Getting to know FOTA with Good HQ

FOTA: How we use Good HQ

It’s nearly six months since Friends of The Award in Edinburgh & the Lothians (AKA FOTA) claimed their page on Good HQ. They now have five reviews from a range of people that support the charity, including volunteers, members and service users. We caught up with Sion, who claimed the page for FOTA, about how they’ve been using the platform and their plans for 2018.

What is FOTA and what does the charity do?

For over 20 years Friends of the Award in Edinburgh & the Lothians (FOTA) has supported the delivery of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Edinburgh and the Lothians. FOTA have delivered a number of projects aimed at enhancing the skills and self-confidence of marginalised and disengaged young people from a range of backgrounds, and more recently have developed a stand-alone youth award programme for 5 - 13 year olds - the Junior Award Scheme for Schools (JASS) - which is designed to celebrate wider achievement.

How did you find out about Good HQ?

I found out about Good HQ on Twitter, and was motivated to sign up as it looked like a good platform to gather reviews from our range of stakeholders, which could be left anonymously if that was preferred. It was hoped that these reviews could then be used in funding applications, the promotion of our projects to young people and potential partner agencies, and recruitment of new volunteers. These reviews also offer the opportunity to modify our programmes based on the feedback received.

How have you collected reviews to date?

Our project staff ask their contacts to review us were appropriate, giving potential reviewers the information on why these reviews are important to us as an organisation & the young people we work with. We also let them know that reviews can be left anonymously should they so wish.

What are your plans for Good HQ in 2018?

We are looking to continue to use Good HQ into 2018, with the view of collecting more reviews from young people as well as project partners. We are starting to put up volunteering opportunities as the site is a good interface to showcase the breadth of opportunities we offer. I'm hoping to update our website to allow us to include the Good HQ widget too.

Have you seen any impact from being on Good HQ yet?

None as of yet, but then it would be difficult to track how many people used Good HQ and then become involved in FOTA. Having said that, the impact on social media around collecting reviews on Good HQ are well received by our audience.

What’s your favourite review of your organisation?

Hearing Ron's story is great. I've worked closely with Ron since starting with FOTA and I know that his involvement in the charity has a positive impact on him as well as a huge help to us as a charity. Ron’s review: “This may well sound a bit corny but when I retired (early) I took my time in finding a charity that I could assist to put something back into the community to help others. Objective achieved! I was comfortable doing the work asked of me within JASS and was impressed by others I was working with, the professionalism and general feel-good factor / reward from helping.” Read the review in full on Good HQ.

What would you say to others considering joining Good HQ?

GoodHQ has a simple interface that can act as a great location to collect reviews, and can be a good tool to use in addition to a volunteer recruitment drive. For FOTA, using GoodHQ as a channel to bring together existing items appears to be beneficial for us, especially as a smaller charity who do not have the resources to set something up ourselves. -- If your organisation hasn’t claimed its page yet, you can claim your page or sign up quickly and easily using your organisational e-mail address. Find out more about FOTA on Good HQ and share your own story about a charity close to your heart.