set up as a CIO, CIC, an actual charity, a not for profit organisation or even a club or society. 

    You should be able to access business support services in your area, it’s hard to give specifics though without knowing more about where you are. 

    Although advice and support is recommended, some things you will need to consider are - 

    - A business plan
    - Cash flow forecast 
    - How is your organisation going to be funded 
    - Governance 
    - Branding 
    - Marketing strategy 
    - Complete detailed market research 
  • aintrob
    aintrob Online Community Member Posts: 2 Listener
    Hi hannahmaria,

    I was browsing the website for some information when I saw your post.

    I cannot help with any information right now, but I'm very interested in what you want to do, as I too leave my house  only occasionally due to my health conditions.

    I have advanced IT skills and I would be willing to help for a good cause. 


  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,468 Championing
    A belated welcome to the community @hannahmaria :) I can see that you've already received some advice on this above, which I hope has been helpful!

    I also just wanted to share a page on our website about setting up your own business. Though it's more tailored towards businesses, I think some of the information on there may still be relevant. It also includes some links to information about mentoring. 

    Your idea sounds really interesting, so I'd be keen to hear any updates you may have :)
  • hannahmaria
    hannahmaria Online Community Member Posts: 4 Connected
    MarkM88 said:
    I actually have a lot of knowledge in this area. 

    When you say charity though, it would be worthwhile working with someone who has the knowledge and experience and can work with you to develop your idea. 

    You could set up as a CIO, CIC, an actual charity, a not for profit organisation or even a club or society. 

    You should be able to access business support services in your area, it’s hard to give specifics though without knowing more about where you are. 

    Although advice and support is recommended, some things you will need to consider are - 

    - A business plan
    - Cash flow forecast 
    - How is your organisation going to be funded 
    - Governance 
    - Branding 
    - Marketing strategy 
    - Complete detailed market research 
    Thank you so much for this info! I think I'll definitely need to work with someone who has experience and knowledge to help develop the idea as you say. 

    I'm down in Somerset so I'll have a look at local support services - I didn't think about trying to access help locally in this way. 

    At the moment I have just an idea but I'll sit with your bullet points and start thinking more about how it will all work. 

    My idea is to provide online events that are free to access for people who may not be able to attend such events in person. For example, museum tours, gigs and concerts, courses in the arts (such as creative writing, art, etc). The list of ideas is endless and I know this is something that a lot of people would benefit from, myself included!

    The pandemic really made it clear that this type of accessibility is not only possible, but that people can thrive when it is made available. 


  • hannahmaria
    hannahmaria Online Community Member Posts: 4 Connected
    aintrob said:
    Hi hannahmaria,

    I was browsing the website for some information when I saw your post.

    I cannot help with any information right now, but I'm very interested in what you want to do, as I too leave my house  only occasionally due to my health conditions.

    I have advanced IT skills and I would be willing to help for a good cause. 


    Hi aintrob, 

    Thanks for your comment - it would be great if you wanted to get involved and help me flesh the idea out! This is what I'm thinking in a nutshell:

    I want to provide online events that are free to access for people who may not be able to attend such events in person. For example, museum tours, gigs and concerts, courses in the arts (such as creative writing, art, etc). The list of ideas is endless and I know this is something that a lot of people would benefit from, myself included!

    I want to create opportunities to meet new people and socialise in an accessible way, and take in some culture as well. 

    Let me know if you're interested and would like to talk about it more  :)
  • hannahmaria
    hannahmaria Online Community Member Posts: 4 Connected
    A belated welcome to the community @hannahmaria :) I can see that you've already received some advice on this above, which I hope has been helpful!

    I also just wanted to share a page on our website about setting up your own business. Though it's more tailored towards businesses, I think some of the information on there may still be relevant. It also includes some links to information about mentoring. 

    Your idea sounds really interesting, so I'd be keen to hear any updates you may have :)
    Thank you Tori, this is really helpful!