#SCC2020Review
This thread is a reflection of how one small charity coped with the pandemic. Our story is no more or less important than those of our 15,000 members or larger charities. What it demonstrates, for the uninitiated, is the power of #Charity to be a force for good

January - like all good organisations, we were doing what was expected & developing our new strategic plan. The focus at this point was to be upon the smallest of the smallest charities.

We were redesigning our services to be more in depth, & more holistic - new partnerships

If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that all the planning in the world can't prepare you for the unexpected.

Meanwhile, talk of COVID was a distant roar from far off corners, there was no reason to expect it would have such a devastating impact on us all

Our biggest worry at the time, as always with all #SmallCharities was how are we going to keep going long term, and more specifically how are we going to move away from an suggestion of a London and south east bias, how are we going to #LevelUp - the new buzz term

February comes, and talk of COVID is starting to come closer to home. Everyone at SCC is off sick during the month, with what we thought was simply a really bad cold, may in retrospect have been something different!

Plans are underway to launch our new strategy. Our helpdesk changes its focus to provide more work in depth, we are pulling together our training programme for 2020 based on our training survey results from late 2019.

March comes, and the joy of planning is replaced by the feeling of being in a surreal crisis. Charities start leaving offices, community centres, charity shops for what we thought maybe a few weeks

Faced with some tough choices in March, decisions have to be made. To continue or to suspend services. Never an easy choice for #Charities especially when the demand for services increases. Uncertainty everywhere & all the talk of is about 'repivoting' digital & working at 'pace'

Our own digital capacity is challenged, whilst we all had our laptops, our systems aren't set up for remote working. Takes getting used to. We work with @wethecatalysts to produce guides for on online conferencing for #SmallCharities

Very much needed
https://www.thecatalyst.org.uk/resources/remote-working

Meanwhile our website falls over again! Impractical design and very clunky uploads means sharing information is very very difficult.

In comes Digital Candle to help us find a temp fix to our website. Meanwhile, our plan for 9 months time for a new website is bought forward

The sector starts to consider the economic impact of COVID. SCC was the first organisation to come out with a survey of its members views and results. Shock waves as we report that 70% of charities don't think they can last more than 3 months - based on a 500 respondents

Back at SCC, we pick up the pace with a 400% increase in calls to the helpdesk, no work mobiles and just our laptops to hand.

In a moment of inspiration we consider developing new online themed clusters and structuring our services to fit in with the cycle of recovery

April and it becomes very clear that COVID is having a disproportionate impact on certain groups and communities. Inequality is a very real part of the pandemic.

Our work starts to focus on being where members need us to be. We are far from perfect, but we remain responsive

We are producing three newsletters a week, felt like information overload for us producing it, but demand for clarity and especially guidance around safe delivery and fundraising are pivotal - information and a sense of community is key

May - still only 3 of us at SCC HQ, trustee board meeting every 2 weeks to help keep us on track. The plan we created in Jan is still good, but we are delivering at a scale & in ways we had not envisaged

A renewed focus on racial justice following the murder of George Floyd

Moved by sense of compassion more people want to set up charities

Lottery opens its COVID Emergency Response Fund. Helpful but not enough for the sector that asked for & still needs a lot more.

So begins our Funding Talks series. Weekly meetings more than 100+ on first call

June - #SmallCharities Week with @TheFSI & colleagues

Usually a time of great joy and celebration, this year the finale on Saturday is retitled Appreciation Day

Glad to the MPs who contributed to this short film.
Be warned will make you emotional...

Back at SCC HQ, new colleagues join us, and the team expands thanks to new funding from @TNLComFund and additional grants from @thetudortrust and @EsmeeFairbairn - thank you

The fight to save charities continues....

July and we are in full swing, take up on training and meet-ups is growing...

August - some down time for colleagues, but demand from members is unabated and a strong cohort want online activities to continue during the month - of course we oblige

September - a feeling of semi normality, and all the talk is of Building Back Better. Discussions rage on about more investment in the sector, but the demands are for more evidence to demonstrate the need.

October - and the optimism of the summer turns to disappointment as local lockdowns become all too necessary. Local councils, strong supporters of small charities are starting to feel financially constrained

November - Attention turns to fears also over Brexit and what will that mean. We push that aside as once again we return to tiered lockdowns and test and trace becomes more important

December- and here we are. At the end of a year unlike any other, where #Charities like all sectors have been challenged. Financial resilience remains a key concern for 3 our 4 #SmallCharities at the moment. It is clear no more money from government, no changes to Gift Aid or

the Job Retention Scheme, cuts to funding, & now we are starting to see the closure of #Charities

Prediction, big & small charities will close, new charities will emerge, but it will take a long time for the sector to recover - all at a time when we have been #NeverMoreNeeded