The Nationwide Foundation and the Cranfield Trust in partnership to add value to grant holders

Charities given help to succeed in challenging times

The Nationwide Foundation and The Cranfield Trust have joined forces to add value by providing organisational support to ten UK charities tackling housing and finance issues. The support is available for two years, allowing for substantive project work to be undertaken, which could include strategy development, business planning, development of HR policies and help with financial management.

The Nationwide Foundation is a leading grantmaker supporting ten UK charities each with £300,000 over three years. The charities being funded help older people and survivors of domestic abuse with housing and finance issues. The Foundation has now joined forces with The Cranfield Trust to offer its grant holders organisational support. Each charity will be assigned a project manager who will work with the charities to carry out a detailed needs assessment and then specify up to three one-to-one consultancy projects. The Cranfield Trust will appoint experienced volunteers to deliver the projects.

Lisa Suchet, chief executive of the Nationwide Foundation, said: "As a funder, we seek new ways to add value to the charities we support and the work they do. Understandably there is nervousness among charities at present as to how government cuts will impact upon them and how they will manage these. In addition, charities need to be prepared to maximise the opportunities arising from Big Society. By linking up with The Cranfield Trust we hope we can offer organisational support to the chief executives and boards of the charities we fund, to help them better plan through the challenging times ahead."

Amanda Tincknell, chief executive of The Cranfield Trust, said: "Our work with 200 charities a year shows us how difficult it will be, after years of considerable growth in the sector, for organisations to manage change in the current climate. Consultants from our national register of highly skilled volunteers will be available to work with Nationwide Foundation's grant holders, to help build the resilience of their organisations. Increasingly, charitable trusts and foundations are recognising the importance of providing additional support to the organisations they fund and are finding The Cranfield Trust's bespoke service a very cost-effective way of doing so."

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Notes to editors
Further information about the Nationwide Foundation can be found at www.nationwidefoundation.org.uk.
The charities offered the support are: Age Concern Camden; Age Concern Wirral; Centre for Policy on Ageing; Centre for Sustainable Energy; Citizens’ Advice Bureau Thanet; The Haven Wolverhampton; Money Advice Plus Services (maps); Rowan Alba; Runnymede Trust; and the Rural Media Company.

The Nationwide Foundation is a registered charity (no 1065552) and has limited liability being a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no. 3451979). Registered office address: Nationwide House, Pipers Way, Swindon, SN38 1NW.

The principle benefactor of the Nationwide Foundation is Nationwide Building Society.

The Cranfield Trust is a leading provider of pro bono management consultancy to voluntary organisations addressing issues of poverty, disability and social exclusion. The Trust works with a register of 600 volunteers from the commercial sector providing a wide range of management support projects to charities and other non profits across the UK. Its website is at www.cranfieldtrust.org.

The Cranfield Trust is registered charity No 800072 in England and Wales, Registered Scottish Charity SC040299, company limited by guarantee No 2290789.

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The Nationwide Foundation is a registered charity (no 1065552) and has limited liability being a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no. 3451979). Registered office address: Nationwide House, Pipers Way, Swindon, SN38 1NW.
Site updated: April 2012