Dementia Forward

About the Client

Dementia Forward is a regional charity providing vital support, advice and wellbeing services for individuals affected by dementia across York and North Yorkshire. Founded in 2012 by an experienced team, the organisation was created in response to the growing need for local, person-centred support. Its services include a dementia helpline, emotional support, group activities and educational resources for families, as well as tailored training for professionals and businesses. Dementia Forward is recognised as a trusted source of advocacy and guidance, with the voices of people living with dementia at the heart of its work. The charity works in collaboration with volunteers, trustees and other organisations to embed dementia support into everyday life across the region.

Project Outline

The aims of the project were two-fold: Firstly, to assist Dementia Forward in exploring sustainable local and commercial income streams, with a particular focus on developing relationships with corporate partners. While the charity receives some funding from statutory sources, this is not guaranteed year to year, highlighting the need to strengthen financial resilience through more diverse income sources. Therefore, the project aimed to explore local and commercial income streams with the ambition of making Dementia Forward’s funding more self-sufficient.

Secondly, the project explored ways to increase volunteer engagement in community fundraising. Before the project started, the charity’s volunteers preferred to work closely with people affected by dementia, which left staff stretched when it came to supporting fundraising efforts. Thus, the project aimed to identify strategies to encourage more volunteers to assist with fundraising endeavours.

Project Outcomes

The team reviewed Dementia Forward’s income streams and benchmarked them against similar charities to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for growth, as well as evaluated commercial and corporate funding options aligned with Dementia Forward’s mission. Further, YCC consultants assessed volunteer involvement in fundraising and identified barriers to wider engagement and delivered clear recommendations to diversify income and strengthen fundraising support.

Client Feedback

"We were pleased to work with the York Community Consulting Team. They were very professional and thorough and we appreciate their interest and insights into our work. They have given us some useful ideas and a different viewpoint."

• Dementia Forward