One of the many enquiries we receive from local residents is how they can access funding to allow them to pay for costs such as hall hire. One example of this was Maryam, who run Baby Cabaret, a baby and toddler group in West Watford that used musical activities to support the physical and mental development of the children attending.

Once we met Maryam, we identified the main issue preventing them from accessing funding, they lacked incorporated status that charities and community interest companies (CIC) have. As a result, Baby Cabaret were unable to apply for funding to cover costs such as hall hire. After meeting with them, we proposed that rather than in their current form, they would benefit from becoming either an incorporated organisation as this would:

- Allow them to receive grants to cover the costs of hall hire

- Receive funding from other sources such as donations or through fundraising events.

- Gain limited liability so that if any issues occur in the future, the assets of the individuals would not be at risk

Over the next few months, we met with the management team behind Baby Cabaret, explained to them how to incorporate as a CIC, the responsibilities of the directors and the next steps including ensuring all policies, bank accounts and insurances would be in place. Last month we were delighted to confirm that Baby Cabaret is now incorporated as a CIC and that they would be looking at finding and applying for grants in the next few weeks.

After receiving confirmation of their CIC status, Maryam Patel, one of the directors thanked W3RT CVS for their support and said that ‘Alex’s guidance and support was crucial in establishing Baby Cabaret as a CIC. We had a couple of challenges through the process and where we had questions, Alex was quickly able to resolve them for us.’ She added ‘he was also able to help explain the responsibilities to my fellow directors so that they felt comfortable joining the board and able to take a more active role in the organisation’.

To find out more about Baby Cabaret, you can visit their website by clicking here. In addition, they will be running weekly sessions at the Holywell Community Centre and for more details, you can contact the Baby Cabaret team by emailing [email protected]. 

W3RT CVS provides a range of free support to voluntary and community organisation in the Watford and Three Rivers area thanks to funding from Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers District Council. You can find out more about our services by clicking here and if you or your organisation would like support, get in touch by emailing [email protected].