Third Sector Social: the first event

The other week I attended the first Third Sector Social – a new regular event for anyone involved in the charity and non-profit sector in South Wales.

Third Sector Social, or in mandatory digital-speak ‘3SS’, is the brainchild of Tenovus’ Head of Individual Giving, Lisa Buckley. The idea is to give people across the sector a chance “to meet, network and share best practice.”

(c) 3SS

As someone who has been working at a charity for six years but can count the number of non-profit networking events I’ve been to on one hand, it’s good to see a new social fill this gap. The few charity-focused events I’ve attended have indeed been worthwhile experiences; each one providing an excellent source of information and ideas.

Meeting others in your sector to discuss your jobs is hugely beneficial. It’s actually quite remarkable (and something of a relief) how very different organisations face the same challenges – and it is only by discussing these challenges that the industry can make a real difference in transforming trending problems into long-term solutions.

It is for this reason that charities shouldn’t see each other as competitors. We all work for incredible causes with a common goal to improve or save lives. The opportunity to talk with fellow charity workers means we can all take a step back, look at the bigger picture and help each other, quite frankly, change the world.

The first social was held at the home of digital marketing agency, Spindogs in Cardiff – who also designed the 3SS logo.

Lisa introduces Third Sector Social (c) 3SS

Along with some much-welcome pizza and beer, I met a fantastic pool of people: from trustees, to social entrepreneurs, PAs, bid writers and fundraisers in all their glorious forms. Considering it was the inaugural event, the night demonstrated the sheer diversity of valuable roles within this sector. It was great seeing all these people coming together with the shared passion for making a difference.

Lisa created a friendly environment full of encouragement, where insights and ideas could be developed. It was a fairly small, albeit stylish room and our animated chats did increasingly make things hard to hear. Two flipboards were set up in one corner, where attendees could jot down hot topics or challenges/opportunities they’d like to discuss in future meet-ups.

Attendees ponder some of the challenges / opportunities they’re facing in the third sector (c) 3SS

 

I’d definitely recommend anyone in the third sector try to make one of these events. I’d love to see 3SS grow not only in Cardiff, but across Wales – there are a lot of people outside the capital who can contribute their knowledge and experience to what I see as an important and valuable group of people in society.

Follow @ThirdSectorSoc and Lisa’s page on Eventbrite to join the next Third Sector Social, and share your ideas too.

 

Credit: All images taken by @ThirdSectorSoc.