Macc: Should we trade as a charity? An Intro to Trading

As a local Manchester charity, you’ll likely be constantly thinking about how to keep enough money coming in to sustain your services and support to the community. One way of doing this that charities are increasingly being encouraged to consider is by starting to trade / charge for some of what they do.

This session is about helping Manchester charities better understand what’s meant by ‘trading’; how and when it might be a viable option for charities; and key considerations for what should be considered if a charity decides to start to ‘do some of it’.

It will also introduce ways in which charities can start to identify what they might introduce as a trading activity; and clarify how some of the frequent concerns about starting to introduce charging for some of its services are usually best managed.

It is not intended as a definite guide to everything a charity needs to know, but rather, a ‘first steps’ to help charities understand if starting to introducing trading activities might be right for them, and how to start to explore the details of this further; or for charities to be clearer on why it might not be right for them, so they can better focus on generating income in other ways more confidently.

The session aims to:

• Help charities gain awareness of what trading is, the benefits, risks and restrictions 
• Introduce charities to why and when trading might / might not be suitable for them
• Help charities get started with thinking about suitable trading ideas
• Share information on how to manage some of the frequent concerns charities have when introducing trading
• Help charities understand when and where to seek further expertise

The content delivery part of the session will run for approximately 90m. Groups will be able to participate and ask questions throughout via the chat and there will be time for further Q&A with the trainer towards the end of the session.

About the trainer

This training is delivered in partnership with Adrian Ashton.

Adrian has been working in various roles throughout the wider social economy for nearly 30 years, and was recently recognised as the UK’s most influential charity consulting professional in the 2024 Corporate Vision awards.

As well as working with a range of local charities and community groups across Greater Manchester through funded programmes, he is also asked to train other advisers to the sector on how they might better support groups, through upskilling them and their knowledge in a range of themes.

https://linktr.ee/adrianashton