With thousands of registered charities and a plethora of identity groups and cultures, Bristol is a diverse, edgy, and unique city full of history. However, there exist deep inequalities across the region, affecting the opportunities available to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Many voluntary groups are working continuously to minimise the effects of those inequalities.
Three years of social and academic research has provided us with a clear understanding of the voluntary sector. Charities can benefit from four types of 'ask' - Things, Expertise, Time, and Services.
We believe passionately in the 'bottom-up' approach, and that the best way to achieving this is 'MultiVarious Giving'. 'Asks' are directed through the SuperConnectivity of Bristol to find their best fulfillment. This creates long-lasting connections across the region.
A little can go a long way.
We are focused on generating significant social impacts through our model. These social impacts are felt by charities of all types and sizes throughout Greater Bristol. 'Levelling Up' for charities is more important than ever giving the challenges the third sector faces today.
Thoughts, snapshots, plans for change; a regular look into some of our key ideas and principles.
We’re proud of the connections we’ve managed to help create, many of which have continued for the benefit of Bristol’s Third Sector community. Our latest post features the story of AskAuthor Joshua Mudie – now a Senior Associate at Ernst & Young – who began his involvement with AskingBristol volunteering for an excellent charity, C.H.E.E.S.E. – it is another example of how the Third Sector can evolve to become more efficient and more effective by employing a more inclusive and democratized strategy that can truly reach the people in our various communities.
Read some of his thoughts below on what he gained from his time with AskingBristol, and the lasting effect it has had on his life and voluntary commitments…
“The journey from helping C.H.E.E.S.E. as an AskAuthor to becoming a Treasurer on its board has been remarkable. As I’m also a trained accountant, what started off as something transactional has now led to me being involved in shaping the financial strategy of C.H.E.E.S.E., leveraging both my financial and engineering skills for the betterment of the organisation’s mission.”
– Joshua Mudie, Treasurer, C.H.E.E.S.E
What do charities/voluntary groups actually need? The obvious answer is funding, money, income streams.
But smaller voluntary groups can also benefit hugely from Expertise. Bristol is home to a variety of professional organisations capable of advising charities on finding financial solutions, recruitment strategies, insurance, liability, marketing, fundraising tactics, business management, team-building, and so on… By doing so, we can also create lasting connections between such organisations and voluntary groups.
A common issue that charities face are that of infrastructural technical challenges—for example, drafting legal documents, insurance and liability policies, accounting, and/or digital hurdles.
Where nationally established charities are well-equipped with the departmental manpower and resources to navigate their duties, the majority of community-based organisations are often run by individuals operating simultaneously alongside full-time employment.
Most pro bono work is traditionally restricted to the legal sector; however, we are seeking to challenge this notion by expanding the breadth of pro bono Expertise to other specialities. Experts and professionals are always needed in any situation, particularly in the Third Sector.
AskingBristol’s ambition is to show how to level-up the Third Sector in a city or region. Greater Bristol has over 4000 registered charities, but it also has thousands of smaller community and voluntary groups that are a backbone of the city providing help and support in every way imaginable.
AskingBristol works with four types of ask: Things, Time, Expertise and Services. The approach to Things is “MultiVarious Giving” – the idea that if an individual, business, organization or foundation has annual charitable giving, that a portion of the annual giving can be divided into smaller amounts and given, generally with a chosen theme each year, to buy specific Things for any charity or voluntary/community group. This approach has been pioneered with the High Sheriff of Bristol’s Fund (BYCA – Bristol Youth and Community Action) and Bristol Curry Club (see previous posts).
Progress is being made, with organizations and businesses seeing the power of this approach to level up across the region and support every charity and voluntary/community group according to their needs – Burges Salmon being pioneers in this regard. And of course the smaller the group, generally the smaller the ask they are making. The High Sheriff of Bristol’s Fund showed how £200 or £300 could make all the difference.
The core motivation of AskingBristol is to level up the Third Sector for all charities and voluntary/community groups within a region. One group might be run by two part-time volunteers while another might be an established charity. To AskingBristol, all are equal.
Instead of benefiting one charity, the donor is able to support 5, 10, 20 groups in the city where they live and work. Often when the donor becomes aware of the group and its work they start a longer and more varied relationship with them – for example offering Expertise or Time.
AskingBristol believes that in a year 10,000s of such targeted gifts could be made and completely transform the community landscape in the City. MultiVarious Giving is a powerful mechanism that enables this with AskingBristol acting in its primary role as an Ask Service Provider – we generate the asks from all the 1000s of groups in Bristol allowing donors to find and select those that resonate most strongly with their chosen themes.
The readiness of Bristol businesses to engage with their communities is resoundingly warming. The region is one of significant wealth disparity between its postcodes, but also one of togetherness and a potential connectivity. This togetherness remains, at this point, fractured. The relations between communities such as Lawrence Weston and Clifton are tenuous at best. However, Manley, in experimenting with his learnings as High Sheriff, discovered a genuine desire of businesses to re-engage with its localities, re-administer a sense of collective identity, and support those in need – possibly a lasting and resonating after-effect of the pandemic and its tribulations.
The aim is to create a replicable model for connectivity in the Third Sector which can be applied to other major cities as a form of social infrastructure. AskingBristol goes some way to better understanding the government’s concept of ‘Levelling Up’ – that is to say, that small, under-resourced charities deserve support that resembles their larger counterparts. With funding from central and local government subsiding as time goes on, the increasing burden to uphold and help communities invariably falls upon the shoulders of these smaller voluntary groups. In times of great instability, there is the certainty that AskingBristol will play an important role in helping the region, be it from a voluntary, academic, or economic perspective.
Our Stories are the Essence of Our Work.
Real Needs – Real Impacts. See Our ‘Stories and Documents’ Section for In-Depth Publications, Articles, and Academic Work.
01/08/2024 Our sincere thanks to all involved in the generation of this story helping young people in Bristol. To learn more about Freestyle Bristol and their ongoing work in the Third Sector, follow this link. Read more…
Friday, 4th August 2023 To learn more about the C.H.E.E.S.E Project, visit their website here. Find a downloadable PDF version of this story below:
Tuesday, 25th July, 2023. AskingBristol extends our sincere gratitude for the continued work and commitment of Burges Salmon in promoting wellbeing across the region. To learn more about the Burges Salmon Charitable Trust, follow their Read more…
Monday, July 17th, 2023 We are excited to bring you news about a successful event hosted by AskingBristol and Barton Hill Amateur Boxing Club, in collaboration with 91 Ways, Burges Salmon, and Uncle Paul’s Chilli Read more…
Thursday, June 29th, 2023 Sohail Ali – Editor AskingBristol – The Realities of the Third Sector “The Academic and Corporate Leaders in Your Society Can Do More”. Sohail Ali, Editor “A lifetime for justice” were Read more…
26/06/2023 Our sincere thanks to all involved in the generation of this story helping young people in Bristol. To learn more about Uncle Paul’s Chilli Charity and their ongoing work in the Third Sector, follow Read more…
Monday, 19th June, 2023 AskingBristol extends its sincere thanks to all children, schools and parents involved – and particular recognition to Avon and Somerset Police and the Bristol High Sheriff’s Fund. Learn more about the Read more…
Wednesday, 17th May, 2023 AskingBristol extends its gratitude to both Avon and Somerset Police and the Bristol High Sheriff’s Fund. To learn more about Chaysestar Entertainment and their excellent creative-based community work, check out their Read more…
Thursday, May 11th 2023 Our thanks to Avon and Somerset Police and the Bristol High Sheriff’s Fund for helping make this story possible. Find a downloadable PDF version of this story below:
Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 Our thanks to Avon and Somerset Police and the Bristol High Sheriff’s Fund for helping make this story possible. Learn more about The Vench and their work supporting children and families Read more…
Saturday, May 6th 2023 We extend our gratitude to our partners at 180 Degrees Consulting for their ongoing work in supporting grassroots voluntary organisations – and Bristol’s Third Sector. Learn more about Tech4Good South West’s Read more…
Thursday, May 4th, 2023 We extend our gratitude to our partners at 180 Degrees Consulting for their ongoing work in supporting grassroots voluntary organizations – and Bristol’s Third Sector. Discover DET Entertainment’s work on their Read more…
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 Find the PDF version of this story attached below. We extend our sincere thanks to 180 Degrees Consulting – and, of course, WECIL, for their incredible work within the disabled community. Read more…
AskingBristol Weekly Update – May 1st, 2023 As we roll into the summer months, it is a great time to take stock of recent developments at AskingBristol and in the wider Third Sector community. The Read more…
Sunday, April 30th 2023 Our thanks to Bristol Curry Club for their help in supporting young people in Bristol via their excellent fundraising campaign. Keep up to date with the phenomenal boxers and coaches at Read more…
Friday, April 28th, 2023 AskingBristol’s social impact has recently been credited with formal academic recognition; Professor Martin Parker published his paper ‘Social Infrastructure Platforms: the Case of AskingBristol’ with Emerald Publishing earlier this year (2023) Read more…
Wednesday, April 26th 2023 Our thanks to Bristol Curry Club for their help in supporting young people in Bristol via their excellent fundraising campaign. Find a downloadable PDF version of this story below:
Young Dancers Gain Costume Confidence Monday, April 24th, 2023. Follow Amy’s great work at ConfiDANCE by clicking here. Our thanks to Bristol Curry Club for their help in supporting young people in Bristol via their Read more…
Find a PDF version of the story below. Our sincere thanks to James Brown for his excellent work with Barton Hill Amateur Boxing Club, and to Tom Foley (Founder) for his vital contributions to the Read more…
Find the PDF version of the story attached below. Our thanks to both John Bradford (DigiLocal) for his ongoing community-based work, and to Felix Newport Mangell (180 Degrees Consulting) for their incredible work during the Read more…