Community Groups are non-profit organisations that work towards enriching the lives of people that live within a local community by offering them help and support. Recently, Google has launched a new campaign to help 30,000 smaller charities and community groups go online, which aims to increase reach, fundraising and engagement.
Like many other non-profit organisations, these community groups are run on a voluntary basis and are self- funded. In recent years, it has been suggested that community groups are much more effective at addressing the requirements of a local community than many larger charitable organisations, which highlights the need for them to stay in existence.
There are many benefits to being involved with a community group, for the individual, for the group, and for the wider community.
For example, both volunteers and individuals within the community will generally see an increase in their social skills and personal confidence, which also has further benefits for their mental and physical well-being. Furthermore, community groups can be a fantastic way to make new social connections and meet new friends, which is extremely pivotal for older people. Partaking in a community group can also be an excellent way of learning new skills, such as CV writing, computer literacy, and self-dependence, which can be indispensable for somebody’s employability.
With regards to the community group as a whole, they can help to effectively shape and convey a sense of community identity and culture, which can again help to improve a general sense of well-being within the wider community. Community groups are also a fantastic way to bring different generations and age groups together.
In relation to the benefits of a community group to the wider community itself, one of the key benefits is that they can help to support other parts of the community such as community centres and village halls. Many community groups often rent or hire premises to host various events and fundraisers, which helps to generate revenue for the premises and keeps them in business.
However, community groups need adequate community group insurance to cover them for their contents, and against public liability. Community group insurance can sometimes be costly, generally due to the potential high-risk involved with community groups, especially any groups that work with children and vulnerable adults.
Therefore, community group insurance is integral to the successful running of any community group, as it ensures that you, your volunteers, and your community are adequately protected. Thankfully, there are a range of insurance companies in the UK who provide comprehensive community group insurance at affordable prices, such as Northern Counties Insurance and Aspen in the US.
If a community group does not have adequate community group insurance, any accidents could have serious repercussions for the long-term health of the community group and be a huge drain on their fundraising resources.
Photo by Keith Bloomfield
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Group insurance sounds like a good idea. PS had no idea about the new Google campaign, that is awesome.
Thanks, dude! As a member of a community non-profit, that link is invaluable. I sent it to our communications committee so we can discuss it at our meeting next week.
Is it worth a vote for Top PF Blog of 2012?? Lol. Glad it helped you!