Charity status
beYOU currently does not have charity status. Increasingly this is causing a problem raising income, as most sources of funding only deal with registered charities. Over the last year the management committee made the decision to apply for charity status, which was agreed at an EGM held on the 20 July 2002.

The initial stages of application process have been completed. We shall be waiting with bated breath to see how we get on, and will of course let you know of the outcome.

Information management
Information is key at beYOU. It’s requested by our clients, used by our volunteers to communicate issues such as safer sex and local services, and helps us run the organisation smoothly.

Although we currently offer a good range of information, we could improve on this. We have created a new Information Co-ordinator role, whose main focus will be the collection and publication of information across various delivery channels. We will be developing an on-line information storage solution to enable clients and volunteers to be able to quickly find relevant and accurate information.

Recruitment of lesbian volunteers
Although recent recruitment initiatives have been successful in reaching our goals, we are aware that few lesbian recruits are being introduced into the organisation. In the coming year we will be addressing this bias and focussing on specific lesbian recruitment events in partnership with The Dove, public house.

Training
As usual we will be holding four training events for all beYOU volunteers in the next twelve months. We will also be running at least two new volunteer training courses.

Ongoing training is very important to beYOU. It ensures that our volunteers always have the latest information, are up to date with policy/procedure changes and that their skill base is developed.

We also plan to set-up regular volunteer sessions, where they can discuss any issues or cases that have arisen.

Developing existing services
Our new services have been successful,
but of course they can always be improved. Whereas the focus of last year was change, this year it will be on more strategic development. Making sure all the current services are as good as they possibly can be.

This will involve updating procedures, working more closely with volunteers and their needs, improving the office environment, looking at our IT solutions and how we interact with clients.

Community building
We hope that the new beCONNECTED service will start a new era of community building at beYOU. We have already made successful inroads with local gay businesses, and wish to do the same with the local lesbian and gay organisations.

It is our hope that beYOU will become synonymous with the local lesbian and gay community, not only to be used in a crisis, but help you build a healthy identity and lifestyle.