CLAPA’s Branch Strategy
CLAPA’s Branches
Our Branches across the UK are a core part of the support we offer to all those with and affected by cleft lip and/or palate.
They provide a personal touch and local events which help to grow supportive communities where it matters most, and CLAPA’s small team of staff simply could not accomplish this without the dedicated volunteers that make up Branch Committees.
The National Branch Meeting
On Saturday 16th March, CLAPA staff and Trustees held a meeting with representatives from the active Branches to announce some exciting new projects in the works, as well as a change to the way the Branch funds are held and managed.
We are excited to announce that in the next six to twelve months we will be upgrading our central database to immensely improve the way we handle information on our members and fundraisers. This will be a fantastic new resource which we will be sharing with Branches to make sure we are reaching everyone in the UK with the right message. We are also hoping to do a complete upgrade of our website to improve the navigation, visual appeal, content and, most importantly, give Branches their own microsites so they can be at the forefront of the support available online.
This is part of a move to spread CLAPA’s message and our strong network of local support throughout all of the UK, and to ensure that CLAPA National and our Branches are sharing resources as efficiently and effectively as possible.
This move includes a restructure to Branch finances.
From 1st April 2013 all the funds held in separate Branch accounts will be pooled into two restricted funds: Regional Fund and Regional Coordinator Fund.
The Regional Fund will be used to provide local support and activities to all areas of the country. It will be controlled by a new Grants Committee made up of mostly Branch reps and official Volunteers.
The Regional Coordinator Fund will be used to further CLAPA’s Regional Coordinator Project to expand our reach throughout the UK.
CLAPA was set up as a charity to provide support to people affected by cleft equally throughout the UK, and though the creation of the Cleft Teams has made this much easier, there are still regions of the UK where there is no local support from CLAPA. We firmly believe that this is the best way for us to represent the needs and wishes of our members and to make sure everyone across the country gets the support they need, even if they aren’t lucky enough to live near an active Branch.
Q&A
Why make a change?
Historically, each Branch has held the money raised locally in a separate account, and in some cases large sums of money have built up without being spent year after year (‘reserves’) whilst other areas of the country, where there are no Branches or Happy Faces groups, have no local support available at all.
The high reserves have made it difficult for CLAPA to fundraise for projects and we recently had a bid for £250,000 refused because to outside organisations it looks as though we have large sums of money available that we aren’t spending as it is held in Branch accounts.
By changing the way Branch finances work, we are freeing up the money tied in reserves and making it work for us and for you. This way you know that every penny you donate to us is being used just as it should be.
How will this work?
The money held in the Branch accounts was all raised under the CLAPA National name and Charity Registration Number and belongs to the organisation as a whole.
However, even when it is transferred from their accounts into the Regional Fund, Branches will have overall control over how the money is spent, and it will still all be spent on local support, covering everything from Christmas Parties to Happy Faces meet ups to equipment for Cleft Teams.
In fact, there will be more money available in the Regional Fund than was spent last year by all the Branches put together, so there will be more than enough funding for Branches to keep putting on all the activities and events they currently do, and more.
The rest of the money that is currently not being used will go into the Regional Coordinators Fund to help fund Regional Coordinators across the country. This fund will also be used as match funding for grant applications, meaning we’ll be able to demonstrate our commitment to this exciting project to Charitable Trusts and Foundations. Regional Coordinators have a proven impact on the support available in their Region, and we hope to have every Region of the UK covered by 2016.
Any change is difficult, and we are aware that some Branches are disappointed that they will no longer hold the money locally, but we have also had positive feedback from Branches who are keen to “be charitable to other parts of the country” as one committee member put it. We are confident that the new structure will mean that there is consistent support across the country for people affected by cleft and that we will get the maximum possible benefit from the generous donations we receive.
Other benefits include:
- No more time-consuming acconting for Branch Committee volunteers
- Branches can share ideas and successes to ensure everyone benefits
- This will help CLAPA National improve our own resources which will in turn become available to Branches
- Creating a united ‘cleft community’ which is focused on one main objective: providing excellent local support in all regions of the UK to everyone that needs it.
- Ensuring a wide range of people representing all areas of the cleft community can influence how money is spent locally by joining the Grants Committee.
What about fundraising?
Most people choose to fundraise for CLAPA National, which represents our National Office and staff. We provide feeding equipment, the production and delivery of information including our website, booklets and phone line. It also funds recruiting and training volunteers and parent contacts, as well as representing the interests of people affected by cleft nationally, both in health services and research. We also support the Branches and our support groups and councils, including Adult Voices and the Children and Young People’s Council. We could not survive as a charity without generous donations and dedicated fundraisers raising money for us nationally.
You can, however, choose to fundraise for the new Regional Fund. Anyone providing local support (such as Branches and Happy Faces groups) can apply to this fund to put on local activities like Christmas Parties and other meet-ups, and essentially this will be what pays for all the wonderful things that Branches do now. This fund, and all the things it pays for, is supported by CLAPA National and our staff.
Can I raise money exclusively for my local Branch?
That depends – do you know what you want the money to be used for? If you have a specific purpose in mind for the money, then we’re happy to restrict it, but that means it can only be spent on that particular activity or piece of equipment, so you run the risk of tying up your donation for some time if not all of it is spent straight away. This also creates a lot of administrative work for National Office, which costs money.
If you’re very keen for the money you raise to help your local Branch, remember this – there will be more than enough money available in the Regional Fund for any and all activities and events the Branches usually put on, and unless a request for funding goes against CLAPA’s policies (e.g. it doesn’t provide a clear benefit for people affected by cleft), it will almost certainly be approved by the Grants Committee, especially as the largest group represented in this Committee will be Branch Reps.
By raising money for the Regional Fund, you will be ensuring that your local Branch has all the funding they need readily available and that CLAPA is able to reach out to other parts of the UK without local support and give them the help they need. By raising money for CLAPA National you are ensuring we can survive as a charity and that all these regional services are supported.
Please get in touch with us about this if you have questions or want to know more about how it all works.