As Scotland’s leading voluntary sector consultancy, BTA are determined to support Scottish non-profits and charities in understanding, and facing, the challenges of the near future.
The current challenges are many – the CV19 funding cliff edge, Brexit, global unrest, cost of living increases and the difficulty in recruiting staff for care and leadership posts. Charities face the prospect of managing continual uncertainty over a prolonged period.
Time for reflection and analysis is short and frequently non-existent as crisis management takes hold but it is vital that charities continue to exhibit sound governance, be able to react quickly to new challenges, retain the trust of their stakeholders and understand their funders’ strategic priorities if they stand a chance of remaining sustainable and credible.
The impact of CV19 has also resulted in a pronounced shift in public opinion which is focused as never before on those who do not act in a socially responsible manner – no organisation or individual is exempt from scrutiny.
Funders in turn will want to ensure that their support is provided to organisations that are ethical, transparent and can evidence their benefit to the communities they serve.
BTA are determined to support charities in developing a strong awareness of ESG in its broadest sense and how it can offer a new approach to help them deliver their mission, develop new partnerships and increase their funding opportunities. In particular, a proactive approach to Sustainability is one of the key factors that charities must tackle. Handled properly it can be more of an opportunity than a threat, offering the chance to re-shape, re-priorities and recharge organisational mission and operational approaches.
And the good news is that a roadmap is readily available. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in 2015 and are already widely used by governments and the private sector. The SDGs offer a robust set of management and communication tools that provides an effective route map to guide your organisation through this time of unprecedented change and increase its resilience.
We’re therefore delighted to be speaking at the AGCC North-east Scotland’s Values and Vision event and contributing to the day by introducing the key principles behind the SDGs, their relevance to the funding landscape in Scotland and how they can be adapted to the needs of not for profit organisations both large and small.
Our expert speaker commands this subject like few others. Ann McKechin is a Senior BTA Associate and she works with our clients to help them become more aware of ESG issues.
After a substantial career in private legal practice, she was elected in 2001 as a Member of Parliament for Glasgow Maryhill and from 2005 to 2015 represented the Glasgow North seat. Between 2008 and 2010 she was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Scotland Office and from 2010 to 2011 was Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland in the Labour Shadow Cabinet.
Her recent experience includes being Executive Director of the Scottish Power Foundation as well as Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Scottish Power and the former Chair of the Scottish Grantmakers Association. She is a member of the General Optical Council Hearings Panel, the Board of Public Health Scotland, the University of West of Scotland Court, the advisory panel of IPPR Scotland and a Trustee of UN Women UK.