Archive for the ‘Fundraising’ Category

Unity Lottery vs National Lottery

28/Aug/2010

You might have seen we’ve recently set up our Unity Lottery, but what makes it so different?

Well, for every £1 entry, Ostomy Lifestyle receives 50p.  Compare this to only 28p to charity from each National Lottery ticket, and that will be to a very wide range of causes especially the arts, heritage, and sport.  With the 2012 Olympics approaching, expect to see much of this cash eaten up supporting London and the games.

By playing Unity Lottery, you can choose exactly where your money is spent, and nearly double the charity donation in the process.

There’s still a 1 in 63 chance of winning a prize, which is close to the National lottery’s 1 in 54:

  • 6 numbers wins £25,000
  • 5 numbers wins £1,000
  • 4 numbers wins £25
  • 3 numbers wins £5

Your £1 per week gives you a six digit Unity Lottery number, which will remain yours for as long as you play.

To get started, see our website or download an entry form.  Good luck!

UnLtd Spring Award

28/Jun/2010

Last week brought a very special celebration, as I’ve just won an UnLtd social entrepreneurship award.

This award has a financial element, which at such a time of growth and uncertainty is an immense help to me personally, but more importantly it also provides me with a tailored package of business support.  This will support my work establishing more creative methods for dealing with the challenges we face, especially improving patient care and generating sustainable support services for people affected by stoma surgery.

I’m very proud to have this award, and feel I am in very good company; at the event last week I met UnLtd Award winners past and present, and they are clearly achieving real social change in some of the most innovative ways.  I look forward to helping change the world with them.

Incidentally, the venue for the dinner was the Michelin recommended Hoxton Apprentice, which if you haven’t heard of or visited – do go there.  Owned by the charity Training For Life, it is a social enterprise that creates opportunities for people to get their lives back on track and learn skills that will secure them employment, at the same time as serving excellent food.  An excellent example for the rest of us.

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Time off

28/Jun/2010

I’ve lots to report over the next few days, as there’s been all sorts happening at Ostomy Lifestyle recently, and also for me personally, notably the birth of my son.  He’s now seven weeks old but growing very very fast, and already has a look of determination about him that makes us expect to be kept on our toes for the next few years…

With such a small team it can really knock us back when anyone is on holiday, so the last few weeks have been testing for everyone.  My paternity leave fell at an unusually busy time for patient workshops and regional open days, so what with developing the new ostomylifestyle.org website and a steady rise in demand for the Helpline, it is a wonder that anyone can ever take time off!

We do not expect the situation to get any easier, and for many of us that is the nature of charity work – the  busier we get, the more thinly spread our resources – but this shouldn’t have to be the case so we are reconsidering the impact of all of our work, and focussing on those things that deliver the most, even when times are hard.

Small is beautiful

16/Apr/2010

Smaller charities are less wasteful and have a better understanding of their beneficiaries, according to a public poll.  This is good news for us, and I’d certainly agree with the findings of research organisation nfpSynergy, who surveyed 1,000 people last November.

51% of respondents thought charities with an income of over £10m were wasteful in how they spend their money, whilst only 6% thought charities with less than £1m income were wasteful.  £1m – £10m charities didn’t do too badly; 17% thought they were wasteful in their spending.  I’m very pleased to hear the public recognise the value of small charities, although we have a small income we still have to tackle serious challenges, and as such have to push our income and resources to the limits to deliver results.

65% of the general public recognise that small charities are good at understanding the needs of their beneficiaries, and 70% said they were friendly in their approach.  A good result, but also a reminder that we need to consult with our service users often to maintain this understanding and approachability. (more…)

Community Based Support Special Interest Group – update

15/Apr/2010

We recently held the first meeting of a Special Interest Group, to look for ways to improve Community Based Support (CBS) opportunties for people affected by stoma surgery.  There are many different types of CBS; for example local support group meetings, hospital open days, information days, or other events.

The premise of the meeting was that more people could benefit from CBS initiatives in their local area, and that the multiple stakeholders i.e. local support groups, nurses, companies and national patient organisations, should be able to plan collaborative methods of achieving this.

To start the group off 22 people involved in setting up, administering or promoting such activities discussed ideas to raise awareness of CBS activities, increase attendance, and make them more inclusive to marginalised groups.

The notes from the meeting can be downloaded here: SIG meeting flipchart notes

We will be exploring the ideas raised and seeking solutions to the problems identified; if anyone else would like to take part or can volunteer to help solve these problems – please get in touch!

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Coping with excessive demand vs limited funds

11/Apr/2010

Crikey, what a busy couple of weeks.  You realise the vulnerable nature of a small growing charity when the small things start to cause disproportionate levels of disruption.

Firstly a problem with the server. Although this is an excellent opportunity to test the organisation’s disaster recovery policies, and to learn some important lessons for the future, it cost a great deal of time for staff and volunteers alike, which would be much better spent supporting our beneficiaries.

Secondly, the impact of a key member of the team falling sick quickly escalates the burden and, as in the case of the IT problem, the remainder spend more time ‘coping’ with the regular workload.

The effect of these challenges?  Projects slow down, we struggle to meet the demand on the helpline services, cancel/rearrange important meetings and, dare I say it, lose valuable time that could also be spent raising funds for the charity. (more…)

Community Based Support Special Interest Group meeting

25/Feb/2010

On Wednesday 17th March we will host a Special Interest Group meeting to discuss how more people affected by stoma surgery could benefit from community based support initiatives such as local support group meetings, hospital open days, and information days.

These events give people access to a wide range of support, advice and information in their local area, but often they do not know they exist or decide not to get involved.

This meeting will involve various stakeholders; if you have an interest in organising any type of local support group or open day then you can find more details by downloading the preparatory note.  If you would like to attend it is vital you let us know as space is limited.  Download Preparatory note

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Thanks for the donations – please keep them coming!

17/Feb/2010

I’d just like to write a short note to say thank you to all of the people that have donated following our recent Ostomy News mailing; this helps to make sure we can keep sending Ostomy News on a regular basis.

Ever since the charity started we’ve believed that our services, especially the Helpline, should be made free of charge for anyone affected by stoma surgery to make sure no one misses out on help and support when they need it most.

These services have become extremely busy and to make sure we can answer everyone’s call we need to keep raising money.  If anyone Donate through CAFOnlinecan help by making a donation you can do it online through the Charities Aid Foundation on the red button:

Thanks for all the support, Neil

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The Helplines Association Awards

08/Feb/2010

We’re off to the BT Tower tonight – our Helpline Services Manager, Helen Farrell, has been shortlisted by The Helplines Association (THA) for the Helpline Staff Member of the Year Award.

This is a very competitive award, with fifteen individuals nominated from over 1,000 UK helplines, and the winner is voted on by THA’s 500 member helplines, based on qualities such as reliability, supporting colleagues, and taking on extra responsibilities to help the charity in difficult times.

Helen was one of the key individuals in establishing Ostomy Lifestyle.  She was the first member of staff on the Helpline, having first given her time as a volunteer whilst we set up the charity. She has been the lynchpin of the Helpline and other information & support services ever since. (more…)

Dansac Foundation donates to Ostomy Lifestyle

03/Feb/2010

We are very pleased that Ostomy Lifestyle has been selected as one of the Dansac Foundation’s project recipients, providing financial support to maintain our Helpline services for ostomy patients.

The purpose of the Dansac Foundation is to increase the quality of daily life for those living with a stoma, supporting projects such as physical and psychological therapy, recreation, and development projects e.g. QOL projects, follow up and counselling projects, information projects.

Vigdis Hannestad (Global Clinical Services Manager) said “The core values of Ostomy Lifestyle go hand in hand with the aims of the Dansac Foundation”

For more information about Dansac Foundation see their website www.dansacfoundation.com

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