Jun
30
Conductive Education Taranaki Trust Case Study
Conductive Education Taranaki Trust is dedicated to maximising the ability in disability: supporting people to become more independent, confident and socially connected through the delivery of Conductive Education services.
This involves supporting kids with motor skill, and neurological, disabilities in a child-focused, whanau-centred manner which will allow Taranaki children with disabilities to navigate the world better.
The sustainable intervention services they provide are all underpinned by the philosophy of Conductive Education and include group and one-on-one classes or sessions which might include singing, physical activities, a range of therapies, etc.
Conductive Education is a very specific learning approach which originated in Hungary and is only offered in a select number of training facilities around the world, meaning that accessing qualified people to carry out this work is challenging however it does provide assurance of the high quality of the therapy services provided.
While Conductive Education Taranaki Trust is currently focusing on supporting children, they do also work with a small number of adults and this type of therapy has been shown to be very beneficial to people of all ages with motor and neurological disabilities.
We spoke to Callum Williamson, the General Manager of Conductive Education Taranaki Trust, to get his insights on recent work they have carried out with Velocite and to see if he has any advice for other not-for-profit organisations – see what he had to say below…
What services have you engaged in with Velocite over the years?
We are very focused on becoming financially self-sufficient as a Trust, rather than relying on grant funding. Whenever we are working on achieving this, investigating ideas we have around financial sustainability, or anything else outside of our expertise, we go to Velocite as our first port of call.
Over the years, this has included:
- Strategic Planning
- Exploring different revenue streams
- Business Case exploring the feasibility of establishing an Early Childhood Education Centre
How have our services made a difference to your business? Particularly, the recent Business Case work carried out…
We receive clarity, direction, and assurance of quality of information out of the work we do with Velocite.
Regarding the most recent work carried out – we have had an idea, for a while now, that establishing an Early Childhood Education Centre could be a great option for achieving a sustainable revenue stream to fund the operations of the Trust.
Before taking it any further, we needed to confirm the viability of this idea and get a clearer picture of what this might look like in terms of: location, vision for the centre, funding options for establishment, and potential profitability possibilities.
The Business Case Feasibility Study carried out by Velocite included questions being put to us that forced us to get clear on our vision for, and exactly what we wanted to achieve with, the centre.
Along with clarity, and answering our key questions, we received reassurance that the concept is viable along with a clear, easily understood, document providing evidence and data of this. Since then, we have been able to take this other parties to request support and funding to further explore and progress the commercial venture.
What three words, or phrases, describe your experience working with us?
- Confidence in the team, and the quality of work provided in the past
- Reassurance in the overall experience that those in the company have
- Trusted reputation of Velocite in the community – this adds weight when using documents provided by Velocite for accessing funding
What would you say to someone who was considering hiring us?
Do it.
I wouldn’t have known where to start but we were walked through the process clearly, all findings and outcomes were translated into plain English, and then we were provided a quality document that can be shared externally.
These are things/services that people in everyday jobs can’t do at that level and it opens up other avenues to consider and pursue.
What would you say, or advice would you give, to a not-for-profit organisation that is considering creating a commercial venture to build a sustainable revenue stream?
Find something that you can make money off that compliments your organisations goals – something that is related to your purpose and charitable activities.
Make sure it is in a sector, or service, that is already in your wheelhouse and is complimentary to the Charitable Trust activities rather than distracting.
