News : Leading the way in securing sustainability!
A Mastermind group for Chief Executives of charities nationwide has been hosted by the unique disabled children’s charity, The Legacy Rainbow House. The CEO Mastermind group met at the CBI HQ in London last week, to discuss managing sustainability in the third sector through the current economic downturn.
The Mastermind group came about as a result of the need for charity Chief Executives to work more closely together in a support network, building on their strengths and sharing ideas.
It is well known that charities have felt the impact of the recession, with corporate and individual supporters all more cautious about investing in the charity sector.
The theme for the first Mastermind group was ‘How to survive through Recession’. Growing charity, The Legacy Rainbow House, was in deficit in April 2009 and was forced to launch a Crisis Appeal for funding. The response to its appeal was both rapid and huge, and along with the introduction of subsidised fees for its Conductive Education therapy, was successful in bringing the charity back into the black, providing a secure financial footing for the charity into the future. In total the charity raised £1.1 million within a year.
The Legacy Rainbow House Chief Executive, Joe Mawdsley, founded the charity in 2001 in response to the needs of her two sons who have a genetic disorder causing their disabilities. The charity now supports over 180 children a week. Joe says,
“This is the first Mastermind group we have hosted and we hope to hold more. The forums are a fantastic way of sharing ideas and best practice and helping each other to succeed. In these tough economic times, it is imperative that charities work together to survive and grow.
The Legacy Rainbow House has been through a severe financial crisis in the last year, but through a combination of a successful fundraising and strategic decisions made to secure our sustainability, we are now looking forward to the future with optimism and see a wide range of opportunities opening up to us.”
Taking part in the Mastermind group were representatives from 12 charities.
