Happy New Year!
We hope you’ve had an easy start to the decade. We wanted to kick off 2020 with an update from our team – we’ve got a lot of exciting news to share with you.
We’ve been busy knuckling down on the administrative, legal and business side of the development of the Centre. With the help of our great volunteers and in partnership with the professionals who are generously supporting us through pro-bono work, we’ve achieved a couple of milestones throughout the tail-end of 2019.
Registering as a company
Our first, major goal was registering as a company limited by guarantee. Applying for CLG status was essential for us to move forward in the way we have mapped out as an organisation. This would allow us to become a distinct legal entity and marked the first step to becoming a legal charitable entity. This was completed in early October. We’re now well along our way into applying for charitable status, which we hope to have achieved by Summer 2020.
Drawing up our business plan
Additionally, we’ve now completed our business plan.
This outlines how we plan to operate as, both strategically and financially. Without this plan, it would be impossible to apply for grants in the future or present ourselves as a credible organisation with a sustainable business model.
This has taken a considerable amount of work – of which we would appreciate some help with from our brilliant supporters.
If you have experience in this field and would like to help us finalise our business plan and ensure it’s as sustainable and strong as possible, please get in touch with us at [email protected] or by replying to this email.
Searching for spaces
We are now at a point where we’re actively looking for a permanent space for the community centre. Whilst this is incredibly exciting, it’s still only early days. We are in contact with local councils as well as the GLA and we will continue to explore every option in order to ensure this community centre sustainable and accessible for every member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Recruiting a Board of Trustees
Finally, we’re in the process of recruiting a board of trustees to help steer the process of setting up the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre and ensuring it meets its goals as a charity.
Our trustees will serve in roles designed to cover the Centre’s journey between now and the opening of the Centre itself (approximately Summer 2022). At which point, Trustee roles will be renewed or re-evaluated as the strategic aim of the Centre may be different. It is essential to our mission that the diversity of our community is represented at the absolute highest level of the community centre’s organisational structure.
It’s important to us that applicants have lived experience of being LGBTQ+ and professional experience in areas including the following:
– Finance and accountancy
– Strategy and operations
– Law
– Non-profit sector and charity
– Business
– Community work
– LGBTQ+ activism
We strongly encourage applications from those who represent the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans and non-binary, LGBTQ+ people of colour, LGBTQ+ people of faith and LGBTQ+ disabled folks.
If you are interested in applying as an interim trustee, please email Sarah on [email protected] and we will send you the role description.
The deadline for applications is March 20, 2020.
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In solidarity,
London LGBTQ+ Community Centre Project Volunteers.