CO3 WORK ‘IMPORTANT AND INVALUABLE’

Posted on March 27, 2012 by co3livefeed

John McMullan, Chief Executive of Bryson Charitable Group, gives his thoughts on the success of the CO3 conference that took place in February.

John McMullan, Chief Executive of Bryson Charitable Group.

It was a privilege to attend the 2012 CO3 Conference “Dealers in Hope” in the City Hotel in Derry over 23rd and 24th February 2012. CO3 again demonstrated their knack of producing a high quality conference on an important theme that is most relevant to those people who are leading third sector organisations in Northern Ireland and beyond.

The two international keynote speakers, Dr John E. Brothers, Senior Professor at the Support Centre for Non Profit Managers in USA, and Rick Moyers, Vice President of Programmes and Communications Meyer Foundation USA, gave challenging and thought-provoking presentations, which included life stage analysis for third sector organisations and getting real about finance. Both were well received and provoked stimulating debate during their presentation and again later in the margins of the conference.

In addition to the wonderful range of speakers and panels, the experience of two of Northern Ireland’s third sector experienced leaders – discussing their actual experience of addressing a merger that wasn’t – was so insightful that it still resonates with those who attended even after the event. The networking opportunities, and in particular the ‘time out’ to talk socially to peers and leading organisations in Northern Ireland’s third sector, is so valuable and an opportunity which is not available often enough.

I found the conference so useful and enjoyed it so much, I can’t wait until the next one. I would like to acknowledge the important and valuable work that CO3 does, in supporting those individuals, who lead organisations in our vibrant third sector.

REACH OF THIRD SECTOR “VASTLY IMPROVED” SAYS HEAD OF LEADERSHIP BODY

Posted on February 22, 2012 by co3livefeed

The reach of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland has “vastly improved” thanks to improvements in management, according to the head of Northern Ireland’s major organisation for third sector leaders.

Majella McCloskey, chief executive of CO3 (Chief Officers Third Sector), is expected to make the comments at the opening of the CO3 conference which is taking place this Thursday and Friday in the City Hotel, Derry~Londonderry.

Majella will outline: “In spite of the difficulties that bodies in the voluntary and community sector have faced in securing funding for their activities, we’ve still seen a tremendous effort made to meet the needs of extremely vulnerable service users. They’ve been pushed all the way but leaders in this field are still delivering where it matters; taking best practice from around the world and harnessing new tools for the benefit of people in Northern Ireland.”

The conference, compered by local broadcaster Sarah Brett, will hear keynote speakers from a variety of international conference guests and is expected to generate research findings about the state of charitable giving in Ireland and outline how sentiment has changed towards charities as the economic crisis has unfolded.

Majella is expected to say: “CO3 has a strong track record of delivering leadership training and support that enables the heads of charities and voluntary groups here to build world-class organisations.

“The conference and awards will provide an excellent opportunity for leaders to share best practice as well as rewarding those who have displayed real skills in a diverse range of categories. We’re looking forward to a really productive and practical learning opportunity for the sector.”

CO3 is an organisation made up of almost 300 heads of charities and voluntary groups in Northern Ireland. It provides support and training to the leaders of those organisations to ensure that they can maximise scarce resources and manage their organisations more efficiently.

The awards will recognise the efforts of leaders in categories such as Leading Growth and Innovation, Leading on Political Impact and Third Sector Chairperson of the Year.

“A PLATFORM TO THRIVE” DAVID LANE, ECCLESIASTICAL INSURANCE

Posted on February 22, 2012 by co3livefeed

Ecclesiastical Insurance is the chief sponsor of the CO3 Awards and Conference. In this guest post, David Lane , Managing Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance Irish Business, explains how they’re different and why working with CO3 has proved to be a good fit for both parties.

By David Lane

Ecclesiastical Insurance is an insurance company that specialises in faith, charity care, education and heritage insurance. This is our 125^th year, and we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. It’s a competitive field – but we feel that there are few key ways that we’re different from other players in the market.

Firstly, our structure is very rare within the industry. We’re not purely commercial – we’re owned by a charity and we aim to deliver a substantial share of our profits to back to charities. How we operate as a business fits perfectly with our ethos; it means that as well as offering a first-class service to charitable bodies, that we share value through supporting local communities. In all senses, we try to stand behind the work of the charitable sector and give it a platform to thrive on the island of Ireland.

We believe that we offer third sector bodies a totally integrated value proposition. Relationships are crucial to success in the voluntary and community sector – a co-operative approach is much more conducive to mutual future success. It simply isn’t feasible or sensible to take a short-term approach to these things; and as such we actively seek to take a long-term approach to relationships. It’s about going beyond the contract – paying out when something goes wrong. It’s about helping charities discover new ways to avoid these risks in the first place. Whether that’s on a strategic level, by helping them shape their corporate governance, or on an operational one, by tweaking and improving safety procedures around events requiring public liability insurance, we constantly aim to deliver something new. Every charity is different – there’s no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ policy and we recognise that the challenges our partners come up against will require a tailored solution. Fundamentally, it’s about the ability to listen and come up with creative approaches and our customers appreciate that.

One of the things that attracted me to Ecclesiastical Insurance is the palpable sense of dynamism throughout the company. There’s a genuine desire to give back that goes beyond the profit motive and is, I think, indicative of the kind of people that are attracted to working in third sector organisations. As a group we want to be the preferred partner for charities on the island of Ireland and in order to do so I feel that Ecclesiastical has to show that our culture and our organisational belief is much closer to that of the third sector than a conventional insurer.

I think we’re successful in doing that; in many ways, the team at Ecclesiastical reminds me of a family-run business. There are people who have been in the organisation for 20 years in Ireland and they continue to show tremendous enthusiasm and passion for the work they do. That kind of continuity is hard to come by and helps us to continually pass on our values to new team members.

CO3 is an organisation that’s all about leadership and that’s what attracted us to being the sponsor of the CO3 awards. Working in partnership with them will help us reach a broader audience and demonstrate how much we have to offer the third sector in Northern Ireland. A key quality of great leaders is a deep understanding of the risks and challenges that their organisations face, so we feel that there’s a real consistency across what both our organisations are trying to do.

As Ecclesiastical looks forward to the next 125 years with optimism, our culture and ethos will continue to inform and shape all the decisions we make. We’re committed to being a modern insurance company that brings all the benefits of modern technology to our customers and we welcome these awards and conference as a great way for the third sector in Northern Ireland to share modern methods for best practice.

STEVEN AGNEW MLA WELCOMES CO3 AWARDS AND CONFERENCE

Posted on January 24, 2012 by co3livefeed

Steven Agnew, leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland and member of the All-Party Group on the Voluntary and Community sector today welcomed the work of CO3 and the Leadership Awards and Conference taking place in the City Hotel in Derry~Londonderry on the 23^rd – 24^th February.

“At the moment, organisations operating in the voluntary and community sector are experiencing a squeeze on their finances from both ends: in terms of what they receive from government and what individuals can donate. As a result, it is more important than ever that the sector has strong leadership to ensure the most efficient use of these scarce resources.

“I firmly believe that the voluntary and community sector doesn’t often get the credit it deserves for the help it offers the most vulnerable in our society. Individuals can sometimes fall through the cracks of statutory provision and the safety net that charitable institutions provide is vital. CO3 has members from an incredibly diverse range of third sector bodies and that is a testament to the strength in depth of the sector here in Northern Ireland. The CO3 Leadership Awards and Conference present a wonderful opportunity for the sharing of best practice, but also to appreciate the fine work carried out by many exceptional leaders.

“What we often see is the voluntary and community sector operating as a real driver of innovation; be that in service delivery or financing arrangements. The sector has the potential to generate ideas that reshape the way public and private organisations do business and when we reflect on the pressing need to grow the knowledge economy in Northern Ireland, it’s vital to recognise the impact of a sector that is generating so many valuable ideas.

“There are around 27,000 people involved in the third sector in Northern Ireland and the increase in awareness and participation is a testament to the quality of leadership on offer. This kind of social entrepreneurship, where individuals are seeking to benefit the public, rather than themselves, is to be wholeheartedly commended.”