creating change in Devon
Catalyst creating change in Devon
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creating change in Devon
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Need a
business plan?
What is a business plan? A business plan is like a route map that describes the journey from where your organisation is now, to how it can arrive at it’s future vision. A business plan should be a living, working document that describes the organisation, its social and financial objectives, the market it is in and its financial forecasts. A business plan identifies and allocates resources as and when needed and provides targets by which to measure the results of your actions.
Why do you need a business plan? You have probably heard the old adage ‘Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail’, this is all the more pertinent when working in the current external environment characterised by funding cuts, increasing competition, reduced investment sources and customers seeking greater value for money. Good planning saves time and money. Whether you’re looking to grow a new trading initiative, secure grant funding, attract investors or create a brand new service or facility, producing a business plan is a critical tool to help you:
. . . .
onvince supporters (and critics), and convey to others what it is you aim to do, C how you will do it and what impact it will have. o attract significant investment whether as grants, loans or contracts from public T agencies or the National Lottery, providing a business plan is usually a prerequisite for making a successful bid. o gain the clarity and control that will enable you to response more constructively T to market opportunities and adapt to threats for example the loss of a key customer, a change in funding/purchasing patterns, or a new competitor. he self discipline and scrutiny needed to develop a business plan is an excellent T way of ensuring that you are familiar with every aspect of your organisations future development, that your aspirations are achievable, and that your team and supporters all share the same priorities.
Who is Catalyst? Catalyst is the in-house consultancy service provided by the Community Council of Devon. Our customers can be confident that they are drawing upon the experience and good standing that our 50 year track record as a professional charity and leading specialist in rural development has given us.
Our values At Catalyst we are committed to ensuring that our work for clients is:
. . . . .
Professional and accountable Creative and inclusive Based on robust analysis and strong solutions Flexible and Client focussed Holistic and joined up
How can we help you develop your business plan? We offer an impartial objective perspective and expert advice to work along side your team to test the viability of your business case and document an achievable way forward. Whether you are just starting out or have ambitious plans to grow your organisation – we can help make it happen. We can act as a mentor and critical friend to your team to enable them to research and develop a business plan ‘in-house’, or depending upon your internal capacity, we could produce the entire document for you. Alternatively we can take specific elements of the work off your hands, for example we could undertake the feasibility studies, market research, capital investment plan or financial projections needed to feed into and inform your business plan.
Don’t have the funds to engage external help? We may be able to help you to identify and apply for possible sources of funding to cover the costs of engaging us to provide the external expertise you need. We will do this up-front work with you at our own risk and at no cost to your organisation.
What others have said about us The quotes below give a flavour of the feedback we typically receive from our clients but fully detailed testimonials and referees can be provided on request. oth advisors brought a lot to the table and were very “ Bknowledgeable, they spoke in plain English which I could understand” “ CCD’s Social Enterprise staff are excellent value for money!” has guided and instructed us in the development of a business plan “ Dandawnasset negotiation, helping us to interpret and respond to the complex
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issues around asset transfer. We would not be where we are now without her.
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Thank you for your invaluable contribution to the development of our business plan, it has been well received by major funders.
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Catalyst: on brief on budget on time!
Our Experience Dawn and Charlotte have over twenty five years experience between them of project management, delivering business planning advice, helping organisations to attract investment, writing successful bids and enabling a more socially enterprising third sector. Our customers include staff, volunteers, directors and trustees from social enterprises, voluntary organisations, charities and infrastructure agencies. In addition to our hands-on experience, we have been trained and accredited by the Institute of Fundraising (MInstF cert) and accredited as social enterprise advisors with the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) and the ILM.
Our ethos We will provide you with a tailor-made approach to addressing your business planning needs. We will ensure that the plan is genuinely owned and embedded within your organisation, and endorsed by your staff, volunteers and board by drawing upon their unique knowledge of the organisation and it’s work. At the end of the process we will provide an interactive presentation of the finished business plan to ensure that your team are left feeling inspired and equipped to drive the implementation of it forward.
FREE Sustainability health-check We can deliver a FREE sustainability health check as an interactive workshop at a venue and time to suit you for up to 15 members of your team! We will help you explore ways of improving the sustainability of your organisation by guiding you through a needs analysis using the ‘Sustainable Sun’ tool. This is a tried and tested tool that helps organisations benchmark where they are now in terms of strengths and weaknesses, and enables them to draw up a clear action plan of priorities to improve the long term sustainability of their organisation. Sustainability often means making changes in a number of aspects of your organisation. The Sun tool is designed to help you work out where you are now in each of these seven areas which are integral to long term sustainability: Mission, culture, planning, financial management, funding base, skills, and outcomes.
Find out more
For an initial, no-commitment discussion about your requirements please contact: Nemo Shaw
Dawn Eckhart
T: 01392 248919 Ex 171
T: 01392 248919 Ex 170
E: nemo@devonrcc.org.uk
E: dawn@devonrcc.org.uk
Community Council of Devon 3 & 4 Cranmere Court, Lustleigh Close, Matford Business Park, Exeter EX2 8PW Registered Charity: 1074047 Company No: 3694095 VAT registration: 942 0496 27