Rosalind Ryrie Foundation
Supported by the West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service (WYCAS)
The Rosalie Ryrie building had become a derelict hangout for street drinkers and drug users. Ann Ramsden spotted its potential and it’s now a bright and cheerful space, full of couches and cushions ready to welcome clients to the Rosalie Ryrie Foundation. Named after Ann’s mum the Foundation exists to help people affected by domestic violence to change their behaviour. The building is called Footsteps because for most people walking through the door is the beginning of an important and often difficult journey.
After launching herself in at the deep end Ann called on the WYCAS Community Accountant for Wakefield who was able to offer her one to one support and training. “I didn’t know anything about voluntary organisations or funding or having to spend everything exactly how you’re supposed to spend it,” she outlines. “I was always employed so it was all new to me.” The Foundation has just secured four years of vital funding from a charity. According to Ann, “That’s due to WYCAS teaching us what we’re meant to do with it!” And it’s not going to stop there, on top of bookkeeping and good financial systems Ann knows she will need Julie’s support to enter the world of commissioned services. "We want to be self-sustaining, so I am going to have to know about VAT, wages and a whole lot more."
"Julie’s support was tailored to us, it was brilliant. If I’d been in a group I wouldn’t have dared ask anything. And because it’s tailored to us I don’t have to cover stuff I don’t need to know about."
Ann Ramsden, Rosalind Ryrie Foundation.
WYCAS aims to support charities, voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises with managing their finances more effectively and efficiently.
This case study is part of a series, published in Building links: why support and development organisations matter for Yorkshire and the Humber.
