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Sustainability, economic and environmental issues

Managing the money

The link above provides detailed information on best practice when it comes to managing the finances of a community building. It gives the top tips for managing the money as well as signposting to other good resources.

"Greening" your building

The link above provides information to village halls looking lower their carbon footprint, energy consuption and cost of running their village halls.
It also provides details of how to audit a building and where to get professional help. There is also a list of funding opportunites for organsaitions looking to develop in these areas.

Village hall loan fund

ACRE manages the village hall loan fund on behalf of Defra. The loan fund aims to provide assistance with:
 

• Building a new hall
• Acquiring a building and converting it into a village hall
• Capital improvements to existing halls (e.g. works to enable the provision of new uses or services, access and enhanced internal facilities for the disabled, or an extension to accommodate a clinic)
• Essential repair work and measures to increase energy efficiency.

Village hall advisers are required to assess projects before they are submitted to ACRE for approval. The following points have to be taken into account:

• The current interest rate of 2.56% is set by HM Treasury.
• A loan can be taken out for 5 or 8 years.
• The project should have 10% local funding available or £1 per head of the population whichever is the least.
• No security is required and there are no penalties for early repayment. Additional payments during the loan period are welcome.
• The property should be freehold or leasehold with at least 21 years to run.
• The loan can cover works as listed on the inside cover of the application form.

Calculator

The Excel download at the bottom of this page provides a calculator to work out the breakeven point of running a community venue. It lists the typical outgoings of a community venue which you can ammend to suit your individual circumstances. Once you have put in your actual costs and work out how many hours/days your venue is occupied, it will provide an hourly rate which you will have to charge in order to break even.
You can also add specific outgoings such as a maintanance researve fund, or income generated from a regular event.