CARESCO History - Theme Six - Money THEME SIX MONEY "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." Dickens. Mr. Micawber in "David Copperfield. "I am impressed by the way CARESCO make the most of its money. Whilst the Organiser and Management Committee make vital decisions on the use of its money, those who are working on the "front line" seem to have awareness of not wasting resources, but at the same time giving every "client" all that CARESCO has to offer in the nicest possible way. CARESCO seems to be a family working at its best." John Garner, taking over as Hon. Treasurer in 1994. CARESCO's situation is rather more complex than Mr. Micawber's because we have been able to capitalise on support "in kind" from many local institutions, and have employed free of charge the skills and time of many members of our community. We could not, however, have survived for fifteen years without a good family's housekeeping skills and the development of a sound budgeting policy. Other communities may find useful an analysis of the different purposes for which we have needed money, the various sources from which we have obtained it, and (perhaps most instructive of all,) the necessary modification of our dreams when something has NOT "turned up!" In the beginning we sought to employ a salaried worker. (See Theme Three.p ) With hindsight we have come to feel that our failure to attract funding was a blessing in disguise. The structure of CARESCO as "a common core with satellites giving to and taking from that common core" was such a new concept both for the Management Committee and for the community as a whole, that it had to be evolved from the roots. To have undertaken the responsibilities of a conventional employer, (with salary scales, insurance and tax,) at that stage would only have distracted from our necessary sensitivity to the needs we wished to meet. The PROJECTS NEEDED MONEY for: - PREMISES. Even though at first the school did not charge for use of the Adult Common Room, or the Homecraft Centre, it was necessary to provide suitable chairs with arms, and cupboards to store equipment, and to heat the Homecraft Centre and keep the building in good repair. - 1 - CARESCO History - Theme Six - Money Both premises needed toilets adapted for use by disabled people. (Two separate stories here!) Ramps were needed to enable wheelchair users to have access to the Homecraft Centre and to the Sports and Social Centre at Alconbury and the Village Hall at Stilton. At the Swimming Pool, a private changing room with a bench and accessible toilet was improvised, and steps were made to allow easier access to the Purley pool. Later, a hoist was purchased to allow disabled people access to the large pool. TRANSPORT. From the start, the Wednesday Club had the free use of the Social Services ambulance to bring in the members. (The driver was a valuable member of the team.) The Lunch Club and the Clubs in the villages depended on volunteer drivers from the Car Scheme, as did the Thursday Club at Sawtry when it started. The attendance fee paid by members included an element for transport, so those living far away were not penalised, because the Clubs paid the drivers for their mileage. The Village College had a minibus, which they allowed us to adapt with steps and a grab rail so that it could be hired for some of the outings. Now, the Clubs at Sawtry and Alconbury hire the Social Services Ambulance for their main runs, still using volunteer drivers (paid mileage,) for those members who are easier to transport. FOOD. Some was prepared by the helpers and some bought from the School kitchens. (When we took over the Wednesday Club, we had to pay the full school meals rate, whereas the members paid the subsidised "Meals on Wheels" rate in their attendance fee. The County gave us a grant to make up the difference.) During the school holidays the Meals on Wheels service was sometimes used; sometimes the meal was prepared by a skilled helper. Now that the Sawtry Day Centres meet in the Sports Club, their meals are cooked in the Homecraft Centre and driven across the A1 road. The Alconbury and Stilton Clubs always found helpers to prepare their meals. The Lunch Club members at the Homecraft Centre paid the costs of their materials and a small attendance fee, but often had gifts (eg. of potatoes from one generous potato packaging firm.) OUTINGS and TREATS. Coaches are hired, sometimes with especial provision for wheel chairs; sometimes the Social Services ambulance is hired. Parties are held in one of the public halls. HONORARIA and EXPENSES OF VOLUNTEERS. (including travel and training.) We decided to appoint Organisers on very modest Honoraria. It was felt that the responsibility of supervising and arranging transport for 12 to 24 frail elderly folk and devising activities for them was more than could be expected of a volunteer. We were fortunate to find well qualified Organisers resident in the village, but looking to the future we realised that a small payment would entitle us to require employees to undertake appropriate - 2 - CARESCO History - Theme Six - Money training if necessary. Later, each Day Centre appointed a Deputy Organiser, also with an Honorarium. There is currently considerable debate about the principle of "Paid Volunteers". Apart from the fact that there was no money to pay an adequate wage, we felt that there was a benefit to our staff, while their children were young and might need them at any time, in taking a part- time job in their own village, without the need to find costly transport ten miles to any of the neighbouring towns. All our organisers gained great satisfaction from their work, and were deeply devoted to the interests of their client/friends. Several of them used the experience gained from their work with CARESCO to gain them regular jobs. CARESCO ITSELF NEEDED MONEY for:- AN OFFICE BASE - This was found when the Printshop was taken over. Although we paid no rent, money had to be raised for alterations, maintenance, and above all, heating (especially as the "temporary" Homecraft Centre neared the end of its life.) TELEPHONE, STATIONERY AND POSTAGE - for grant applications and their associated costs, as well as for keeping in touch with the individual projects and administering their finances. MEANS OF KEEPING IN TOUCH with the wider world - the voluntary scene in District and County, and Government policy on Care in the Community as it affected the County and Health Authorities. This was essential to influence the planning of services and inform us of possible sources of funding. It entailed membership of bodies such as Hunts Forum, Cambridgeshire Community Council (now Cambridgeshire ACRE,) and the costs of attending the various conferences and training days they organised. AN ORGANISER WITH TRAINING AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS, to support the Project Organisers and steer the future of the whole organisation. 1989 marked a turning point in CARESCO's thinking. The original Organiser decided to retire, (though she continued as Secretary to the Management Committee.) The status of any successor was an important matter for the whole staff. The Management Committee felt that perhaps the time had come to offer a salary (at Local Government rates,) to the Central Organiser - but the decision had to be taken with the full support of the Project Organisers, who were only paid Honoraria. A "Study Day" was arranged at the nearby Community of Little Gidding (in one of the catchment area villages.) CARESCO into the 90s Some of the 23 Committee members and staff who came to Little Gidding on June 12th were rather apprehensive, wondering how they could contribute to a "Study Day". They were not left - 3 - CARESCO History - Theme Six - Money long in doubt. Angela Hauch, (Huntingdon Voluntary Services Coordinator for Social Services,) divided us and subdivided us into small groups so that no-one could escape the need to share what CARESCO means to us. The weather helped. Several groups went into the sunny garden, looking over the quiet fields from the Chapel of Nicholas Ferrar's Seventeenth Century Community, and we enjoyed getting to know workers in other CARESCO projects during the excellent lunch provided for us by members of the present day Community of Christ the Sower. In the morning, after an icebreaking introduction, we talked through what CARESCO has achieved, and what has been the cost. People spoke of the friendliness of working in a team and the emotional support our projects could give to people after a bereavement. Volunteers themselves gain in confidence by taking on responsibility, and from a focal point for caring within the village we are enabled to provide services to other, perhaps smaller communities. Costs may be financial, (to individuals or organisations,) but we also considered the cost in time taken from our families and in the stress experienced in close emotional situations, or in responsible management positions, (given the rapid turnover of volunteers.) Looking at the future, we felt that it was valuable for the projects to be independent, and that the Organiser needed to be an Enabler, familiar with the workings of each unit. Certain new areas might be developed:- response to the needs of other villages in the catchment area - provision of transport - publicity - and possibly an initiative on the needs of teenagers. An Organiser needed to be based at a known place (the Homecraft Centre,) and familiar with the key people in the Statutory Services and other Voluntary Organisations. It was unanimously agreed that, to attract someone qualified and willing to undertake these tasks, CARESCO should find means to employ a salaried part-time Organiser. CARESCO Annual Report 1988/89 HOW THE MONEY WAS FOUND PAY AS YOU GO: - The people of Sawtry have always recognised that services have to be paid for and have mistrusted handouts. During the fuel crisis in 1974, an instruction went out from the County Council that all community activities must cease. Sawtry Community Association , while appreciating the need to economise, argued that individuals staying at home might in fact use more fuel than would be saved by closing the College. If cost was the only deterrent, they decided to offer to pay that cost from their own funds and recover it from members who wished to use the premises. The County Council allowed the Community Association to buy its own load of oil and put that into the school boilers. All users were told that community activities could continue, but that there would be a levy of #1 an hour to cover fuel costs. All the usual activities paid up and continued. Day Centre and Lunch Club members have always paid for the service they got, and when other groups started, (such as the Tea Dances - not part of CARESCO, but started by its Organiser,) they have always adopted a policy of making realistic charges. We have found that people value having a service organised for them , and are willing to pay reasonable costs. The Craft work done at the various Day Centres has been sold to raise money for outings and treats. - 4 - CARESCO History - Theme Six - Money TIN RATTLING - People in Sawtry (pubs, clubs and individuals,) have always been generous to groups with members they knew personally, especially for clearly defined projects. It has never seemed, however, to be a good use of our organisers' time to run fund- raising events for basic core costs. ONE-OFF GRANTS - The Annual Reports regularly record CARESCO's gratitude to many donors: - BBC Children in Need & the Queen's Jubilee Trust (Special Playscheme); Help the Aged (Minibus adaptations); Hereward Radio (entry to East of England Show); Radio Cambridgeshire Trustline (chairs for the Lunch Club); Sawtry Feast, Grafham Water Lions, RAF Brampton & RAF Wyton (Steps into the small Swimming Pool;) Anglia Telethon and the Hutchinson Trust (Swimming Pool Hoist); Cambridgeshire Community Trust; Village Ventures, and a host of others. PUMP-PRIMING - CARESCO benefitted from several grants from the Joint Finance fund administered by Huntingdon Health Authority to provide starter-grants for cooperative ventures involving health, Social Services and the Voluntary sector. Swimming Therapy and the Special Play Scheme were both helped to start in this way. The central core of CARESCO, however, owes its whole existence to the pump-priming grants obtained over three years from the visionary "Opportunities for Volunteering" fund administered by the Department of Health and Social security, first the General fund and then the Age Concern Fund. These assured us not only the Honoraria of our Organisers but of telephone, stationery and postage costs of the central organisation which was essential to support these and other projects. Organisers who were very skilled at caring for vulnerable people needed the complementary talents of those prepared to write begging letters, to prepare grant applications, to manage accounting systems and to devise and develop new projects. "Opportunities for Volunteering" enabled us to stabilise the running of our fledgeling organisation, giving advice and training to our Organiser (at a Workshop Day with other beneficiaries,) and moreover, giving us #200 more than we had asked for, specifically to be spent on TRAINING our staff and volunteers. Our eyes were opened to the great diversity of experience which could enrich the contributions made by our helpers. (see Theme One.) The success we were able to demonstrate in those three years (coupled with comparable success in other OFV projects county-wide,) helped the County Social Services Deparment to devise its policy for entering into Service Level Agreements with appropriate voluntary groups, CARESCO among them, in 1987/8. SUPPORT IN KIND - The ultimate responsibility for our main premises was taken by Sawtry Village College. Support of all kinds was available from their Community Tutor, Peter Davies. Cambridgeshire Community Council (now Cambridgeshire ACRE,) was also an invaluable source of support. Later on we obtained Payroll Services from them. The Social Services and Health Authorities ran very useful training sessions for our staff and volunteers. In the early days these were free. Later we had to negotiate a rate of payment. - 5 - CARESCO History - Theme Six - Money REGULAR GRANTS - One-off "starter grants" from Social Services covered CARESCO's expenses in the first year, but more security was necessary. No progress at all would have been possible if we had not been supported by SAWTRY PARISH COUNCIL. They set aside #1,000 - a considerable sum in 1982 - and their example reassured any other funders to whom we applied. Other Parishes in the catchment area had smaller precepts, but Alconbury, Stilton Folksworth, Coppingford, Upton and Glatton all contributed according to their means, some very generously. The foundations laid by the Opportunities for Volunteering grants (finishing in 1986/7,) made possible a successful application for Core funding to the COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES, under a "Service Level Agreement" whereby in return for services provided by CARESCO to people living in the villages of the College catchment area, the County gave a grant for three years (reviewed annually,) and undertook to support CARESCO and help it to make its voice heard in formal planning processes. Preparation of a well-presented Application for this grant, setting out clearly the background the needs, the existing support and details of the budget constituted an important learning exercise for CARESCO's Secretary/Organiser. Hazel Shellens, the County Social Services' Volunteer Coordinator for Huntingdon Division, was an able tutor. This Grant continues and the County undertakes as part of our Services Level Agreement to provide regular support from our "Named Officer", currently Graham Cochrane. CONTRACTS - Following the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act, the possibility has developed for CARESCO of contracting for delivery of Day Care services. These have not been followed up, partly because of drawbacks pointed out by John Armstrong:- It must be recognised that community group involvement in contracts and community business activity around community care is potentially a double-edged sword. There is the possibility that such groups will find themselves forced to focus only on those areas for which there are contracts, resulting in the neglect of other equally important areas of development and provision for which there are no contracts. Over time this may significantly skew the work of local community groups and organisations, restricting their ability to respond to new needs. There is also the potential for conflict with local authority unions and workers over the contracting of work, which may be further complicated if the community groups are in receipt of local authority financial support through grant aid. Armstrong - Community Development and Community Care - Principles and Training. p10. BIG CAPITAL GRANTS - "It could be you!" One turning point was in 1989, when CARESCO decided to employ a salaried Organiser. Another watershed was reached in 1996, when increasing dilapidation of the Homecraft Centre, together with increasing pressure on the Community College to use all its rooms for school classrooms, (even the specially-provided Adult Common Room,) drove the Management Committee to consider how a purpose-built Centre for CARESCO could be funded. Sawtry Community College Governors agreed to make land available at a peppercorn rent and an application was made to the National Lottery Charities Board for a - 6 - CARESCO History - Theme Six - Money capital grant to finance the building. Unfortunately the application was not successful. In October 1997 a new application was made under the heading "Community Involvement." GOOD HOUSEKEEPING The complexity of our accounts was a considerable challenge to successive Auditors! In 1987 CARESCO was fortunate to recruit Helen Whitewick as Accounts Manager. Helen had previously worked with the Finance Department of Fenland District Council, but the construction of a coherent accounting system for CARESCO taxed even her experience. During 1988/9 the Management Committee embarked on Reviews of each of the Projects, setting out how each had begun and how it currently worked, so that new members of the Committee could more readily understand what was involved in their management. The Reviews led to Job Descriptions and Letters of Appointment for the Organisers so that their responsibilities (and CARESCO's,) were clear. Helen's work on accounting systems also made possible the planning ahead of a Budget , required by Cambridgeshire County Council as part of our Service Level Agreement. Another important achievement was to rationalise the Printshop Balance Sheet and see that a contribution was made to Core funds in respect of Printshop's use of the Homecraft Centre building. In 1990 Marina Joyce became Accounts Manager and reorganised the presentation of the Accounts so that the cash flow could be monitored monthly. The two applications to the Lottery Charities Board had to be supported by a full Business Plan. (Another learning curve for the Organiser!) Support came this time from a retired Corporate Banker on the Parish Council. One of the three "Key Issues" on which the Plan was constructed was:- FINANCIAL VIABILITY. CARESCO seeks to deliver a cost-effective service with each pound it spends. By its very nature, the operation is people-intensive and involves some admin and statutory costs. Notwithstanding, around 62% of total funds is delivered in services direct to the user base. (57% in 1996.) Our objective over the next 5 years will be to increase this figure to 70% of available funds...The Print Shop will continue to provide a substantial contribution (around 26%) towards available income....Our grant from Cambridgeshire County Council equates to the salary and associated costs of employing one Social Services Officer. CARESCO Business Plan 1997. This constant refinement of systems and procedures illustrates the "added value" which the central organisation of CARESCO gives to each of its satellite projects through their mutual support. Money must not only be raised, but its spending must be justified and accounted for. Appropriate financial systems are important , and management structures must be devised which enable representatives of the community to keep control of what is being done in their name. The next Theme examines how much, and how little bureaucracy CARESCO found was necessary. - 7 -