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This guide is intended to be a useful resource for others interested in setting up a group like ours.
Drawing on the experiences gained from setting up and running hovenaturally, we include some tips, references and resources that we have found helpful, and that will hopefully help you along the way.
This includes a step-by-step practical guide, and comments on our experiences as we went through the processes outlined below.
This guide is intended to be useful for others interested in setting up a group like ours.
Drawing on the experiences gained from setting up and running Hovenaturally included are some tips, references and resources that we found helpful and that will hopefully help you along the way.
There are so many ways and reasons as to why people meet and decide to form a group. There are of course many advantages to being in groups and lots can be achieved by working together. Each group will be unique, as will be the members. Together you will find that you go through a process as you form and establish your own ways of working together. Some theorists refer to this as the “forming, storming and norming process”(1). Having some structure to help you do this successfully is really helpful. Do checkout the invaluable Resource Centre site, referred to many times throughout this guide.When a group of people who are involved in different areas connected to health and well being get together there can be a lot of positive benefits for those within and for the community around them.
Our group was formed as a result of the community activities in and around the Poets corner area in Hove. A small group of local residents interested in health issues and some practising complementary therapists met up through taster sessions and festival events. Following feedback from events and general comments made by local residents, people wanted more availability and affordable access to complementary approaches and healthier lifestyle-related activities. Motivated by our own therapeutic and health interests and the feedback from the local community, we felt that more could be achieved by forming a group together. We also wanted to develop what we were doing and work towards applying for some future funding to support the activities.
It really is a good idea to have some kind of agenda for your meetings, even though it may be the most informal and friendly of get-togethers. It really helps to have even a most basic, loose one to hand. This can be agreed when you have already met and are sipping your cups of tea! As we all know it is all too easy to get sidetracked into other topics and then run out of time before you’ve sorted anything.(2)
It can also help to agree a chair (3) of that particular meeting, to keep it all going with someone else taking notes(minutes)(4).
There are local training providers on all aspects of meetings and group work development. A good starting point is the Working together project. They provide good quality training freely for voluntary and community groups. Agreeing and setting ground rules for the meetings can also be a very helpful process. These ground rules once established, can always be drawn upon and adjusted at any time. The main idea behind this is to ensure that all members feel safe and understand the boundaries of that particular group. (see reference to group work)
We organised a meeting of interested people at one of our homes. This first get together was relaxed and with an informal agenda. After agreeing some basic ground rules for ourselves, we had a creative and lively discussion of ideas which started us on the road to agreeing our general aims. One person took some notes that we could refer back to and begin to keep some kind of records of what was now, more fully forming into a proper group! We agreed some future meeting times, usually a weekend teatime at someone’s house. At our subsequent meetings we made up short agendas to keep us more on track.
This is a really important early focus for any group. It helps the group to be clear about why people are meeting and working together and gives some direction to the future of the group. It also starts to give the group its distinctive identity. Some groups come up with a mission statement. This can be useful to include in future publicity of the group and its activities and possible funding applications. Remember, of course that these aims can change and be adjusted according to what ways the group develops and grows. It is a good idea to keep notes on this discussion so that everyone can agree on them and the way they are expressed.
With a health related focus for a group other considerations are concerned with an agreed code of conduct for members whilst working with others as part of your distinctive group. Each practitioner, who has been through structured training and qualification process will be familiar with their own qualifying body’s code of conduct. The code for your group could be based on these principles.
Other areas to consider are membership of the group, expectations of members, group meetings and attendance, possibly a membership agreement for future reference.
In our first meeting we spent some time thinking and talking about this. We came up with some agreed general aims that were later included in our constitution document.
This process is all part of the identifying of your group and giving a flavour of what you are about. There are a number of considerations here that need to be discussed. This process can also help to further clarify the aims and nature of the group that you have formed. This is the banner under which the group will present itself to the world, so it is worth giving some time and thought to suggestions and brain waves that come up.
Once you have agreed on your name then all your publicity, promotional materials and any connected documents can start to carry a distinctive name, logo and image.
At our second meeting, there were various suggestions for names and after discussing them, we agreed on, hovenaturally, which we felt had a good ring to it and suited our situation and activities. This was helpful as we were keen to launch further activities and group events we could now get the creative juices flowing around the design and images to be used on all our flyers, posters and printed materials. Almost on the lines of a corporate identity! Now we are working on incorporating this identifiable image our forthcoming website and the web pages of the community website. A helpful local organisation to help you in these areas is Sussex Community Internet Project (SCIP). They help with community-based group IT needs and communication processes by offering training, advice and knowledge of other sources of help and support.
Also worth a look at is Community. Brighton ICT Training Course database.
Although this is an important document for any group it does not have to be an impossibly daunting task as there are plenty of examples and references of good workable constitutions available. (see ref Resource Centre, writing constitutions)
A constitution will serve as a useful reference to help resolve any controversial problems that may arise. It is helpful to have something written more formally so that all members understand the nature of the group and how it will run.
External people (for example possible funders), will want to see how the group is run and that it is accountable. All constitutions will differ to reflect the organisation or group aims and the purpose of the organisation or group.
If the group is to be registered as a charity, good example constitutions are available from the Charity Commission.
If you think that you might be better forming a company, a useful website is www.companieshouse.gov.uk.
Also useful is the Federation for Community Development Learning.
Generally most constitutions contain what is very briefly outlined in the following sections:
We used this outline in the writing of our constitution.
1. NAME
The name of the group shall be hovenaturally. It will be set up as a holistic collective.
2. OBJECTS
To promote the health and wellbeing of all residents in the area through making accessible a range of complementary approaches.
To encourage and support residents to actively take responsibility for their own health and to promote the health of those that they care for.
The collective will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, disability, sexuality, age or on the basis of political religious or other opinions.
3. ELIGIBILITY FOR MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to all those who are competently trained and who support the objects of the collective.
Membership will begin when the application has been discussed and agreed nem con by the collective committee members.
Membership will cease if the rest of the committee decides unanimously that the conduct of a member is not compatible with furthering the objects of the collective.
Membership will be free.
Members may resign at any time in writing to the membership secretary or verbally and minuted at a meeting.
4 OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
The offices of the collective committee shall be taken on a rotational basis and will comprise:
5. MEETINGS
An Annual General Meeting will be held within fifteen months of the previous AGM.
All members will be notified in writing at least two weeks before the date of the meeting.
Items for the agenda, nominations or motions to the meeting must be given in writing to the chair of the meeting, at least three days before the meeting.
The quorum for the AGM will be 10% of the membership or 6 members, whichever is the smaller number.
The collective committee will meet on a regular basis at dates and times mutually agreed between the members.
6. RULES OF PROCEDURE
With the exception of changes to the constitution and acceptance of new members, all questions that arise at any meeting will be decided by a simple majority of those present and entitled to vote.
7. FINANCES
An account will be maintained on behalf of the collective at the Co Operative Bank. Signatories to the account will be officers of the collective. Each cheque will require two signatories.
8. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
Any proposal to amend the constitution must be given to the secretary in writing. The proposal must then be circulated at least a week before the date of the meeting.
9. DISSOLUTION
If a meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close down the collective it may call a special meeting to do so.
If it is agreed to dissolve the collective; all remaining money, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to an agreed charitable organisation.
Once you have agreed and written your constitution you can set about deciding on the roles that your members need to take and what these roles involve.
Again the Resource centre is helpful here and also trainings offered by the Working together project.
A brief summary of the main roles:
- Chair:
- Keeping the meeting in order and getting through the business in time. Ensure that all are heard, decisions are understood and tasks are clear
- Secretary:
- Keeping people informed about the group’s activities. Taking minutes at meetings and keeping the records filed
- Treasurer:
- The Treasurer has overall responsibility for the group's finances.Their main job is keeping financial records.
- Fuller notes and guidelines are available from www.theresourcecentre.org.uk/information/setting_up.
Some of the major banks and building societies offer special accounts for small voluntary and community organisations and give free banking as long as your account is in credit. Please note that hovenaturally is not a financial institution and cannot take responsibility for any problems arising from advice given on this site!
To open an account you can go into the local branch or ring the contact number. They will give you forms to fill in. Once this has been done and the forms returned to the bank, they will send you an account number and a passbook/ chequebook depending on the type of account. You can then start using the account.
Banks and building societies generally require proof that your group is a voluntary, non-profit making organisation and not a private business. This could be one of the following:
At least two people should sign each cheque that your group writes. You can have a pool of people who are named as 'signatories' for the account, any two of whom can sign the cheque. The bank/ building society will require evidence of the identity of each person, and unless they have an account with that bank already it will be necessary for them to go down in person with:
The signatories should be people with good credit ratings (ie no 'bad debts') as the banks will often refuse to accept people as signatories that they consider a high risk, however trustworthy.
Make sure you tell the bank that you are a NON PROFIT MAKING organisation. If you do not make this clear, you will be treated as a small business and you will pay more charges than you need to.
All the accounts listed offer 'free banking', ie no day-to day charges, unless specified. You will still be charged for things like going overdrawn, stopping cheques, extra statements etc.
When you are looking for information on the internet remember that most banks refer to community and voluntary organisations as 'Clubs and Societies'. Accounts for these groups are usually classed as 'Business Banking'.
We chose to bank with the Co Operative Bank as group members mainly favoured it from an ethical point of view.
See The Cooperative Bank:
Community Directplus.
In our group members volunteered for a post and then we agreed between us by a mini vote if more than one wanted the same role.
Our treasurer had a little experience of keeping records of finances. It does not have to be a complicated system as the main idea is for there to be receipts for all claimed expenses and a note made of what goes out and what comes in. This can be done on paper or on a simple spreadsheet. One of our main issues seemed to be to get people into the habit of keeping their receipts!
There are useful information sheets from the resource centre and several organisations offer training on simple book keeping. The Working together project offers these and also gives details of other training providers.
There are some very useful sources of funding information available online, through the library services and through the council services.
Each funding body will have its own criteria and method for application which are detailed in their literature.
Below is a list of funders that could be worth looking into:
For our group we were successful in obtaining some funding from the Scarman Trust and the Community Chest fund.
For complementary Health practitioners and volunteers, as in our group, it is really advantageous to obtain Criminal Record checks (CRB) from the Criminal Records Bureau. If, like us, you plan to hold events, workshops, courses and do home visits these really do need to be in place as they are now fast becoming a basic requirement in all care-related work.
Insurance cover is another area that needs to be checked in relation to the work of the group members and any volunteers involved. Complementary practitioners can obtain cover from their training providers connections or such larger organisations as the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT). It is also a very good idea for group members to be members of their related professional societies or a national organisation such as FHT. As a group we are in the process of becoming affiliated to FHT.
As a group it is invaluable to affiliate with other related organisations to be kept n touch with national developments, relevant news, research and related activities, training opportunities and conference events.
Locally we regularly keep in touch and attend the Brighton & Hove Integrated health Forum. Getting information on useful related training and skills development opportunities is motivating and encouraging for members of the group and ensures continuing professional and personal development for all members.
Getting your group on mailing lists from events and training courses that members attend is also a good way of hearing about relevant training and other activities that would be developmental to attend.
Some of the evaluation feedback points made by our group members were quite common issues that do need to be borne in mind and addressed at regular intervals. The points below are some of the main areas raised that you may like to consider.
This really needs a systematic approach at times. Communication failures are not uncommon in community groups where members are involved in several other things at the same time. It is great if emailing is possible for all members, although this is not always the case. There does need to be some following up at times with a phone call or a quick text reminder of a meeting, deadline, or an event coming up. Minutes and important notes need to be circulated to keep members up to date and feeling involved.
At times individuals within the group may need some support in communicating with each other. This can be an interpersonal issue or of a practical nature. Either way it is important that a good ethos is established for all group members where mechanisms are in place to air grievances or misunderstandings that occur from time to time. In a meeting situation it is essential that the agreed ground rules are outlined and adhered to. Other mechanisms could be in the form of a comments box, peer supervision, gripe sessions, and support and developmental sessions.
Regular reviewing and mini-evaluations can bring out areas of concern within the group and resolving these can result in positive outcomes for the projects and individual members. It is important to acknowledge that individuals within a group are changing and developing at different rates and in different ways. The nature and purpose of the group will also be in a process of shift and change.
This can take the form of the necessary publicity for activities and events and can be a hard one to crack depending on the mechanisms already operating in the target community or groupings. Drawing on local knowledge and networking can be of great benefit here as to where to put up posters, circulate flyers, leaflets, newsletters and just letting people know by word of mouth. There are community orientated organisations, such as SCIP Sussex Community that do work with local residents and groups to try to break through communication barriers using media and IT facilities. There are some handy ideas and focus workshops available on this through the Working together project, Community Base, Queens Road, the Voluntary Groups Forum in the City Council and the Community Networks Analysis team at the university of Brighton (Telephone: 01273 642550).
Some of our workshops and an event had much lower than expected turnouts. It is really worthwhile to examine and try to more fully analyse these kind of situations. Ask yourselves, why? Use this as a part of future planning considerations, such as: time of day, venue, holiday times, accessibility, content, and general publicity strategies. Your overall strategies of engagement may well need to be changed at different points depending on what you feel that your target areas truly are and wether you are reaching them successfully or not. This has come up for our group members at different times and one of our areas that we have identified as needing more focus.
Another aspect to incorporate into your activities is a method of monitoring attendees and delivery. If you receive funding, a certain level of monitoring and recording will be expected. This is also an example of accepted good practice and is essential for meaningful evaluations, progression and development.
To make any group or project work well there has to be a level of commitment from the members. This can take the form of turning up regularly for meetings, keeping up with the information circulating, responding positively and generally trying to be as available as possible at crucial planning and delivery times. It may be appropriate for your group to agree on and draw up a short guide for its members that can more clearly outline the expectations of the group membership. Remember meetings can be fun and hopefully pleasant, inspiring and motivating!
Agreed aims and reviews: Being clear on the agreed aims early on and making any necessary adjustments between you all as you go along. Also planned activity will need some outlined objectives that can be more readily evaluated afterwards. Using guides like SMART( mike could you fill in what these stand for thanks) will help too. Regular review times are helpful here so that the group can celebrate the successes and look at areas that need working on.
Supporting each other and training: As a group of health related practitioners there is an incredible range of knowledge, experience and expertise to draw on within a group of people. After forming an organisation it is an ideal setting to share this amongst the group members and to find regular ways of doing self development work within a supportive group atmosphere.
This is also a great place to develop peer support and supervision approaches. Sharing experiences, knowledge and ideas in this way is very stimulating and expansive for all the group members.
Taking advantage of the various offers of free or low cost training as community group members is also a big advantage and a great individual and group developmental tool.
Following review and evaluation of projects and events a group can really benefit from the process of action planning and visioning on future directions, innovations and involvements.
Looking at the needs of the local area and target groups innovative ideas can be generated from a small group of interested practitioners putting their heads together and brainstorming.
Like many other groups of keen people our group has never been short of creative and interesting ideas for future projects and developments. This seems a really key element to foster in the group to keep it fresh and stimulating both for the members and the future participants. Developing a more methodical approach to planning and identifying objectives can also be very valuable. This is an area that our group still needs to work on. So the earlier this can be developed the more helpful it will be in the longer term.
Also more fun is often needed to keep members fresh and enthusiastic.
Remember that groups are not static and there will be changes to who is involved and how much they are involved. This is a normal ebb and flow. What seems crucial here is that the structures set up are sound. Once the group has a structure and basic systems in place there can be changes of people involved, activities and focus at different times and it will still continue to provide a supportive structure out of which really positive and exciting things can happen! Good Luck!
We would really appreciate any comments or suggestions by email to chris@hovenaturally.co.uk.
Other useful websites to check out for community based groups are:
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: © Mike Bliss 2007