2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year here at Ella Forums. We have been working hard to strengthen our operations to offer an even better experience to our charity leader community, we hosted our annual conference last month where we explored all things AI, and we are now releasing our impact report.
With a backdrop of continued uncertainty in the charitable sector and many of our charity leaders feeling the pressure of reduced funding and increased demand for services we needed to understand how we are helping and where we might improve.
In March this year, we conducted a survey with our membership and were delighted to learn that we are helping our charity leader community feel less alone, more confident and supported to overcome the challenges of leading a charity at this time.
- 82% said that being an Ella Forums member increased their confidence as a leader.
- 82% were helped to solve problem they faced when running their charity.
- 75% said Ella Forums membership had increased their connections to other charity leaders.
- 82% felt less lonely and isolated as a leader.
- 71% said being part of Ella Forums has had a positive impact on their mental health.
“I feel I have grown in confidence in my leadership role and that has impacted on the work of my team, and our organisation as a whole.”
Fran Horwich, CEO, Association of Jewish Refugees
Whilst delighted to hear the impact we are making on our community we were keen to establish how we could improve and ensure our leaders get the support they deserve.
Some members shared that:
- Beyond their forum they don’t fully understand who Ella Forums is and how it works.
- They feel less connected to the speaker session side of our work.
- They would like some say over those who join the group to ensure the trust in the group is maintained.
- They would like to see a coaching offer added to the membership package.
- Attendance can sometimes be challenging.
- Adding a way for leaders to connect outside of sessions to get responses to quick questions or ask for recommendations from their peers would be a good addition to the offer.
We have already started work on improving on some of these areas. For example, we have created an About Us document which will be shared shortly with our full community to ensure everyone knows who we are and how we work but this is just the beginning. Over the coming months we will be establishing how we can best take forward the areas for improvement and suggestions. This work will feature at our full organisation strategy session on 20th June.
Ella Forums 2023 Impact Report (3)
If you would like to be part of the Ella Forums community then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We have spaces available for charity leaders as well as opportunities to volunteer your skills and time with us or to sponsor leaders to participate.
“It’s great to be in a group where members can confidently share their challenges and receive non-judgmental input from others to address those challenges. It is also a great forum for learning from one’s peers and celebrating small and big wins/successes!”
Pauline Essah, Education Sub Saharan Africa
