The Cranfield Trust - free consultancy and HR support

The Cranfield Trust offers free consultancy projects to charities involved in addressing issues of poverty, disability or social exclusion and uses a register of over 550 volunteers from the commercial sector who give their time to act as free consultants. The Trust is an independent charity, but was founded at Cranfield by staff, students and alumni, and retains a strong link with the university. Many of its volunteers are Cranfield alumni, and all have a postgraduate management or technical qualification as well as experience of the commercial world.

They work with small to medium sized charities which otherwise would not be able to afford external support, and help them with problems in a wide range of management areas, typically:

• Business or strategic planning
• Marketing advice or marketing planning
• Human resources issues
• Financial management or planning
• IT reviews and strategies

Projects can be anything from a half day to 15 days, with the longer projects spread over a few months.  
               
Cranfield Trust volunteers are professionals from the commercial sector who donate their time and expertise to help charities with management issues.  They act as mentors or advisors, helping local charities to develop new skills as they work through a process such as writing a business plan, or offering guidance on issues in IT, finance or human resources.              
              
The Trust’s network of regional Project Managers works with charities to define their individual needs, ensuring that each project is unique and successfully tailored to meet the client’s specific requirements.

The Cranfield Trust also runs an internet-based advice service specifically for shorter Human Resources problems and questions, HRNet. This service is also free.