Don't Waste August: 7 Ways to Move Your CIC Forward Before September

One of the questions that came up in our recent VIP planning session was, "What should we actually be focusing on in August?"

It's a brilliant question because, if you're anything like me, you'll blink and suddenly realise we're already halfway through the year. One minute it's January and we're setting goals, the next the school holidays have arrived and before you know it, September is here. Then Christmas somehow sneaks up on us too!

August can feel like an odd month when you're running a Community Interest Company. Workshops often become quieter, families are away, schools are closed and lots of organisations are running on reduced capacity. It's easy to feel like your CIC has slowed down. For this reason I suggest you dont run in person workshops in August or run less.

But I actually think August is one of the best months of the year to work on your CIC rather than constantly working in it.

Instead of seeing it as a month where "nothing happens", think of it as your chance to build the foundations that will make the rest of the year so much easier.

1. Create, don't just deliver

Most of the year we're busy delivering sessions, replying to emails, writing funding applications and trying to keep all the plates spinning. The things that really move our organisations forward often end up sitting at the bottom of the list.

August is a brilliant opportunity to finally create some of those things.

You could use the quieter weeks to:

• Write your workshop plans.

• Create a workbook or planner.

• Develop an online programme or membership.

• Prepare resources for schools ready for September.

That's exactly what we're doing in our own CIC. We're using August to create resources that we'll be ready to share with schools as soon as they return after the summer holidays. It means we're not rushing around trying to build everything at the last minute.

2. Build something that helps people before they ever meet you

One idea I always encourage our members to think about is creating a free downloadable resource.

It doesn't need to be complicated. In fact, the simpler the better.

If you work with parents, perhaps it's a summer activity guide. If you're running wellbeing projects, it could be a simple checklist or toolkit. Whatever your CIC does, ask yourself, "What's one thing I could create that would genuinely help someone this summer?"

Not only does it provide value to your community, but every download becomes evidence of your impact. Imagine being able to tell a funder that hundreds of people accessed your free resource over the summer. That's a fantastic statistic, but more importantly, it's real impact.

3. Don't let grant waiting time become dead time

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes I see.

People spend weeks writing a funding application, finally press "Submit" and then almost put their CIC on pause while they wait for a decision.

Please don't do that.

Those weeks are incredibly valuable. Keep building your evidence, improving your website, collecting testimonials, running pilot sessions and growing your audience. Even if you need to reapply for funding later, you'll be doing it with a much stronger organisation behind you.

There should never really be "dead time" in your CIC.

4. Turn what you're already doing into content

One of my favourite content tips is this...

Stop trying to create content and start documenting what you're already doing.

For example, this blog started life as one of our live CIC Tribe sessions!

A single Zoom session can become:

• A blog.

• An email.

• A social media post.

• A short Reel.

• A newsletter.

The same applies to your own work. If you're writing a grant application, planning a workshop or visiting a community partner, you've already got content. You don't need to invent something new every day.

5. Write blogs that sound like you

Blogs are fantastic for helping people find your website through Google, but don't fall into the trap of letting AI write everything for you.

Your readers want to hear your voice.

One trick I use is speaking my ideas into my phone using voice-to-text and then asking AI to tidy them into a blog. That way the finished article still sounds natural because the original thoughts came from me.

Think of AI as your editor rather than your author.

6. Start planning for September... and even Christmas

I know it sounds ridiculously early, but September arrives incredibly quickly.

If you're thinking about autumn workshops, Christmas events or new programmes, now is the perfect time to get them planned. Future You will be very grateful when everyone else is rushing around in November!

Your August challenge

Rather than trying to do everything, choose two or three priorities that will genuinely move your CIC forward.

Maybe that's writing a few blogs.

Maybe it's finally creating that free resource you've been thinking about.

Maybe it's finishing your workshop plans.

Whatever you choose, remember that the work you do behind the scenes now often creates the biggest results later.

To get help with all of this join the CIC Tribe membership and start using the short video guide on how to do these things and use the CIC Buddy AI tool which will get these tasks done in minutes not hours. Especially designed for CIC's.

So don't write August off.

Use it to build something that your future self—and your community—will thank you for. 🫶

Kexx