The annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival took place in London last week with a wide selection of films that show human rights issues and abuse around the world. The festival highlighted issues such as the privatisation of the water supply in Bolivia and trafficking of young women in Eastern Europe.

In the documentary ‘Little Heaven’ we meet the clever and ever so sweet Lydia, who lives in an orphanage in Ethiopia together with other teenagers that have become her family. They all come from difficult backgrounds but they are happy in the orphanage, there’s food on the table and they all go to school. The intense medication routines these kids have to do several times each day is what differs their days to the days of other kids. The reason for this is because they are all living with HIV.

‘Little Heaven’ is a gorgeous piece of film that gives you the opportunity to share the everyday lives of these young teenagers – the pressures of doing well in school, the joy of water surfing when cleaning the floors with loads of water and soap, the admiration of footballers like Drogba whose poster has a prime spot on the wall above the bed.  The film wants to highlight the stigma that surrounds many living with HIV in Africa as well as informing of help that exists in terms of free medication if you’re registered with a hospital.

I went along to the screening of ‘Little Heaven’ at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) and was very moved by Lydia’s story. And so was everyone else in that cinema. We all ignored the beaming London spring sun and the beer gardens we passed on our way there so I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one passionate about the cause wanting to support Lydia and her friends. But there was no call to action and not much further information from Human Rights Watch. The filmmaker, Lieven Corthouts, was there for a Q&A in which he briefly mentioned that the orphanage is being funded by a small NGO in Belgium. But no name, no website details, and no instructions on how we could support their work.

Corthouts has created a beautiful and sensitive film and I wish I had time to watch more films during the festival but the aim of the festival feels a little lost to me. According to the official programme “The film festival brings human rights abuses to life through storytelling in a way that challenges each individual to empathise and demand justice for all”. But what does that mean? What difference does our empathy make? And how do we go about demanding justice for all?

Raising awareness is of course crucial, and a film festival is a brilliant way of doing it for any culture-loving person like me but I do feel slightly superficial when watching a film like this, next door to the Queen, and I’m not asked to do anything about it afterwards. Corthouts mentioned that the organisation probably needs to build/buy another orphanage but financial issues are preventing them. Why not ask us to help out? There could be a straightforward call to action and I’m certain everyone in the ICA that evening would have helped out, at least with some cash before leaving the cinema.

I’ve done some Googling and I think the organisation behind Little Heaven is called Siddartha. Unfortunately the donation page doesn’t make much sense.

A missed fundraising opportunity?

If you’ve been looking for an interesting and rewarding trustee role in a friendly small-sized organisation, look no further! We are thrilled to announce that we will be offering the opportunity to become a Bright One trustee. This is a very exciting time for us and we are looking to get trustees onboard in order to develop and expand. Details below:

Trustee role description

• To actively contribute at board meetings and help to monitor the implementation of decisions taken at meetings
• Contribute to the setting of policy, objectives and adherence to, thereafter
• Help facilitate change and manage conflict
• Ensure the financial stability of the organisation and ensure sound risk management
• Contribute to the development of the organisation’s mission and vision
• Raise the public profile of the organisation
• To represent the organisation as necessary
• To regularly assess the environment and develop the organisation’s business strategy
• To review and agree any major changes to the organisation
• To ensure the organisation uses its resources exclusively in pursuance of its charitable objects

Person specification

• Experience of holding a strategic vision over a 2-3 year period
• Ability to exercise independent judgement and challenge constructively
• Good communication skills across all levels
• Excellent planning and organisational abilities
• Understanding of the voluntary sector (desirable)
• An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
• Commitment to the organisation and willingness to devote the required time and effort
• A problem-solving ‘can-do’ approach
• Significant experience in at least one of the following areas:

Terms of appointment

Trustee appointments will be reviewed annually.

Trustees will be required to attend quarterly board meetings and there is also an annual AGM which trustees should attend if possible.

Communication between meetings takes place via email and phone calls.

The role requires dedication of between 8-10 hours a month (dependent on activity).

Interview process

Shortlisted candidates will initially have a phone conversation with a member of the current management team, followed by an in-person interview.

Application deadline is 10 February 2012, phone interviews will take place w/c 17 February, in person meetings will take place before the end of February, and a decision will then be made early March.

Notice: Bright One is currently not a registered charity, but forming this trustree group is one of the first steps and this group will be named trustees upon application to the Charity Commission.

If you are interested in being a trustee for Bright One please email your CV and cover letter to Tove Nordstrom at tove.nordstrom@brightone.org.uk

Members of the Bright One community had the fantastic opportunity of meeting with global representatives of PR agency Edelman two weeks ago at an interactive workshop session at The Landmark London Hotel. The session was set up together with Bright One ambassador Robert Phillips, President and CEO of Edelman EMEA, and 13 Bright One charities came along for tips and ideas on how best to communicate their causes.

Representatives from Edelman offices around the world took part in the 2-hour long session discussing areas such as fundraising, communicating social impact, digital media, and corporate engagement. Each Bright One charity had the opportunity to speak to seven teams during the session in order to learn as much as possible during the afternoon.

Before attending the workshops, the charities were keen on finding out more about issues like funding and communicating to different kinds of audiences. Additionally, they wanted to know more about how to use social media, how to work with celebrities, and how best to approach the private sector for funding and support. These matters were all answered by the honest and professional Edelman PR practitioners who gave great advice to all participating charities. Their expertise was highly appreciated amongst the participants with many expressing positive comments on the fact that they were able to receive frank comments from professionals with a new perspective. One participant said:

“Knowing that they had no personal agenda and that they had no need to be overly polite or enthusiastic (i.e. they weren’t ‘on the sell’), meant that their advice meant a lot more”

A fresh perspective is always helpful and it definitely benefited the Bright One charities taking part in the session. Clear messaging and strategic thinking were common themes during the afternoon with several Edelman representatives arguing in favour of speaking a simple and informative language towards all stakeholders. The importance of being able to communicate your message in a short paragraph or a 20-second pitch was highlighted together with significant aspects of presenting your impact. Just describing the cause will most likely not be enough if you don’t present what your charity is doing to solve the problem.

The Bright One charities have all got amazing stories to tell and the Edelman practitioners therefore encouraged them all to make sure the stories are being told well. These comments were greatly valued amongst the charities and they left the Landmark feeling motivated to work on clear messaging and develop a more strategic approach when communicating with stakeholders.

The Bright One team sneaked in and took part as well and we had great advice from some very impressive Edelman employees. They gave inspirational comments in regards to our digital communications and how to communicate our social impact so we will consider this feedback when doing our best to improve Bright One.

A great afternoon had by all, and a massive thank you to all Edelman representatives who took part and to all charities that came along and joined us!

We are looking for individuals interested in working with Bright One to evaluate and extract information from media coverage and other client data to provide independent assessment of Bright One’s work.

The analysis involves identifying social impact, key messages, and issues within media coverage and recording the information, as well as assisting in the identification of key outcomes of projects.

People applying for this job should have a keen interest in the media and/or analytical research and thrive on working autonomously.

Key requirements of this role:

• Have keen eye for details and a meticulous approach to work
• Have a strong analytical mind
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Power Point
• Comfort with quantitative data

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter to Ben Matthews at ben@brightone.org.uk

Bright One, the volunteer-run communications agency for the third sector, celebrates its second year anniversary through a partnership with the PRCA, the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies and in-house communications teams, and marks it with two remarkable results.

Firstly, Bright One is delighted to announce its partnership with the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), the UK PR consultants’ trade body. As well as joining the PRCA, Bright One will be given a voice by becoming closely involved with the PRCA’s not-for-profit working sectoral group.

The two organisations will work closely together to help raise awareness of the opportunities and need for PROs to volunteer their skills to the third sector and have its volunteering opportunities promoted to other PRCA’s members. This partnership is another step in making Bright One the pre-eminent volunteering organisation for the PR industry.

“We’re delighted to have Bright One on board as a member of the PRCA and look forward to working in partnership. Bright One is an initiative we’re keen to support, as not only does it help charities with their communications needs, but also helps develop the next generation of PR professionals – the future of our industry. They couldn’t get off to a better start than by volunteering with Bright One.”

Francis Ingham, chief executive of the PRCA

Secondly, following its successful first year, Bright One has measured the social impact of the work carried out by its volunteers during its second year. The impact has been quantified by calculating the amount of resource that charities have been able to access as a result of Bright One’s services. Its volunteers have collectively dedicated a whopping 2,700 hours of PR and communications support to helping small charities with their PR and communications efforts. This equals over £300,000 worth of consultancy services. Year on year, Bright One has donated an extra 1,200 hours of work organised through the agency, and generated a 54% increase in economic value.* Bright One’s volunteer’s have created this impact for clients such as Amnesty International, Centrepoint and the Social Enterprise Coalition.

“We are thrilled with how our second year of life has gone.” Ben Matthews, Founder of Bright One, said. “We’ve turned in a fantastic contribution to the third sector’s communications needs, thanks to a growing number of committed and competent volunteers. Charities often cannot afford to invest much in PR, and we are proud to have provided a huge amount of consultancy services, at the same time giving professionals in our industry the chance to volunteer and broaden their skills.”

“It seems fitting that our growth should be marked by the partnership with the PRCA; we are delighted and proud to become members of our professional trade body and to be recognised for our role in both the PR and the volunteering sectors.”

“We are stepping into our third year with continued enthusiasm, and we already have a number of high profile initiatives underway for the near future. We are hoping to continue to attract high-calibre of the volunteers who put themselves forward, and who deserve respect and recognition for their hard work. Without them we could not be where we are today.”

* This number is obtained by multiplying the number of volunteers by the number of hours they donate per week by number of weeks the account has been active with Bright One. This is then multiplied GBP 115, an average flat hourly fee a commercial agency would charge a client for a PR executive’s work. This is a conservative estimate as it uses an indicative fee for a volunteer’s contribution.

Social Impact Camp is back! We are happy to announce the details of the next Social Impact Camp. A big thank you goes to the London Early Years Foundation for hosting the event..

• Date: Wednesday 14th April 2010
• Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
• Location:  London Early Years Foundation, 121 Marsham Street, Lonon SW1P 4LP (Google Map)

You can reserve your place by signing up on the Social Impact Camp wiki.

Social Impact Camp is a monthly meet up for people to discuss different ways of measuring social impact. We compare tactics, think of ways to improve it and wonder if there will ever be a standard set of metrics against which to judge success by. It’s a friendly place, we don’t try and sell to each other; instead we’re honest, pretty and will never wear name tags.

To get a feel for what has happened at past events, take a look at the fantastic blog posts by Rob Greenland of The Social Business and Max St John of Nixon McInnes.

We look forward to seeing you all there for some great conversations…and lots of tea and biscuits.

After a great first two Social Impact Camps in partnership with UnLtdWorld and Leap Anywhere, Bright One are happy to announce the details of the third Social Impact Camp. A big thank you goes to Hotwire for hosting the event..

• Date: Tuesday 16th March 2010
• Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
• Location: Hotwire, 33-41 Dallington Street, London EC1V oBB (Google Map)

You can reserve your place by signing up on the Social Impact Camp wiki.

Social Impact Camp is a monthly meet up for people to discuss different ways of measuring social impact. We compare tactics, think of ways to improve it and wonder if there will ever be a standard set of metrics against which to judge success by. It’s a friendly place, we don’t try and sell to each other; instead we’re honest, pretty and will never wear name tags.

To get a feel for what has happened at past events, take a look at the fantastic blog posts by Rob Greenland of The Social Business and Max St John of Nixon McInnes.

We look forward to seeing you all there for some great conversations…and lots of tea and biscuits.

Last month, Bright One held the first ever Social Impact Camp in partnership with UnLtdWorld.

The date and venue has now been confirmed for the second event, which is being run in partnership with Leap Anywhere – the definitive guide to every fun event happening in London that benefits a good cause.

Here are the details:

• Date: Wednesday 17th February 2010
• Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
• Location: Leap Anywhere HQ, 23-24 Greek Street, London W1D 4DZ (Google Map)

You can reserve your place by signing up on the Social Impact Camp wiki.

In case you’re not sure what the idea behind the event is, Social Impact Camp is a monthly meet up for people to discuss different ways of measuring social impact. We compare tactics, think of ways to improve it and wonder if there will ever be a standard set of metrics against which to judge success by. We drink tea, sometimes we eat biscuits too. It’s a friendly place, we don’t try and sell to each other; instead we’re honest, pretty and will never wear name tags.

To get a feel for what happened at the first event, take a look at the fantastic blog posts by Rob Greenland of The Social Business and Max St John of Nixon McInnes.

We look forward to seeing you all there for some great conversations…and lots of biscuits.

Exciting times here at Bright One at the moment, with our Christmas Drinks (hosted jointly with Third Sector PR) next week (sign up here) and today we’re delighted to announce the launch of some new meetups that we’re setting up: Social Impact Camp.

Not sure about what Social Impact is? Well Wikipedia describes it as: “In business and government policy, social impact refers to how the organisation’s actions affect the surrounding community.”

Over recent weeks there has been a lot of discussion both on and offline about measuring social impact – check out Rob Greenland’s blog to see just one example of some of the debate that’s happening, and seeing some of the good work that MeasurementCamp does, we were inspired to set up Social Impact Camp.

Social Impact Camp is a monthly meet up for people to discuss different ways of measuring social impact. We compare tactics, think of ways to improve it and wonder if there will ever be a standard set of metrics against which to judge success by.

We drink tea, sometimes we eat biscuits too. It’s a friendly place, we don’t try and sell to each other; instead we’re honest, pretty and will never wear name tags.

We’ve set up a Social Impact Camp Wiki-Page here and you can sign up to attend the first Social Impact Camp at the events page here

The first Social Impact Camp is being run in partnership with UnLtdWorld – the social networking site that connects social entrepreneurs to the people, tools and information they need to change the world. Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday 20th January 2010

Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Location: UnLtd, 123 Whitecross Street, EC1Y 8JJ

We look forward to seeing you all there for some great conversations…and lots of biscuits.

Bright One measured its economic impact by calculating the amount of resource that charitable organisations have been able to access thanks to its services. A remarkable total of over 1,500 hours of communications work was donated by Bright One’s volunteers this year. This equals an astonishing £180,000 worth of expertise that smaller charities have been able to enjoy, boosting their PR and communications activities.

Since its inception in September 2008 with a handful of passionate PR professionals, Bright One has grown to attract over 30 volunteers and nine clients. Over the last twelve months, Bright One has helped charitable organisations, such as Refugee Week, The Pixel Project and What’s Up Information, to access high quality communications expertise that they would have not otherwise been able to afford.

Bright One is also committed to continue to make a significant social impact through its own volunteers and the benefits they enjoy with volunteering. Not only do they get to give something back to the community, but they also learn new skills, receive coaching, add to their professional and personal experience, have the opportunity to network with other communications professionals and gain access to jobs in the industry.

In a recent survey, 85% of Bright One volunteers said that volunteering for Bright One had improved their communications skills and expertise, 100% said that it had improved their network and contacts within the communications industry and 100% said that it had increased their understanding of the third sector.

Ben Matthews, Founder of Bright One, said:

“Looking back at what we’ve achieved this year, I’m immensely proud of the contribution to society we have collectively made, and the changes we have helped to make in people’s lives. But we’re not going to rest on our laurels. There’s a long way to go and lots of organisations need our help.”

Ben’s remarkable efforts have been formally recognised by the Future 100 Awards, where he has been included as one of the Future 100 Young Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2009 among young people aged 18-35 who are demonstrating entrepreneurial flair and innovation.