A small charity that was created by women for women is carrying out a colossal task of supporting around 1,000 survivors of sexual violence a year.
The Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, which helps support girls and women cope with trauma, is run by just five full time and three part time members of staff, six counsellors, and 60 volunteers.
Over the last year, CAF’s Advisory team has worked alongside the charity to develop a strong fundraising strategy with a particular focus on corporate support.
The charity was paired up with CAF through the Lloyd’s Bank Foundation’s Enhance Programme, after its leadership team submitted a bid for funding and advisory work.
Speaking to CAF, Norah Al-Ani, the charity’s Director, said the organisation had previously been caught up in the ‘classic trap’ of project-to-project funding, without having a sustainable plan for the future in place.
Now, they have adopted a strategic way of thinking with the hope they can diversify their income through alternative funding solutions and corporate partnerships.
Speaking about the charity’s main goal, Norah said: “We have recently had to close our waiting list for our adult counselling service with 58 women still on the list, so it’s priority for us to be in a position to be able to offer them a service just as soon as we can.”
Working with CAF's Advisory Team
Norah tells us, “As a small charity, we hardly have the time to step away from it all and see how we could be doing things differently. We are a small team, working to support so many people.
“But working with the advisory team was just a joy. It was so helpful and exceeded our expectations. CAF Advisory has enabled us to be realistic and help us be strategic around it and think about things very differently.
“We have already taken many of the recommendations on and will be applying them in the future.”