Collaboration Enabling Fund kicks into action
The Building Change Trust has made its first Building Change Award from the Collaboration Enabling Fund launched in October 2012.
The Collaboration Enabling Fund was established by the Trust to enhance the support for the Northern Ireland community and voluntary sector already being provided through CollaborationNI and will allocate resources in the form of a number of Building Change Awards.
The VIM partnership including VOYPIC, MACS and Include Youth have been awarded £34,000 to carry out specialist finance /accountancy research to support the establishment of shared corporate services and also for a feasibility study to consider organisation co-location.
Koulla Yiasouma, Director, Include Youth said: “With support from this fund, we are able to embark on a genuine collaboration process to ensure the sustainability of services to disadvantaged young people across the three organisations”.
Mary Ryan, CEO, MACS added: “This funding gives us the opportunity to explore the viability of shared premises which has the potential to enhance our organisational cost effectiveness”.
VOYPIC’s CEO Vivian McConvey said: “Key to a successful collaborative social enterprise is an understanding of the complex VAT regulations and public sector procurement rules. This funding enables us to access expert guidance in these areas”.
Bill Osborne, Building Change Trust Chairperson, said: “ There are limits to the support that CollaborationNI can provide and for the progression and implementation of collaboration plans, many organisations may need to procure additional expert help to deal for example with legal, financial and other issues.
“We are pleased to make this award to the VIM partnership and know there will be valuable learning from their work which will be shared with the rest of the sector.”
Awards from the Collaboration Enabling Fund will only be made to organisations to contribute towards the costs of specific activity and support which is not available through CollaborationNI or elsewhere and is needed to further progress their collaboration plans.