CoRe 2019 Case Study: Elizabeth House

Below we highlight the experience and impact for Elizabeth House and its CoRe volunteer team.

The charity

Elizabeth House Community Centre is a modern, warm, welcoming Community Centre in Highbury West Ward. It is open to the local community and is used for everything from leisure classes and education, to after school activities, holiday playscheme and youth groups.

The project 

Having struggled to find the time or expertise needed in the past, Elizabeth House was seeking support to increase the use and profitability of the centre by revamping their branding, financial management processes, and internal and external communications.

Impact on Elizabeth House as a result of CoRe

Capability:

• Recognisable improvement in:

  The organisation’s ability to provide a better service to their beneficiaries;

  The organisation’s governance and/or management

  Capacity:

• Recognisable improvement in:

  The organisation’s ability to engage more beneficiaries;

  Ability to provide new or additional services

  Sustainability:

• Recognisable improvement in their ability to identify opportunities and minimise threats to their organisation

Added value provided by the volunteers

• Pro bono legal advice 

• Design support for annual report 

• Career insight visit organised to Macquarie for young beneficiaries 

• Connecting a young beneficiary with an internship at a client company

Elizabeth House’s CoRe experience

“Our focus was on communication (external and internal) where there has been some major improvements for the organisation thanks to the CoRe volunteers. The organisation now has a new logo, has consulted widely with its users and regular groups, has an improved message and developed new communication materials for external or internal purposes. Thanks to the CoRe programme we have other benefits including an agreement with Slaughter and May for advice on a financial issue which the charity had been trying to resolve for years” Nathalie, Director at Elizabeth House

The Elizabeth House CoRe Volunteer experience

“I assumed that we’d be able to add some value to the charity, but didn’t realise how much value and impact we were able to make. We worked well in terms of our own strengths and it showed that volunteers can make a massive contribution” Ruadhan, Macquarie Group employee

“I think we benefited from a motivated volunteer team. We all took on responsibilities and all developed new skills as a result” Jade, Slaughter and May employee

For more information on the full CoRe programme visit our CoRe pages. If you'd like to access CoRe for your organisation get in touch with info@thebigalliance.org.uk