When you’re searching for the perfect charity office, there are many things you need to consider. Whilst many will be looking at different income streams for money raising activities, the office is equally as important and provides a base for your team to develop the organisation into a successful one.
In this blog post we are going to talk about where you need to start when it comes to looking for an office for your charity, and the best resources you can count on when beginning the office journey.
Why get an office for your charity?
Charity offices are common but in recent years, thanks to a pandemic, many have found that the flexibility provided with working from home has offered a different perspective than traditional models. Whilst this is good for some industries, one of the most important things to consider with a charity is that charities – like most businesses – are only as good as their people. Being able to have physical contact and connection with others in your sector can develop better work and solutions to the complex issues you are tasked to deal with.
Even though charities can end up spending hundreds of thousands in rents alone, this cost can be shared with coworking spaces and even coworking units with other charities to help reduce costs and even share to get the most out of the incredible talent in the organisation.
Best resources for finding offices for charities and nonprofits
There are lots of different areas covered when it comes to resourcing for your charity and nonprofit. From office spaces to things like legal support. Here are some of the organisations that can better help with these areas.
Pro-Bono Legal Services
The Trust Law Pro Bono legal support was founded in 2010, this non-profit, the largest international legal aid network of its kind in the world funded by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. It connects non-profits with thousands of lawyers (over 120k) seeking to do pro bono work
Business Development and Sourcing Corporate Partnerships
ThirdBridge provides an online matchmaking platform for charities to meet corporations seeking to donate skills, resources, and knowledge.
Free Software and IT Support
There are many different providers that you can go to. For example, LibreOffice is a popular, free software suite with function and user interface substantially identical to Microsoft Office and compatible with it, for MacOS, Windows, and Linux, amongst other operating systems.
What to consider when looking for an office
When you’re looking for your charity office you want to be thinking about short term goals and long term futures. Think about how dynamic your circumstances may need to be and just how much this will impact the kind of work you will be doing as well where you will be doing it.
For example, you may want to upsize your charity with staff and resources or you may need to downsize, flexibility in both space and the contract you sign is going to be key.
Things like office infrastructure which includes telephone lines, good internet connections and even closeness to transport links or a good coffee shop may be key for you and your team. These things would need to be thought of carefully, especially if you are developing your charity offices for taking on more people or attracting further investment with regular meeting groups.
Finding the right office space for your charity is essential nowadays. With more organisations looking to work remotely, office space is less premium now, but making the right choice is critical. With access to infrastructure, internet and even good resources, picking the right office is going to be a key consideration. Using our property search can help start you with all the tools you need to get going.