News & Events

We really enjoyed talking to Jillian Van Turnhout in our 4th episode of Carmichael podcast on the topic of “when things go wrong in charities”. This episode follows on from previous topics which looked at the Annual Report, the Charities Governance Code and Risk Management. Here’s link to this episode. https://soundcloud.com/user-982606224/when-things-go-wrong.

Episode 3 which covers Risk Management with Andrew Madden is available at https://soundcloud.com/user-982606224/risk-and-risk-management.

The Good Governance Awards (GGA) is an initiative that recognises and encourages adherence to good governance practice by nonprofit organisations in Ireland.

The Awards were developed in 2016 by Carmichael and are supported by Boardmatch, Charities Institute Ireland, Dóchas, Enclude, Volunteer Ireland, The Wheel, together with our corporate partners; 2into3, Chartered Accountants Ireland, Davy, Dept. of Rural & Community Development, Mason Hayes & Curran, Mazars Ireland and The Governance Company.

 

Annual Reports

The Good Governance Award seek to acknowledge, encourage and promote good governance practice primarily in the area of annual reports.

 

Best Governance Improvement Initiative

This award will recognise initiatives that have been taken in the last 12-18 months to improve the quality of the nonprofit’s governance. Nonprofits can submit their good governance initiatives, setting out (briefly – max 750 words) the governance issue(s) they addressed, the actions they took and the impact that this has had for the organisation.

 

Why You Should Enter the 2019 Good Governance Awards

  1. We are open for non-profits of all sizes: There are 5 entry categories ranging from small (annual turnover of less than €250,000) to the very large (turnover of over €15million).
  2. Get your entries reviewed by a first class assessment and judging panel: We have a panel of 40 plus assessors and judges and 5 accountancy firms who bring great expertise and experience who will review your entry and will provide valuable feedback and insight to assist you in enhancing your organisation’s governance.
  3. Enhance your organisation’s reputation with your stakeholders: Entering the GGA demonstrates your commitment to adhering to good governance practice and transparency. It also shows your willingness to be assessed and receive feedback on how you can enhance your governance.
  4. Boost your team’s morale and gain valuable PR opportunities: Being shortlisted for a GGA award recognises the hard work that goes on in your organisation to adhere to good governance practice. Winning an award boosts credibility and increases awareness of your organisation which can help convince even more people that you are a cause worth supporting.

 

Entry Criteria

  • To enter, the organisation must be an Irish nonprofit organisation (i.e. it has a registered office in the Republic of Ireland).
  • There are 2 award types and 5 entry categories based on the income size of the organisation from those with an annual income of under €250k to those with an annual income of over €15m. Organisations may enter for either award type or for both.
  • A nonprofit organisation must upload their entry to the GGA website by the closing date (13th September 2019).
  • Shortlisted listed organisations may be asked to supply additional information to assist the judges in their adjudications.
  • See www.goodgovernanceawards.ie for more information.

Development Trusts Northern Ireland (DTNI) is hosting professional facilities management (FM) training events this spring, one of these events is in collaboration with Carmichael in Dublin. The FM course will follow the Institute for Workplace and Facilities Management professional standards framework and cover the fundamentals of health and safety, energy, contract management and much more. Click on the link below for full details.

DTNI Facilities Management Training

Pobal, on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) are inviting applications for funding from eligible organisations under the Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) 2019-2022. Details about the new programme and the application process is available on https://www.pobal.ie/programmes/scheme-to-support-national-organisations-ssno/. The closing date for receipt of applications is 3pm on Thursday 31st January, 2019.

Carmichael are participating in the ‘Developing effective and accountable nonprofits’ seminar to be held on the 6th of March 2019 (9am – 1pm) in Technology University Dublin, Blanchardstown Campus.

Irish Nonprofit organisations are facing unprecedented challenges, with increased demand, difficulties in raising funds, increased regulation and reduced trust in the sector. This seminar will explore how the sector can respond through improved governance standards and greater accountability through the provision of performance information. Speakers include Professor Noel Hyndman, Professor Emeritus in Accounting at Queen’s University Belfast, Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO, Carmichael, Dr. Francis McGeough, Lecturer in Accounting, Technology University Dublin and Ms. Assumpta Harvey, Head of School of Business at Technological University Dublin. The seminar is free of charge but prior registration is necessary. For more details and to register for this seminar see Eventbrite ‘Developing effective and accountable nonprofits‘.

Google.org is contributing €1M to 15 organisations dedicated to tackling important social issues and creating opportunity for Dublin. Local nonprofits and social enterprises are invited to submit innovative proposals and 15 finalists will receive €50,000 grants, training and volunteer support from Google. Applications due December 6 2018. For more information visit https://impactchallenge.withgoogle.com/dublin2018.

Congratulations to all the winners for the 2018 Good Governance Awards!! A big thanks to everyone who submitted their entries this year, keep up the good work.

 

For the Annual Report & Financial Statements Awards:

Category 1 Winner – Care Alliance

Category 2 Winner – Aidlink

Category 3 Winner – Camara Education

Category 4 Winner – CMRF Crumlin

Category 5 Winner – Trócaire

 

For the Best Governance Improvement Initiative Awards:

Category 1 Winner – Proudly Made in Africa

Proudly Made in Africa implemented a series of measures to improve its governance: an enhanced accounting system, governance handbook, governance training, establishment of a governance sub-committee to oversee a range of governance reviews and updates, and the redesign of the annual report.

Category 2 Winner – Irish Girl Guides

Irish Girl Guides implemented an updated financial reporting system to produce consolidated accounts for its 570 units across the country.

Category 3 Winner – The Care Trust

The Care Trust designed and developed a new Risk Register Dashboard to enhance the Board’s oversight of the organisation’s risk management.

Category 4 Winner – Extern Ireland

Extern Ireland developed and implemented a new Governance Action Plan to improve its governance.

Category 5 Winner – Central Remedial Clinic

Central Remedial Clinic developed and implemented of a new stakeholder engagement programme ‘Keeping Connected’’.

Our CEO Diarmaid speaks with Dublin City FM about the new Carmichael Brand

Listen here

Discover more about the inspiring work of our resident member organisations, their impact and the difference they make to communities across the country. Our featured story is Show Racism the Red Card.

www.theredcard.ie

Show Racism the Red Card is a charity set up to tackle racism. Through producing education resources harnessing the profile of sports starts, we reach up to 20,000 young people through our programme of activities. Our activities include:

  • Anti Racism workshops / training
  • Wear Red Day against racism
  • Anti Racism Creative Competition
  • Football Against Racism in Europe fortnight
  • Club Welcome refugees

We moved to the Carmichael Centre as the best option for a small charity. Carmichael provides low cost office space, shared office facilities including postage, printing, reception and finance support services.  We benefited from good governance code training and as a consequence were one of the first of 300 out of 8,000 charities to be fully compliant. Carmichael is a good space to support small organisations who are limited by resources. It provides a space and resource to allow a small organisation have as big an impact as possible. There is a case for a similar model to be in other cities, we are lucky to have Carmichael in Dublin.

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Social Innovation Ireland have announced three new funds.

If your innovative project creates impact through sports, arts and culture, or is focused on early childhood outcomes then Learn more here.