Is your charity where it needs to be to meet its fundraising and service delivery targets this year – or is there still room for improvement? As we reported last year, the latest Status of UK Fundraising report showed that the most digitally advanced charities are also the most successful at retaining supporters, reaching new audiences and generating fundraising income. Yet only around one in ten charities considered themselves true digital experts, while the rest are lagging behind.
If your organisation is among the 88% of UK charities that don’t feel fully up-to-date with digital yet, you’ve come to the right place. In this webinar discussion in partnership with Blackbaud, Emily Burt will be chatting to some of the sector’s leading experts to find out how successful charities are using digital and data to get ahead.
Our expert panel will be sharing practical tips from a brand new digital skills toolkit for charities, as well as taking your questions on all things digital and data-related. Join us as we discuss:
Creating a digital strategy that works for your charity
Making the business case for digital development
Using data to improve fundraising – and what that actually looks like
Next steps for going from technophobe to tech-savvy as an organisation
It’s a common misconception that being slim and losing weight are the same thing as being fit. Whilst there are undoubtedly health benefits to not carrying unnecessary weight, there are many of us who are physically fit without conforming to what society generally promotes a ‘fit person’ to look like. For those considered to be a larger size, accessing activities to do with sports and exercise can also be additionally daunting due to these societal attitudes.
Recently I met with Becky, a 40-year-old plus size fitness instructor based in Colchester.
Becky told me ‘I’ve been teaching my own unique fitness classes (designed for people who don’t feel ‘at home’ in the gym) for almost three years, teaching online for more than two years and I’ve also been teaching This Girl Can classes since their launch last year.
I’ve been exercising regularly for about ten years now but it hasn’t always been a big part of my life – I was nervous about going to the gym and to classes and often felt unsupported or embarrassed when exercises didn’t work for me (especially frustrating when it was supposed to be a beginner friendly class!) so I ended up not going back. Or I got really into something for a few months then lost motivation when I wasn’t seeing the ‘results’ I was promised. I managed to improve my relationship with exercise by working with my body rather than against it and with the help of some fabulous instructors. I also started to focus on how exercise made me feel rather than any changes to my appearance. This allowed me to focus on exercise I enjoyed rather than endured and led me to reignite my love of dance!
Alongside this I spent time working on my body image and my relationship with food (which were not the best) and eventually got to a place where I had more self-belief and a drive to help others to avoid feeling the way I did about their bodies and exercise. So now I use my experiences to support people who wouldn’t normally go to an exercise class to feel the benefits of exercise on their terms – some come along to face to face classes and some join us online.
Together we dance around, get a bit sweaty and enjoy moving our bodies in an inclusive and welcoming space. My clients definitely recognise the space I’ve created as a safe space where they feel welcome and comfortable, which was my original aim. Many of my regular attendees say they have finally found an exercise they enjoy – sometimes for the first time in their lives. There is no pressure to perform or push themselves beyond what is comfortable for them, which they find refreshing.’
Becky trained as a fitness instructor after healing her own difficult relationship with exercise and now leads her own dance-based exercise classes – MissFits Workout – and is one of the first instructors to bring the new This Girl Can Classes to Essex – she’s the first in Colchester! Becky promotes a holistic approach to fitness and wellbeing that’s not about aesthetics; she’s more about building confidence than muscle, more about losing inhibitions than inches! Becky’s approach offers a great introduction to dance based group fitness for those who don’t feel ‘at home’ in the gym – with a plus size instructor who has designed routines with plus size bodies in mind. Becky has recently been awarded the Inclusive Award 2021 at the national Community Fitness Awards for her work to make fitness more accessible to those who don’t feel welcome in traditional fitness spaces.
Free and subsidised places will be available at This Girl Can Classes in Colchester, Essex during March, April and May 2022. Places will be offered on a first come, first served basis (prioritising those who meet one or more of the criteria of the fund). Details on how to access the free classes can be found here FREE and subsidised places to kick-start your journey to getting active! — MissFits Workout
If you would like to find out details of any fitness activities in your area of the county, or if you would like to access support around any of the issues mentioned in this blog, give the Healthwatch Essex Information & Guidance Service a call on 0300 500 1895, email info@healthwatchessex.org.uk or text/WhatsApp on 07712 395398.
The Essex VCSE Alliance is recruiting for individuals who are looking to work together to improve things for the sector from voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
We recently reviewed the focus and our three goals are:
< Strengthen collaboration within the sector
< Strengthen collaboration across sectors
< Driving membership and through the Essex Map, events and Alliance membership
To help improve the sector we are currently looking for people who align with one of more of these strategic goals and who share a passion to strengthen the sector and the community we serve.
If you’d like to join us, and help shape how we build our community of communities, please complete the form below. Once completed, this will be reviewed by our existing Steering Group members at our next meeting in April therefore the deadline for expression of interest is Friday 8th April 2022.
The Essex Alliance has been provided with £200,000 to administer a COVID response grants programme to support VCS organisations to continue to meet the increased demand in supporting vulnerable people in communities during the ongoing COVID situation, including those hard to reach communities.
Funding is designed to support activity that helps reduce the transmission of the virus; enable people to stay safe and isolate; and reduce barriers to vaccinations.
There is £200,000 available in the grant pot, we are offering organisations within the Alliance (who have signed up to our newsletter) a max of £5k per project. If you’re not currently a member of the Alliance, please sign up here to be able to apply for this VCS funding.
The Contain Management Outbreak Fund can be used for Public Health purposes to tackle COVID-19, funding is designed to support activity that helps reduce the transmission of the virus; enable people to stay safe and isolate; and reduce barriers to vaccinations. Whilst the specific health activities that can be funded are flexible, and should reflect local community needs in relation to suppressing the virus, activities that this funding could be used to support may include:
< Support to access vaccinations and testing for hard-to reach groups
< Additional resource to support contact tracing
< Enhanced communication and marketing e.g. towards hard to reach groups and other localised messaging
< Delivery of essentials for those in self-isolation
< Targeted interventions for specific sections of the local community and workplaces
< Harnessing capacity with local sectors e.g. voluntary, academic, commercial
< Extension/introduction of specialist support e.g. behavioural science, bespoke comms
< Additional resource for compliance with, and enforcement of, restrictions and guidance
< Targeted support for school / university outbreaks
< Community based support for those disproportionately impacted such as BAME population
< Support for engagement and analysis of regional areas to assess and learn from local initiatives
< Providing initial support, as needed, to vulnerable people
Examples of potential projects could be:
< Providing adaptations to services or developing new ways of working to ensure a reduction in transmission
of COVID19.
< Providing mental health support.
< Supporting vulnerable members of the community.
< Enabling people to stay safe and isolate when necessary.
< Reducing barriers to vaccinations, such as transport and community engagement.
Grants of up to £5,000 are available over one year, to support core costs and essential operating costs, project costs or capital items. We would be interested in projects that ensured communities stay connected, are able to self-isolate as required and provides support to those in need. New projects or those that need to be adapted or scaled-up to better respond as a direct result of the COVID 19 could be considered. Any grants awarded will need to be spent within one year.
West Essex has funding from the Department for Health and Social Care, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to fund community projects that reach out to people at risk of suicide. We are in Wave 4 of this funding which has already started in other parts of Essex.
The Aim of the Wave Four Programme:
Build resilience to Mental Health problems in local communities
Promote positive mental health in local communities
To reduce the stigma of self-harm and suicide.
To increase the community-based support for those at risk of suicide, including in high risk groups.
To reduce the incidence of self-harm and repeated self-harm.
To reduce the impact of self-harm and suicide.
Who we want to help:
1. Projects that support men, especially middle-aged men, and young men where there is an emerging risk of self harm and suicide.
2. Projects supporting men in high risk groups:
In the care of Mental Health Services, including
With a history of self-harm.
In contact with the Criminal Justice
Working in specific occupations – construction and farming.
Vulnerable groups – People of colour, LGBTQ+, Veterans, Homeless and rough sleepers, survivors of domestic/sexual
If your organisation has an idea that will get out and connect with men, you can apply for up to £3000 to get your project moving.
Breakeven offers free gambling related harm interventions and support delivered by a high skilled and specially trained team of practitioners.
Treatment is provided not only for the gambler but also anybody that may be affected by someone’s gambling behaviour. Breakeven offers free treatment and support either face to face, telephone or video appointments for clients across the southeast of the country. Our Chelmsford office is located a Victoria house so it is close to the train station and is in a city-centre location which is convenient for clients in Chelmsford, Braintree, Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Brentwood, Harlow and the rest of Essex. Our Colchester office is located on East Hill, which is a 5 minute walk from both Colchester town railway station as well as the town centre.
We accept referrals through The National Gambling Helping, 0808 802 0133, our main office number 01273 833 722, the Breakeven website, or through our professional referral form.
Once a referral has been completed, one of our dedicated assessment team will contact the client within 24hours to arrange a telephone assessment and assign them to a practitioner. The practitioner will offer weekly sessions and regularly review the treatment plan to make sure the client is getting the most out of the service.
We share information reducing gambling related harm, support tools, recovery groups and much more on our social media so please link and follow our pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The public consultation on the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2026 has now been launched, and runs until 25th March. The consultation seeks to understand if the priorities and outcomes proposed are right and provides opportunity for feedback and comments on these and the wider approach proposed in delivering against these.
The consultation can be found at https://consultations.essex.gov.uk/rci/joint-health-wellbeing-strategy , and we would be grateful if you could share the link widely amongst your networks. All comments and feedback will be reviewed after the consultation and these will influence the final strategy.
Cllr John Spence, Chair of the Essex Health and Wellbeing Board
Sometimes it only takes a small amount of money to bring a good idea to life in your community.
The Community Challenge Fund is the simplest way to access money to make a real difference in your community.
You can bid for between £300 and £2,000 to fund a new, not for profit scheme, group, initiative or idea. This fund is available in Clacton, Harwich, Canvey, Harlow, Rural Braintree and parts of Colchester and Basildon.
Perhaps you have been sitting on an idea for a while of how you can enhance your community and it has just lacked the necessary funding to get it started. If so, then this fund is for you. You may want to set up a food growing initiative in your local community to create a garden and social space, or perhaps you want to create an informal childcare club of likeminded parents in your local library.
This new fund is simple to apply for, so don’t worry if you have never applied for funding from a Council before.
The Community Challenge Fund forms part of Essex County Council’s commitment to reducing inequalities between different areas of our County, and Levelling Up Essex.
Examples of how the grant could be used include:
• training and equipment to share skills and create training opportunities,
• printing for a local event or newsletter,
• hosting and promoting an online magazine for young people,
• setting up a local community seed exchange,
• providing taxi or licensed hire vehicles to bring isolated residents together,
• setting up a clothes swap in a community hall.
For further information on the Community Challenge Fund and to make an application, please click the link below:
Age Well East are looking for an experienced statutory fundraiser to join its growing fundraising team. This role will be integral to our future and will help secure funding from a range of funders, including large grant giving bodies, central and local government grants, contracts, and initiatives.
As well having a track record of securing funding we are looking for someone who enjoys working with an agile environment, has a flare for project design, and can work collaboratively with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
A review of the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy offer for people in West Essex is underway.
The review project is an integrated piece of work being hosted by both Essex County Council (adult social care) and NHS Essex Partnership University Trust. It is tasked with reviewing therapy services across three organisations – Princess Alexandra Hospital, community health teams and Adult Social Care.
We would really love to hear about your experience of either of the services – and if you are feeling like you want to say more, we are happy to arrange an interview.
If you would like to share your experience please do contact Healthwatch Essex on 0300 500 1895 or in any of these ways.