The BHAG of a Finance Manager

On a Senior Leadership Team day last year, our CEO got us thinking about our BHAG’s. Or Big Hairy Audacious Goals if you’re unfamiliar with the term! A dream or a goal that is quite scary and seems very out of reach. After a little thought I knew what my number 1 BHAG was, and it’s stuck ever since. 

My BHAG is for Acts Trust to be fully self-sustainable and not reliant on grant funding. 

I would love for Acts Trust to have a variety of income streams and sources to cultivate a security net of finance that we’ve never seen before. This seems wildly out of reach at the moment and a long way off, but I’m determined to see it through by taking it one step at a time, even if it takes years. 

Currently 48% of our income is from external funding grants. The rest is made up of contracts for delivery of our services, donations, regular giving and fundraising. Within the charity sector we’ve seen an increase in demand on external funders, partnered with an increase in need for our services, means that funding is getting harder and harder to come by. 

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) reported there has been a 11% drop in regular giving over the last 8 years, as this continues on a downward trend*. Many factors have contributed to this decline, including affordability, low levels of trust in charities, and a dissatisfaction that the government should be doing more to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. 

Source: CAF UK Giving Report 2025

At Acts Trust we are passionate about Empowering People to End Poverty in Lincoln, and we want to spread the message far and wide. We want to capture people’s vision of what Lincoln would look like without poverty, and how they can play their part. We want Lincoln to go against the statistics and show the generosity, compassion and hope that is within us. We don’t just want this to end in Lincoln, we want other cities to see how we are different and inspire change. 

I truly believe that the pathway to Acts Trust long term sustainability is through a diversifying of income streams and through many local people catching hold of the vision and engaging with our mission. Our leadership team is working hard at diversifying our income streams, but would you help us with the second part? We are looking for people to partner with us and pledge a monthly or weekly donation to bring this goal into reality. Regular giving is a great way to give more long term. £10 per month works out at £120 per year, which is far more than any of us might be able to give as a one time donation. There is a power in your pledge, a statement and decision which says “I am empowering people to end poverty in Lincoln”. 

You can set up a regular donation here.

Finally, if you’d like to know more about us, and consider the ways you can get involved, we are hosting our AGM and Volunteer Celebration on Saturday 21st June 2025. 

You can book in here, and you’ll get a free meal from Rising Cafe too as a thank you from us to you for partnering with us in our mission. 

*Source: Charities Aid Foundation UK Giving Report 2025: https://www.cafonline.org/insights/research/uk-giving-report/