Free support to improve your charity’s digital outreach
Has your charity started using digital in new and different ways over the past year? Or perhaps you’re keen to better connect with your target audience through digital, but aren’t sure where to start? You’re not alone – over the past year a number of charities have taken on new digital approaches and one question I hear often from charity staff is what should my charity be doing digitally and how can we do it well?
As manager of Inspiring Scotland’s Specialist Volunteer Network – a network of professional volunteers keen to support charities across Scotland – I’ve seen many enquiries for website or app development support, writing digital strategies, increasing digital impact and how best to keep digital information and beneficiaries safe. There are several free resources available, but sometimes choice can be overwhelming to sift through and find best practice – so I’ve pulled together 4 key free resources that every charity in Scotland looking to enhance their digital position can benefit from.
- If you need support with digital projects: Set up in 2020, the Scottish Tech Army mobilises Scotland’s tech talent for good and they’ve already worked on a huge variety of projects. They are a great resource for charities that need digital support but don’t have in-house capacity to deliver it. If you’re interested, get in touch and explain your challenge or project – the team will assess what is required to deliver and let you know if they can help.
- If you’re designing new digital services or taking existing services online: I highly recommend reviewing Catalyst’s Guide to Digital Safeguarding. It’s an easy-to-use digital tool designed to support you to keep privacy, safety and consent in mind when evolving your digital footprint.
- If you are concerned about your organisation’s cyber security: With charities increasingly reliant on IT and technology, it is important to protect your organisation from malicious cyber activity – however it can be daunting thinking where to start if you’re not an expert in this area. The National Cyber Security Centre has prepared an easy to follow guide for charities to improve their cyber security “quickly, easily and at low cost”.
- If you’re looking to skill up with digital best practice: Maybe you’re looking for the best new digital tools, or looking to increase your impact online? The Curve, set up by Third Sector Lab with support from 5 funders including Inspiring Scotland, offers third sector organisations free digital training in 90-minute workshops on a variety of topics, from online facilitation skills to developing a digital strategy.
Elaine manages Inspiring Scotland’s Specialist Volunteer Network, a network of professional volunteers keen to support charities across Scotland. If your charity could benefit from our support, do get in touch.
Specialist Volunteers support Interfaith Glasgow’s virtual governance training
To mark small charities week 2021, we’re speaking with Philip Mendelsohn, Chair at Interfaith Glasgow about how Inspiring Scotland’s Specialist Volunteer Network has provided support.
“Having engaged with Inspiring Scotland through their management of a grant programme, we noted in the very detailed introduction pack that they offered support through the network that seemed to align with our needs. We have at times found it difficult and/or costly to get the right support.
We had been planning a virtual Away Day for board members and staff and wanted to run governance training (especially for the board members). We were delighted that Elaine Crichton, an Inspiring Scotland staff member, was happy to facilitate this as a volunteer. We were able to customise the training to our needs so as to guide our board members’ thinking.
Early days yet, but it seems to have heightened (as we hoped) board members’ recognition of their responsibilities. This has also fed in to us developing and improving our policies, which IS has also assisted with by providing examples for us to build upon.
If I could give one piece of advice to organisations considering getting support from the Specialist Volunteer Network, I would say don’t be afraid to ask – they really do have a wealth of knowledge, skills and information which it could take you years to track down. They are highly approachable.”
Philip Mendelsohn is Chair at Interfaith Glasgow, part of Inspiring Scotland’s Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund.
Mentoring can build confidence and offer hope for a bright future
As part of the Volunteers’ Week 2021 celebrations, we interviewed intandem mentor Angela Jamieson to find out about her mentoring journey and the impact being a mentor has had on her life so far.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m currently a performance advisor supporting 29 charities who provide services to Survivors of Childhood Abuse. Having previously worked in the private sector, I was keen to change direction and through Inspiring Scotland got to know about mentoring opportunities with Ypeople. As a child I remember a turning point for me in Primary 6 when the teacher took time to encourage and support me, and helped me build my confidence to believe in myself more.
What made you want to become a mentor initially?
Listening to the experience of adults who as children had little or no support or guidance from anyone, then learning about the difference a mentor can make to a child inspired me to find out more. I met with the support team at Ypeople to learn about the support they provide and took the training alongside other potential mentors before I was matched with a mentee.
Do you feel your work experience, or learning you’ve developed throughout your career, has helped you as a mentor?
I was a mentor in previous roles and also had a mentor myself for career and personal development. There were some learnings particularly around listening, supporting, building trust and generating options that helped when I became a mentor. Often it’s just being there consistently for the person and gently encouraging them that matters most.
Is it difficult to balance work and mentoring?
It was clear upfront the commitment required, so I knew what to expect. Challenges sometimes arise so anticipating and being a little flexible is always a good thing.
What skills have you gained or built upon through mentoring?
Probably being adaptive and flexible are the key skills, as the needs of the mentee can sometimes change with little notice. Being a good listener and well organised helps too, as well as being able to generate options and ideas for activities, and being open to trying out new things. I’m lucky that my mentee shares similar interests: chatting and having a laugh, being out in the countryside seeing wildlife, eating out, cooking – she now makes a mean spag bol!
What is the most challenging thing about being a mentor and how have you overcome this?
Meeting the mentee and their family for the first time and starting to build a relationship based on trust can be a little daunting at first. The support provided, at the outset and ongoing, is superb, and it helps being able to share good ideas on activities and crafts with fellow mentors. Managing my own expectations was initially a challenge – these need to be led by the mentee and at their pace.
What is most rewarding about being a mentor?
The simple things like seeing my mentee having a good time, smiling, chatting, stretching themselves a little out of their comfort zone and starting to think about what they’d like to do in future. Just getting to know them, sharing experiences and to see them happy and believing in themselves is enough.
How has mentoring impacted your life, and how do you think its impacted the life of the young person you mentor?
Mentoring has given me a different perspective on life, it has opened my eyes to some of the challenges young people can face and made me more determined to support where I can. It has stopped me sweating the small stuff! For my mentee having someone independent, who listens, is interested in them, is not judgmental and is someone they can trust, I think gives them confidence and hope for a bright future. I would encourage people to explore mentoring and remember that support is there for you every step of the way.
The impact of specialist support on small charities
“We were drawn to the Specialist Volunteer Network because of the wide range of skills and expertise provided by Volunteers and the excellent fit with help we were looking for as a charity.”
Small charities often lack the infrastructure that larger charities have for HR, IT, Finance and Business Development. On top of this, accessing specialist advice and services, such as legal advice, comes at the cost of inevitably having to redirect funding away from the frontline services that make a real difference to children’s lives.
As the Director of a child protection agency in Edinburgh, we were drawn to Inspiring Scotland’s Specialist Volunteer Network (SVN) because of the wide range of skills and expertise offered, which has added enormous value to what we do as a small charity.
SVN provided advice and support that would have cost a great deal for us to access independently. Their support was transformative and helped us build our capacity and overcome problems. And the Inspiring Scotland staff are also a great resource because they are invested and understand our charity and our needs. That means they’ve tailored the SVN support to make sure we’re connected with the right people to really make a difference for our organisation.
Support has been timely, targeted and always on point, and I’ve been really impressed at the calibre of volunteers and their level of expertise in their specific area.
If your organisation is considering getting support from the Specialist Volunteer Network, I’d say use them! We received fantastic assistance around strategic development as well as help with legal advice and securing a new office space. Getting the right kind of support from experts has ensured we are freed up to do what we do best – working to protect children from harm.
Stuart Allardyce, Director at Stop It Now! Scotland / Lucy Faithfull Foundation
Supporting charity communications
Sam Marriott-Dowding is Managing Director of Marriott Communications and a Specialist Volunteer with Inspiring Scotland. He has brought his expertise in communications to several projects supporting charities across Scotland.
As a Specialist Volunteer, I work predominantly within communications – so anything from: PR, media management, crisis communications, digital marketing, content creation, social media management, to developing and implementing campaigns and strategies.
During my time on the Specialist Volunteer Network, I worked with several charities to develop their communications strategies, including, integrating cross-channel marketing plans, media engagement, social media management, and campaign development to increase consumer engagement, public awareness, and the creativity of their digital content.
Whilst I have been involved with several incredible projects through the Specialist Volunteer Network – one project in particular stands out.
I advised get2gether on their #BecomingVisible campaign, which not only increased the charity’s digital presence by 10%, but the campaign itself made a real and tangible impact. #BecomingVisible highlighted the stories of get2gether’s members – all adults with disabilities – and the work they have been doing during the pandemic.
Adults with disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, are often unheard in a societal, political, and economic sense. Expectations are generally low, with employment opportunities virtually non-existent. The aim of #BecomingVisible was to highlight how the media can reduce stereotypical representations of disability – and in doing so, help reduce discrimination and advance equality.
This campaign successfully highlighted these stories and experiences, which resulted in a substantial increase of engagement, visible impact, and even an STV interview!
In my role as a Specialist Volunteer, not only have I had the pleasure of working with incredible third sector organisations to make a real difference in the world, I have also been able to expand my professional knowledge and specialisms. As someone who graduated from university and then struggled to find employment during the pandemic, the Specialist Volunteer Network allowed me to redefine the faith I had in myself, and in my professional abilities – something which is truly an immeasurable gift.
So if you’re interested in joining the Specialist Volunteer Network, or using it as a charity, the only piece of advice I have is to go for it!
Signing up to become a Specialist Volunteer is something you won’t ever regret. You get to develop your own professional skills and expertise further with real-world experience, whilst at the same time supporting third sector organisations who often have skill deficits.
As a Specialist Volunteer, you really are making a difference, one organisation at a time!
Find out how our Specialist Volunteer Network could help your charity.