Dear Friends,
Have you got a Business Plan? If the answer is, “No,” then it might be time to make one. Most individuals and all organisations need such a plan to identify where they want to go and how to get there. We make plans all the time, but usually they are informal and for the short term. Even the humble shopping list prior to a supermarket trip is a plan. Guilds. Districts and towers need a plan so they can identify their goals and focus on what is important to achieve those goals. The Basingstoke District is to be congratulated for producing a ten year plan. This is something that other Districts might consider emulating.
The trustees of the Guild’s Bell Restoration Fund (BRF) would like to develop a Business Plan which will cover the next fifty years. The plan is intended to identify likely grant applications over the medium and long term. We should then be in a position to set targets for funding the BRF so that those applications can be satisfied.
However, the BRF trustees need information to create this Business Plan. Happily, the Guild’s Belfry Stewardship Committee (BSC) is building up a picture of the state of the bell installations within the Guild’s territory by means of the Bell Stock Survey. About 25% of towers have already returned survey forms. Ideally the BSC needs a completed survey form from every tower so that the likely demand for grants can be made. You can find out if your tower has returned a survey form by looking at www.wp-ringers.org.uk
If your tower is not on the list of completed tower surveys then please arrange for the survey to be done. Blank survey forms and detailed instructions can be found on the website. If you are having difficulty in actually carrying out the survey then help is available. Again, consult the website or contact Phil Watts, the convenor of the BSC. I would like to see 95% of tower surveys completed and returned to the BSC by the end of 2006. This should enable the BRF trustees to produce a realistic Business Plan for the 2007 AGM.
Has your tower got a Business Plan? What would a tower Business Plan contain? It can contain whatever you wish, but I would start one off with a paragraph indicating general targets such as “ringing all the bells in the tower for Sunday services as agreed with the incumbent”. It might also include an objective to foster a spirit of friendship and cooperation amongst the ringers, and to improve relationships between the local Church and community. The plan might even include a target to augment the bells, win a specific striking competition, or ring a local band quarter peal or peal.
Subsequent paragraphs might indicate how these goals could be achieved. The plan might state that the optimum number of ringers in the band is twice the number of bells in the tower. If the current membership is below that number than the plan should set goals such as recruiting two additional ringers per year for the next three years to bring the band up to strength. The plan might also give an overall maintenance schedule for the bells and indicate when ropes are Likely to require replacing. It might be appropriate to include some financial plans so that, for example, it is clear how the cost of replacement ropes will be financed.
You might find that you need outside assistance to achieve some of the targets in your plan. That is fine, and many towers are in this position. Having a plan enables you to identify what help is required and will assist in discussions with District Officers and others to help you achieve your goals.
Whilst the BRF Trustees would like to prepare a fifty year plan, a three or five year plan is probably sensible for most towers. Quite simply the objective of the plan is to say this is where we would like to be in the time frame and this is how we intend to get there.
Almost invariably, plans don’t come to fruition in quite the way they were envisaged when they were written. Events have a nasty habit of de-railing plans. Plans need to be revised, typically on an annual basis, but some unforeseen events might require plans to be revised more frequently.
Enjoy your ringing (and planning!).
Andrew G Craddock