Our Services
Whatever the project, we want every RNC client to feel we have delivered an assignment above and beyond their expectations. We don't give clients something off the shelf; we believe in delivering assignments bespoke to each client. We are praised for the detail and depth of our work.
RNC spends time getting to know our clients. We start every project with a meeting to ensure we share a clarity of purpose. RNC works to a mutually agreed brief; sometimes, we'll talk to you if we think your brief needs to change.
All assignments have regular review milestones, and we welcome our clients to get in touch at any time during a project.
Fundraising and Funding
Funding and Fundraising support is a significant area of our work.
As not-for-profit organisations face ever-increasing demands linked to the impact of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and growing social inequalities, the need to secure a sustained income base is more important than ever.
We offer both strategic and operational support across both revenue and capital causes.
Our work is varied. We have no prescribed approach other than what works for our client.
We work with organisations that have in-house fundraisers and those that don't.
Our fundraising services include –
Development and review of income generation strategies
Support with tender responses and health checks to ensure organisations are tender/commissioning ready
Developing and refreshing the case for support
Bid-specific support – often related to a significant opportunity that a client feels is outside their in-house capacity
Development of new income streams
Capital appeals
Interim cover
Donor research and prospecting
Fundraising management to ensure compliance with the Fundraising Code and other regulatory requirements
Our client's needs are paramount and always inform our projects.
For some, this may be the delivery of a fully outsourced fundraising service; for others, we may work on a co-delivery basis with a client's team. Co-delivery may include bid-writing for identified opportunities, coaching to develop a client's long-term capacity, mentoring or a peer review of a client's work.
Our experience includes:
WCVA – we developed a strategic mapping report – Mapping of Fundraising by the Voluntary Sector in Wales – to grow a deeper understanding of the levels of voluntary income raised annually by the sector in Wales and how this differs depending on criteria such as organisational structure and purpose, and language medium. The mapping report featured an action plan for improvement.
WCVA – we delivered a report, published by the Bevan Commission, which explores the values and the value of the third sector in supporting Wales health and social care outcomes; and how this can be maximised to help address the present crisis in health and social care.
Newport Yemeni Community Association – we raised money from a number of funders to transition the organisation from a volunteer-led community organisation to one with a small team of employees. RNC has secured Welsh Government Community Facilities Programme and National Lottery Community Fund support to realise NYCA's plans for high-quality dedicated premises for its work with the culturally diverse communities of Newport, South Wales.
WREC – we've supported the training provider to transition from being a subcontracted provider to delivering prime contracts, including Education and Skills Funding Agency traineeships and Department for Work and Pensions and ESF.
Disability Wales – we delivered training and coaching to grow the fundraising capacity of disability organisations across Wales.
Organisational Governance
The nature of the third sector, including the sensitive and, at times, regulated work it delivers, means there is an expectation that third sector organisations have strong governance and leadership.
RNC supports start-up organisations to develop an appropriate legal form, whether a Charity, Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Community Interest Company (CIC), or Not-For-Profit Company.
We've developed constitutions and given practical support in the registration of organisations, as well as supporting organisations in revising their organisational purpose and through mergers and closures.
We facilitate Board Away Days and deliver governance training. Our team has significant hands-on practical experience serving as Trustees and Chairs for various charities and organisations.
Richard Newton served as a founder Board Member of the Fundraising Regulator, the organisation responsible for setting national standards for fundraising across England and Wales. As Chair of Cardiff Wales LGBT Mardi Gras (Cardiff Pride), Richard was WCVA Trustee of the Year.
We help organisations to develop a thorough understanding of the operational context in Wales, such as the obligations placed on them by the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act and other Welsh-specific legislation.
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We support organisations to develop and maintain adequate internal policies to ensure they are run effectively. RNC completes tender readiness exercises for organisations, which aim to grow their income through commissioning.
RNC works with organisations to support the development of effective equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies and strategies that break down barriers, create more inclusive workplaces and ensure equitable service provision. We're experienced in developing monitoring systems to track the effectiveness of EDI policies and strategies.
Our experience includes:
Zoelogic – we supported the diversification of the dance company's Board to reflect better the communities with which it works.
Glamorgan Voluntary Services – we delivered a due diligence assessment of the Vale Voluntary Sector before its merger with Vale Voluntary Services to create Glamorgan Voluntary Services.
Clwb Ifor Bach – we worked with Cardiff's iconic music venue to secure charity registration and supported the development of a Board of Trustees through targeted recruitment, ensuring the board had the skillsets to carry the organisation forward during a period of growth and change. RNC assisted Clwb Ifor Bach recruitment of Trustees to ensure the representation of under-represented groups in the music industry including people from culturally diverse communities, disabled people and women. We supported the new Board with training and the development of organisational policies.
Research and Consultation
RNC's research and consultation services are underpinned by a deep knowledge of the not-for-profit sector and an appreciation of the vulnerabilities of those the sector supports.
Our research provides enriched qualitative and quantitative data to support decision-making and develop a robust evidence base for service delivery or change through mapping established provision, understanding delivery environments and user need.
We can reach seldom-heard groups and establish trust through a shared understanding. We deliver both online and face-to-face consultation. Our consultation work may be delivered in traditional settings such as a client's base, arts and heritage and community venues and we have a successful track record of working in prisons, homeless shelters, rehab centres and on the street.
RNC ensures focus groups are accessible. We have delivered consultations using BSL, simultaneous translation, with palantypists and in different community languages.
As a consultancy with its origins in Wales, we have embedded the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales) in our research projects; RNC has worked directly with the Future Generations Commissioner's office.
Our experience includes:
C3SC, on behalf of the Cardiff and Vale Regional Partnership – we delivered focus groups for the council's Population Needs Assessment.
Stonewall Cymru – we delivered a consultation which explored the needs of the Trans and Non-Binary communities in Wales to support the charity plan for their next delivery phase.
Welsh Government – we were the lead delivery partner working with Social Care Wales, the Bevan Foundation and Helpforce Wales to develop a framework for volunteering in health and social care environments in Wales.
Save The Children – for the charity's Future of Childhood report, we carried out data analysis of interviews conducted with UK-wide professionals working in education, services, and policy.
Consultation and research can support partnership development, business planning and feasibility studies, broader organisational development, public affairs and demonstrate viability and secure investment.
We use a breadth of approaches, including
Surveying and polling
Focus groups
Structured interviews
Data collation and analysis using our networks and techniques to reach beyond the data available in the public domain
Literature reviews
Modelling and mapping
Community consultation is a growing requirement of funders, local authorities, and service delivery agencies to ensure community views are reflected in services and their needs are met. In 2021 alone, we delivered over 65 focus groups facilitating engagement for Health Boards, national and local government, think tanks, the education sector and membership bodies.
We ensure 'hidden voices' are heard but protected in our consultation projects. Some RNC team members have lived experience across different protected characteristics.
Business Plans and Feasibility
A robust business plan is the bedrock of any organisation or project. RNC helps not-for-profits thrive and make informed decisions by developing high-quality business places. We work to Green Book and Five Case principles where this is required.
Business plans can be organisation wide or project-specific, for example, linked to capital builds. We are experienced in guiding an organisation through the necessary RIBA stages and the use of the Five Case approach.
Often, RNC works with organisations over time to create a plan that develops its organisational purpose in a responsible and achievable way.
Feasibility studies help to explore options for new ways of working or solutions to the challenges organisations face. We use our experience in change management, including Theory of Change, to navigate challenge and opportunity.
Our approach is always collaborative and supports change, development, and growth.
Our experience includes:
Clwb Ifor Bach – we're carrying out business planning for the £6 million capital re-development through the different RIBA stages for Cardiff's iconic music venue.
Disability Wales – we delivered a business plan including a marketing strategy for the organisation's consultancy portfolio
Neath Port Talbot Council – we conducted a feasibility study and design appraisal for the council's cultural asset Pontadawe Arts Centre's proposed cinema extension, securing investment from the local authority and Arts Council of Wales. We were involved in the revision of the business plan post-pandemic.
Save The Children – we created a local strategic plan through a significant systems 'change process involving over 150 stakeholder organisations in the Bettws Early Learning Community to improve the outcomes for early years children in Bettws, in Newport, South Wales.
Quality Assurance and Impact Measurement
There is a growing expectation by funders and the public that not-for-profit organisations deliver to the highest quality possible. Yet this expectation comes in an operating environment with shrinking funding, increased pressure on resources and an organisation's delivery capacity.
Organisational stakeholders – external and internal – need to be reassured of an organisation's financial and operational effectiveness. Effective quality assurance and impact measurement are crucial to evidencing how an organisation delivers positive changes to funders, donors, service users, and the wider public.
We understand the connection between equality, effective management, sustainability, accessibility, engagement and participation in delivering high-quality outcomes.
RNC is experienced in developing impact frameworks and using quality assurance tools and evaluative methodologies to maximise service quality and linking this to commissioner and public policy. We ensure evidence is presented in a language that has resonance and value to a client's audiences.
Our team has a breadth of experience as Chief Executive Officers, Senior Managers and Trustees with oversight over quality and performance. RNC team members have been Quality Assessors leading education and care inspections or been members of different Boards of Regulators.
Our experience includes:
Voices From Care Cymru – we delivered a structural review and embedded quality assurance and impact measurement to support the organisation's reporting functions and development.
Third Sector Support Wales – we developed a business case to explore options for the delivery of quality assurance support to 48,000 voluntary sector organisations in Wales, given the proposed changes to the England/Wales Trusted Charity Scheme run by NCVO.
British Red Cross – we developed – on behalf of the Wales Community Resilience Forum – a toolkit for use across Wales to maximise the impact of volunteers through effective planning and implementation at the local, regional, and national level adding value to the regulatory responsibilities of the statutory sector's emergency planners required by the Civil Contingencies Act.
Carmarthenshire County Council – we delivered a strategic review of Carmarthenshire Voluntary Services, helping the organisation maximise its impact on the county post-pandemic.
Evaluation
We live, work, and play in a constantly changing environment.
Voluntary sector organisations play a pivotal role in responding to today's most pressing issues, including the climate emergency, Covid recovery, the cost-of-living crisis, and developing the case for diversity in response to movements such as Black Lives Matter.
To fully understand the difference between individual projects and the collective work of the not-for-profit sector means evaluation is essential to inform funding decisions, project design and public policy.
RNC sees evaluation as integral to the different elements needed for not-for-profit organisations to thrive by establishing an informed approach to planning and raising funds for high-quality operational delivery.
We can offer a light touch or a more substantive evaluation; we can work throughout a project's lifecycle or at fixed points. RNC recognises the resource challenges many voluntary sector organisations face; we can design evaluative frameworks that collect data while being embedded in operational delivery.
Our third-party impartiality and multi-faceted knowledge of the not-for-profit sector means we can identify meaningful benchmarks for our clients. We will evaluate your operational delivery and projects with honesty and sensitivity.
Our experience includes:
EYST – we evaluated a National Lottery Community Fund supported project working in partnership with selected CVCs to develop the resilience of lived experience BAME micro-charities.
NHS Charities Together In Wales – we worked with a broad range of health and wellbeing organisations to evaluate and map priority themes to inform how they might spend the additional public donations made in response to the pandemic.
Gwent Wildlife Trust – we evaluated volunteering, employability and capital development activities funded through the UK Community Renewal Fund.
Our team section is signed off just before Xmas. Can re-send if you want to review assignments.