Friday, 20 May 2022

GOOD GOVERNANCE

This week I’ve been reminded about the need for good governance for your organisation.  As we prepare our new budget year this could be financial and we are working tirelessly to get a replacement for Carlene, our current Finance Officer  We already have a few candidates interested in the role, which closes on Monday.  Apply here Jobs | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust (stratherrickcommunity.org.uk)

GOVERNANCE REPORT

The Trust has faced some challenging times in the past and subsequent Boards have also worked hard to ensure we have a robust future.  Of course the Trust is a vehicle in which the community works and we take ideas from the community, ensure there is a need and develop them.  We appreciate some members of the community may not like those ideas and we try and balance that as best we can without losing sight of the final goal.  Our Board has had difficult discussions as part of this jounrey and people have chosen to leave because it isn’t for them or life gets in the way, but it is always underpinned by our governance.  That said we respect and always listen to what people have to say, even if we don’t agree with it,  and test it sometimes.  As part of this we asked an external body, Community Enterprise, to review our organisation an dour governance.  We asked them to be completely honest with us.  We challenged them to make recommendations to not just make us better but world class.  In summary the report said overall this is a well-run focussed organisation and any pointers for improvement are enhancements of an already strong organisation.  We will work on those over the next year.

GETTING INVOLVED

I mentioned earlier some members of the Board left as ensuring good governance and the way we work is not for them.  However following the Community Action Plan we have called on some members of the community and, indeed, previous Board Members to come and work with us without the pressure of being a Board Member to help move some of the Community Action Plan projects forward.  That is not to say we don’t need Board Members – we do – but we have developed a staff team that eases the pressure, keeps us right and moves projects forward too. This was a recommendation of the Community Action Plan.  All the time our focus is on community engagement, ideas, being inclusive as we can be and embracing the skills and abilities of pro active people who want to make a positive difference locally.  This has been extremely enlightening and a healthy way to do business and hopefully it will bring positive results to the community.

BUDGETING

We are reviewing our budgets for 2022-23 and it is a challenge.  Our commitments to the community far exceed the funds we get given on an annual basis from wind farm and hydro companies.  We have to ensure cash flow throughout the year, have enough to ensure we can support local groups through the grants system, maintain our current assets, pay staff, communicate effectively what is going on, have funds to take projects forward identified by you in the Community Action Plan and generally have some funds left over for a rainy day!  We want to do everything now but in reality we can’t and we are currently having to forecast not only what we can offer in the short term but how we can progress projects over the next 5 to 7 years.  That is why a Finance Officer is important.  It is why our Fundraisers are important.  Within two months our Fundraisers have helped people in the local community. They have set up projects and they have been successful getting funds to help support not only our work but easing the pressure on our budgets for projects and events.  As we get closer to developing Errogie they are hoping to raise funds for that, the Slipway, ways to support the community on cost of living and future projects like Riverside Field, PlayParks, Housing, Pathways, local organisations and more.  The money they raise eases the pressure on our budgets and means we can utilise our funds to more effectively, with our Project Officer and staff team ensuring we solve problems on time and on budget.

LEARNING AND FIREFIGHTING

We have learnt where we are up to this point by extremely talented Board Members past and present, staff members like Steven and Laura who have been with us for over five years, listening to the community, ensuring an outside perspective helps us benchmark what is going on across Scotland and the UK and, dare I say it, being dynamic in our approach.  We don’t get it right all the time but at least we can say we tried our best.  We firefight as we go along, with the odd curve ball thrown our way, and we adapt if we can.  Some things you won’t like, some things you will.  In the end our governance is at the heart of all we do and whilst it is probably the most unsexy bit of the organisation it keeps us right and we protect that at all costs.

AND FINALLY

Good luck to everyone taking part in the Loch Ness Challenge which comes to the Wildside Centre this weekend - have a great time!  More details here  Cycling and Running Events in Scotland 2020 | Loch Ness 360

FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY WILL BE BACK IN TWO WEEKS TIME

Tony Foster

Trust Manager

2025

February (12 stories)

22 February 📣 ** TODAY ** 📣 - Forest School Meeting

Interested in the future of the Forest School building? From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts for the Forest School and wider opportunities fo...

21 February Congratulations to Whitebridge Hotel

Whitebridge Hotel are finalists in the National Hotels of the Year - Scotland awards!   The ceremony takes place in Glasgow on the 26th February at The Cr...

19 February 📣 Youth Club returns this Thursday 📣

Youth club is for anyone in P7 to S6 ✅ After a bit of a break, we are delighted to say that Youth Club is back!! ⭐ Important info ⭐ Date - Thursday 20th Februa...

19 February Communications 2025!

We are making a some improvements in the way we share important information with the community in 2025. The SFCT Board and communications team have made the dec...

13 February Mailing List Update

We hope you received your copy of the February newsletter and enjoyed reading through it. The team are busy updating our mailing list and we understand that there may ...

12 February Next Sat 22nd February

Next Sat 22nd February   Inverfarigaig Forest School, Farigaig Forestry Carpark IV2 6XR - From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts fo...

11 February ⚠️ Update regarding the upcoming works taking place at The Wildside Centre ⚠️

We can now confirm that the scheduled works on upgrading the toilet facilities in the Wildside Centre is starting this Thursday – 13th February.   The Wi...

11 February 🙌 JOIN OUR TEAM 🙌

We are currently recruiting a part-time (30 hours per week) Community Action Plan Project Officer to join our small team, based in the Wildside Centre in Whitebridge, on ...

8 February 📢 THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE 📢

Later today the Pathways Group are hosting their Community Engagement event at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   For the past year, the Pathways Group has be...

6 February Errogie Church Statement

As you will be aware, an announcement was made by the Trust in mid December 2024 that we were unfortunately unable to host three events that were due to take place at Err...

6 February Wildside Wednesday Success!

🙌THANK YOU 🙌 We want to say a big thank you to those of you who popped along to our first Wildside Wednesday event yesterday! It was great to see you all 😃  ...

5 February !! WILDSIDE WEDNESDAY - TODAY !!

Join us TODAY at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm where the first Wildside Wednesday of 2025 will take place.  You can shop local, with local p...

January (22 stories)

31 January !! Next Saturday !!

On the 8th Feb The Pathways Group host their Community Engagement Day at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   The group have setup a dedicated Facebook event pa...

30 January Refurbishments to toilets in The Wildside Centre

Following many months of work behind the scenes we are pleased to be able to share with you that work on upgrading the ladies toilets and creating a larger disabled toile...

30 January Fancy a sing song with Monadhliath?

The Monadhliath Choir invites all singers to a charity singing event on the 27.04.2025 at Stratherrick Public Hall. If you would be interested in join...

29 January February Newsletter

We are pleased to share that our Feb newsletter should be making its way through your door next week! 🙌   Please look out for the white envelope addressed to ...

25 January Do you use Instagram?

Did you know that Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust are on Instagram? If you too have an account, why not give our page a follow. We’re keen to build up ...

24 January Foyers Community Fire Station

🚒 Foyers Community Fire Station 🚒   Foyers Community Fire station has a competent crew of 7 personnel, but we are in real need of new recruits, to keep the s...

23 January Wildside Wednesday is returning!

Join us on the 5th February at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm.   Here is your chance to shop local, with local produce from Lyne Mhor Crof...

22 January Loch Ness Luvvies - Traditional Burns Supper

This Friday, 24th Jan the Loch Ness Luvvies are hosting their very own Traditional Burns Supper at Stratherrick Hall, Gorthleck at 7.30pm. Tickets are £20 per he...

22 January Timings have been announced!

As you may have recently seen, The Pathways Group are running a Community Engagement event on the 8th February from 1pm at The Wildside Centre. In our previous post, t...

21 January ** Mobile Library Update **

Mark, our local librarian has kindly sent over a full list of dates when he will be stopping in the area. You can find the full list here: https://www.stratherrickcommuni...

20 January Invitation to tender - Health & Safety Consultant required

We are looking for an experienced Health & Safety professional to carry out a comprehensive survey on Errogie Church to ensure that the building is fully compliant fo...

19 January Send in your dates for the Community Calendar!

Did you know we have an online Community Calendar? If not, you can find it here: https://www.stratherrickcommunity.org.uk/calendar/   We would love to inclu...

18 January What's the next step?

For the past year, the Pathways Group has been working hard to promote the local path network, paths that lead through rich landscapes, historical sites, and biodiversity...

15 January Community Engagement Day - 8th Feb

Over the last month you may have noticed that the Pathways Group are holding a Community Engagement Day on the 8th February. You can find out all about the event by follo...

14 January Mobile Library Update

Below you will find a list of updated Dates/Times where you can visit the Mobile Library at The Wildside Centre.   We will add these dates to the Online Commu...

14 January Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today!

** TODAY ** Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today! The group return to their weekly session after the Xmas break. Please note: The group will now ...

10 January Community Engagement Event - 8th Feb

The Pathways Group invites you to a community event that explores the potential development of a pathways based app. This is your opportunity to help shape an app which w...

9 January Deadline for Jan/Feb Newsletter Content!

The deadline to send in any content for the Jan/Feb Newsletter is Friday the 17th of January 2025. Please email marketingofficer@sfctrust.org.uk with your articles inclu...

9 January Send us in your photos from the Winter Festival

A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already uploaded photos to our shared community photo gallery during the festival.   If you have any wintery snaps th...

8 January Reverse Advent Calendar Success!

Santa's little helpers would like to thank everyone who contributed in any way to the overwhelming success of this project. The generosity shown by our community was ...

8 January ** MOBILE LIBRARY VISIT TODAY CANCELLED **

Sadly, due to the current road conditions, Mark who drives the local ‘Mobile Library’ will NOT be stopping at Wildside today. All books will be renewed, and h...

7 January Welcome Back

Hello, we hope you had a relaxing time during the festivities. As it’s now time to get back to work, we thought it would be a good idea to update our online communi...