North Tyneside-based charity, True Colours Theatre, has seen significant growth over the last few years and is sharing its experience in a new podcast to mark Small Charity Week 2024.
True Colours Theatre is an inclusive theatre school for children and young people with additional needs, from anxiety, mental health, and confidence issues to autism, ADHD, and more complex needs.
The podcast, hosted by leading law firm Muckle LLP, sees True Colours Theatre founder Alisar-Jane Taylor and makaton lead Shannon Charters discuss the charity’s recent fast-paced growth, including its appearance on DIY SOS’ “The Big Build”, and what other small charities can learn from their experience.
Help from DIY SOS, Strictly Come Dancing Stars, and an army of community volunteers saw the theatre’s premises transformed into a state-of-the-art teaching and performance space, and the outreach potential for the charity quickly escalated.
Small Charity Week 2024, a campaign run by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). It aims to amplify, support and connect small charities across the UK, helping them to make an even greater impact on society.
Alisar said: “It can be daunting for smaller charities to think about growth, particularly when you don’t have the resources of the larger organisations, and you still have to focus on delivering the day-to-day work. After securing a place on DIY SOS, we had to mobilise very quickly to meet the challenges of increased publicity and the increased demand for our services.”
“But what makes small charities so great is their ability to adapt, and to adapt quickly. The growth mindset is already there, it’s just about tapping into it. Persistence, grit and determination led to our success in securing our new premises, although those premises required a lot of work! We hope by sharing our experience, we can help other small charities like us to think big and be confident when striving for growth.”
Alison Jones, charities lawyer at Muckle LLP, said: “Small charities play a vital role in our society, but they’re all too often faced with closed doors or daunting barriers and therefore struggle to scale their operations to meet increasing demands. True Colours Theatre is a fantastic example of a small charity that has persevered in knocking on those doors and broken down those barriers to achieve its goals.”
“We’re delighted that True Colours Theatre is joining us to explore how groups and organisations can think big and grow fast. It’s vitally important for the sector as a whole that small charities learn from the experiences of others and hear about topical issues first hand.”
In addition to the podcast, Muckle is recognising Small Charity Week by offering free face-to-face legal clinics on various topics in partnership with Connected Voice.
Ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500, the charities team at Muckle works with charity clients across the country and across a range of specialist sub-sectors.
Its podcast, Charity Matters, explores the sector’s hot topics, covering everything from cryptocurrency donations to environmental sustainability.