The Knot Unites Staffordshire Royal British Legion

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1 The Knot Unites Staffordshire Royal British Legion Registered Charity No: April 2017 Ladies and Gentlemen, My comments last month about the impending branch accounts seems to have caused a little confusion in some quarters, so I shall repeat the message elsewhere in this newsletter but in a modified form. And speaking of accounts I would also ask those of you yet to change your branch account details to do so before the branch accounts become due in July- September. Details of that can also be found elsewhere in this newsletter, Yours sincerely, Alan Preece Membership Support Officer Office 365 (O365) Office 365 aims to give County and Branch committees access via links to all the relevant Legion programmes and systems, for example LOMAS, the Poppy Shop and the Branch membership listings. The portal will provide standardised rolebased addresses for all branch officials, for example blandford.chairman@rbl.community. It will also have an area to store branch documents and gives access to Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Microsoft Office provides this service free to the Not for Profit sector. What benefits will this system deliver for branches? 1. Role based s will ensure that changes in County and branch officials will not affect the receipt and response to ongoing communications. 2. The use of an area where documents can be saved securely will ensure that information is preserved and the County or

2 branch able to continue activity ensuring that key documents are not lost when the officials change or are not present to hand over their duties. 3. An area with news bulletins and information will improve the cascading of information from HQ to Counties and Branches. 4. Users without MS Office on their home devices will have access to the latest software and functionality without having to purchase the software. 5. O365 with Microsoft offers five layers of security and 24/7 service desk support. 6. Giving branches access to MS Office on line will improve engagement with branches and help to on board branches to the electronic world. 7. O365 licences will allow branches to use the Lync communication tool to hold meetings as well as attend national meetings virtually. Lync is also used by Area Offices and individual staff for video conferencing. How will this project affect my Branch? There are unlimited free O365 licences available which makes it possible for addresses to be provided for all officers and a varying number of committee members per branch, depending on demand and Committee structure. A number of templates will be created for document libraries so that they are ready to use. The County and branch will be able to fully manage content at their own level and create extra folders for their own use. Documents will be stored securely but once deleted will be unrecoverable after a period of 30 days. The system will provide self service password management once the single sign on project is implemented. Those County and branch committee members who do not provide a personal address to associate with the O365 log-on will not be able to use the portal. Where can I go for help and support? The Membership Support Officers are your first port of call, as for any other branch queries. Branch Community Support Branch Community Support, formerly known as Branch Welfare, was presented at last year s Annual Conference. From a pilot that was run in 2014/15 and your feedback, it was established that in addition to the essential role branches play in fundraising and Remembrance, five key beneficiary support activities were already being undertaken by some branches for beneficiaries in their communities, or were deemed to be manageable for branches to take one or more on: 1. Awareness Events 2. Telephone Buddies 3. Home and hospital Visiting 4. Bereavement Support 5. Local Touchpoints (currently UK only) Page 2 of 5

3 We understand that Branch Community Support is not restricted to these activities but these were identified as the five core areas of support provided by branches to the Legion s beneficiaries. Branch Community Support builds on the foundations already created by our branches. This new framework is designed to better support and recognises those branches already doing this work and encourages those that aren t yet doing any of these activities to get involved. The Legion exists as an organisation to support and assist less fortunate people within the Armed Forces community. Our branches are our eyes and ears on the ground, able to help find those that are hidden away, that rarely see anyone; people that maybe only get to interact with others a couple of times a month, whose families don t live nearby for support, who are bereaved or who are unaware of what the Legion can offer them by way of assistance. There is great responsibility with undertaking these activities, particularly becoming a visitor or a telephone buddy, as you may be an individual s lifeline, giving them the opportunity to experience comradeship and be part of their community. If this all sounds like something your branch can get involved in then register now! Your branch can formally register to be involved in Branch Community Support via Office 365 (you should have already received the link for this but please contact your MSO if not). This is a simple form to tick which activities you are able as a branch to undertake, that way the area teams know which branches are deployable for which activities. During this registration period, Office 365 will be being further developed to provide branches with various facilities to assist in delivering Branch Community Support by September. There will be an area for branches to be able to log and keep track of their volunteers, somewhere to keep a log of any individuals the branch is assisting, an activity log and finally, an area to access all the information and guidance to assist branches in running any of these activities. For those branches not on Office365, you should contact your MSO to arrange getting on it, as using this facility will be the most efficient way to be involved in Branch Community Support. The activity log is key to this project as the reports we re able to generate from it will help us to identify where there are gaps in support, ensuring that we can put things in place to help any lonely and isolated individuals. For example, if every branch signed up and were able to recruit visitors and telephone buddies across the Page 3 of 5

4 country, we would know that this support was available to anyone who was eligible for Legion support, no matter where in the country they are, and it would be provided by our branches, which would be a great thing to achieve and be able to shout about! Consolidated Payments Mail containing consolidated payments should be addressed as follows: Bulk Payments, Novacroft, Lakeside House, 9 The Lakes, Bedford Road, Northampton, NN4 7HD Consolidated payments must be accompanied by a Consolidated Cheque Payment of Membership Fees Form 2017 Branch Accounts The end of the Financial Year is only a little way off now. For many of you these reminders are not necessary but for a few they are essential: A SINGLE BRANCH ACCOUNT There is a requirement for branches to comply with the need to have a single bank account. For those concerned the change must be made as soon as possible. The name of that bank account should conform to the following convention: (Name) Branch RBL BR XXXX Charity number You must have the correct type of accounts form for your branch; if you have no forms as the accounts become due please contact me Completed accounts must be sent to the Birmingham Area Office They must be accompanied by a completed Authority to Disclose Information and a branch bank statement as of 30 June 2017 Page 4 of 5

5 Membership on the Legion Website The Membership Handbook is available on the Legion s Website in the Membership Documents Area which can be accessed using the following details: rship/already-a-member/membershipdocuments/ The Royal Charter can also be accessed here. Contact Details: Alan Preece Membership Support Officer The Royal British Legion 3rd Floor Britannia House 6-7 Eastgate Street Stafford ST16 2NQ ; Diary of Events Anzac Service Sunday 23 April 2017 British War Cemetery Camp Road, Brocton, Cannock Chase Festival of Remembrance Saturday 28 October 2017 Stafford Gatehouse Theatre Page 5 of 5