Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support organisations working across Essex, Southend and Thurrock for a wide range of work and projects. These include helping victims of crime, working with young people and informing them about the dangers of drugs, alcohol, gangs and anti-social behaviour, and initiatives that contribute to keeping elderly residents safe in their homes and the wider community.
Previously supported projects included self-defence training for young women, sessions that increase awareness of modern slavery, a programme helping people experiencing homelessness to find accommodation and drama performances in schools that teach students about the dangers of alcohol misuse.
The independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation (ECF) has managed the High Sheriffs’ Fund since 1997 and since then, grants totalling £700,000 have been given to a wide range of charities. In addition, successive High Sheriffs who have fundraised during their year of office, combined with donations made by Essex Police from the Proceeds of Crime Matched Funding Scheme, have helped to grow the endowed High Sheriffs’ Fund which provides an annual programme of grants.
Andy Payne Worpole, Head of Programmes at ECF, said: “We are delighted to work with successive High Sheriffs to ensure the money they raise tackles important issues at a local level. We also have other charitable funds that can support community safety initiatives so please call our dedicated grants team who will give you support and guidance.”
The deadline for applications is 10 November. Click here to apply or call the grants team on 01245 355947.
Great news! We’re giving the Essex Map a new look.
Before we get into the full swing of things, we’d love it if our current listings were up to date.
If you have a listing on our online directory, can you please login and update your listing were necessary.
Need extra support with this? Do you need your password reset or not sure what your username is? Please contact us directly at communications@essexalliance.org.uk
********Applications open from 17th July 2023 – 29 September 2023*******
The strategic goal of the V&V Partnership is to reduce serious violence, the harm it causes, and to safeguard those at risk (including to gangs and knife crime). We recognise that local organisations and groups are at the forefront of some amazing work that provides protective factors that seeks to address these issues, the V&V Partnership are keen to support this work as much as it can.
The 2024-2025 V&V Community Grant round is for local ‘not-for-profit’ voluntary or community clubs or organisations based in, and therefore delivering in, Essex, Southend and Thurrock only.
Looking to fund projects that meet the stated aims and can run during April 2024 to 31st December 2025, commencing no later than 1st September 2024.
Groups can apply for up to *£25,000 to deliver support and interventions for children, young people, young adults (aged 0-24 inclusive) and families (families, must include children, young people or young adults aged 0-24). Projects must demonstrate how they have a positive impact through protective factors on issues relating to serious violence.
*The grants funding this year has a potential total pot of £350,000 that the V & V Parternship will look to distribute as evenly as possible across the twelve ECC borough/city/districts areas and Southend and Thurrock. Please bear this in mind when completing your applications.
Projects MUST evidence they are meeting specific needs as highlighted on an area by area basis by young people in our Listening Project 2022-23. It is essential that you read and reference the report as we are keen that the interventions are based on what local young people are telling us they need. https://ecvys.files.wordpress.com/2023/07/vvu-youth-voices-report-2022-2023-final-pdf.pdf
Such as:
Having more trusted adults available for young people to talk to.
Creating safer spaces and youth provision where young people choose to hang out i.e parks, youth clubs, schools (This could be around staff time, new projects, open for longer, activities, lighting outside a community building, etc.)
Support for victims of youth violence and projects that have interventions around knife crime, and building resilience
Building links between voluntary youth provision and schools, eg providing more trusted adults, education specifically around consequences of violence and filming videos of violence for social media, how to stay safe and preventing conflict escalating
More ‘turn up and try’ sports or activities at youth clubs, parks and schools (out of normal school hours)- including self-defence and various other activities
PLEASE NOTE THAT; This is not an exhaustive list. Funding will also be considered for early intervention work that has used the listening report to identify what is needed locally for example some areas mention drugs as an issue that needs addressing but for others work around peer pressure would be more suitable.
We would especially like to see some applications for creative work around risk taking behaviours.
Please do read the listening report and try to evidence the need for your intervention within your application, referencing the report or local needs.
All applications must demonstrate how their project enables children and young people to:-
Make positive choices to keep them safe
Raise self-esteem and confidence
Build resilience
Improve emotional and physical health and mental wellbeing
Build connections with trusted adults
Applicants must also:-
Have a recognised constitution and be one of the following: not-for-profit voluntary or community club or organisation, a registered charity, a not-for-profit company or community interest company or other social enterprise, a company limited by guarantee, charitable incorporated organisation or registered society.
Be based in Essex, Southend or Thurrock with at least one year’s full published accounts.
Have support from the local CSP (Community Safety Partnership) for the work you are applying for funding for. (If you do not know who your local CSP is we can provide this information)
If you have any questions about this grant process or to discuss your application please contact Beks Korniej beks@ecvys.org.uk or Jim Pearson james.pearson@essex.gov.uk
Timeline of grant process:
Applications open: 17th July 2023
Applications close: 12 noon on 29th September 2023
Completed applications to be submitted online and due diligence and supporting documents to be emailed to: beks@ecvys.org.uk AND james.pearson@essex.gov.uk by 12.00 on 29th September 2023
Short-listing, due diligence checks and final panel decisions: between October 2023 to February 2024
Applicants made aware of grant decisions: End of February 2024
Funds delivered: 90% of amount awarded at project start date on or after 1st April 2024. The remaining 10% to be paid during the last 3 months of your funded delivery.
How to Apply:
Check whether your project qualifies and apply online using this link:
This procurement specification seeks to establish a, not for profit, Community Supermarket in Harlow. Priority areas for this procurement are based on the Essex County Council, Levelling-Up geographies, and Working Families priority areas, overlaid with the 2019 Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).
It is important that any Community Supermarket is established with the support of local, public, voluntary and community sector partners as well as local-residents and service users.
The Community Supermarket model provides support for individuals who have experienced financial crisis, and who have been supported by Food Banks to regain some financial control. In addition, the model supports individuals and families who fluctuate above and below the line of financial security by providing a consistent point of support to avoid them falling into financial crisis.
Once established, the programme will form a local community asset with the funding from Essex County Council made available to seed fund the development and start-up costs.
DHSC has today launched a £10m Suicide Prevention VCSE Grant Fund for 2023/24 and 2024/25, to support suicide prevention activities delivered in England by non-profit organisations.
The application period is open until 1st October. Applications must be made online via the Find a Grant portal here unless exceptional circumstances apply.
Guidance can be found here, which provides full details of the objectives of the fund, the eligibility criteria, and details on the application process itself.
DHSC will also be holding Meet the Funder webinars for potential applicants, to answer any questions. To sign up, please could applicants email SuicidePreventionGrant@dhsc.gov.uk
CARA is looking for an Advocacy Coordinator to join our team. The role will provide advocacy support to a caseload of clients, including support around housing, finances, health, domestic abuse and other issues. CARA’s advocacy service focuses primarily on meeting the needs of some of our most complex clients – victims and survivors who would be unable to access other advocacy services. The role will also involve supporting the wider CARA team in signposting other clients to external advocacy agencies, as appropriate and attendance at CARA groups to provide a drop-in advocacy surgery.
For a full job description and person specification, please click here.
The Mid and South Essex Sustainability and Anchor Teams are delighted to invite the VCSE sector to a series of workshops that will help you to understand and apply Social Value.
The hour-long virtual sessions are designed to;
Establish a common understanding of Social Value from its attribution as a `generally good thing’ to its application in procurement.
Use existing practice across partners to help frame the emergence of a Mid and South Essex Social Value approach that reflects the needs of health partners and aligns with and/or informs local authority practice
Use the information received to develop Next Steps in early 2024, so that action can be progressed to implementation from 1st April 2024.
Please see attached for more information , very happy for the invite to be cascaded widely
The East of England Cancer Alliances’ Patient Partnership Group would like to invite you to attend this online event.
The patient group have all experienced cancer themselves, or cared for someone with cancer, and are putting on a series of talks and information sessions designed to raise awareness and give people an opportunity to ask any questions of our expert speakers or experienced patients. We hope that you can join us. This is the first in a series of events which will be held every few months.
Cancer awareness, common signs, and symptoms
Tuesday 12 September 6-30 – 7.30pm.
Join us for this online event to learn more about the common signs and symptoms that could be a cause for concern or need further investigation. We will hear from a local GP and a member of the public about their experiences in spotting the symptoms of cancer.
We encourage members of the public who are concerned about unusual changes in their body such as lumps or unexplained continuous pain, to report signs and symptoms to their GP practice as soon as possible.
Are you a visionary leader with a proven track record of driving organisation success? Do you possess exceptional strategic thinking and decision-making skills with a strong emphasis on Heading up Operations.
We are looking for an Executive Lead for Thriving Communities who will play a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of Community360, inspiring teams towards a common goal. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will influence and lead a team of Head of Programmes, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and achievement.
Thriving Communities is our portfolio that consists of a broad range of programmes and services to support individuals and communities to live their best lives. From My Social Prescription™ to Community Transport, Thriving Communities addresses an array of needs within communities across Colchester, Braintree and beyond. We do this by managing or contributing to community-based wellbeing projects. We partner with healthcare providers to deliver services and ensure they reach those most in need. We also work strategically to address issues, supporting people who may be at risk during the winter months. In addition, our infrastructure work allows us to advise community and voluntary groups how to become established and achieve their goals, also contributing to thriving communities. Our One Colchester Hub offers a safe and welcoming space for individuals to engage in activities and support, while allowing partners to collaborate and take action.
We’ve been at the front-line of the cost-of-living crisis, looking at the impacts on people and the effectiveness of interventions designed to help. Interventions have focused on both short and long term fixes, and ranged from direct support to measures to improve the overall economic picture.
But experts are sharply divided on where we should be focusing – are we using the right levers to tackle the crisis? At our September briefing our Chief Executive, Clare Moriarty and Chief Data Analyst, Tom MacInnes will look at our latest data. We’ll also hear from speakers coming at the problem from a range of perspectives.