Imagine the impact churches in your community could make if you were working more closely.
A Cinnamon Social Action Audit is the catalyst that can unite faith groups, councils, businesses and others to serve your community more effectively.
An Audit will help you quantify the social and economic impact of community work being done by churches in your area. You’ll see the impact you are making; where projects are overlapping; gaps in provision; and opportunities for partnerships.
Gain Authority
The Audit will give you evidence to demonstrate the impact of church-led initiatives. You’ll be able to speak with authority to help you work more strategically with others.
Quantify Your Impact
Don’t just tell others you’re doing great things – show them. Numbers are powerful and Social Action Audit will give you easily digestible figures that will spark interest and conversations.
Creates Access
Having great quantitative evidence will open doors, opportunities, and referral pathways. You’ll have evidence to give to local authorities, businesses, and other potential partners.
Grow Confidence
As you see evidence of the impact you’re making, it will boost confidence in the work of local churches and help to raise awareness of, and encourage participation in your projects.
Build Relationships
Download the Guide
Find out what’s involved in running a Social Action Audit and how it can transform work in your town, borough, city, or region.
Book A Meeting
Book a meeting with our team to discuss running a Social Action Audit in your area
The Social Action Audit has opened up conversations with people and groups we never thought possible.
Social Action Audit has been the primary means by which we’ve built effective relationships with our local authorities.
Where have there been Social Action Audits?
Feel free to zoom into the map to find your area.
Our 2015-15 National Audit was widely regarded as the most significant measure of faith-based social action to date.
Value of volunteer hours worked (£3bn)
Audit Ignites Church-Led Social Action in Lincoln
A Cinnamon Faith Action Audit opened new opportunities for churches in Lincoln to strengthen church relationships, build civic partnerships and extend their impact.
When a group of churches in Lincoln decided to conduct a Social Action Audit, they had no idea of the scale or breadth of the services they provided. They were working in the dark with little collaboration and virtually no support from the local authorities.
The Social Action Audit changed everything. The results showed that collectively churches and faith groups within the city were running 350 social action projects to support 63,000 beneficiary interactions each year. Collectively, the financial value of support they provided equated to an incredible £14 million.
The numbers didn’t surprise Sian Wade, co-pastor of Bridge Church in Lincoln, but the value did. “We knew we were doing a lot, but what did shock us was when we saw that in financial terms,” she says.
A Catalyst for Conversations
The report became a catalyst for conversations with local authorities who were keen to support the great work in their midst but didn’t know who to contact.
The faith communities in Lincoln are an outstanding exemplar of values and beliefs being translated into action which addresses inequality and injustice in the city.
As a result, the churches set up the Active Faith Network, to coordinate their social action. The group secured funding for a member of staff to organise their work across the city. The group now operates a highly strategic organisation, with subgroups working to assess specific needs and gaps in provision.
Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the City of Lincoln Council said, “The faith communities in Lincoln are an outstanding exemplar of values and beliefs being translated into action which addresses inequality and injustice in the city.”
Together the churches are working more closely with local authorities and other organisations to address key issues. “We’ve created fertile soil where we can plant dreams,” says Sian passionately.
SOCIAL ACTION AUDIT SPARKS COLLABORATION
A Cinnamon Social Action Audit was instrumental in building unity between churches in Gainsborough and opening opportunities for partnerships beyond the faith community.
Many of us can relate to the challenges faced by John and Judi Swannack, who lead Alive Church in Gainsborough.
“On your own as a faith group it’s very difficult to get into the places that you need to get order to secure grants, funding, or even to be able to deliver the services that you know you would love to”
Faced with closed doors, the couple began reaching out to the other churches and faith groups in their community. That in itself highlighted fresh challenges, they’d not considered.
“We realised that, when we met with other churches, there was a lot of cross over in community involvement,” continues John. “Some of those groups were duplicating their community work and sometimes to the detriment of each other.”
Unsure how to progress – the couple reached out to Cinnamon to see if running a Social Action Audit could help them get a grip on the extent of social action being carried out by faith groups.
