Learning about the Work of Umbrella Charity group “The Wheel”

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GERT ACKERMAN joins Pat Meehan to discuss the results of studies done by “The Wheel”.

Gert explains that “The Wheel ” is an umbrella body for charities in Ireland who work to help charities more effectively “get things done”.

They talk of some elements of a recent press release beginning by talking of “services under threat as demand soars”, a study that shows that 64% of charities saw a decline in their income in the first six months of 2013. Gert states that it has been on the decrease since 2008. 66.7 have also noticed an increase in demand for their services in the first six months of 2013, leading to an enormous squeeze for charities in being able to cover their operating costs, with 33% having cut some of their services as a result during that time.

They move on to talk of how each year the government launch an action plan for jobs and discuss an article in the press release looking at ways to bring about job opportunities in the community and voluntary sector.

Following on from this they ponder the question of “Are there too many charities in Ireland? referring to the fact that in Wales there are 3 charities for every thousand people. In Norway there is almost 16 charities per thousand people, however in Ireland there are only 1.8 charities for every thousand people, putting Ireland far below, in terms of the number of charities operating in the country in comparison to many of our nearest neighbours.

They finish by mentioning some of the training opportunities which “The Wheel” have available for Voluntary and Charity groups. Gert suggests visiting their CEO forum if you wish to problem share and solve with other CEOs of organisations and they also offer a leadership network for problem solving. Gert also mentions a video competition which they are currently running as part of “The Wheel” and bettertogether.ie

 

 

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