Business Model
Building Self Belief
Background
Building Self-Belief is a charity based in the North East of England, focused on improving the well-being of young people in need and supporting them to build their self-belief. Founded in 2018, the charity runs a series of programmes to help with issues such as wellbeing and employability and the environment.
Issue
Building Self-Belief were referred to Cranfield Trust by the Freemason in their area, as part of our partnership with the Masonic Charitable Foundation. The charity needed support in a few areas including with their overall business planning. At the time of contacting us, the founders of the charity were particularly focused on expanding the services they offer. To do this, they would need to employ more staff and so increasing their income generation was a priority.
Solution
Following initial discussions between the charity and the Regional Manager in their area Claudia Venosa-Hepworth, it was decided that the charity needed support in developing a stronger business model so that they could strengthen their approach and be more robust in their work.
Once this decision had been made, the charity was soon matched with volunteer consultant Simon Grant. Simon, based in the North East of England, was matched with the charity based on his experience in business planning and strategic business management. He had previously been able to support several other charities during his time as a Cranfield Trust volunteer including as a Mentor.
Simon was introduced to Christine Thomas, CEO of Building Self-Belief, and quickly began work on understanding the charity, what they do, and their needs for support.
Simon and Christine worked together to review the existing business plan so that they could then work together to turn it into a practical and operational business plan. This involved looking at where the charity is now and where it wants to go, and what steps will be needed to get there. It was decided that the focus would be on finalising the development of Building Self-Belief’s Resource Hub. This online facility is an important element of the charity’s development, as it is a way for the charity to generate an income and be more sustainable in the future.
At the end of this project, Christine was able to take away the new business model for the Resource Hub they had created, ready to begin implementing it at Building Self-Belief.
Impact
This project has provided Building Self-Belief with a clear plan for the future, setting out a roadmap of the goals they want to achieve and how they will achieve those. This will assist them in generating more income going forward which will enable them to expand their staff team and as a result, the services they can offer.
For the beneficiaries of this charity, this project will result in a wider range of services being available to them, as well as current services being the best they can be, as the charity has a clear and practical plan in place.
“I have been very impressed with Simon and his support of us as a charity. I do feel we have made a great deal of progress, having had his feedback and support in the process.” – Christine Thomas, CEO, Building Self-Belief CIO.
This project has provided Building Self-Belief with a clear plan for the future, with practical steps they can take to achieve their aims. Not only that but it has also allowed them to take a look at all areas of their organisation and focus on the areas that need improvement. As such, Building Self-Belief has already expressed an interest in working with Cranfield Trust again, to focus on improving its digital marketing.
These projects ultimately strengthen their approach to the work they do and allow them to expand their services and support many more young people.
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