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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Protect your charity with risk management

This opinion piece is over 5 years old
 

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Risk in business is inevitable, and having insurance offers some protection, but it’s identifying, assessing and mitigating the risks that can make the real difference. John Cleghorn, account executive at commercial insurance broker and risk management specialist Gallagher, explains how your charity can implement a risk management strategy.

Charities and not-for-profit organisations face a multiplicity of risks, so being able to identify, plan for and mitigate them is essential for achieving key objectives and safeguarding assets.
A robust risk management strategy provides clarity to the varied risks that a charity faces and how they translate into clear threats. Anticipating these threats is your key to best practice, a steady income of donations, and an enhanced reputation.

John Cleghorn
John Cleghorn

How can you implement a risk management strategy?

Mandate and commitment:

Your charity should issue a mandate for risk management to be embedded across the organisation. From this, a risk management framework can be defined, which involves highlighting the gaps in protection and identifying what the risks are.

Implementation:

The implementation and execution of the strategy will focus on reviewing each risk and assessing the scale of the impact. You can then decide if the risk should be terminated; tolerated and managed; treated or mitigated; or, alternatively, transferred off your balance sheet by insurance, contract or some other means.

Monitor and review:

The risks that charities face are always changing. It is imperative that continuous monitoring and improvement processes are embedded to ensure that the approach remains effective and is updated regularly.

If you’re unsure of the steps to take, a specialist charity risk and insurance broker can support you by working collaboratively with you and your insurers. If you’d like to discuss your insurance needs, please get in touch:

Contact Gallagher on 0800 6123758, email [email protected] or visit www.ajginternational.com

John Cleghorn is account executive at commercial insurance broker and risk management specialist Gallagher