events/training

Investment readiness: What does it mean? Why should I care?

We often read and hear the words investment ready, but many organisations struggle with the idea, let alone understand what it takes to become investment ready. For years the sector was flooded with grants from various sources. Although the word sustainability has been used for more than a decade, there was previously no requirement to prove this when applying to funders. Social investment was a completely different world, which many third sector organisations did not feel was relevant to them. This is no longer the case, the world of fundraising has changed. Furthermore, it has changed at an unparalleled rate. With unprecedented cuts the need to diversify your income stream has become the key to growth and survival. There is a clear shift to impact investment, whether via grants, social finance or public sector commissioning. Funders and social investors are demanding that third sector organisations demonstrate the capability of becoming investment ready. So, what does this mean for your organisation? Are you looking to reduce your dependency on grants and move to a mix of sources of finance for your activities? In your drive for sustainability do you have plans to diversify your income sources or expand your activities? Either way, Charity Bank can provide you with the support to make sure that you are in good shape to make the most of opportunities as they arise. It helps charities, social enterprises and community organisations to access the financial tools and knowledge they need in order to maximise their mission impact. Charity Bank is unique. It is the only regulated bank in the UK that that was set up to use depositors money to provide financial support and advice to the third sector. Charity Bank has a mission: to tackle marginalisation, social injustice and exclusion through investment. It is passionate about transforming peoples lives by harnessing the nations wealth and using it as a positive force for change. We want to see more of the 2,000 billion sitting in deposit and savings accounts in the UK reinvested for the common good. Through its business support and finance services, Charity Banks purpose is to help to transform the future for those charities, social enterprises and community organisations that want to maximise their own mission impact. In Northern Ireland, it goes one step further. Thanks to Atlantic Philanthropies and Building Change Trust, it is able to offer an accredited practical programme of Investment Readiness through the University of Ulster. The Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Investment for the Third Sector is designed to help you to build on your knowledge base of financial and investment management, social enterprise and contracting. It will also increase your skills-set and allow your organisation to achieve economies of scale. Charity Bank can help your organisation improve performance and take advantage of new opportunities in service delivery,

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fundraising and advocacy. You will also be able to share experiences in income generation and strategic direction with others on the programme. At the end of the academic journey, you and your organisation will understand what needs to be done to become resilient, even in these very difficult economic conditions. Ultimately you can become investment ready and gain a qualification along the way.

The first cohort of participants in the Investment Readiness Programme

Dermot McCluskey, Director of Finance at Disability Action, who has taken part on the programme says Investment readiness is a strategic theme which will become increasingly important in light of the challenges facing the third sector over the next few years. What I particularly liked about the programme was its emphasis on the practical rather than the academic, and the emphasis on using the modules to help find real solutions to real organisational issues. In the case of my own organisation, the programme brought significant added value in the areas of business planning, financial and social impact measurement and risk

management. Learning from the experiences of other programme participants was also very beneficial and helped me get a much better understanding of the shared issues facing the third sector. Azlina Bulmer, Programmes and Development Manager from Charity Bank says Often we hear that investment readiness is the barrier to growth for many organisations. The Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Investment for the Third Sector offers a comprehensive and practical programme of learning to equip organisations with the skills they need to overcome barriers and build strong financial management capability. For more information on the programme, please visit www.ulster.ac.uk/sits

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advertising
The Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Investment
University of Ulster Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Investment for the Third Sector Are you a Chief Executive, Finance Manager, Senior Manager, Trustee or Director in a Northern Ireland charity, voluntary or community organisation, or social enterprise? Public funding is under threat at the same time as the recession is impacting social enterprise activity and fund raising. Change is therefore in the air and the third sector needs to respond to the new environment. We are looking for third sector senior managers who have the mind set and the ambition to learn new skills and to engage with the new realities. Applications are now invited for a practically orientated management development programme that is specifically geared towards those practicing managers who want to make change happen within the third sector. In doing so, they will play a key role in taking the sector to the next level in terms of enhanced strategic financial management capability as well as making their organisations investmentready. The programme, commissioned by Charity Bank and delivered by the Ulster Business School, University of Ulster in collaboration with Ortus, and CIPFA, will run from January 2013 until end of April 2014. Workshops will be held on the Jordanstown campus on a part-time basis (two days per month during term-time) and will involve elements of theory, case studies and benchmarking, as well as a high degree of class participation and interaction. Youll gain knowledge and understanding of how you can make your organisation investment-ready through enhanced financial management capability and financial/ business planning techniques. Youll also consider areas such as making an effective marketing pitch to potential investors. Areas such as risk management and procurement will also be covered. The programme is structured around eight modules: Strategic and Business Planning Sources of Finance Financial and Social Impact Measurement Risk Management Financial Stakeholder Marketing The Procurement Process Embedding the Plan Advocacy

Applicants should: Be either a Chief Executive, Finance Manager, Senior Manager, Trustee or Director within a Northern Ireland charity, voluntary or community organisation, or social enterprise Have decision making responsibility for sourcing finance and/or managing funding once it has been secured Have a high level of input into the strategic financial management process within the organisation Have a working knowledge of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Email, the internet and social media websites Be committed to actively participating during classroom sessions

Assessment is primarily assignment based, with successful completion leading to the award of the Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Investment for the Third Sector. The programme cost is 500 per participant. If you are interested in finding out more, please visit www.ulster.ac.uk/sits

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