Running a charity can be daunting task

Being a trustee comes with a huge amount of responsibility, day to day administration, and ever-increasing legislation to follow. Many people become trustees before fully appreciating this – those that do are often more reluctant making it difficult to get good trustees. 


All of this can severely impair the enjoyment of philanthropy, and its effectiveness.

What if there was a better way to give back….

Management and administration of every aspect of your charity

A CHARITY SERVICE TO MEET YOUR NEEDS

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We partner with philanthropists and organisations who share our passion – to deliver charity with maximum benefit.

We offer management for every aspect of establishing and operating a charity, or we can facilitate the giving of grants through our own charity. For our most ambitious clients, we also design and deliver special projects with massive charitable impact.

MAKING GIVING MORE REWARDING

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The administration involved in setting up and running a charity can be a huge burden on trustees, and a distraction from the real purpose of the charity. We aim to relieve trustees of that burden and allow them to focus on what really matters. 

It is our goal to make ‘giving’, a rewarding and seamless experience for all our clients. We believe we have a service for every charity or philanthropist.

A PROFESSIONAL, NOT-FOR-PROFIT SERVICE

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Our team has broad knowledge and experience in business operations, finance and managing charities. Our operating model ensures that the organisations we work with are compliant with latest regulations and best practice guidelines. 

We are not-for-profit so that more of your funds go to those who need them the most. We understand that every charity is different and so our services are completely bespoke and tailored to your needs.

 

OUR PROMISE TO TRUSTEES

better outcomes for beneficiaries

We establish and sustain efficient processes that deliver maximum benefit to beneficiaries. Our robust financial controls ensure that all spending is done responsibly and economically, and that as much money as possible is diverted to advancing the charity’s objectives. We conduct enhanced due diligence in the grant making process to ensure that all projects are scoped and delivered to achieve outcomes with value for money.

TOTAL COMPLIANCE AND CONFIDENCE  

Trustees can be confident that their charity is operating in line with industry best practice and compliant with the latest legislation. Clear on their roles and responsibilities, and freed from day-to-day administrative burden, trustees can concentrate on the leadership and decision-making of advancing their charity’s objectives. Philanthropists and Trustees can enjoy the rewards that philanthropy offers, safe in the knowledge their charity is operating effectively.

SERVICES

operations & human resources

We can manage every aspect of your charity’s operations, as well as organising HR services for charity employees – however, most of our charities find the comprehensive nature of our services mean they don’t need to.

grantmaking

We are diligent in making sure that charity funds are responsibly provided to and used by grant recipients. We manage every stage of the process including prospecting potential recipients up-front, scoping projects with clear timescales and deliverables, administering payments, and on-going reporting and interventions, when required.

HR services

Most of our charities find they don’t need to employ staff in light of the comprehensive services provided by SORBUS.org. This promotes more streamlined organisations and removes the substantial legal and administrative burden of employing a workforce. For those that find they still need to employ staff, we can organise HR services including recruitment and payroll.

third party management and correspondence

Management of all interactions and correspondence with third parties, including professional service organisations such as: solicitors, accountants, banks, and auditors, regulatory bodies: the Charity Commission, Companies House and HMRC, as well as donors, grant recipients and the general public.

financial management

We offer complete management of your charity’s finances. Our secure and transparent processes give you total control and visibility of your spend and revenue. We’ll do the leg work when it comes to opening and administering bank accounts, preparing annual accounts and audits, and payments and budgeting.

banking services

Opening charity bank accounts is a notoriously difficult process. Speak to someone who has done it recently and they’ll tell you it can take not just months, but years, as well as required countless hours of forms, emails, and phone calls. We take this burden off your hands.

We have established financial controls to ensure secure and responsible administration of your bank account, and management of all payments and income.

accounting

Our highly automated accounting processes provide efficient preparation of monthly and annual accounts. We have established relationships with auditors and will facilitate independent examinations and audits as required.

budgeting

We’ll prepare and manage charity budgets and cost variance reports to provide trustees will predictable visibility of where and how funds are being used.  

regulatory assurance

Our goal is to ensure our clients charities are managed according to industry best practice and are always compliant with the latest legislation. We provide training and guidance for trustees to give them confidence that they are responsibly completing their duties.

trustee knowledge review & training 

We work closely with trustees to determine their specific level of knowledge and competency across their duties, and create and deliver bespoke training packages. By doing this we ensure trustees have everything they need to be confident to carry out their roles and responsibilities.

engagement with regulators 

The list of regulators and legislation for charities to adhere to is a long one that includes the Charity Commission, Companies House, HMRC, and the Information Commissioner’s Office, among others. We are experienced in establishing new charities, as well as managing existing ones, and all the regulatory requirements that come with both. We can prepare and submit applications to the Charity Commission to register new charities – this can be a complex process with substantial delays for deficient applications.

liaison with specialist services

On occasions Trustees will need to take formal professional advice. In too many instances this is done too late, if at all, and finding the right quality of advice can be hard for a Trustee to assess. Our experience and established network of reliable professional firms and practitioners means that we are able to support the Trustees in getting the right advice, at the right time.

governance

We have a flexible target operating model for charities – built on lessons learned from high performing companies in the the private sector. This includes: the implementation and maintenance of robust processes and policies, governance cycles that prioritise transparency and efficiency, and project management principles to mitigate risks and protect schedule and cost.

meetings & reporting

We conduct all the necessary administration to ensure effective trustee meetings and record taking. This gives trustees the freedom to concentrate on leadership and decision making, as well as the enjoyment of seeing the positive impact of their efforts.

risk management

Charities face a wide range of risks with financial and legal implications for both organisation and trustee personally. Our risk management process provides visibility and mitigation to remove surprises and protect trustees and the organisation from unnecessary adverse consequences.

policy making & review

We have a catalogue of existing policies and processes that can be tailored to the specific needs of a charity. We’ll implement the selected operating model and conduct regular reviews to ensure process adherence as well as flex with the ever moving legislative landscape.

digital services

We provide a range of services to bring charities up to date with the latest digital and technological practices, including management of the charity’s online presence, and secure and responsible data handling.

online presence

We work with developers and marketing professionals to establish an online presence for our charities. We can manage domain names, email accounts and websites to perform a range of activities including general correspondence, processing of grant applications, and building brand awareness.   

data security

Our ‘digital vault’ is a secure online data storage platform that contains all the essential organisational records and information. Access is carefully managed to mitigate the potentially costly risk of a data breach. Trustees can access the platform at any time through a verified account to provide ultimate transparency of the charity’s operations and accounts. 

digital processes

We are committed to using technology to enabling efficient way of working. We use a range of digital platforms including Google Workspace, DocuSign, Jotform and HSBCnet to deliver processes that prioritise ease of use, and transaction speed, without compromising security.

OUR WORK

GRANT GIVING CHARITY

a grant giving charity supporting inner city young people from disadvantaged backgrounds

over £2,100,000 donated or pledged since 2014

more than 1,900 young people sent on life changing residential courses

funds activity that benefits thousands of young people every year 

SORBUS.org provide comprehensive management services that include the administration of meetings, reporting and governance, banking and accounting, and management of the end-to-end grant giving process.

URBAN REGENERATION FOUNDATION

an innovative foundation using entrepreneurship as a catalyst for the regeneration of Stoke-on-Trent

70 people provided with 12 months education in entrepreneurship since 2022

SORBUS.org have been involved since and including the foundation’s inception in 2022. As well as comprehensive management services, we provide project management and delivery support to a complex programme of work that has facilitated the creation of a bespoke Masters course at Staffordshire University, and the funding and education of 70 entrepreneurs since 2022.

Speak to our team to understand how SORBUS.org can help your charity maximise its impact

t:    01785 503010

e:   admin@sorbus.org.uk