Essex’s first ever Fire and Rescue Plan was officially launched on Friday 1 March, setting out the vision and priorities for the delivery of fire and rescue services in Essex.
The plan runs from 2019 to 2024 and is the basis on which Roger Hirst, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) holds Essex County Fire and Rescue Service to account for its performance. The document mirrors the Police and Crime Plan, which sets the priorities for policing in Essex.
It is not only a first for Essex, but is the first Fire and Rescue Plan in the country produced by a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
Roger said: “I have developed this plan with input from all of those groups and individuals who work in, alongside and with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service. The priorities in the plan reflect what the people of Essex expect from their fire and rescue service.”
The eight priorities are:
• Enhance prevention, protection and response
• Promote a positive culture in the workplace
• Develop and broaden the roles and range of activities undertaken by the Service
• Help the vulnerable to stay safe
• Collaborate with our partners
• Be transparent, open and accessible
• Improve safety on our roads
• Make best use of our resources.
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Lauren Weymouth
18/02/19
Charity leaders’ membership body ACEVO and Centre for Mental Health have partnered to research bullying among leadership in the third sector.
The project, Leading safe cultures: eliminating workplace bullying in charity leadership, aims to understand the conditions in which bullying occurs in the charity sector, its effects on individuals and why bullying can continue for significant periods of time unchecked.
It has been funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as part of a wider programme called ‘Protecting people from harm’, which was launched in response to reports of sexual exploitation within the third sector last year.
The project calls for people who feel able to share their experiences to complete a confidential online questionnaire, and are also seeking to conduct in-depth interviews with individuals who have experienced bullying in the sector.
It will focus on bullying that has taken place within the last five years, with a specific focus on the role of leadership and culture in bullying behaviour.
“Bullying unfortunately occurs in all kinds of workplaces; it is not a problem specific to the charity sector,” ACEVO chief executive Vicky Browning said.
“However, in order to address it effectively within our sector we need to shine a light on it. This self-reflection will not always be comfortable but it is necessary to build a stronger sector, and more importantly to ensure the wellbeing of the staff and volunteers without whom charities would be unable to achieve their mission.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Centre for Mental Health, which is an expert at conducting high quality, impactful research in a way that is supportive of participants’ emotional wellbeing.”
Centre for Mental Health CEO Sarah Hughes added: “Bullying in any setting is a major cause of poor mental health as well as undermining an organisation’s performance. We are pleased to be working with ACEVO to bring about a greater understanding of what puts people at risk of bullying and what can be done to change this. Facing up to this sensitive topic is essential to support charities to prevent and tackle bullying at work in what are often difficult circumstances.”
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Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Charity Times staff writer
11/02/19
Instagram has announced it will be launching a new tool, allowing people to donate through Instagram stories.
The announcement was made at the Facebook Community Summit at the company’s HQ last week. The tool hasn’t yet been rolled out but is due to be implemented in the coming months.
Users of the picture-led social media platform will be able to support a charity by adding a ‘donation sticker’ to their Instagram stories.
The one-click sticker is designed to encourage followers to click through to a charity or non-profit of their choice and donate to a good cause.
The announcement follows an announcement made by Facebook in November last year, which said people had raised over $1bn for charities through Charitable Giving on Facebook.
“Last November, we announced that people raised over $1 billion for nonprofit organizations through Charitable Giving on Facebook,” Facebook said in a statement.
“Later this year, Instagram will bring the ability for people to support nonprofits that are important to them through a donation sticker in Instagram Stories.”
Thirteen local charities working with some of the most vulnerable women and girls in Essex have received a much-needed funding boost from the Tampon Tax Community Fund.
The Fund, which was set up by the Government with money raised through the levy on sanitary products, is managed locally by the independent charitable trust Essex Community Foundation (ECF).
Grants totalling £85,000 have been awarded to local voluntary and community organisations to help them develop or expand their work with women of all ages, focussing on preventative services for those at risk of crisis.
Projects receiving support in this first round of grants are aimed at helping women and girls to improve their health and wellbeing, create and develop social networks and get into or back to work.
Among the organisations to receive funding are:
Parents 1st: £7,800 to run a ‘pregnancy pals’ project in Basildon that provides vulnerable pregnant women with a volunteer for support.
Open Road: £5,800 to help women on probation from prison across Essex to rebuild their lives and reduce the likelihood of reoffending.
Ark Family Resource Centre: £6,194 to expand their support service for women and families in Harwich that have experienced domestic abuse.
Home-Start Essex: £5,381 to expand a peer support group for mothers in Harlow. (pictured, right)
Southend Vineyard: £8,336 towards the salary of an outreach worker to help women exit the sex industry.
Southend Vineyard will use their grant of £8,336 to employ an outreach worker for ‘The Promise Project’. This community-based scheme runs a drop-in service for women and girls who are being exploited through prostitution, providing a safe place where they can have a warm meal and receive support.
Rob Carvosso, the Project Manager, said: “Southend Vineyard has been working with the local community for over 23 years. During the drop-in, we offer a range of support including making appointments at sexual health clinics, referrals to counselling and other recovery treatments for drug and alcohol abuse.”
Home-Start Essex was awarded £5,381 to expand a peer support group for mothers in Harlow focussed on improving their mental and physical wellbeing. Nic O’Brien, chief executive, said: “We offer a range of activities including art therapy, sessions on mindfulness, information about healthy eating and importantly, group discussions on any issues they are facing.
“We also provide a crèche where the children can play, allowing the mothers time to focus on their own wellbeing and forge valuable friendships.”
Parents 1st received £7,800 to continue their ‘pregnancy pals’ project for vulnerable women in Basildon. This includes exercise classes to promote a healthy lifestyle and pairing women with volunteers for support during pregnancy, labour and the first few months of their baby’s life.
Celia Suppiah, chief executive of the charity, said: “It can be incredibly daunting to have a baby when you don’t have a support system. The women we help, due to a range of circumstances, may feel isolated and unsure of where to turn to for help. Having just one person in their corner that they can talk to, makes a huge difference to their emotional and physical wellbeing.
“Our peer support scheme builds positive, trusting relationships where women can feel valued and listened to, rather than judged for their circumstance.”
Caroline Taylor, chief executive of ECF, said: “The grants awarded from the Tampon Tax Community Fund will enable these 13 voluntary organisations to expand and increase the support they offer to some of the most marginalised and vulnerable women and girls who are living in communities across Essex.
“We know there are many other local charities offering support to women and girls and we would encourage them to contact us if they have are in need of funding.”
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Lauren Weymouth
30/01/19
The majority of charities are ill-prepared for a no-deal Brexit and must do everything in their power to prevent it, new research has found.
A new survey conducted by Charity Finance Group found over a third of charities (38%) have made no preparations at all for a no-deal Brexit and just 8% are fully aware of the impact it will have on their charity.
The research found the majority of charities lack adequate preparations for a no-deal scenario – of the charities that responded, 83% said they have made little or no preparation.
According to the findings, the lack of preparedness was due primarily to a lack of understanding around the outcomes of a no-deal Brexit.
CFG found the vast majority (92%) had either a partial understanding or no understanding about what a no-deal outcome would mean to their charity.
When asked what their biggest concerns about a no-deal Brexit were, most respondents pointed to the lack of certainty.
“It is not surprising, but is worrying, that charities are ill-prepared for a no deal exit – the level of uncertainty has made organisational planning in this respect incredibly difficult,” CFG chief executive, Caron Bradshaw said.
“This level of unprecedented uncertainty, volatility and predicted economic disruption coupled with the non-tariff considerations, from workers’ rights to regulatory complexity, presents too great a risk to the UK and thus to civil society,” she said.
“So we call on all parties to prioritise the most vulnerable in our society, and do everything within their power to prevent a no-deal Brexit.”
CFG claims to have scrutinised the current withdrawal agreement and has called for MPs to vote against it in January’s vote, concluding that UK charities worse off than if remaining in the EU.
It claims a no-deal Brexit would be “the worst possible outcome” for civil society.
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Charity Times
25/01/19
Charities need to work to address the ‘structural barriers’ preventing people from volunteering, particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, a new report has revealed.
The report, Time Well Spent, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the NCVO, found diversity continues to be an issue among volunteers, with those from middle class backgrounds almost 50% more likely to have volunteered in the last 12 months than those from working class backgrounds.
“Those from lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to say they have never been involved in volunteering, and those who have are less likely to be in certain leadership or representative roles, like being a trustee,” the report said.
“Research on volunteering, and on participation more broadly, consistently indicates that inequalities of resources and power mean that some people are more likely to be excluded from certain activities.”
The survey also found older people were more likely to volunteer than younger people. However, it revealed a higher number of 18-24 year olds found volunteering to be a good way of combatting isolation.
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the NCVO, said: “Volunteering can be truly transformative for people’s lives. It reduces isolation, improves confidence, provides new experiences, improves employment prospects and fundamentally it’s deeply rewarding. But sadly, those who stand to benefit the most from volunteering are less likely to be involved.
“Institutions – charities and the public sector – need to take a hard look at themselves and think about what barriers they may inadvertently be creating.
“In particular, we need to make sure it’s easy to start volunteering. Our research suggests young people have higher expectations of the process being simple and quick than older people.
“We know that building stronger connections within communities helps people live healthier, more satisfying lives, and takes pressure off public services.”
The report revealed one of the main barriers for those who have never volunteered is that they have never thought about it, highlighting the need for charities to raise awareness about volunteering and the benefits of getting involved.
“But providing opportunities that resonate with people’s own lives and aspirations, and ensuring they can shape the way they get involved are as important as raising awareness,” the report said.
Overall, the survey found 69% of respondents had volunteered at some point in their life. Of those who had volunteered, it found 38% have done so in the past year.
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Charity Times staff writer
18/01/19
The NCVO has launched its Charity Ethical Principles guidance, aimed at providing a benchmark of good practice among the sector.
The new guidance, formerly the Charity Code of Ethics, follows months of consultation and engagement with charities of all sizes.
Governing bodies, staff and volunteers are being encouraged to actively consider the principles and how they can integrate them throughout their work.
A summary of the feedback has been published alongside the guidance, showing the sector’s positive response towards the principles.
Putting beneficiaries first, integrity, openness and the right to be safe have constituted the overarching principles of the finished document. Each of the principles is accompanied by guidance on how it can be upheld, providing broad, instructive statements that charities using the code should observe.
In response to feedback, the original proposed title of Charity Code of Ethics has been changed to Charity Ethical Principles, to make clear that the guidance is intended as complementary to existing codes such as the Charity Governance Code, and also makes clear its status as a voluntary framework.
Commenting on the guidance, Dame Mary Marsh, who led on drafting the principles said: “It has been a privilege to lead this important piece of work and I would like to thank all those who contributed so thoughtfully.
“These principles demonstrate how much we all want to live our values in everything we do and show the public that charities aim to be places where everyone meets the highest ethical standards.’
NCVO chief executive, Sir Stuart Etherington added: “NCVO is pleased to have supported the development of the Charity Ethical Principles. I hope they will be widely used by charities in their decision making and in the development of their policies and procedures. This work does not end here and we are open to further development of this important guidance once organisations have started to use it as part of their decision making.’
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Lauren Weymouth
14/01/19
Charities face a financially challenging year ahead as a result of Brexit uncertainty, tight government budgets and a slow economy, the NCVO has warned.
According to the membership body’s annual report, The Road Ahead, charities are cautioned to be aware that a weak pound, high inflation and declining investment in the UK leave the economy and many beneficiaries ‘fragile’.
The NCVO’s research highlights that despite record jobs growth, the average pay packet remains £11 a week lower in real terms than before the financial crisis, while those who rely on benefits will also continue to feel their disposable income ‘squeezed’ over the coming year.
This could in turn have ‘bleak’ consequences for some beneficiaries, and charities delivering services such as debt relief, housing support and foodbanks are likely to see demand continue, the report claims.
“The uncertainty around Brexit makes it difficult to accurately predict where the UK economy will go over the coming year, although most experts remain downbeat about the short-term prospects,” NCVO senior finance analyst, Paul Winyard said.
“While government finances have somewhat improved since last year’s Road Ahead, limited growth and existing spending commitments made by government mean pressure on voluntary sector funding and support is likely to continue for the foreseeable future,” he added.
NCVO director of public policy and volunteering, Karl Wilding added: “I hope trustees and senior managers will use Road Ahead as a tool to reflect on how the wider environment will impact their own organisations, so they can feel prepared for what 2019 might bring.”
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Louise Thomson
11/01/19
Last year, the charity sector struggled with safeguarding concerns, reputational management issues, GDPR panic, executive pay and a new strategic intent from the Charity Commission, which continues to focus on and raise the bar on public trust. Has there ever been a busier time for governance advisers and practitioners? Probably, but governance just didn’t make the headlines then in the way that it does today.
The charity sector wasn’t alone in its governance challenges: do Carillion, Patisserie Valerie, Nissan, FIFA (again) and the PFA ring a bell with anyone? It is worth noting that some of the developments arising from governance failures in the commercial sector will likely impact the charity sector in the coming year. But let’s take a little look back before we scan forward.
2018 brought in the following charity governance developments:
• GDPR
• Changes to the Charities SORP
• Implementation of the remaining provisions of the Charities Act 2016
• DCMS’ third sector strategy
• NCVO’s Charity Ethical Principles
• Scotland’s Governance Code for the Third Sector
• The Charity Digital Code
• Civil Society Futures’ final report with challenges to change governance thinking in terms of PACT – power, accountability, connection, trust – and in terms of ensuring the sector’s ongoing relevance to the wider public.
For 2019, and beyond, the governance opportunities and challenges will continue to demand time from charity boards and regulators. Some matters will be familiar and others less so.
Safeguarding, and especially the requirement to report serious incidents to the Charity Commission, will continue to exercise many charity boards, with some organisations significantly increasing the number of reports they submit each year. With safeguarding taking on a very broad definition under the reporting regime, trustees and their advisers will need to spend more time thinking about the implications of adverse and unplanned actions and behaviours that put others at risk. Such considerations will also require trustees to review their communications strategy in order to deal with any media interest as a result of reporting serious incidents to the regulator.
There may have been a concentration of activity in the sector to ensure organisations were GDPR ready, however it does not mean that all the work has been done and does not need to be reviewed or revised. It is unlikely that the ICO or the media interest in the sector’s practices will diminish, which in turn means that it should not entirely disappear from the board’s agenda.
Ethics
The embedding of the Charity Ethical Principles will require attention by boards, especially as to what ethical considerations are taken into account when making decisions and how the principles are embedded within internal codes of conduct and staff handbooks. Allied to that will be a re-invigorated push for charitable companies to demonstrate their application of s172 of the Companies Act for the wider interests of stakeholders.
For those that may need reminding, s172 states: “A director of a company must act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing so have regard (amongst other matters) to the likely consequences of any decision in the long term, the interests of the company’s employees, the need to foster the company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others, the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment, the desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct, and the need to act fairly between members of the company”.
Though this is something that is making more of an impact in commercial entities, it would be a wise board that looked at this matter too, even if there is a belief that the sector already does it better.
Following The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) v HM Attorney General and others [2017] EWHC 1379 (Ch) ruling on the fiduciary duties of members of charitable companies, revised guidance from the Charity Commission will likely be produced to clarify the Commission’s approach to the matter. This, in turn, will require boards of membership bodies to think about their governance arrangements and ensure they are proportionate and appropriate.
Measures to improve board diversity, with particular emphasis on women and BAME candidates have been gaining traction in the commercial world over a longer period than in the charity sector. But given the communities the charity sector aims to help and represent, perhaps more impetus should be given by boards not just to recruit diverse trustees, but to ensure the workforce and volunteer corps are also suitably marbled with diversity – in its widest sense.
Reviewing the governance framework
Another development will be a planned ‘refresh’ of the Charity Governance Code. Reviewing the current version in light of the scandals and developments detailed above will be essential if the sector is to build robust governance arrangements that can meet and withstand any future adverse publicity. While a complete revision is not envisioned, it does need to reflect and reference the changing environment in terms of ethics, safeguarding, reporting and be better placed to anticipate and minimising the impact of whatever else is lurking out there about to be exposed.
And finally, there is the ongoing ‘will they, won’t they?’ anticipation of a consultation on the Charity Commission levy. Perhaps once the Brexit dust has settled there may be the political room and inclination to grasp this particularly thorny issue.
The sector’s need to review and improve its governance framework is as urgent as it has ever been, but it is not the only sector that should reflect and revise where necessary. The demand for, and interest in, governance is not waning.
We need, therefore, to be prepared to meet and respond to any questions that suggest that it isn’t essential to the frontline. Good governance is not the destination, it is the means by which each charity fulfils its objects legally, effectively and ethically. As such, it will require all involved in governance to continue to improve and anticipate future challenges so that each organisation can deliver their stated aims for the important people and communities they serve.
Louise Thomson is head of not-for-profit at ICSA: The Governance Institute
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Antony Savvas
09/01/19
In the past few months alone, some of the larger charities, such as the British Heart Foundation and Breast Cancer Care, have launched new Amazon Alexa capabilities to allow people to donate through Alexa gadgets.
These are the beginnings of organisations in the sector using much vaunted artificial intelligence. So, by this time next year, will other charities have followed this advanced path, including the wider use of digital fundraising platforms, innovative mobile apps, gamification to deliver better results, and the adoption of cryptocurrencies as part of their digital transformation efforts? Stuart Toller, director at DAM Digital, is slightly sceptical.
“Very few charities, such as the British Heart Foundation, have enough of their digital ducks in a row that they can justify spending on new technology over spending that money on improving existing services, systems or processes,” he says.
“Whilst being the first to market with an Alexa-based help and advice service might gain some valuable publicity, it’s unlikely to significantly increase income or improve service performance and reach for the majority of charities. It’s important to keep that in mind when looking at all the new shiny things.”
Another sceptic is Ed Gairdner, chief operating officer at charitable giving platform The Good Exchange. “While some larger players are making use of the latest technologies on offer – like voice-activated tools at The British Heart Foundation and the British Red Cross – even if smaller and local charities want to use new technologies, they’re unlikely to have the necessary resources to do so,” Gairdner says.
“The charitable sector is currently operating between five and 10 years behind the commercial sector when it comes to embracing the digital revolution.”
But Krystyna Grant, head of innovation at the British Heart Foundation explains that the BHF and other larger charities have a “responsibility to our beneficiaries to keep up with the technological pace of change and meet our audience where they are online.”
“Our Amazon Alexa skill opens up a new channel for donations and allows us to engage with a new audience. Almost a quarter of people in the UK now own one or more smart home devices and around one in 10 own a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo. This is likely to grow, highlighting a huge opportunity for engaging people with our work using this type of technology. Our new skill gives us a great opportunity to test the use of voice technology in a simple way at low cost,” she explains.
“We can’t afford to ignore the changing ways in which consumers behave or the potential of new technologies to enable us to have a bigger impact on our beneficiaries.”
Facebook
Social media and advertising giant Facebook recently made its Workplace by Facebook online collaboration tool free for all not-for-profits worldwide. A number are already using the technology to help expedite the work they do, such as WWF, Save the Children and Oxfam.
WWF has been using Workplace to power Earth Hour, its global movement to help protect different species and the planet. Annette Gevaert, head of Workplace for Good at Facebook, says: “Social media and collaboration platforms have become incredibly powerful assets for charities in 2018, and this will continue into 2019 and beyond.”
WWF has been using Workplace to increase awareness and engagement of their events. WWF’s annual conference was traditionally attended by senior stakeholders and C-level executives alone, but is now broadcast to the charity’s entire worldwide staff via Workplace live (HD streaming within Workplace).
“Features such as this led to employee engagement increasing by more than 200% and has given WWF the opportunity to gain valuable insight and suggestions from its employees at all levels,” Gevaert explains.
The Workplace mobile app also gives WWF employees in the field the ability to share photos and videos with headquarters or other teams easily. And auto-translation tools help break down cultural or linguistic barriers.
Also using Workplace, Save the Children volunteers were able to highlight the refugee crisis from boats in the Mediterranean back to their headquarters in real-time via live video streaming. Not only is this solution free, it also uses the familiar Facebook user interface, so there should be a smooth technology “buy-in” among staff at organisations of all sizes.
Mobile for giving
Generating hard cash through donors’ every day purchases is now a growing opportunity. The Give as you Live app is one of several that is now being taken up by charities. Annabelle Risdon, director and head of partnerships at shopping and fundraising website Give as you Live, says: “With cash use declining, many charities know how difficult it is to do traditional fundraising these days, so having other options is vital. That said, many charities don’t have the resources to build their own technology to fundraise digitally.”
To help solve this problem, the Give as you Live mobile app became available this year on Apple iOS, with an Android version for other devices due out in early 2019. Shoppers can use the app to raise money for charities as they buy things at more than 4,300 retailers.
The Border Collie Trust, located in Staffordshire, is one of the many charities benefitting. Recently, it had to relocate its kennels to make way for the HS2 high-speed rail link. Through the app and other digital assets provided by Give as you Live, the charity raised more than £10,000.
Lyn Prodger, corporate partnerships manager at children’s charity my AFK, another organisation using the app, says: “We’ve got hundreds of Give as you Live supporters who’ve raised more than £10,000 for my AFK. The unrestricted funding we receive helps fund specialist mobility equipment, employment opportunities and training for the disabled young people we work with.”
Cryptocurrencies for good
There are millions of computers that are left idle, so why not put them to good use to raise money for charity? Cudo is a technology that turns unused or wasted computing power into cryptocurrency.
Whilst computers are idling, Cudo uses this spare capacity to generate income for charities by “mining” for electronic currency. So far, Cudo Donate has been adopted by The Children’s Air Ambulance and War Child. Founder Matt Hawkins’ mission is to “raise $1bn for charity within the next five years”.
Hawkins says: “From UNICEF to the RNLI, charities are waking up to the immense power of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology [the secure data sharing and transaction system]. Using a technology-driven approach should allow charities to attract a new, younger but also tech-savvy demographic.
“This could be of critical importance when you consider that the average age of supporters for some charities is 60 plus. Who will replace this demographic if charities can’t attract the youth of today?”
Hawkins explains that cryptocurrencies do not have to replace any existing revenue streams, but could attract new supporters. “For example, many charities use direct debits to get people signed-up and committed to a payment stream. Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology does away with the need for direct debits and may attract a different kind of supporter, who either doesn’t want the hassle of setting up a DD, or worries about the security implications of having their financial data with a third party,” says Hawkins.
Gamification and measuring impact
It’s hard to collect data on the impact of campaigns, even though this is important to help raise future funds. Makerble aims to make it easier to collect the information by using gamification. It helps charities collaborate on projects, track individual beneficiaries, collect survey results, analyse progress towards outcomes and share ideas.
Wave Trust’s 70/30 Network is a grassroots campaign that has become a national movement powered by the Makerble platform, and The African Foundation for Development is now using Makerble to streamline its impact measurement and frameworks for reporting back to funders.
Charities can start for free, then upgrade if they need to, picking the services that are right for their needs. Charities with an annual income of less than £50,000 can apply for a year’s free pass on the platform.
“Impact measurement doesn’t have to be boring, we can make it fun, easy and accessible, with user-friendly tools and games,” says Makerble. The system replaces paper-based forms, surveys and spreadsheets with an all-in-one tool that staff, volunteers and donors can hopefully enjoy using.
All these technologies do not involve charities having to rip out the systems they already use, they are designed to complement what they have, which is a safer and more gradual approach to digital transformation.