Impact Report 2021 22

Escapeline is a charity committed to the prevention of the criminal and sexual exploitation of young people by gangs across South West England. 

Escapeline’s vision is for a region free from child exploitation from criminal gangs. 

Escapeline help young people to stay safe by educating them about how child exploitation and grooming works in their local area and teaching them protective strategies. The Charity strengthens community knowledge of child exploitation by running awareness-raising campaigns and helps the families of exploited young people, and those at risk of exploitation, through non- judgemental support and mentoring. Much of the work is conducted in schools and alongside the police and local authorities, taking their referrals to support the children identified as most at risk of exploitation. As part of the Charity’s legacy it also train professionals working with vulnerable young people, in the signs and stages of child criminal exploitation, in order that they are better equipped to protect children in their care.

Escapeline approached MMC to gain some additional capacity in bid writing which will help Lisa (CEO and founder) and trustees to grow the organisation, making it more sustainable and able to meet the demands for its support and education helping to protect and empower young people in the coming years.

Key deliverables:

· A funding pack which included reviewing the Case for Support for the Charity and further developing a funding pipeline.

· Bid writing: Agreed applications / letters / proposals each month, reporting and stewardship. 

“MMC have been supporting Escapeline with our grants and bid writing over the last six months. They have been amazing, providing such an outstanding service with a high level of professionalism and responsive approach. We look forward to continuing to work with MMC and would definitely recommend their services.” 

Lisa, CEO, Escapeline.

Teignmouth Recycled Art in the Landscape (Trail Art) is a community group run by two artists who are passionate about making the environment a better place and empowering others to change. The core activity is the acclaimed Sculpture Trail along Teignmouth seafront targeted to artists and community groups, enjoyed by locals and visitors. Other funded activities include summer workshops and outreach projects with local schools and colleges and community groups.

Trail Art was chosen by Rosie Gitsham, MMC Trust & Foundation Fundraising Officer, as our charity of the year. Rosie grew up in Teignmouth and Trail Art has provided many workshops with the local Guide unit Rosie leads. 

Trail Art was looking for help to produce a business plan. They had received funding from National Lottery Community Fund Reaching Communities to support their organisational development. During our conversations it was agreed that Trail Art would benefit from more support as they prepare to become a CIO. Trail Art is our Charity of the Year for 22-23.

The deliverables:

• Business Vision Workshop at MMC’s office with staff and volunteers with associated Business Plan

• Annual report template 

• A list of questions to present to solicitor/accounts with regards to the legal formation of the CIO

• Pro bono work – a framework for working with trustees, a funding pipeline for funds available now and as a CIO, mentoring sessions to use as wished – this included Fundraising plan to include a campaign.

“We are very grateful to MMC for their support, they have been invaluable in helping us organise our ideas and goals and what approaches will work well for us going forward in our journey to becoming a registered charity and securing future funding; through assisting us to write a business plan and quantifying the impacts and outcomes of our activities." 

Amy, Trail Art.

New Leaf focus on growth and change in a caring, fully supported environment. New Leaf Life Design is a B Corporation, based in Somerset, providing counselling and training services for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Established by Becky Wright in 1992, New Leaf enables people to flourish by overcoming issues that can affect their working life, their relationships, wellbeing, and the ability to contribute positively to their community. 

In 2022 New Leaf won a contract to deliver a SME wellbeing project. The Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) supported this work, allocated by the Department for Health and Social Care to Somerset to support public health activities directly related to the Covid-19 response. The project focussed on the following sectors: visitor economy; arts & entertainment; construction; health & social care; farming & agriculture. 

MMC were commissioned to develop a comprehensive evaluation report which demonstrated the results of the SME wellbeing project, which was funded by Somerset County Council and took place across a selection of industries in Somerset, including The Visitor Economy, Arts & Entertainment, Construction, Health & Social Care and Farming & Agriculture. The project ran from November 2021 - November 2022. This report provides evidence of achieving the key measures set for the project. We used a combination of Survey Monkey tailored questionnaires and interviews/case studies to gather the evidence of improvement in wellbeing knowledge. Direct feedback was also received when the team were on location through conversations with individuals.

“We were delighted to commission Marsha Miles Consulting to evaluate our recent project SME Wellbeing Project for Somerset. This was a complicated piece of work over a period of a year. They had to work with various variables from telephone interviews to paper evaluations pre and post course. At the end of the work they had to work with us to create a detailed project report to our funded which met their funding requirements. Her team were very professional throughout and the final report was well received. I would not hesitate to use their company again for this difficult work. “ Becky Wright Director 

 The primary aim of the Friends of Cromford   Canal (FCC) is the restoration, reconstruction, preservation, and maintenance   of the Cromford Canal, its associated buildings, towing path, structures   & craft, and the conservation of its natural character as a navigable   inland waterway system for the benefit of the public.  

Our vision  is to enable economic and social regeneration by creating a living canal   corridor, connecting communities and visitors with a distinctive industrial,   cultural, and natural heritage which can be accessed and enjoyed by all. 

“The Friends of Cromford Canal have worked with Marsha Miles Consultancy for nearly 18   months and our Trustees have found their team to be very professional,   knowledgeable and able to work flexibly: they have found a large range of   grants for us that we wouldn’t have been able to find for ourselves! Marsha Miles Consultancy are a very helpful   company. They are cooperative and keen to get involved with your project.”

 Age UK Plymouth has supported older people in Plymouth since 1942 and is a well-established, trusted, and valued organisation in the area. 

‘Their mission is to care for and work with older people and their carers in and around the City of Plymouth to improve their quality of life through the promotion of choice, opportunity and independence’.

We have worked with our client since 2017, providing a Bid Writing Service (retained) raising over 220,000k to date, developing a business strategy and providing executive coaching. 

Lynne came to coaching following several changes to the Senior Management Team structure at Age UK, the CEO identified that Lynne may benefit from having some external coaching to help her achieve both business and personal goals, Lynne received 6 sessions of coaching which were delivered weekly online. 

Marsha held an initial Coaching Chemistry Meeting with Lynne, which gave both an opportunity to meet each other and to explore a potential coaching relationship together. 

Following this meeting Lynne filled in a Pre-Coaching Questionnaire and a client profile. This information includes more detailed questions about her current situation, the goals she wanted to achieve and an opportunity for her to do some important initial self-reflection prior to the first session.

The following sessions were spent working on reaching the outcomes agreed at the first session, which linked enabled Lynne to reach her desired goals. A range of techniques were used including the GROW mode, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, NLP techniques and CCBT. 

“Change was needed in both my professional and personal life and Marsha's executive coaching enabled me to better understand my challenges and behaviours allowing me to take the steps needed to make positive change. Marsha's skills, holistic approach and solution focussed programme made me really sit up and think about what I actually wanted and what I could practically do to improve my work/life balance. As a result, I have now changed employers and moved onto a highly rewarding job. I actively refer to the mechanisms I learnt in the programme, and I would recommend Marsha to anyone needing to re-focus and/or make changes to their personal or professional life”. Lynne Hodgson Deputy CEO

 The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) is the professional voice of the UK fire and rescue service.

NFCC drives improvement and development throughout the UK FRS, while supporting strong leadership – including for the devolved administrations. 

NFCC delivers an approach where everyone works together and offers sector-led solutions.

Jo Hardy the Early Interventions National Liaison Officer at the National Fire Chief Council and Marsha Miles worked together for 12 months to produce a framework for young people who are supported within the fire service as fire service cadets or who receive interventions at their local fire service as part of a wider community offer.

The work included Marsha working closely with Jo to develop documents, ideas, and communications with the NFCC which was shared with all the Fire and Rescue Services in the UK and Wales.

The contract deliverables included:

· Early Intervention Implementation Framework Document and tools

· Theory of Change training and development

· Executive Level Coaching for Jo Hardy

What is the Implementation Framework?

This Early Intervention Implementation Framework provides the UKFRS with clear guidance and a suite of practical tools for strategic direction, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to deliver effective Early Intervention Programmes. It sets out the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) National Core Approach which reframes our existing Early Intervention provision to an evidence-based practice of “what works” and aligns our practice to meet Home Office priorities and statutory duties.

https://www.fire-magazine.com/nfcc-launches-early-intervention-implementation-framework-for-frs 

Jo Hardy said “it was very motivating to work with Marsha, she brought structure and drive to the project whilst also supporting my development on my secondment to NFCC. Marsha was a constant and consistent support for all aspects of the project, drawing on a range of experience, skills, and knowledge. Marsha was helpful in enabling the project to develop organically in response to various changes throughout the development of the framework. Marsha helped me to produce a high-quality product that really meets the end user need. It was a pleasure to have such a strong professional relationship.”