Strengthening your Group

If you are a Waltham Forest voluntary group looking for policy guidelines, please contact us on 020 8521 0377.

There is a tendency to measure the success of a group or voluntary organisation by  its size, or how active it may be. This is often a mistake. It can, for example, be the case that even a moribund charity has become so, because its objectives have been achieved. There is an optimum size for any voluntary organisation, determined by a mix of circumstances including the number of activists in it, its income, and accommodation. Some organisations do need to grow to reach an optimum size, but the dangers of growth need to be as well understood as the dangers of stagnation. One can compare, for example, amongst mutual building societies, the apparent lack of ambition of the Staffordshire Railway Building Society - established in the 19th century and still operating from a single office - with Bradford & Bingley Building Society, which failed within five years of embarking upon a programme of expansion that included demutualisation.

The success of an organisation is best measured by the quality of its service delivery. However, if demand for a particular quality service, is substantially greater than the supply, than there is an 'in principle' case for growth. It may be that, over the years, word of your quality services spreads, leading to an ever increasing number of people approaching you. It's helpful, but quite rare, for newly- established groups to  draft and keep up to date, a business plan. However, if you do want to embark upon an ambitious programme of growth, it's essentail.

Sometimes, organisations have grown substantially running many major projects, but suddenly implode when funding is withdrawn due to a change in the funding climate. Likewise, with the recent introduction of commissioning services instead of grant-giving, an organisation might find itself providing important services in areas of education, health, housing or social care, and then loses the funding when another provider is more successful in the next commissioning round.

The following sections provide information on how your organisation stands a good chance of growing sustainably.