Thank you to all who attended the recent Lunch and Learn webinar.
Please find link to access the recording.
If you have any questions please contact roisin@carmichaelireland.ie
The Position: Board Member (Trustee & Director) with Governance Experience
The board of Carmichael, in line with its succession plan, is seeking to recruit a new board member with strong governance experience to join the Board in June 2023. The candidate should be operating at a senior level in a governance-related role such as Company Secretary or a role related to risk management, compliance or regulation. The candidate should also have a very good understanding of and interest in the nonprofit sector.
There are currently 12 members on the Board of Carmichael with two due to retire and be replaced at the upcoming June AGM. The maximum size of the board is 12. The board meets around 7 times a year. Board meetings are normally held online with at least two meetings per year held in-person in Carmichael House, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7 from 5pm-7pm on a Tuesday.
The new board member would also be required to be a member of the board’s risk and governance sub-committee which meets online 7 times per year on a Tuesday from 8.00am to 9.00am in advance of the Board meetings. The estimated time commitment of the board member is 8-10 hours per month.
The initial term of office for Carmichael Board members is 3 years, with an opportunity to serve a second 3-year term subject to Board approval.
Carmichael is the leading provider of governance training and supports to nonprofits in Ireland and has an excellent reputation for the quality of the supports it provides. Carmichael’s Board members have an essential role to play in contributing to good governance in Carmichael itself and the wider nonprofit the sector. As a governance expert, the successful candidate will perform an important role in ensuring that Carmichael operates to the highest governance standards.
About the organisation
The Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups (Carmichael) is a registered charity, established in 1990 and is Ireland’s first and largest shared facility for community and voluntary groups. The Centre consists of around 19,000 square feet of office space located in two buildings in Dublin’s North Inner City. It provides office accommodation, meeting rooms, shared facilities, payroll, IT, training and consultancy support services.
The Centre is home to 44 nonprofit organisations who are based in the Centre. We are committed to building stronger charitable, community and voluntary groups nationwide. Carmichael was founded on the core belief that by co-locating in a shared space and by pooling resources, resident members in our Centre can save time, reduce cost, up-skill and thereby, focus on delivering quality services to their beneficiaries.
We work not only with the 44 resident members who are based in the Centre, but also with 100s of groups around the country. We work with boards and management committees on governance issues and in helping them to implement best practice and quality standards.
We provide a mentoring service for CEOs of voluntary organisations, a support network for board chairpersons, information seminars and disseminate articles and practical guides on good governance practice. The Good Governance Awards, the Carmichael Mentoring Programme and the Board Chairs Network are some of the examples of our work to provide support and guidance to nonprofit organisations.
Using Carmichael’s quality and cost effective back-office services, its accommodation services and its training/ capacity building services enable nonprofit organisations to:
- Focus more attention on their core mission activities;
- Reduce their reporting and compliance costs;
- Improve the quality of their financial information and meet the reporting requirements of funders and regulators;
- Improve capacity, competencies and operational efficiencies;
- Divert the resulting monetary and time savings into furthering and enhancing their frontline service delivery.
Over the last 5 years, we have substantially expanded the scope and scale of the training and consulting support we deliver nationwide to include scheduled training workshops, customised training and eLearning modules. In 2022, we delivered customised training to 2,765 participants and scheduled training to 563 participants.
We are working to implement our current strategy (2022-25), and we aim to utilise and leverage our experience gained over the last 30 years, to implement the necessary actions to ensure that Carmichael has a sustainable business model and that it continues to deliver high quality and value-for-money services that meets real needs of both its resident members and those of nonprofit organisations nationwide.
Carmichael adheres to principles of equality, diversity and inclusion in all appointments including Board appointments.
To apply
Please send a CV of no more than 2 pages and a cover letter of no more than one page through Board Match or directly to roisin@carmichaelireland.ie before March 27th. Your application should detail any relevant governance, nonprofit and Board experience.
Interviews are expected to take place online between 5.00pm and 8.00pm on April 19th and 20th.
For more information on the board vacancy or Carmichael, please contact the Executive Assistant to the CEO Róisín McGuigan at roisin@carmichaelireland.ie.
Carmichael is inviting interested parties to submit proposals to review the overall effectiveness of how our Board does its work and how its structures and processes align with the implementation of our Strategy.
It is expected that through desk research, questionnaire, a series of engagements with the board, its sub-committees and other relevant people from the executive, the consultant appointed will complete their work with a report which contains a series of recommendations to improve Carmichael’s Board Effectiveness.
The closing date for receipt of tenders is February 19th 2023.
Tenders should be emailed to Róisín McGuigan (roisin@carmichaelireland.ie)
Please see Request For Tender document attached for detail.
Board Evaluation Request for Tender 2023
We will be taking a break over Christmas and the New Year.
We will close on Friday 23rd December and be back open on Tuesday January 3rd 2023.
If you need anything from us before then please get in touch.
Carmichael Good Governance Awards for Non-Profit Organisations
The Good Governance Awards recognises and encourages adherence to good governance by nonprofit organisations in Ireland. The awards were developed by Carmichael with the support of our partners and leading national bodies in the nonprofit sector.
The winners of the Good Governance Awards 2022 will be announced at our Awards Ceremony on Thursday November 17th 18.00-20.00 at Chartered Accountants Ireland, Pearse St, Dublin 2. Book your free ticket here!
Shortlist for Category 1; for volunteer only and organisations with an annual turnover of less than €50,000
Shortlist for Category 2; for volunteer only and organisations with an annual turnover of between €50,000 and €250,000
Shortlist for Category 3; for organisations with an annual turnover of between €250,000 and €1 million
Shortlist for Category 4: for organisations with an annual turnover of between €1 million and €5 million
Shortlist for Category 5: for organisations with an annual turnover of between €5 million and €15 million
Shortlist for Category 6; for organisations with an annual turnover of between €15 million and €50 million.
Shortlist for Category 7; for organisations with an annual turnover of over €50 million.
The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday November 17th. Book your tickets here!
Charity Trustees’ Week 2022 will run from November 14th to November 18th with over 20 exciting events for Trustees.
- How Organisational Behaviour Affects the Performance & Effectiveness of a Charity – Monday 14th at 8.30am with TU Dublin (Free, in person)
- Governing with Purpose: A conversation with Brian Cavanagh – Tuesday 15th at 8.30am (Free, in person)
- Cutting Edge Board Meetings – Tuesday 15th at 2.30pm with The Wheel (Free, online)
- Boards, Chairs and CEOs: Roles, Relationships & Boundaries – Tuesday 15th at 6.30pm (Paid, online)
- Diversity & Inclusion in your Non-profit Organisation – Wednesday 16th at 10.00am (Paid, online)
- The Good Governance Awards Ceremony – Thursday 17th at 6pm (Free, in person)
For the full schedule and booking links see: https://bit.ly/3TmviAQ
Charity Trustees’ Week is hosted in partnership by the Charities Regulator, Boardmatch Ireland, Carmichael, Charities Institute Ireland, Dóchas, Pobal, The Wheel, and Volunteer Ireland.
The Good Governance Clinics have been designed to provide volunteer trustees with a relaxed and supportive space where they can freely and easily, over tea and coffee, unburden themselves of the governance related concerns and queries that have been addling and at times bewildering them.
Whilst on the other hand it is about empowering trustees to showcase and identify the good governance practices that they themselves have in place and are committed to exercising. As such, the September clinics will highlight to groups how to showcase the impact of their activities and existing good governance practices through the Good Governance Award, now in its seventh year. The Good Governance Awards (GGA) is a national initiative led by Carmichael that promotes, recognises and encourages adherence to good governance practice by nonprofits in Ireland.
The clinics will be delivered by Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael and be an hour and a half in duration.
There are four clinics across Munster, sign up below:
Kerry: Good Governance Clinic Tickets, Wed 7 Sep 2022 at 11:30 | Eventbrite
Cork: Good Governance Clinic Tickets, Wed 7 Sep 2022 at 15:30 | Eventbrite
Clare: Good Governance Clinic Tickets, Thu 8 Sep 2022 at 11:00 | Eventbrite
Carmichael is delighted to announce a partnership with Ecclesiastical Insurance to provide a series of free training webinars on the theme of enterprise-wide risk management for nonprofits. Sign up here: https://forms.office.com/r/sNvTmKQAnX
Risk Identification & Horizon Scanning, Sept 7 12pm-1pm
Identifying and managing the possible risks that a charity may face is a key part of effective governance. This webinar will examine multiple risk identification tools and techniques including; Bowtie, SWOT, PESTLE and Horizon Scanning.
Risk Analysis, Prioritisation and Mitigation, Sept 30 12pm-1pm
This webinar will apply a tried and tested Enterprise Risk Management process to; analysis the potential root causes and consequences, assess and prioritise and understand appropriate risk mitigation strategies in relation to the ever, evolving charity riskscape.
Risk Culture Oct 19, 12pm-1pm
Having a strong risk culture will support charities in managing risks effectively. This webinar will explore what can influence and determine a strong risk culture and the benefits and challenges a charity may face during implementation and embedding and how to overcome these.
Reputational Risk, Nov 2 12pm-1pm
Protecting and improving a charities reputation is of great importance, this webinar will set out to provide an understanding of Reputational Risk versus Reputational Risk Management and focus on building resilience through risk management, business continuity planning and crisis response plans.
Introduction to Business Continuity Management, Nov 30 12pm-1pm
This webinar will explore the importance and benefits of Business Continuity Management, roles and responsibilities and introduce the various stages of an effective Business Continuity Management Programme.
Business Continuity Management – Undertaking A Business Impact Analysis, Jan 18 12pm-1pm
The webinar will primarily set out to demonstrate how to successfully undertake a Business Impact Analysis in order to understand a charities Critical Services to respond effectively in the event of a material disruption.
Building A Resilient Business Continuity Management Plan, Feb 1 12pm-1pm
This webinar will help charities to prepare for a rapid response and coordinated recovery in the face of a material disruption, examining a template and contents of a tried and tested effective Business Continuity Management Plan.
Partnerships, Mergers & Due Diligence, Feb 22 12pm-1pm
Collaborating with other charities and organisations can bring material benefits to both parties and importantly to beneficiaries. This webinar will include exploration of tool, techniques and top tips to undertake due diligence activity effectively.
This programme is being delivered in partnership with Ecclesiastical.
Carmichael opens applications for the Good Governance Awards 2022.
Strong governance in the nonprofit sector is more important than ever for maintaining public trust and is essential for the sustainability of the nonprofit sector. That’s according to Carmichael, who launched the Good Governance Awards 2022 today (01.06.22).
The Good Governance Awards recognise and encourage adherence to responsible governance by nonprofit organisations in Ireland. Awards are made based on the quality of an organisation’s annual report and financial statements.
Commenting today (01.06.22), Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael, said: “We are delighted to open applications for the Good Governance Awards 2022. Each year the Awards showcase the incredible work carried out by nonprofit organisations in Ireland to implement effective and transparent corporate governance policies.
“The awards are now in their 7th year and I am delighted to say it is going from strength to strength. We had a record number of entries last year with 124 nonprofits entering the awards from across the country and in most of the categories we are seeing the standard increasing.
“Charities and nonprofit organisations are very dependent on public trust and support for their sustainability and survival. In recent years, a number of high-profile cases of poor governance have damaged public trust. These cases are unacceptable and are not the norm in our sector. The annual report provides a real opportunity for nonprofits to tell their story and showcase their commitment to transparency by outlining its performance, governance, culture and financials. An annual report can help to reinforce trust and strengthen relationships with stakeholders and build relationships with the public, potential donors, volunteers and supporters.”
As part of the judging process for the awards, annual reports of applicants are assessed by panels of governance and accountancy experts under the following criteria: transparency, governance, performance and impact and financial information.
Last year’s awardees were: Sharing Point, Volleyball Ireland, Marie Keating Foundation, Jigsaw, Central Remedial Clinic and Concern Worldwide.
Mr. Ó Corrbuí added, “The Good Governance Awards raise the quality of corporate governance in the nonprofit sector by encouraging higher standards of good practice. Expert feedback is provided to all entrants on how to improve the quality of their annual reports. This helps to ensure our sector is meeting best practice and constantly reforming.”
“We were delighted to have the sports organisation Volleyball Ireland as one of the Good Governance Award winners in 2021 and this year we would encourage more entries from sporting bodies and, in particular, from smaller, volunteer-run nonprofits. The awards are open to any Irish nonprofit organisation with a social objective. This can include charities, social enterprises, unincorporated groups, sports organisations and companies limited guarantee. We welcome applications from all areas – from local sports clubs and community groups to social & health service providers and arts organisations.”
How to Enter
There are seven categories for the awards based on the annual turnover of the organisation:
- Category 1: For organisations with an annual turnover of less than €50,000
- Category 2: For organisations with an annual turnover of between €50,000 and €250.000.
- Category 3: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €250,000 and under €1 million.
- Category 4: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €1 million and under €5 million.
- Category 5: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €5 million and under €15 million
- Category 6: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €15 million and under €50 million
- Category 7: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €50 million.
Details on the entry criteria and categories; the judging panel; guidance on how to enter; and other resources such as annual report templates are available at: www.goodgovernanceawards.ie .
Minister Roderick O’Gorman to launch Rape Crisis Network Ireland’s ‘Breaking the Silence: Terminology Guidelines for Data Collection on Sexual Violence against Children’
Register here to watch the event.
On Tuesday 22 February at 10am, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderick O’Gorman will launch the Rape Crisis Network Ireland resource ‘Breaking the Silence: Terminology Guidelines for Data Collection on Sexual Violence against Children’. The event is being hosted by Carmichael resident organisation, The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI).
‘With an estimated 2% conviction rate on reported Child Sexual Violence cases, making sure we can tell the child’s story, wherever they break the silence, is essential’ says Cliona Saidlear, Executive Director of RCNI, ‘All services and professionals meeting a child’s needs must be able to join up their knowledge with others’, especially when our children cannot. To do this we must develop a common language. This is what the RCNI Breaking the Silence collaborative project promises.’
The goal of a common language and the aim of creating guidelines for terminology on sexual violence against children is to enable the collection of reliable, comprehensive and comparable data across services which will improve our understanding and interagency pathways for children. Failure to use shared language risks minimising or even erasing the experience of the child.
‘Breaking the Silence’ is a collaborative project which provides child-specific terminology and definitions for some of the manifestations of the many forms of sexual violence against children that are covered by the Istanbul Convention and Irish legislation. Now, more than ever, it is well understood that violence against children includes physical, psychological, sexual and emotional violence and it has become increasingly important that the language to describe it captures and accurately records its breadth and nuance. The terminology guide is designed to be used by Irish service providers who must be able to talk to the children and their carers, in language that is appropriate to their organisation.
The event will be hosted by RCNI Executive Director Clíona Saidléar and they are pleased to welcome the following speakers:
Roderick O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion and Youth
Biljana Brankovic member of GREVIO, the independent expert body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). She has over 20 years’ experience in research, advocacy/lobbying, monitoring, shadow reporting to UN Treaty Bodies. Most of Biljana’s research/ monitoring work has been done in countries of South-Eastern Europe, including cross-cultural/comparative studies on violence against women and children, and analyses of compliance of domestic laws/policies on VAW with international standards (CEDAW, CRC, Istanbul Convention, etc). Her research bibliography involves over 120 references, roughly half of which are related to VAW/women’s rights/child rights and she has worked for many UN agencies/international organisations or NGOs/Networks as an Independent Researcher-Consultant.
Niall Muldoon was appointed as Ombudsman by President Michael D Higgins on 17 February 2015. His background is as a clinical psychologist and he has worked in the area of child protection for almost 20 years. Before becoming Ombudsman for Children in 2015, he worked at the OCO as Director of Investigations, and before that he was the national clinical director of The CARI Foundation, a charity that provides therapy and support for children affected by sexual abuse.