The government has published guidance on face coverings, their role in reducing the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), the settings in which they are recommended, and how they should be safely used and stored. This information is based on current scientific evidence and is subject to change.

They have also produced exemption cards and badges in a print version and in a format that can be shown on a mobile phone.

Charity Finance Group (CFG) has set out a briefing on the Summer Economic Update. Including an overview of announcements on jobs, the furlough scheme and apprenticeships.

The article also contrasts the Five Point Plan against the measures covered in the update. Only one of the five points was recognised, and then only in part, regarding making the job retention scheme more flexible.

Salford Credit Union have created their own branded face masks to help Salfordians.

Alec McFadden, Secretary of Salford Credit Union, came up with the idea for the masks to ensure that the people of Salford can stay safe, healthy and to avoid obtaining a fine.

The masks are available at a cost of £3 and 25% of all surplus will be donated to Black Lives Matter.

The Greater Manchester Equality Alliance (GM=EqAl) is a Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) alliance which aims to influence policy making in Greater Manchester. Over the next three weeks, GM=EqAl is setting out to: 

Grow the network to include everyone who is determined to ensure that a fair and equitable Greater Manchester emerges from the shock of Covid-19. 

Recruit to the GM=EqAl Working Group - This call is for people from a wide range of backgrounds within the VCSE sector to be involved in the core activities of GM=EqAl. 

Greater Manchester Poverty Action have been delivering training courses in partnership with Policy North Training. The courses equip stakeholders with the knowledge they need to fight poverty across the city region.

In the next 12 months GM Poverty Action will be growing and developing their training offer as a response to things people in our network have said they would find useful.

There are four courses available covering maximising support for people on low incomes, poverty measurement, definitions and data and the poverty premium.

This is the final stage of the listening exercise to help develop a Race Equality Panel for Greater Manchester is now underway.

It’s crucial that the proposals to establish a Race Equality Panel are developed in partnership with people from the community, and build on the engagement that has already taken place, whilst also being in sync with the other advisory panels supported by the GMCA.

People will be able to have their say in a variety of ways including via a survey. This engagement exercise will finish on 16th August.

Forever Manchester have launched two more funds:

Community Support Fund (Phase Two)

Funding of up to £5,000 is available for community and voluntary organisations who have suffered hardship due to Covid-19.

Community Centre Support Fund

Funding of up to £500 to help community centres make adaptations to ensure that they are Covid-secure. This could include hand sanitising, signage, minor adaptations such a perspex screens and PPE.

GM BAME Network, supported by GMCVO, have launched an emergency grants programme to support small (income under £10,000) GM BAME led VCSE organisations and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants will fund new activities and services as well as the additional costs of adapting existing services due to COVID-19. The grants will also help counter the loss of fundraising income directly caused by the pandemic. Grants of £50 - £1,000 will be awarded on an ongoing basis between now and 31 October 2020. 

At 10am on 3 August 2020 Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales (LBFEW) will be launching £7.4 million COVID funding aimed at supporting charities to recover beyond the immediate crisis.

This fund is open to small and medium-sized charities with an income of between £25,000 and £1 million a year that are helping people overcome complex social issues such as mental health, homelessness and domestic abuse.

At least a quarter of funding will go to charities that are led by and for people from BAME communities.

GMCVO, working in partnership with 10GM, have launched the second stage of a grants programme to support adults from communities of identity or experience, based in Greater Manchester, that may struggle to achieve high levels of mental wellbeing.

For this second stage organisations with an income of up to £50,000, in its most recent full financial year, can apply. 

Grants of £100-£500 will be awarded on an ongoing basis during July and August 2020. They will be awarded for activities that support mental wellbeing while working within the current government social distancing restrictions.

The National Lottery Community Fund have announced that the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) will close to applications at noon on the 17 August.

While this funding from government is coming to an end, National Lottery funding to support communities in England will continue to be available.

Funding is also available from the National Lottery Community Fund's COVID response via expert partnerships who are distributing £45M of funding including the Homelessness Response Fund, and the Community Justice Fund.

At Salford CVS we have produced a variety of resources to support our members to find and apply for funding.

Our funding search has over 60 local and national grants listed and our news pages have a filter for the latest funding announcements.

Keep an eye out for August's 10GM Funding Ebulletin, which will be featured in next week's update. In the meantime you can check out July's edition here.

Our Development Team are on hand to help you to complete grant applications and to proof read bids. Get in touch for support.

11th and 18th August, 10am - 11.30am

This training session will give workers in the voluntary and community sector a basic yet effective awareness of how to adequately safeguard and protect adults including procedures for making a safeguarding alert. 

It will also provide knowledge of policy, procedures and legislation that supports safeguarding adults.

Please only register if you can attend both sessions.

20th August, 10am - 12pm

Working Together to tackle economic, social and political inequalities faced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

Many BAME communities face injustice and are not given a fair chance to do well. There is a huge challenge to change these economic, social and political inequalities. We recognise these problems are caused by all of us and must be resolved by all of us, working together.

Every year thousands of people are diagnosed with Cancer. We know that the earlier a cancer is detected, the better the outcome for the people involved. Early detection saves lives. Cancer screening saves lives. Why not top up your knowledge and confidence so that you can help yourself, your family members, community leaders and staff.

Different dates and times are available to suit you.  Register in advance to attend the sessions.  You can join as many as you like.

Posters covering aspects of staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic are now available in multiple languages. The posters include hand washing guidance, working from home and test, track and trace.

On the 4 August Salford’s District Nursing telephone number is changing to: 0161 631 4777. Please help to spread the word by sharing in your networks, on social media and by downloading and displaying the poster below.

Test, track and trace is a key part of Salford's response to COVID-19 and there are a range of roles available in the Test, Track and Trace Team.

Roles include; Drivers / Couriers, Marshals, and a Testing Site Manager, all in the local testing centre.

They are also recruiting for Infection Prevention and Control Nurses.

Action Together are recruiting a Social Prescribing Link Worker to expand their established Social Prescribing Service by delivering their model in GP surgeries and community venues across Oldham. The successful candidate must be bilingual (fluent in English and another language spoken by Oldham communities eg; Bengali, Bangla Sylheti Bengali or Urdu). 

Wai Yin are looking for a tutor who can teach their Money Management course to BAME learners. They are looking for a tutor who has a good knowledge of benefits, budgeting, daily money skills to stay safe, etc. This course will be 2 hours a week delivered for 10 weeks via Zoom.

The right applicant will need to have a teaching qualification, be able to use Zoom (or to learn how to).