This is where we’ll post third sector news and important updates that are useful for your organisation.
Maldon & District CVS are holding a Funding Fair on Tuesday 4th July 1-3.30pm at Maldon Town Hall. This is for voluntary and community groups working in the Maldon District. To book a place visit https://lnkd.in/eCURbPuJ
A project supporting those on low incomes with the transition to net zero is moving forward. Net zero is the target to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity to zero.
The Smart Heat and Intelligent Energy in Low-Income Districts (SHIELD) project is looking at new approaches for installing energy efficient technologies. These technologies include solar panels, wind generation storage and electric vehicles.
Currently, decarbonising heat and energy in homes is expensive and not inclusive. The project will design, develop, and test new business models, so vulnerable customers can afford to decarbonise their heating and energy. The project is a partnership involving us, UK Power Networks, Power Circle, Citizen’s Advice Essex, Eastlight Community Homes, UK Community Works, Kensa Contracting and Thermify. SHIELD is also supported by Ofgem and Innovate UK.
This stage of the multi-phase project has secured £82,163 in funding from Ofgem. This is via its Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). The fund supports finding new ways to help disadvantaged, fuel poor or off the gas grid residents reduce their carbon emissions.
SHIELD partners are developing a bid for further funding to run technology trials. Find out more about the SHIELD project.
We’re inviting organisations in Essex to bid for funding to help create resilient and vibrant communities.
The Essex Community Initiatives Fund (CIF) 2023 to 2024 is now open for applications. Essex Association of Local Councils will administer the fund on our behalf.
There are two levels of grant. The main CIF with an allocation of £300,000 and grants up to £10,000 towards projects that benefit the wider community. The Micro Grant Community Chest Fund with an allocation of £50,000 and grants of up to £1,000 to help communities connect.
Town and parish councils, community groups, social enterprises and individuals in the Essex County Council area are invited to apply.
Projects should have community backing and show that they meet a real community need.
Projects could be to:
Examples of projects the CIF has funded since 2019 include:
The deadline for applications to the main CIF is 18 August 2023.
Mid and South Essex ICB has funded the rollout of this digital referral and signposting platform after Essex Frontline’s proven success across West Essex over many years.
We are already meeting and speaking with a number of wonderful services across Mid and South Essex, most of which have begun, or have already completed, their setup on Frontline.
The Frontline admin team can help set up your service and make the process super simple. So why not come along to a drop-in and see for yourself how Frontline can benefit your service and users?
Mon 19 June @ 2pm – Click here to join the meeting
Thur 22 June @12pm – Click here to join the meeting
Fri 23 June @ 10am – Click here to join the meeting
Mon 26 June 2023 13:00 – Click here to join the meeting
Tues 27 June 2023 11:00 Click here to join the meeting
Thurs 29 June 2023 14:00 Click here to join the meeting
Key information:
Find us HERE
If you’d like to add your service to Essex Frontline or want to know more, contact our friendly Frontline team at info@frontlinereferrals.org.uk or call 01799 618855.
A special event to recognise and celebrate the work of Colchester’s community volunteers took place yesterday at Colchester Castle.
The occasion, co-hosted by Colchester City Council (CCC) and Community360 (C360), brought together some of the dedicated organisations and selfless volunteers who offer their assistance to the most vulnerable members of the community.
As well as stalls and activities showcasing the work of more than 150 local volunteer groups, attendees heard guest speakers from CCC and C360 share their experiences and insights and enjoyed two performances by Harmonize Choir.
The new mayor of Colchester, Cllr John Jowers, whose theme for the year is Volunteers – the heart of our communities, expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the many volunteers and unsung heroes who tirelessly support communities across Colchester. Rachel Walton from AFiUK Colchester paid a moving tribute to the Laurence Walker, who died in March having devoted his life to promoting racial equality and diversity.
Cllr Natalie Sommers, Portfolio Holder for Communities, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the countless volunteers who tirelessly support our local communities day in and day out.
“Their unwavering commitment and selflessness are a testament to the power of community spirit and the importance of coming together to support those most in need.
“We are deeply appreciative of their willingness to step forward and lend a helping hand when and where it is needed the most, which was particularly evident during the challenging times of the pandemic. We are fortunate to have them as part of our community and this event was one small way to thank them.
“I hope that, by recognising and celebrating those whose volunteering makes a difference, others will feel inspired to follow. Their efforts serve as a constant reminder of the importance of giving back to the community.”
Tracy Rudling, CEO of C360 and Chair of One Colchester, said: “This type of event has been organised by C360 and its valued partners for almost 30 years now, and it never fails to inspire, humble, and make me so proud of what we achieve in Colchester, together. Volunteers are at the core of what we do, they are dedicated, hardworking and go above and beyond to help us reach out and touch the lives of our people every day in every way. I am always amazed how they continue to show commitment, expertise and immense kindness in so many different ways and I know how grateful colleagues and the organisations we support are for their ongoing support. Our volunteers are the bedrock, eyes and ears of all that we do and the impact of their contribution is unmeasurable.
This event gave us an opportunity to put the spotlight on the valuable work of our unsung heroes, to say thank you and to let them know just how much they are appreciated.”
Volunteers Week is an annual celebration to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to communities. It is supported and celebrated by small grassroots organisations as well as larger, household-name charities.
For more information on volunteering go to www.community360.org.uk/volunteering
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Compassionate Communities hopes that you can join us for the next Compassionate Tendring workshop ‘Demystifying End Of Life Care and Cancer’ that is taking place on Wednesday 21 June, at Wix Village Hall, CO11 2RT.
The aim of this workshop is to support a Compassionate Community approach to EOL care and bereavement support by sharing, learning and improving the support available in our communities, pathways into and out of services + identifying collaborative opportunities to improve EOL care for everybody.
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Please email compassionatecommunities@sthelena.org.uk to confirm your attendance.
Thanks to partnership working, funding and community spirit, the One Colchester Winter Resilience Campaign has been a huge success, with over 500 winter packs being distributed over the winter months to Colchester’s most vulnerable.
A Winter Resilience Steering Group, chaired by Community360, who co-delivers the project, brings together representatives from the public and voluntary sector to facilitate action over the winter months.
Roadshows were delivered in the community, information events and support were available through the One Colchester Hub, and winter packs were distributed to those affected by the cold weather, including families on low incomes, people living with respiratory conditions and long-term health conditions.
Jess Leonard, Strategic Head of Projects at Community360 said: “It is humbling every year to see just how many people in our community are benefiting from the Winter Resilience Campaign. A staggering 3700 people were supported through the Warmer Homes Project alone. We were able to conduct outreach in the community, distribute winter packs, warm clothing and provide food and clothing vouchers.”
She added: “In total we were able to support over 7774 residents who received assistance during the project. This included giving advice and help with accessing additional grants, bursaries and accessing support for hardship via local charity groups. Our Social Prescribers also intervened with cases of social isolation, providing new slippers to those at risk of trips and falls and distributing hygiene and food packs to patients being discharged from hospital who needed extra support to return to their homes.”
Local groups and charities also benefited from the project receiving bursaries to help
with community projects. From running social groups, helping with outreach to
providing hot meals. The Essex Integration Project, Mercury Theatre, Mercury
Tots and Seniors Clubs, Sanctuary Housing, Beacon House and Heads2Minds all
received funding.
“The Mercury Theatre was delighted to receive a grant from the Winter Resilience Fund. Over the cold months we welcomed the community in as a Warm Space, but also wanted to offer more for Colchester residents struggling with the ongoing cost of living crisis.” Said Abbi Roberts, Development Director at the Mercury Theatre.
She added: “The grant allowed us to offer bursary places for our weekly tot’s classes, parent and baby/toddler sessions which focused on sensory development and creative play, as well as Seniors Social Club our weekly social group for people 55+ who enjoy the creative arts. Feedback from the participants was amazing and many said having a weekly social activity to look forward to was a life line during an otherwise tough time.”
Every year the Mercury engages over 30,000 people, of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, through a wide range of creative participation activities. They partner with a number of local community groups, charities and schools to engage the hardest to reach in our community.
Tracy Rudling, CEO at Community360 and Chair of One Colchester said: “The Winter Resilience Campaign shows the importance of collaborative working, enabling partners to provide much-needed help and support over the winter months to the people of Colchester. I would like to thank everyone who has been part of delivering this amazing project, from our partners, local charities, groups and our volunteers.
The success of the One Colchester Hub and its programme of activities, has also demonstrated how collaborating to establish a community focal point can make a real difference to people living in our city.”
She added: “It has been particularly tough this year for older and younger people alike with their finances just not stretching to cover basics due to the huge increase in food, heating and electricity costs. I am so grateful that as a city we have the foresight to be able to put in place support to help those who are really struggling. However, our work does not finish just because winter is over, the cost-of-living crisis is not going away which means there are still some challenging times ahead.”
If you are a business, organisation or charity and would like to get involved with this year’s Winter Resilience Campaign, please get in touch. The organisation is looking for organisations who can help with volunteering, sponsorship and support. Contact Community360 0n 01206 505250 or email catwright@community360.org.uk
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Britain is facing its biggest cost of living crisis in decades. At Citizens Advice, we’ve seen more people coming to us for help with crisis support, energy problems and not having enough money to make ends meet than ever before. In this dashboard Citizens Advice share insights from across our service on how the crisis is affecting the people they help.
Citizens Advice have been updating this dashboard every month tracking how the cost of living crisis is changing. If there are insights you’d like to hear from them, please get in contact at coldatadashboard@citizensadvice.org.uk.
This programme is open for applications from Monday 22nd May 2023 until 4pm on Friday 7th July. No applications will be eligible if received after this.
Please note – you cannot apply to us if you are currently a grant holder and your grant is not due to end until 2024.
Eligibility for our UK Programmes
We do not fund individuals, only organisations. To be eligible to make an application your organisation must be based in the UK and be one of the following:
Registered Charity
Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Community Interest Company (CIC) (NB must be limited by guarantee, not by shares)
Charitable Company (NB you must be registered both as a charity and a company)
Excepted Charity (see Excepted charities – GOV.UK for more information on these)
If your income is above that in your latest accounts but your average income over the most recent three years is under £250k then you can still apply – this is to allow for one-off “good” years.
We are keen to support small organisations and our preference is to fund those already established rather than new ones (though these are still eligible).
Individuals (including via bursaries)
Non-charitable activities
Promotion of Religion
Party-political organisations or Party-political campaigning (charitable campaigning is okay)
Medical research
Registered Social Landlords (eg housing associations)
Hospitals or primary healthcare provision
Fundraising-only posts (though we can fund a post where fundraising is part of what they do)
Statutory services
Residential care
This list is not meant to be exhaustive. If you have an activity/proposal where you are not sure if we would fund it, please get in touch and we can discuss it.
Supporting Good Governance and Good Practice
Whilst you may be eligible to apply and your proposal meets our criteria, priority will be given to organisations which demonstrate good governance and good practice. For example:
having a history of returning accounts and documents to your regulatory body (eg Charity Commission) on time
having at least four Trustees/Directors on your Board and where all trustees/directors are unrelated to each other and to the CEO or Executive Director.
having robust policies and practices on safeguarding, equalities, financial management, etc
Charity accounts must be independently examined or audited and comply with The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) – GOV.UK
We will also prioritise organisations which have a significant number of people on their boards and/or staff team who have lived experience of the issues they are addressing.
Where a grant would be used to support the provision of specialist and/or sensitive services you must demonstrate sufficient track record and expertise in delivering those services. In some cases a recognised qualification or quality mark may be required.
We hope this information is clear – however if you are not sure about anything please get in touch.
Types of Grants Awarded
The Fund has signed up to the IVAR Eight Commitments ( https://www.ivar.org.uk/flexible-funders/ ) – a pledge by funders to provide clear information and reduce bureaucracy for applicants. As part of that pledge we aim to provide funding which meets your needs as far and as appropriately as possible.
We offer Unrestricted Grants; or Project/Core Funding.
You can choose which of these to apply for, however please note that to be eligible for unrestricted funding all the work of your organisation must meet our criteria. For example, if you were a general community group where only some of the work you did was with refugees then you could not apply for unrestricted funding as your other work would not meet our priorities. All unrestricted grants must be used for charitable purposes.
Organisations can apply for up to two years’ funding with grants awarded usually between £5,000 – £7,000 in value per year.
If you already hold a grant from us you can apply in this round provided that your current grant ends in 2023 – if it does not end until 2024 then I’m afraid you are unable to apply.
If you applied before and were unsuccessful you can still apply in this round.
Your people can be your biggest asset and with security awareness training they can become highly effective barriers to cyber-crime. Security awareness training provides simple and effective knowledge for people to understand their environment and provides the confidence to challenge when something does not look right. The training is focussed on those with little or no cyber security or technical knowledge and is delivered in small, succinct modules using real world examples.
The sessions will cover the following:
This training is delivered by the Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre. The trainers are highly knowledgeable, personable, and friendly and pride themselves on providing the right environment to feel comfortable and to ask questions.