“New normal” or new helpful?

At this time, businesses have found new ways of supporting each other

This vine has many branches. We have had the privilege of working with the Vine Centre in Aldershot for three years now (www.thevinecentre.org.uk). With the aim of helping the most disadvantaged members of society, mostly in the past through face-to-face contact, the charity has had to completely rethink how it delivers its services in the face of Covid-19.

Advice and guidance that was given across the table is now more likely to be over the phone; support for the most vulnerable remains face-to-face where necessary; meals that were shared on-site are now batch-cooked and delivered – along with other necessities such as toiletries.
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In another example, we have supported organisations in Africa for many years, and Powering Young Initiatives is one such, a Zambian charity that has been recognised by an invitation to the United Nations and an online show of support from the President of their country.

With the UN invitation, along with so many other opportunities put on hold by Covid-19, they have now launched their Global Giving campaign in an attempt to raise $5,000 to help 1,000 unemployed young people to develop eco-friendly small business enterprises by 26th June 2020. You can see our video about it here.

Back in the UK, The Knights Foundation works with disabled families to support them from the shattering initial diagnosis, then with the struggles to obtain the right equipment, to remain positive, even to stay together, through to the securing of the empowering apprenticeship that fulfils everyone’s dreams.

With every fundraising event and activity cancelled for the foreseeable future, the Foundation has had to come up with creative new ways to keep their support alive and their precious respite lodge open.  Again, there is a video here.

Whilst we at Future Point 4 Business have not faced anything like the challenges of organisations such as those above, we, like all of you, have had to adapt. And our main focus in adapting has been asking ourselves what we can do differently to support clients better.

We recognise that marketing budgets are being even more carefully monitored than normal; we can see that operational processes are changing; and we know that many of the obvious business imperatives are elsewhere. So, we have refocused on what our clients need to do and say to be able to take best advantage of the new market conditions that will appear as we emerge from lockdown.

To that end, we have girded our designing loins, and sharpened our writing quills, to deliver, where appropriate, the simpler messages of continuance, of comfort and of care – to ensure that our charity sector clients remain present, pertinent and precious to their supporters.

And we are working proactively with all of our clients to plot the trends, to plan for the future, and to prepare as much as we can, in order to be able to grasp the new market opportunities as they arise.

Future Point 4 Business is very much open for business – although that business – in its context, its content and its more collaborative nature – may look very different from normal – even from the new normal!

But we hope it’s helpful.