THE COMMONWEALTH LEGION - OUR STRATEGY 2021-2026

THE COMMONWEALTH LEGION

 OUR STRATEGY – 2021-2026

WHO WE ARE

The Commonwealth Legion CIC is a fully incorporated community interest company in England and
Wales supporting members of the Armed Forces communities particularly veterans and Service
personnel of commonwealth descent who serve(d) in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.
Our mission is to give advice, support, assist and promote the interest of the Commonwealth Armed
Forces Communities in the UK as well as those who served and continue to serve.
The commonwealth Legion is the only organisation in the UK, which is wholly dedicated to helping
Armed Forces Veterans and service personnel of Commonwealth descent. We believe with the right
help and support, we will be able to contribute our quota to help our heroes in the fight to ensure they
transition successfully ad integrate well in their civilian lives after service.

OUR VISION

Our vision is to create a world in which every Veteran and serving personnel of the British Armed
Forces of commonwealth descent attain the right to live in dignity and thrive in their respective
communities.

OUR MISSION

Our mission to assist and support Veterans and service personnel of Commonwealth descent in the
British Armed Forces to be able to access the necessary help in order to transition successfully to
civilian life.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

I have the pleasure of being the Chairman of such a vibrant and ambitious organisation with very
dedicated and passionate Executives who have all volunteered their time to help elevate Veterans and
serving members of Commonwealth descent of the British Armed Forces.
Commonwealth service personnel have contributed enormously to the British society over the years
both in peace and war times. However, In spite of their enormous and impeccable contributions to our
Armed Forces and communities, they are often the forgotten heroes.
Commonwealth Veterans and service personnel continue to face multiplicity of challenges including
but not restricted to access to safe and secured housing, job security and opportunities, Immigration
issues after service, ability to navigate the complex civilian life, cultural shock, family issues,
homelessness, issues of inclusion, institutional discrimination and racism just to mention a few.
The Commonwealth Legion was incorporated in June 2020 right in the middle of the pandemic to
help solve such predicaments and in as much as we are a young organisation; we have managed to
achieve a lot within this short and turbulent time.
We have already taken on cases and partnered some of the reputable organisations in the sector,
signed the Armed Forces covenant and been awarded Bronze under the armed forces employment
recognition scheme of which we will be aiming to achieve silver award by end of 2022.
We were also one of the top 100 organisations chosen in 2021 by the prestigious Royal publishers; St.
James’s House for the Royal British Legion’s centenary celebrations. We also became one of the
editorial partners and contributors of the Royal British Legion’s flagship Legion100 cookbook.
My ambition as the Chairman is to build a very strong, resilient and credible organisation, which will
become the first point of contact for all serving members and Veterans of commonwealth descent
after leaving the British Armed Forces. I strongly believe that, being there for veterans, service
personnel and their families is not only the exclusive duty of the government but a moral obligation of
the communities they once served and continue to serve. Finally, may I take this opportunity to thank
and acknowledge our hardworking Executives who continue to be resilient, volunteer their time, and
continue to give their unflinching support to this organisation, without their efforts and magnanimity,
this organisation would not have come this far.

Samuel Asante-Nnuro – Chairman

OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES – What we want to achieve in the next five years

Our overall strategy will focus on pertinent areas in line with our mission and vision as an
organisation. We will do this by focusing and aligning our strategy for the next five years behind five
broader strategic objectives as follows:

    1. Build a financially sustainable organisation
    2. Assist Veterans in their transition to civilian life
    3. provide opportunities that add value to Commonwealth Veterans
    4. Engage and assist serving Commonwealth Armed Forces Personnel
    5. Have presence and representation in all commonwealth countries.

These broader themes, we believe will help the organisation achieve its strategic aims although we are
also mindful of the potential impact of COVID19, which could have impact on our strategic direction
for the next five years. For this reason, we will continue to review our strategy to ensure we have
adequate contingencies in place to continue to be effective and efficient in the execution of our duties.

    1. Build a financially sustainable organisation

Every organisation will need to be financially sustainable in order to achieve its objectives in efficient
and effective manner. It is for this reason that being sustainable financially is very close to the heart of
what we do. It is a general knowledge that, the liability of newness collapses many organisations
within the first few years, as most of them would not be able access funding because of such
organisations not having the established record of accomplishment over a period to be considered
credible and creditworthy. This is even more pertinent in this sector where most funding bodies and
organisations require at least a year’s financial statement before being able to qualify to apply for
funding. Furthermore, COVID19 continues to impact on the sector, which makes it difficult to raise
funds although we believe with the right strategy, we will be able to realise the much-needed funds to
help our Armed Forces personnel.

How we will achieve financial sustainability

Apply for Government and other grants: We will explore opportunities to access government
grants as well as grants from independent and other government approved funding bodies such as the
national lottery community fund, the Veterans foundation, the Armed forces covenant fund just to
mention a few.

We will continue to build very strong and robust internal systems and policies as well as meet all
financial and regulatory standards in order to afford us the opportunity to meet the requirements of
most of these independent and Government-approved funding bodies.

Fundraising activities: We will embark on some of the most ambitious fundraising activities in order
to sustain ourselves financially. We aim to raise funds mainly through direct individual and corporate
appeals

We will also collaborate with organisations within the sector for joint funded projects, which will be
mutually beneficial in order to help widen our fundraising scope.

We will engage digital and social media platforms to appeal for funds to fund our projects as well as
market the portfolio of both free and paid for professional services.

Formulate Projects to attract funding: We will be coming up with project initiatives, which will
support members of the Armed forces ensuring that such projects will qualify for funding from Trusts,
foundations and the government.

We will also be collaborating with other organisations to work on specific projects of interest, which
can attract funding from government and other funding agencies.

Trading and provision of paid professional services: As a community interest company, we aim to
be able to engage in other paid for services and activities with the view to securing the much needed
revenue.

We will also work with verified and reputable professionals and organisations who will be able to
offer tailored paid for services to the general public

We will also engage in other direct trading activities including online marketplace and other business
ventures, which will be able to bring in revenue to fund community-based projects.

Become a charitable Incorporated Organisation: One of our aims of ensuring long-term financial
sustainability is to become a Charitable incorporated organisation(CIO) by end of 2022 in order to
help us benefit from tax breaks as well as the ability to claim gift aid for donations which will be
worth around 25% more.

In addition, becoming a charity will help us access more opportunities for grants as most trusts and
foundations only give funds to charities not CICs.

Charitable Incorporated Organisations gain better recognition nationally and internationally which
will help us with gaining credibility as an organisation, which is sometimes required to instil
confidence in donors.

2. Assist Veterans in their transition to civilian life

Veterans continue to face problems when transitioning to civilian life after service. For this reason,
many Veterans have given up trying and have falling into difficulties ranging from homelessness
through to joblessness, mental health and drug related issues just to mention a few. Sometimes, just
the lack of information and the right support from the right organisations has meant that, some
Veterans will never transition successfully to civilian life. It is for reasons such as these that make us
believe and attach much importance to this strategic focus of assisting veterans to transition
successfully to civilian life.

We believe our ability to liaise and work with Government and Armed Forces organisations through
the Ministry of Defence (MOD) will give us the opportunity to network with people and entities that
are set up to help Veterans. This will also equip us with current and up to the minute information on
what is happening in the Armed Forces World as well as equipping us with the ability to explore some
of the services and help available to Veterans

How we will help Veterans transition successfully

Collaborate with other organisations in the sector: We will collaborate with organisations to
deliver tailored and specific services, which are of interest to our Armed forces personnel especially,
those of commonwealth descent. We will specifically be looking to partner organisations offering
services such as housing, legal assistance for immigration, counselling, dealing with combat stress,
drug abuse, family issues to help them transition smoothly to civilian life.

Employ and work with the right people: In the next three years, we hope to employ people with
experience, network, cultural understanding embedding diversity and expertise who will bring on
board, the wealth of knowledge they possess.

Engage with Government and Armed Forces departments and agencies: We will also aim to
engage, work with and Sign up to government services and other points of contact for veterans
including but not limited to the following: Government’s Veterans gateway, Resettlement centres
through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), Joint Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO),
Veterans UK which administers pensions for service leavers, the Veterans Welfare Services which is
committed to enhancing the quality of life for veterans and beneficiaries of Veterans UK pensions and
compensation schemes and all their dependants.

3. Provide opportunities that add value to Commonwealth Veterans

The ability to add value to Veterans is very important to us given the current uncertainties in our
society mainly because of the pandemic. There is the need to train and learn new skills in order to
keep up with the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world we currently live in to
afford them the opportunity to keep up and stay relevant, flexible, versatile and employable.

How we will add value to Veterans

Engagement with educational establishments: We will also be engaging with educational
establishments including universities, colleges of higher education and other training providers on
apprenticeship schemes to help Veterans who may wish to future their education upon leaving the
forces. We will also be providing advice on how they could utilise the various educational support
services in the UK and internationally and how they could also use their enhance learning credits for
personal and professional development.

Collaborate with recruiters and organisations to prepare them for the job market: We will form
partnerships and work on collaborations with organisations that are able to prepare them for the job
market including but not restricted to CV writing, job interviewing skills and job placements. We will
work hard to provide majority of such services aimed at presenting our Veterans with opportunities
in-house by 2024

Engage resource persons: We will also aim to engage the services of resource persons who will be
able to train our veterans through workshops, short courses to help with their personal and continuous
professional development.

    4. Engage and assist serving Commonwealth Armed Forces Personnel

We understand the challenges faced by commonwealth Armed Forces Personnel are not only
restricted to those who have left service but those who are currently serving. For this reason, we aim
to be proactive and engage them while in service in order to ensure they are better prepared before
leaving service. It will also help us to understand their needs prior to leaving in order to put in place
the necessary measures required as well as getting them into our books early to ensure everyone is
afforded the help they need to transition successfully.

In addition, we also aim to assist them to be good service personnel while in service and offer them
mentorship from our Veterans, which will go a long way to helping our serving commonwealth

personnel become effective, efficient and contribute to the overall operational effectiveness of the
British Armed Forces.

How we will engage serving Commonwealth Personnel

Introduce ourselves formally to the MOD: We will liaise with the Ministry of Defence and
formally introduce ourselves in order to be able to gain the formal recognition and for the MOD to
promulgate our services directly among serving Commonwealth personnel.

Societies, networks and Clubs: Encourage serving personnel to establish societies/clubs etc for
commonwealth personnel at different Regiments/Garrisons etc. in order to keep developing a network
where pertinent issues will be discussed and fed back to our organisation so that we will be able to
know any issue(s) currently affecting them.

Leavers’ Workshops: We will be organising leavers’ workshops across the UK and other areas
where our British Armed Forces are based in order to discuss opportunities and our support services
before they leave service. This is a proactive intervention aimed at diagnosing potential issues or
problems before leaving service.

    5. Have presence and representation in all commonwealth countries

We aim in the next five years to have some level of representation or presence in all Commonwealth
countries. This is to aid our ambition to create cohesive networks across the Commonwealth
countries, which will also give us better insight into problems and issues facing our Commonwealth
Armed Forces Veterans who may have relocated to their respective countries.

How we will have presence and representation in all Commonwealth countries

Create a dedicated registration page on website: We will have a dedicated page on our website
where British Armed Forces Veterans in other commonwealth countries other than the UK will be
able to register. This will help us create a database of Veterans living in other Commonwealth
countries.

We will also use the snowballing technique by asking Veterans we know to help us locate other
Veterans in other Commonwealth countries who may not have registered with us.

Appoint country coordinators: We will then liaise with registered Veterans and appoint
Coordinators/Leaders/Organisers in each country who will organise other Veterans residing in their
respective countries with support from us.

Open offices and centres: We will then open offices/centres, which will help us coordinate activities
better.

The threats faced by our Armed Forces personnel especially those of Commonwealth descent have
been highlighted in this strategic document. This strategy demonstrates how we will be putting our
Armed Forces service Personnel right at the centre of everything we will do in the next five years. We
believe this strategy will be able to make a huge difference in the lives of our Commonwealth
Veterans and service personnel of the British Armed Forces, their families as well as serving the
needs of the wider Armed Forces Communities.

The Commonwealth Legion

187 Ridgacre Road, Quinton

Birmingham B32 1HY

Tel: 08000016210

Email: info@thecommonwealthlegion.org

Website: www.thecommonwealthlegion.org