Connie's Rambles

Week 6 of 40 is live on the blog. Someone decided to donate to you this week. They found you, they read enough to care, they clicked the button. And nothing worked. A broken donation process doesn't just lose the donation. In the UK, it loses the Gift Aid too. That's 25p per pound, handed back to HMRC because your form wasn't set up right. UK charities claimed £1.7 billion in Gift Aid last year. The ones that weren't set up got none of it. The free audit checklist is in the post. Ten minutes to test. No excuse not to.

Someone put a lit-up gaggar on my head at the jaggo and I've never felt more at home. Four days in London for one of our closest friends' weddings. I wore phulkari made by my mother-in-law. My youngest birth son held the cloth at the maiyaan because that's what the brothers do, so he was a brother. My foster son ate four jalebis before asking what they were, followed by four plates of chilli paneer, eight bowls of ice cream and a bottle and a half of Coke. He danced every last bit of it off. The aunties cheered him on. Different kids, different moments, all of them there. New post on the blog.

Friday at five. Garden. Sausages. Kiddo with a marshmallow on a stick. Jatinder at his very serious brick barbecue. And that sky. There's a story behind that barbecue that I've been meaning to write for a while. It's up on the blog now.

There used to be a book. An enormous green bible. You borrowed it from your local voluntary action organisation and worked through it page by page. That world is gone. And nobody told most small charities what replaced it. New post and free download this

We planted onions in April. Apparently nobody told them that was wrong. He spotted them in the shop, we stuck them in the ground, and this morning there were actual sprouts. The joy on that kid's face. Worth every raised eyebrow from anyone who knows.

I get a version of this call regularly. Someone set up a CIC. Followed the advice. Applied for funding. Got rejected. Now they're ringing me. Within ten minutes of looking at their documents, I can see exactly what happened. Some of it is fixable. Some of it isn't. All of it was avoidable. #CIC #GrantFunding #SocialEnterprise #ThirdSector #CommunityInterestCompany

The Beautiful, Exhausting Chaos of a Full House

The "New Year, New You" circus is a total shit idea. ​There’s massive pressure to "perform" a fresh start, but sprinting while the world is frozen is biological gaslighting. If you aren't on the bandwagon, the circus says you're failing.

My Christmas OOO is live! Trading emails for mince pies, and deadlines for delightful chaos (mostly from the kids, but watch out for the husband's 'discoveries'). Feast your eyes on the totally authentic and not at all AI-generated visual representation of my life right now, and read my full manifesto on surviving the holidays with humor and a laptop-shield #ChristmasChaos #FosterCare #TheArtOfStupidity #OOO #AImadeMeDoIt #ChaosElves

This time last year, I wrote about surviving Christmas as a working parent. Turns out, people needed to hear it. Here's the 2025 version—self-employment chaos, teenage band geeks, foster care reality, and my Boxing Day kitchen boycott. My deadline: 12pm Friday 19th. After that? It waits until January 6th. My family needs me rested more than my clients need perfection. Lower your standards. Raise your boundaries. Good enough IS good enough. Tell me I'm not the only one doing nothing in the kitchen on Boxing Day. Link below.

Stop filing paper accounts! 🛑 The new ECCTA mandate is a non-negotiable deadline for grassroots UK charities. If your charity is a Company Limited by Guarantee, Companies House will soon reject all non-software submissions. The stupidity is thinking Excel and a PDF scan are enough. You need digital tagging (XBRL) only compliance software provides. Avoid fines. Action Item: Ask your Treasurer what system they use. If it's 'Excel and scanner,' you have a governance issue. #ArtOfStupidity #ComplianceFail

The £200,000 question: When is 'free' money actually too expensive? We've all faced the tempting grant that doesn't quite fit our mission. But chasing trends over expertise is the fastest route to mediocrity. Before you apply, ask these three questions: 1. What are we actually brilliant at? 2. Does this funding help us do that one thing better? 3. What happens when the funding ends? Clarity and focus are your competitive edge. #NonprofitStrategy #CharityLeadership #FundingDecisions #MissionDriven #StrategicFocus

The £200,000 question: When is 'free' money actually too expensive? I've seen so many brilliant charities lose their way chasing a "shiny" funding trend. Take Haven House: they were brilliant at face-to-face support. A major foundation offered £200k, but only if they pivoted to developing an app. Their smart leader, Emma, said no. Chasing money that doesn't fund your core strengths leads to mission drift and mediocrity. The most strategic move a nonprofit can make is saying no to a misalignment. What is your organisation's true North Star? Read the full story on why funding your strengths, not trends, is the radical choice today: #NonprofitStrategy #CharityLeadership #FundingDecisions #MissionDriven #StrategicFocus

Week 4 of The Art of Stupidity is here, and we're tackling the charity sector's most dangerous delusion: that reserves are somehow "wasteful." Spoiler: A charity with no financial reserves isn't virtuous. It's a time bomb. This week's post covers why zero reserves guarantees failure, and exactly how to write the Reserves Policy your trustees should have done years ago. #CharityLeadership #NonprofitManagement #CharitySector

​Huge apologies. The "Stop Being Stupid" post is missing today. ​My professional life paused for six hours in A&E with my eldest. His brutal flu symptoms were identical to carbon monoxide poisoning (a work risk), and the doctor insisted we check him out.

“A donation is not a trophy. It’s a kitten.” 🐱 You can’t just take the money, put it on a shelf, and forget about it. You have to feed it, thank it, check its paperwork, and report back so it doesn’t die of neglect. The Teacup Test is your no-nonsense guide to gratitude, governance, and avoiding the ‘Core 40’ of self-inflicted stupidity. ☕ Read time: 7 minutes #CharityComms #NonprofitUK #DonorCare #Funding #TheArtOfStupidity

🛑 STOP Being Stupid: Week 3 of 40 - The Most Basic Fail (DBS Checks) If your charity works with vulnerable people, this is non-negotiable. Yet, a shocking number of charities still view DBS checks as 'tedious paperwork'. It is not. It is your first and most fundamental line of defence. This week, we're tackling the administrative stupidity that crosses into moral negligence: The 'Cost Lie': Why "we can't afford it" is ignorance, not an excuse (and how volunteers get free checks!). Outdated Information: Why a 10-year-old DBS is useless and why you need a clear renewal policy. Your 4-Step Action Plan: Including the crucial, free DBS Update Service that can save you massive admin headaches. Stop gambling with the lives of your beneficiaries and the future of your charity. DBS checks are the price of admission. Do better. Do it now. #charity #nonprofit #safeguarding #DBSchecks #volunteers #compliance #riskmanagement #charityfail #TheArtOfStupidity #UKcharity