Practical systems and reliable support for Barnes Cotton Districts

When we needed a new provider to support our governance, finance and grant administration, we wanted a team that could make the transition straightforward while giving us confidence that these important areas were being managed properly.

Since June 2023, Beyond Profit has provided that support, bringing our governance, finance and grant administration together and introducing practical systems that make our day-to-day work more efficient.

About Barnes Cotton Districts

Barnes Cotton Districts charities provide financial assistance to people on low incomes who are living with severe illness or disability, or recovering from serious illness while remaining at home.

Finding the right support

We needed to find a new provider when the person delivering the service through our previous provider was retiring and the provider decided not to continue offering the service.

Some of our trustees had worked with Beyond Profit previously, so we already had confidence that the team would be a good fit and could provide the quality of service we needed.

Beyond Profit took responsibility for managing the handover, dealing proactively with issues as they arose. This made the transition straightforward and helped minimise disruption for us.

Having our governance, finance and grant administration supported by one team also gives us greater continuity across these important areas.

Beyond Profit acts as our charity secretary, organising trustee meetings, preparing agendas and papers, taking minutes and following up agreed actions. The team also administers grant payments once applications have been approved.

Their charity expertise gives us an experienced perspective to draw on during trustee discussions and decision-making.

Making our grant process more efficient

One of the biggest changes has been to our grant application process.

Previously, the process was largely manual. Applicants downloaded a form from our website, completed it and returned it by post or email. This wasn’t the most efficient way to process information, presented potential data security issues and made applications harder to track consistently through each stage.

Beyond Profit developed a new online grant application system for us, giving us a more secure, efficient and joined-up process.

It has reduced paperwork and improved the consistency and quality of the information we receive. We can track applications more easily from submission through to the final decision and payment, and trustees have clearer, more accessible information when reviewing applications.

Communication with applicants has improved too. They now receive an automated email confirming their submission and providing a unique reference number, followed by notifications whenever their application status changes. This means applicants are kept informed and individual applications are much easier to identify and track.

Improved financial administration

We have also seen a notable improvement in our financial administration, with more efficient processes making it easier for clear and timely financial information to be provided to trustees.

We receive quarterly management accounts alongside our trustee meetings, including reporting against budget, as well as an annual budget for trustee approval.

Together with the improvements to our grant administration, this gives us better visibility of the charity’s finances and activities, supported by more efficient and reliable processes behind the scenes.

Confidence that things are being taken care of

For us, the relationship with Beyond Profit is about more than introducing new systems. We value having a friendly, approachable team that follows things through and gives us confidence that important tasks are being handled properly.

As Sharman Birtles, Chair of the Trustees, says:
“All the Staff are extremely helpful and often go above and beyond their remit.”

Beyond Profit gives us dependable day-to-day support alongside practical systems that work for our charity, allowing our trustees to have confidence that the essential administration behind Barnes Cotton Districts is being taken care of.