1. AM 3
Making Ripples: earning from
community assets
Chair: Lee Robinson, Sustainable Funding Officer, NCVO
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Sustainable Funding Project

2. Graham Collins
Community Development Manager,
Barking and Dagenham CVS
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Sustainable Funding Project

3. Making Ripples: earning from
community assets

4. What £3m buys…
 …20 months of speed learning
 Office space for 10 organisations
 Hot desk space for 30 new start-ups
 Large hall with professional stage
 3 modern, flexible meeting rooms
 Bright & airy lounge areas to relax & network

5. Can assets earn you income?

6. How we developed the market
 Bold with pricing
 Sent a clear ‘quality’ message to the market
 Consistent and transparent pricing
 Market aggressively and unapologetically
 Mixed use – community & private
 Invest in the spaces on offer

7. Immediate benefits
 New & improved services
 Wider geographical reach
 Access to new beneficiary groups
 New skills and expertise
 Stronger, united voice
 More integrated or coordinated approach

8. Hard won benefits
 Financial savings and better use of resources
 Independence
 Competitive advantage
 Reduced duplication of service delivery
 Greater capacity to replicate success
 Mutual support between local organisations

9. Achievements
 Completed fit-out & enhanced space
 Established a thriving weekend market
 Hosted the London Ambassadors
 90% of serviced office rented
 All tenants have seen increased footfall

10. Lessons learnt
 Building spec. – never perfect, hindsight…
 Facilities management is time-consuming
 Maintaining a community spirit is key
 Volunteers can be a huge asset
 Creating ‘ownership’ by the local community
 CVS as landlord – necessity to be firm

11. The future
 Growing current market & creating new ones
 Offer diverse packages to suit all occasions
 Include & nurture the local community
 Keeping the Centre dynamic & relevant
 Our new ‘landlord’ role & relationship w. VCS

12. Thank you
Graham Collins
Community Development Manager
020 8532 7310
graham.collins@bdcvs.org.uk