Using your professional skills to assist voluntary and other organisations such as small businesses can be particularly rewarding. Valuable projects can be started with an injection of professional help e.g. helping put together a funding bid, drawing up a strategic plan, doing architectural drawings for a new community centre, giving free legal advice.
There are several organisations that exist to bring together those who wish to offer their professional skills and those who wish to benefit from them.
ProHelp
ProHelp is a national network of professional firms who give their time and expertise for free to voluntary and community groups.
Established in 1989 by Business in the Community, ProHelp has grown to 900 firms in 42 locations and is committed to providing well over £3.5 million worth of professional advice every year.
For more information go to www.bitc.org.uk
The Cranfield Trust
The Cranfield Trust is a national charity providing free consultancy to small and medium sized charities across the UK in a variety of management areas.
The Trust holds a register of 400 volunteers from the commercial sector who all hold professional qualifications such as MBAs and accountancy.
For more information go towww.cranfield.ac.uk
The Princes Trust
The Princes Trust helps young people, targeting 14 to 30 year olds who are unemployed, in or leaving care, educational underachievers and ex-offenders.
One of its programmes is to support young people’s business ventures, which involves volunteers as business mentors. The mentor meets regularly with the young person to provide business advice, guidance, monitoring and counselling
For more information go to www.princes-trust.org.uk
www.professionals4free.org.uk
A web portal has been developed to enable voluntary and community groups ‘one stop shop’ access to the free professional help offered by business.
To visit the web portal go to www.professionals4free.org.uk
IT4Communities
IT4Communities is the leading national IT volunteering programme, introducing skilled, volunteer IT Professionals to voluntary and community organisations looking for help with IT projects and promoting volunteering among IT Professionals and companies.
Since IT4Communities was founded 5 years ago, IT4C has successfully delivered over £2.5 million worth of IT support to the voluntary and community sector, building up a database of over 4700 volunteers, over 2000 charities and more than 2100 volunteer projects.
IT4Communities' services are free to registered charities, non-profit and community groups.
For further information please go to:
www.it4communities.org.uk