We all know that effective governance makes a difference. And by sharing examples of inspirational trustees and brilliant boards we want to show how great governance and doing good go hand-in-hand.
The move is a key step in delivering the Fund’s digital ambitions outlined in its ‘Supporting Charities and Community Organisations Strategy’[1]. It follows recognition that more could be done to enable charities and groups to make the most of digital opportunities.
Comic Relief are excited to launch this funding opportunity focussed on strengthening women’s and girls’ movements.
They believe that the material and practical considerations of women and girls’ daily lives will only be significantly improved when we have full and equal power in decision making at all levels.
A home is a fundamental human need and a basic moral right, as vital as education or healthcare.
But in Britain today, that right is being denied to millions of people whose lives are blighted by homelessness, bad conditions, soaring rents, discrimination and the threat of eviction.
In an online survey, charities were asked to comment on the resourcing of their core functions such as finance, human resources, IT, safeguarding and legal support, and 233 responded.
Your answers will help them to better understand the needs of the sector.
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations that entered into force in 1987. Its purpose is to prevent the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (ill-treatment).
The Health and Social Care Committee will be holding an evidence session in October on the impact of a no-deal Brexit on health and social care.
Ahead of the session, the Committee is inviting written submissions from all interested parties, setting out:
Three quarters of UK households (74%) have used a charity in the last 12 months, though three out of every 10 people did not realise they were using one, according to new research from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
While there has been some reassurance from Government, the overall picture suggests that, as it currently stands, Brexit will have a negative impact for charities.
The Code of Fundraising Practice outlines the standards expected of charitable fundraisers across the UK. It is a key part of maintaining public trust and confidence in the sector, providing reassurance for the public that charitable organisations hold themselves accountable and that they will handle complaints appropriately.
The programme aims to amplify the voices of individuals and groups who are calling for an end to sexual harassment and abuse, in their workplaces and in their communities.
The directors of the CIC will need to produce a conversion resolution which confirms that the members of the CIC wish to convert the CIC into a CIO under the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Conversion) Regulations which came into force on 1 September 2018.
It is funded by the Growth Fund, which was set up by the Big Lottery Fund and Big Society Capital, to support social investors committed to meeting the funding needs of charities and social enterprises.
The Enterprise Development Programme is a five year programme, providing a broad range of support for charities and social enterprises in England, helping them make a transition to new enterprise models, or grow existing ones.
Two year-long pilots of the Programme have launched in September 2018 for charities and social enterprises working in the Youth and Homelessness sectors.
The Information Commissioner is reminding organisations to be transparent with people’s personal information, after a survey revealed trust and confidence in how organisations handle personal data is still low, despite an improvement across sectors.
While there has been some reassurance from Government, the overall picture suggests that, as it currently stands, Brexit will have a negative impact for charities.
£1 million Digital Skills Innovation Fund will help people from underrepresented groups gain the skills they need to work in digital roles.
An additional £400,000 will help older and disabled people get life-changing digital skills.
Primary care and mental health services are seeing an increase in clients with practical problems that take up significant clinical time.
If so NHS England want you to tell them about it. In fact, they want to support you to tell everyone about it.
NHS England will be awarding grants of up to £2,500 to a number of projects that showcase good practice around patient and citizen involvement in healthcare.
The NHS has just celebrated its 70th birthday.
A lot has changed since it was created in 1948, and as a result the NHS is responding to changes in society that were never expected, let alone planned for, when it was set up 70 years ago.
UK charities hold funds, personal, financial and commercial data (and other information) that is of interest or monetary value to a range of cyber criminals and other groups.
Click here to see the full list of shortlisted applicants.
The four charity regulators in the UK and Republic of Ireland have decided to hold a governance review of the constitution and composition of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) committee and the SORP making process.
Eligible charities and community organisations from across England can apply for up to £80,000 from the Building Connections Fund Youth strand, to expand or enhance their work tackling youth loneliness.
The government’s new civil society strategy has delivered a range of positive announcements, but implementation will be key, said the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, which represents charities and volunteering.
Commenting, Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said:
Last year the Charity Commission consulted with the charity sector about the annual return for 2018.
The service is available to adults across North West England, who have sight loss, and who may benefit from a regular chat with somebody.
Agreement has been reached between the National Employers and the NJC Trade Union Side on rates of pay applicable from 1 April 2018 and 1 April 2019.
UNISON and GMB both voted to accept whilst Unite voted to reject. However, in line with the Constitution of the NJC, Unite accepts the collective majority decision of the other unions that the pay award should now be implemented.
Practical examples of how organisations have secured senior buy-in for their programme and overcome risk and strategic challenges. Interactive discussion about the approach to measurement of impact and building the Strategic Case and information about the tools and resources available to support this. Intention is for this to be interactive, real life examples and practical solutions to take away.
This Call for Evidence is to improve understanding of:
What are employers doing, if anything, to create fair opportunities for ex-offenders to compete for jobs within their organisations in the UK?
What information or support would help employers to make the decision to remove the criminal conviction declaration tick-box from their job application forms?
National Citizen Service Trust (NCST)* are inviting organisations to join one of their six discovery events which they are hosting during August 2018. At these events NCST will be communicating their shared vision for the future and providing information about our forthcoming procurement for the 2020 Programme.
The Charity Digital Code of Practice aims to help charities increase impact, develop skills and improve sustainability, based around 7 principles. Its steering group are looking for input on the draft Code, and have launched an online consultation.
Last year The Charity Commission consulted with the charity sector about the annual return for 2018.
Now’s the Time is the second programme from the Justice and Equality Fund managed by Rosa. The programme aims to amplify the voices of individuals and groups who are calling for an end to sexual harassment and abuse, in their workplaces and in their communities.
Funding applications will only be accepted between 1st and 15th August.
Community groups will be able to apply for grants from £500 to £20,000 from the funding pot.
People can choose from three options – ‘Starting a New Claim’, ‘Managing your Claim’, and ‘Solving Problems’ to find out more about their rights, including information on job search, the claimant commitment, in-work conditionality, sanctions, and more.
Civil society really matters – it is a valuable and essential part of our daily lives, bringing people together, building their confidence and capability, offering a helping hand to those in crisis, delivering services, challenging injustice.
In a fragile and turbulent world, volunteers are active in every major shock and stress situation experienced by communities – from earthquakes and flooding to climate change and local conflicts.
End Hunger UK have launched a national petition, designed to send a powerful message to the Prime Minister – it's time to fix Universal Credit.
1 - 2 November 2018, Liverpool
#duenorth5
The Fifth Annual North of England Inequalities Conference will be held in Liverpool on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 November 2018.
This House of Commons Library paper describes the principles behind Housing First and outlines some of the evidence behind it. The paper also sets out how Housing First has developed in the UK, and what support that it has been offered by the governments of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Government recently announced extra funding for the NHS in England and committed to developing a long term plan for the service. ‘Priorities for the plan’ is designed to support officials preparing the long term plan and other policies to improve health and care.
The rules about automatic disqualification for trustees are changing, more reasons are being added and the rules will also apply to some charity senior manager positions (chief executives and finance directors - and those in equivalent roles).
The Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) has today launched a public consultation on proposals for moving all existing claimants of a working age income-related benefit to Universal Credit.
All charities must keep their details up-to-date by law. The commission will be improving the current service so you can keep a regular check on your details, and update them when they change.
The £11.5 million Building Connections Fund is a partnership between Government, Big Lottery Fund and the Co-op Foundation which was set up in response to the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness to support projects that prevent or reduce loneliness.
The fund aims to:
In partnership with Sport England, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is calling for applications to the new Integrated Communities Innovation Fund. The first stage invites short expressions of interest by 11.45pm on 20 August 2018.
Reporting of serious safeguarding incidents by charities continues to increase, according to the Charity Commission. The regulator has published an update on the work of its interim safeguarding taskforce, and has confirmed that it received 620 safeguarding related reports in April and May 2018, compared to 196 during the same period in 2017.
New laws and high profile investigations have helped put data protection and privacy at the centre of the UK public’s consciousness like never before, the Information Commissioner has said.
The Ministry of Defence has launched its first strategy to tackle domestic abuse within the Armed Forces and defence civilian communities.
The strategy builds on existing work by the military in this area, such as providing specialist training to welfare staff, and will include the launch of a campaign to raise awareness across the Armed Forces and enhancing support for civilian staff.
It was created in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of The Queen's coronation. It is the MBE for volunteer groups.
Any group of 2 or more people doing volunteering work can be nominated for the award. The majority of the group must be volunteers, and more than half the volunteers must have the right to live in the UK.
2019 GSK IMPACT Awards - Core funding and free training for health charities
In a fragile and turbulent world, volunteers are active in every major shock and stress situation experienced by communities – from earthquakes and flooding to climate change and local conflicts.
The Cabinet Office have published a Call for Evidence on offender employment. They would like to get responses from as many public, private and voluntary sector employers, organisations and professionals who:
Pilotlight are looking for ambitious charities and social enterprises based in England and Wales who need support to get to the next step in their development.
By working with Pilotlight, organisations have:
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched the second round of funding from its grants programme to promote and support independent, innovative research and solutions focused on privacy and data protection issues.
For the last 18 months, The Social Change Project has sought to answer one critical question: what can we learn about how social change is happening today that can strengthen civil society’s future efforts?
What we have learnt is being launched today in a new report which urges civil society to unleash its “Social Power” by being much bolder and braver.
The Behavioural Insights Team believe that to some extent, funders’ behavioural biases – the facets of human psychology that lead us to make decisions that are not always economically rational – are driving their aversion to core costs.
With smaller charities struggling to attract new volunteers, supporters and donations the initiative aims to help overcome this by specifying the prize money must be used to fund an element of marketing.
Everything you say will help shape the Code, so that it enables your charity and the rest of the sector to use digital effectively.
The consultation is open from 9am on Tuesday 3 July and runs until 9am on Tuesday 25 September 2018.
Chairs and Vice Chairs of charities and non-profit organisations in England with an annual income of under £1 million.
You will:
The Charity Tax Commission has launched a consultation seeking views on whether and how the tax treatment of charities – estimated to be worth around £3.7bn a year – needs to be reformed.
To mark the 10th anniversary of their Social Investment Fund, Esmée Fairburn have written a report reflecting on the achievements, insights and lessons learned to date.
Small Charity Week celebrates and raises awareness of the essential work of the UK’s small charity sector who make an invaluable contribution to the lives of millions of individuals, communities and causes across the UK and the rest of the world.
Charities and community groups can now benefit from receiving free resources, courtesy of businesses donating their surplus stocks.
The only requirement is that the charities and community groups register at www.givingworldonline.com, there is even an option to request certain products that would truly help the local community, completely free of charge.
53% of charity survey respondents so far say that their property is preventing them from achieving their charitable objectives.
58% experienced difficulties in obtaining property funding in the past 3 years.
To celebrate Refugee Week’s 20th anniversary (18-24 June 2018), people are being encouraged to do one of 20 Simple Acts.
Simple Acts was first launched in 2009, and people responded in their thousands.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is calling for the redesign of the social security system to ensure that nobody in the UK is left without the bare essentials that we all need to eat, stay warm and dry, and keep clean.
Their report found that more than one and a half million people (1,550,000) were in destitution at some point in 2017, including 365,000 children. This is more people than the populations of Birmingham and Liverpool combined.
Commissioning and procurement is how government and public bodies (whether they be the NHS, a local council or a government department) make contracts with others to provide services. This could be a one-off contract to build a new road, or to provide long-term healthcare for a town, and anything in between. Commissioning has become more and more important in recent years as government bodies get others to provide services and do work on their behalf.
Regardless of who we are or where we are from, we must work together to ensure that every member of society has an equal chance to participate in our democracy and to have their say.
The government wants to find more sustainable operating models, which could see the return of grants, and wants to make charities and other civil society organisations more confident when it comes to campaigning, Matt Hancock has said. Hancock, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, was speaking at an event related to the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport’s consultation on Civil Society Strategy this morning.
Welfare conditionality links eligibility for welfare benefits and services to responsibilities or particular patterns of behaviour, under threat of sanction for non-compliance. It has been a key element of welfare state reform in many countries since the mid-1990s.
In the context of the rapidly changing health and care environment, a second phase of the Joint VCSE Review on health and wellbeing will be launched on 16 May, with a renewed focus on a revised set of recommendations to prompt local and national action. The final report of the review originally launched in 2016 with 28 recommendations jointly agreed by the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England.
The Institute of Fundraising understands that attending Convention is a big investment, that may not be affordable for all charities. However, we are committed to making Convention as accessible as possible and we are delighted that the following bursaries are currently available for the event.
The Integrated Communities Strategy green paper invites views on the government’s vision for building strong integrated communities where people – whatever their background – live, work, learn and socialise together, based on shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities.
The questions reference the connections and provisions of cross-sector agencies and departments and reinforces the Government’s aim to make domestic abuse everybody’s business.
Since the project was commissioned by NHS England in 2016, the RSA has been working with the New Economics Foundation (NEF) to build momentum for change by supporting six NHS ‘New Care Model’ sites across England. The Health as a social movement programme has contributed to a growing inventiveness of the health system to be open to new influences to meet the daunting challenges it faces, regardless of significant extra resource.
These are great opportunities to hear directly from NHS England and others in the health arena about ongoing work, and feed in your organisation’s experiences.
In the context of the rapidly changing health and care environment, a second phase of the Joint VCSE Review on health and wellbeing will be launched on 16 May, with a renewed focus on a revised set of recommendations to prompt local and national action. The final report of the review originally launched in 2016 with 28 recommendations jointly agreed by the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England.
This year the UK is implementing the EU Directive on the accessibility of public sector websites and mobile apps ("the Directive"). To gather your views, we’ve launched a consultation to help plan how we implement the Directive.
The national team, who investigate and prosecute loan sharks, are encouraging community groups to bid for grants of up to £5,000.
This available money, which has been confiscated from convicted loan sharks through the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002), is being used to fund local community projects which raise awareness of illegal money lending.
Recent research by national domestic abuse charity SafeLives and housing association Gentoo finds that housing providers have a vital role to play in helping victims of domestic abuse and holding perpetrators to account.
Every year, nearly 2 million people in the UK experience domestic abuse. Seven women a month are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales.
This report presents the latest findings of our ongoing research in this area but critically on the massive failure of the homeless system to account for the number of people living in unsupported temporary accommodation.
The Charity Commission has provided an update on the work of its safeguarding taskforce, established in February after the public spotlight on Oxfam and subsequent increased serious reporting.
They have nearly tripled the number of staff across England, these staff members will be working more closely with communities that Big Lottery support. This means you'll have the same local point of contact throughout your application.
They now make grants of over £10,000 in England, supporting organisations with great ideas that enable communities to thrive.
The grants are awarded to voluntary and community organisations or social enterprises for up to five years. They can fund project activities, operating costs, organisational development and capital costs.
Lost Voices aims to seek out and amplify the voices of people with lived experience of social problems, voices which are too often drowned out of public debate.
Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the project has brought together over 150 organisations from across the sector, politicians and technologists collaborating with the goal of putting lived experience at the centre of digital campaigning.
Tech for good organisation CAST (Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology) is looking for smaller charities’ input for its new digital accelerator programme launching in July.
Have your say on how government can work with and for civil society to tackle challenges and unlock opportunities to build a stronger society now and in the future.
This consultation closes at
CEO fraud involves the impersonation of a senior figure (usually the Chief Executive Officer) with subsequent requests for transfers of funds. Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre, have reported an increase in this type of fraud.
Locality has called on public service commissioners to take heed of the problems of high-profile outsourcing firms Carillion and Capita and commission more local organisations, as it publishes the findings of a pilot study.
In a report published yesterday, Locality said current local authority procurement practices “weakens the viability of local community organisations” and “suck money out of the local area”.
As you may know, Salford is officially an accredited Social Enterprise Place and we have a fantastic network of social enterprises which contribute so much to our local communities. Our Social Enterprise Place accreditation was awarded by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK), the membership body for the sector and they have recently revised and relaunched their membership package.
The UK Civil Society Almanac provides a comprehensive overview of the UK voluntary sector with a lot of information on finance, workforce and volunteering.
Ahead of the Almanac 2018 launch in May, NCVO are giving a sneak preview of the latest data on motivations and barriers to volunteering.
All trustees and managers should have the knowledge and skills to recognise the signs of fraud and then shape an effective and proportionate response.
Ms Dove, who succeeds Michael O’Toole, will work alongside government departments and the Crown Commercial Service to strengthen the sector, support the upcoming Civil Society Strategy, and encourage VSCE organisations to operate more commercially.
Claire Dove VCSE Crown Representative said:
The revised Code sets out the rules for fundraisers regarding personal data. The changes:
Now in their 8th year, the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards recognise organisations and individuals who use digital technology to improve the lives of others and make the world a better place. They are the only awards that highlight the wealth of charities, businesses and volunteers across the UK that harness the power of technology to benefit the community.
People giving to charity are being encouraged by the government to declare Gift Aid on their donations, and boost the money that reaches their charity of choice at no extra cost.
The call comes after research showed that charities are losing out on potentially hundreds of millions of pounds in extra funding.
The return on investment tool pulls together evidence on the effectiveness and associated costs for interventions aimed at preventing falls in older people living in the community. The flexible Excel sheet allows for results to be tailored to the local situation based on the knowledge of the user. All interventions are aimed at those aged 65 and over.
The tool comes with an accompanying report, which details how the tool was constructed and presents the main results.
Enter your chosen project into this year’s National Lottery Awards - the annual search to find the nation's favourite Lottery-funded projects.
Winners receive a £5,000 prize for their project and star in a television show on BBC One.
The National Lottery Awards are the annual search to find the UK's favourite Lottery-funded projects.
The pledge was made at a summit in London this morning (Tuesday 6 March), hosted by the Charity Commission and the Office for Civil Society at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
CAF tracks levels of trust in charities on a monthly basis. A regular poll was carried out by YouGov on behalf of CAF between 13th-19th February, the week after stories about the actions of aid workers in Haiti first appeared in the media, asking to what extent people believed charities were trustworthy.
The polling, conducted by Survation, polled 1,016 UK parents working full time and earning less than the Living Wage, and found:
Millions of working women face financial insecurity, according to new research conducted by the Living Wage Foundation and the Fawcett Society for International Women's Day.
A unique opportunity is now open for everyone who cares about the UK’s extraordinary heritage to give their views on our plans for the future.
HLF supports projects that range from restoring natural landscapes to rescuing neglected buildings: from recording diverse community histories to providing life-changing training.
Today The Guardian announces the launch of a new series The Upside, which will focus on innovations - and the people behind them - that offer new approaches to solving the most pressing problems of the world today.
International Development Secretary announces launch of Jo Cox Memorial Grants.
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has paid tribute to MP Jo Cox’s humanitarian work and called for everyone to “raise their game” to make gender equality a reality, ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day.
SEUK are the leading global authority on social enterprise and the biggest network of social enterprises in the UK. Working with their members we have actioned a number of positive and powerful changes, including:
Apply now to transform a shared urban or unloved space near you!
Grow Wild is working across the UK to change lives and transform spaces with UK native wildflowers. It is the biggest initiative of its kind and you can be a part of it!
Your group is invited to find an urban or unloved space and turn it into a colourful wildflower haven for the whole community to enjoy and benefit from.
Too many people could be being placed in residential mental health rehabilitation services that are far away from where they live, for too long and that are costly for the NHS.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found that some patients who are subject to the Mental Health Act continue to experience care that does not fully protect their rights or ensure their wellbeing.
To celebrate the FSI’s support of the small charity sector, the FSI Small Charity Big Impact Awards was launched last year. This year, the awards will celebrate the impact of five small charities and community organisations in the following categories:
Join activists, organisers, commoners, and entrepreneurs to develop a shared agenda for shifting power over our democracy, economy and environment, from Westminster and multinational corporations, to people and communities across Britain.
Converting schools to academies is central to the Department for Education’s approach to improving the quality of education. At January 2018 it had converted 6,996 maintained schools to academies. However, the Department is taking longer than intended to convert a sizeable proportion of the underperforming schools it believes will benefit most from academy status, says today’s report by the National Audit Office (NAO).
Recent coverage about the activities of charities in terms of safeguarding and misspending of funds have brought into focus the regime for charities to report serious incidents to the Charity Commission.
The NHS70 Parliamentary Awards will see English MPs put forward individuals and teams serving their constituencies for national recognition, with the winners being announced at a special awards ceremony on the House of Commons Terrace the day before the NHS’s official anniversary.
The new rules, which seek to disqualify trustees with a criminal record, come into effect on 1 August 2018. Currently automatic disqualification from trusteeship includes those who are bankrupt, have been disqualified from being a company director, or who have previously been removed as a trustee.
Each time customers shop atsmile.amazon.co.uk, Amazon will donate a percentage of the net purchase price for millions of eligible products at no additional cost to customers or charities
The Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) Conference, discussing key issues facing leaders in the voluntary sector, is being held in Milton Keynes at The Open University Business School on Thursday 22 March.
The charity sector has come together to discuss their role in responding to future domestic disasters such as terror attacks, natural disasters, and other large scale national crises in the UK.
Locality established the Commission on the Future of Localism in 2017, in partnership with Power to Change, and Chaired by Lord Kerslake to consider how to reinvigorate localism and unlock the power of community. The ambition behind the Localism Act is in danger of waning, and the fundamental shift in power from Westminster to communities has not yet been achieved.
Regulator announces summit on safeguarding in UK charities, alongside other measures.
The Charity Commission has announced a suite of measures to help ensure charities learn the wider lessons from recent safeguarding revelations involving Oxfam and other charities, and to strengthen public trust and confidence in charities.
Trading for Good was commissioned by Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales to provide greater depth of understanding into the work of social enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized social enterprises.
The awards committee is particularly interested in supporting ideas that address social problems at a systemic level.
The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has today, 12 February, opened a statutory inquiry into the charity Oxfam (registered charity number 202918). It comes after the Commission examined documents sent today by Oxfam regarding allegations of misconduct by staff involved in its humanitarian response in Haiti.
The Charity Commission has opened a consultation about new guidance to help charities manage their relationships with connected non-charitable organisations.
Whether you want to improve health, education or employment, measuring wellbeing can show you the wider impact you have on the people and communities you support.
Information taken from the "Legal update 1802: 6/2/18 - CIO/SCIO names" from Sandy Adirondack. To subscribe to the legal update mailing contact sandy@sandy-a.co.uk.
UnLtd have launched ‘Thrive’, a brand new three-year Accelerator programme which will provide intensive support to social ventures addressing ‘Access to Employment’ and wanting to scale up quickly. They are looking for 20 social ventures operating anywhere in the UK that are improving access to employment for those distant from the labour market.
The Charity Commission says safeguarding should be a priority for all charities, not just those working with groups traditionally considered at risk.
It comes as the charity regulator publishes a report showing safeguarding concerns are an increasing feature in its regulatory compliance case work with charities.
Interest is growing in the contribution that volunteering can make in health and social care. This paper from The King's Fund builds on their previous work, which examined volunteering in hospitals, to explore ways in which volunteers are involved with, and are contributing to, general practice.
Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey outlined the criteria of the Food Waste Reduction Fund at today’s Courtauld Commitment 2025 Signatory Summit, held in London.
In 2017 Skills Platform launched the Charity Digital Skills Report to better understand how not for profit organisations across the UK are using digital. We assessed the skills gaps and how these effect the sustainability of the sector.
Mark Ward, Interim CEO said:
“Universal Credit has the potential to be transformative: we welcome the intention to simplify a previously complicated system and make work pay. However, in its current form, we fear it is doing more harm than good for some of our country’s most vulnerable people.
The European Commission is conducting a survey on co-operation between social economy organisations (these include social enterprises, social startups, cooperatives, associations, foundations, mutual societies or charitable organisations) and traditional enterprises. The subject of the study is collaborations between social enterprises and traditional, profit-oriented companies in 10 European countries.
Almost 400,000 more children and 300,000 more pensioners are now living in poverty than in 2012/13. Since that year, there have been continued increases in poverty, across both age groups. Very little progress has been made in reducing poverty among working-age adults.
Eighty-two percent of wealth generated last year across the world went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half saw their wealth flatline, according to a new Oxfam report published today as political and business elites gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum.
The King's Fund have published a report on their research into the current state of community services and to explore how the health and care system needs to change to enable these services to meet the needs of the population now and in the future.
Commenting on the announcement that the Charity Commission will be consulting on implementing new fees for charities, Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said:
From 8 January 2018, victims of domestic violence will get more support in taking abusive former partners to court.
Changes to evidence requirements in private family law disputes have come into effect. There will no longer be a time limit on abuse evidence, which previously stood at five years.
In the year prior to June 2017, the NHS spent approximately £569 million on prescriptions for medicines which can be purchased over the counter from a pharmacy and other outlets such as supermarkets.
The Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health consensus statement and suite of 10 supporting resources capture a new shared agreement to support local and national action to prevent mental health problems, promote good mental health and reduce inequalities.
Producing this report continues to give a good overview of merger activity in the not-for-profit sector, including both constraints on consolidation and examples of change.
The Diana Award is given out in Diana, Princess of Wales’ name to young role models, aged 9-18 from across the world who are selflessly transforming the lives of others. The awards are looking to recognise young people going above and beyond in their daily lives to create and sustain positive change.
Child Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC), in partnership with the Anna Freud Learning Network, has developed its first ever online eLearning module: ‘Measuring mental wellbeing to improve the lives of children and young people’
In late 2017, Tech Trust undertook a survey of charities that are registered on one or more of their services, to provide insight into the state of the sector and give guidance on the steps necessary to make progress.
The survey explores the digital competence of organisations, their perspective on the impact of digital and their future plans when it comes to investment and application of digital tools.
Their key findings were:
From 1 August 2018 changes to the automatic disqualification rules mean that there will be more restrictions on who can run a charity.
For most charities, taking some simple steps to update recruitment and appointment systems is all that will be needed to prepare for the rule changes.
From Wednesday 17th January if you need a basic check for a job in England and Wales, you should apply to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) not Disclosure Scotland.
If you need a basic check for a job in Scotland, then you should still apply to Disclosure Scotland.
These small to medium organisations are often un-sung champions doing important work to keep our communities connected.
In November 2017 the Living Wage Foundation with NCVO and People’s Health Trust, launched the Low Pay in the Charity Sector Report, which explored the nature and demographics of low pay in the VCSE sector. It showed that:
New rules introduced in April 2017 mean that all private and voluntary-sector employers in England, Wales and Scotland with 250 or more employees are required to publish information about the differences in pay between men and women on an annual basis from 2017.
These include housing vulnerable people, helping disadvantaged young people into work and dealing with problem debt
By 2020 the total distribution from dormant accounts to good causes will reach over half a billion pounds
The Charity Commission is constituted as a small non-ministerial department, responsible for the regulation of over 167,000 registered charities in England and Wales.
The commission has published their formal response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Charities report; “Stronger Charities for a Stronger Society”, and has fully accepted three of the recommendations.
The Women’s Organisation is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced organisations that will add value to a Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership being developed to respond to the current competitive call for the £15m Tampon Tax Fund.
Are you changing the way people think about health?
Are you a social or digital innovator, campaigner, commissioner or practitioner, helping to create a more people-powered approach to health and wellbeing?
Do you work with citizens in new ways using social connections, digital technology or creativity?
People who donate their organs and tissue after they die help save thousands of lives in England each year. However, 3 people die a day due to a lack of suitable organs.
Although 8 out of 10 people say they would want to donate their organs and tissue after their death, most people never register to be organ donors.
The National Audit Office has today published its report on the progress made by the Charity Commission. The Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales and is an independent, non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament.
The switch to contactless cards is costing charities with nearly two out of five adults admitting they give less to street collectors as they do not carry as much cash, new research from Consumer Intelligence shows.
18 – 24 year olds would be first to give up their smartphones to raise money for charity – but are more likely to make checks on their chosen charity first.
New research from the Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator highlights the generosity of the British public at Christmas – and suggests that younger people are savvier about the charities they donate to than other age groups.
The Charity Commission is alerting all charities to the importance of providing a safe and trusted environment for anyone who comes into contact with them, including staff and volunteers.
Trustees should take steps to ensure no one who comes into contact with their charity suffers distress or harm, as well as safeguarding children and adults at risk, says regulator of charities.
The Charity Commission has announced a phased timetable allowing charitable companies to convert to charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) following legislative changes in Parliament on 23 November 2017.
A new survey by specialist insurer, Ecclesiastical, has revealed what charities think are the biggest risks facing their sector heading into 2018.
The awards shine a spotlight on the trustees, staff and volunteers who make change possible day after day by showcasing the stories that demonstrate how effective governance can transform lives.
Earlier this year, the House of Lords published its Stronger charities for a stronger society report, in which it recommended that all but the smallest charities should have a simple website or social media page, and should be actively seeking digital skills for their board.
The Cyber Security Among Charities report presents the findings from qualitative research with UK registered charities exploring awareness, attitudes and experiences around cyber security.
The ICO recognises that informing and educating the public about their personal information is key to ensuring the ultimate success of the updated data protection legislation for all concerned: individuals, brands, the public and third sectors - as well as the ICO, as regulator.
In their first ever advert, Small Charities Coalition ask people to consider giving to Britain's small charities this Christmas, rather than the larger, household names that they are more likely to have heard of.
The charities featured in the advert are Black Heroes Foundation, Ace of Clubs, Jersey Alzheimer's Association, Theodora Children's Charity and Greyhound Rescue Jersey. They are all small charities, with a turnover of less than £1million.
This course focuses on Budgets, Management Accounts & Cash Flow Forecasting.
Viewers will gain an understanding of the key principles and methods to:
Women’s charities can now bid for the latest £15 million round of the Tampon Tax Fund, Minister for Sport and Civil Society Tracey Crouch announced today.
Projects that aim to reduce drug and alcohol abuse and engage excluded and vulnerable women through sport can also apply for funding.
A new report is published today (Friday 1st December, 2017) from the Third Sector Trends Study which will show that thousands of charities help address poverty across the North of England.
The report, Tackling Poverty in the North: the role of third sector organisations, is based on a survey of 3,500 charities across the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber to capture their contribution in the region.
You must send your charity’s accounts to the commission every year if:
Government must seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve funding for education, training and employment support for the most vulnerable groups in society when the UK leaves the EU, a cross-sector working group has said.
People in the UK remain willing to become involved in society but attracting people from more diverse backgrounds remains a challenge, says a new report from NCVO.
There are no restrictions on volunteering for people from within the EU/European Economic Activity (EEA) area. However, for people outside the EEA, there are various restrictions based on what type of visa they are travelling on.
We are inviting proposals to develop or scale web, mobile or internet based technologies which deliver new or improved services to beneficiaries.
From November 2017, Comic Relief with Paul Hamlyn Foundation is launching another UK Tech for Good funding programme. This will fund up to 12 digital projects each with grants of up to £47,000. The projects will last for nine months and will include:
This year’s State of Care shows that, thanks to the efforts of staff and leaders, the quality of health and social care has been maintained despite very real challenges and the majority of people are getting good, safe care. But future quality is precarious as the system struggles with complex new types of demand, access and cost.
However, since the Index launched in 2014, twice as many organisations have developed high digital capabilities, with many more on the cusp of joining them.
We have highlighted the responses of some of these organisations below:
Autumn Budget delivers....very little
This report looks at changes in the adequacy of people’s incomes, measured by their ability to reach the Minimum Income Standard (MIS). This measure is based on what members of the public think people need for a minimum socially acceptable standard of living.
New research recommends that charities do more to promote diversity on their boards and encourage applications from women, young people and people from ethnic minority and socially diverse backgrounds.
Age UK has worked with the older LGBT charity Opening Doors London and author Sally Knocker to develop a new LGBT guide for health and social care providers – an area where resources and guidance is sparse.
A Question of Balance – a guide to the Chair and Chief Executive relationship helps Chairs explore and strengthen the relationship they have with their CEO.
Forging a successful relationship with your CEO is a key part of the Chair’s role. But that is no simple task. Each relationship is complex, dynamic and unique. It is vital Chairs recognise the importance of the relationship and invest time, energy and effort in making it a success.
The Community Business Bright Ideas Fund aims to give your community group the support and tools to start setting up your community business. It will also give your group the early stage finance that you need need to carry out consultation with local people and feasibility studies to develop a community business idea the community wants and needs.
The sector has been waiting a while for an announcement about how the government plans to use between £1bn and £2bn in dormant assets to support the sector – the Dormant Assets Commission published its final report in the spring.
The Aviva Community Fund offers the chance for local community projects to win funding because together we can do more for the causes you care about.
Look for projects in your area and help them get to the finals by voting for them.
You have to register to vote, but you get 10 votes to use how you want. You can give all your votes to one project or spread them across up to 10 projects. The choice is yours!
The NTS Scams Team is offering FREE call blocking devices.
The Festival of Learning awards celebrate the many benefits learning can have for everyone, and recognise individuals, tutors, employers and projects where learning has changed lives.
Individuals who, through learning, have transformed their own lives and the lives of their families, friends, their communities, and the places they work.
Our analysis of the first government-backed programme of community-led economic development for 30 years finds that there is a strong and growing desire for local control over the economy, but community groups lack legitimacy and power in the planning process.
In recent years the Charity Commission has seen its budget slashed from £40m to around £21m – and further cuts could well be on the horizon. As a result, there is a debate about charging charities to plug the gap.
DSC has launched a campaign against charging charities to cover this cost.
They believe that a well-resourced Charity Commission is vital for the work of charities, but that diverting charitable resources to fund the regulator is wrong, on many levels.
Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans for an independent review of mental health legislation and practice to tackle the issue of mental health detention.
A new £15 million programme will see up to 1 million people trained in basic mental health “first aid” skills. The programme will improve personal resilience and help people recognise and respond effectively to signs of mental illness in others.
In its fourth year as part of a movement of over 3,500 employers who voluntarily opt-in to paying the real Living Wage, Salford CVS has committed to the increase – independently calculated to meet the cost of living – which will be implemented within six months.
This report is intended to appeal to those interested in understanding more about Community Economic Development (CED). This may include those embarking on developing CED activities in their own communities; policy makers at local or national level keen to build a CED approach into mainstream economic development strategy; or simply those interested in understanding how communities can drive economic development from the ground up.
Three organisations representing thousands of charities have asked the Electoral Commission to explain its opposition to reform of the Lobbying Act, which contributed to the government dropping plans to make any changes.
In a letter sent earlier today to Claire Bassett, the chief executive of the commission, NCVO, ACEVO, and Bond have asked for a detailed explanation of why the Commission opposed reform.
The 2017 State of Social Enterprise Report, supported by Santander, is the largest, most representative survey of social enterprises in the UK. It shows a commercially resilient sector outperforming mainstream SMEs when it comes to turnover growth, innovation, business optimism, start-up rates, diversity in leadership and more. It points towards the Future of Business.
Parks and Green Spaces Minister Marcus Jones launched a new Parks Action Group to help England’s public parks and green spaces meet the needs of communities now and in the future.
The Centre for Ageing Better will lead a review in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport into how to enable more people aged 50 and over to contribute their time, skills and experience to their communities.
A Day In The Life is a work-shadowing initiative that provides a unique opportunity for staff from government and voluntary sector organisations to step into each other's shoes for a day, and learn about how the other sector operates.
As well as improving cross-sector understanding, the programme helps participants find out about the roles and responsibilities of staff within another organisation, and the operational environments and wider contexts in which they work.
The Fundraising Regulator has announced the opening of a Code Consultation on Data Protection.
Like any other sector, charities are not immune to criminal abuse from fraudsters. Fraud poses a serious risk to valuable funds and sensitive data, and can damage the good reputation of charities, affecting public trust and confidence in the sector as a whole.
Fraud is a serious problem that you can’t afford to ignore. Charities can, and should do more, to be fraud-aware.
The DigitalAgenda Impact Awards celebrate digital innovations that improve people’s lives and the world around us. They are open to any business, government or non-profit using digital products or services for positive social or environmental impact.
The phone service is aimed at people running small businesses or charities and recognises the particular problems they face getting ready for the new law, called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The Aviva Community Fund offers you the chance to get funding from £1,000 up to £25,000 for an important cause in your community.
All you have to do is enter a project for your community organisation – even if you took part previously – and tell Aviva what a difference these much-needed funds could make.
Drum up enough votes from friends, family and supporters in your community and you make it to the Finals!
Place Based Social Action (PBSA) is a joint £4.5m programme between the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Big Lottery Fund (the Fund) using National Lottery funding.
In Spring 2016 the Association of Chairs conducted its first survey designed to learn more about Chairs and Vice Chairs, where they currently get support and the issues that are of concern to them. The survey showed high levels of commitment by Chairs but significant gaps in support.
Stonewall commissioned YouGov to carry out a survey asking more than 5,000 lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) people across England, Scotland and Wales about their life in Britain today. This report, LGBT in Britain: Hate Crime and Discrimination, the first of a series based on the research, investigates their experiences of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes and day-to-day discrimination.
More and more social economy organisations and charities are forming or converting to a community benefit society. From local community organisations to high profile charities, they offer a way to boost community engagement, raise finance and secure charitable status and confidence from investors.
Grants are available to voluntary and community sector groups for community projects which reduce knife crime and have a positive impact on young people who are at risk of carrying a knife and committing a crime.
The Home Office is making £500,000 available in 2017/18 to support community projects which reduce knife crime and have a positive impact on young people who are at risk of carrying a knife and committing a crime.
Following on from previous years’ success the Small Business Saturday UK bus will again take to the road in advance of the day itself, Saturday 2nd December.
The latest version of the code represents a significant reworking of the framework, introducing new principles, outcome and recommended practice for both large and smaller charities.
Their work has sought to:
Many charities need additional support and awareness to prepare for the new data protection laws being introduced from May next year, and smaller charities need the most help. These are the main conclusions from a new survey of charities published by the Institute of Fundraising (IoF) today.
The survey will help them to gauge and respond to attitudes in the sector towards leadership development and strategic planning.
The Community Life Survey is a survey of adults (16+) in England that explores levels of community cohesion and engagement. The report includes details about charitable giving and volunteering.
The report summarises the results from the 2016-17 survey, which was run from August 2016 to March 2017. This is the first year that the annual results have been based on data collected using a self-completion online/paper questionnaire rather than via a face to face interview.
The Partnership offers applicants unique access to a collaborative partnership of leading business and civil society organisations, including their extensive networks, and to financial support for the development of scaling plans.
During a testing phase from January 2018 through March 2018, businesses and civil society partners will work closely with successful applicants on the development of scaling plans, contributing their:
The third round of the Transform Foundation’s 2017 Charity Website Grant Programme is officially open. This will be providing £18,000 grants to charities to fund the redevelopment of their websites in order to:
Charities have reacted angrily after ministers refused to relax rules restricting them from campaigning during elections.
More than 100 charities - ranging from Greenpeace to the Girl Guides - wrote to the government calling for the Lobbying Act to be overhauled.
A government-commissioned review by Tory peer Lord Hodgson backed them.
In December 2016, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced an independent review into full-time social action.
‘Full-time social action’ is defined here as people undertaking unpaid practical action in the service of others to create positive change, for at least 16 hours a week, for six months or more.
Many women aren't aware of their rights to choose maternity care. If you're pregnant, you can use the CQC's resources to help choose the right birth plan for you.
40% of women who recently gave birth either weren’t aware or didn’t feel they had a choice about their birth hospital, according to CQC research.
If you’re pregnant and choosing where to have a baby, use the CQC's resources to help you make an informed decision.
Social Enterprise UK recognises that over recent years London’s property market has become pretty turbulent for many social enterprises, particularly for those businesses who require work or maker-space, and flexibility whether scaling up or down.
Co-operatives UK is the network for Britain’s thousands of co-operatives. It works to promote, develop and unite member-owned businesses across the economy. From high street retailers to community owned pubs, fan owned football clubs to farmer controlled businesses, co-operatives are everywhere and together they are worth £36 billion (2017) to the British economy.
This guide for commissioners sets out a variety of approaches to working with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector to improve the health and wellbeing of Londoners.
Cancer Research UK want to help as many people as possible to feel confident talking about cancer and health no matter where they are, so they have developed a free online course called Talking About Cancer: reducing risk, early detection and mythbusting.
Join thousands of people worldwide and learn practical skills for having conversations that can help save lives.
In 2017 Natwest are making £2 million available across England and Wales through their Skills & Opportunities Fund. The regional boards (with the help of a public vote) will determine the destination of grants of up to £35,000. So, if you’re a not-for-profit organisation and have a project aimed at helping people to help themselves, in the areas of financial capability and enterprise, then keep an eye out for our next application window.
The CAF World Giving Index looks at how and why people around the world give to charity. In this, the eighth edition of the CAF World Giving Index, we’ve collected data from 139 countries, which represents an incredible 95% of the world’s population.
The report includes questions about three different types of giving behaviour, with each country ranked according to their answers to:
Women say that they are more likely to donate to charity and to support local causes than men according to research published today by the Institute of Fundraising and YouGov.
Among the report’s findings are that women said that they were more likely to:
The latest Social Enterprise in Scotland: Census 2017 report has been launched in Glasgow today (Wednesday 6 September). The new report shows clear growth in the number of social enterprises and their economic impact.
The research cements Scotland’s global reputation as a world-leading nation in the support and development of social enterprise:
What a registration certificate does
In March 2017, there were 869,000 people working in the voluntary sector. As seen in the chart below, most were from the UK (814,000) while 33,000 were from the EU and 22,000 from the rest of the world.
Theresa May visited NCS (National Citizen Service) to unveil a new course to raise awareness of mental health among young people.
Thousands of teenagers will receive additional support to improve their mental health as part of a new youth initiative, the Prime Minister announced on 17 August.
Mandy Johnson, chief executive of the Small Charities Coalition, responds to Lord Grade, chair of the Fundraising Regulator, who described charities that have not responded to requests to pay the levy as "unprofessional".
They are developing a number of digital services to make it easier to complete tasks online. As part of this development they are testing services with the charity sector, and using the feedback to improve them.
Testing services with real users helps to understand needs, and create the best possible experience online.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health sets out the unarguable agenda for the reform of mental health care. The strategy aims to increase the quality and availability of care and treatment, improve outcomes and well being, and tackle the wider costs of mental ill health to health services and society. Now more than one year on from publication, it is time to deliver the actions required that will make the strategy a reality.
The CSJ Awards is an annual high-profile, high-impact event in the Westminster calendar at which the CSJ showcases and rewards grassroots charities and voluntary organisations from local communities throughout the UK that have developed effective and innovative ways of addressing a variety of entrenched social issues. These organisations often work with some of the hardest to reach people in the country.
The Aviva Community Fund offers you the chance to get funding from £1,000 up to £25,000 for an important cause in your community.
All you have to do is enter a project for your community organisation – even if you took part previously – and tell Aviva what a difference these much-needed funds could make.
Public to have greater control over personal data - including right to be forgotten
New right to require social media platforms to delete information on children and adults when asked
This case report contains an analysis of some of the key issues that the Charity Commission dealt with in cases they opened relating to campaigning and political activity by charities in the run-up to the General Election, being:
The Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement was set up on 29 June 2017. It has to report by 31 March 2018. British society is changing.
Civil Society Futures is a national conversation about how English civil society can flourish in a fast changing world.
The Charity Commission is still trying to introduce a charge for regulation, in effect a charity tax. This is despite the idea being opposed by most charities, including NAVCA, and rejected by two parliamentary committees that explored the idea.
In September, CQC will be launching a maternity campaign, which focuses on women who are pregnant, are looking to be pregnant, or have recently used maternity services in England.
We all have mental health. Good mental health is an asset that helps us to thrive. This is not just the absence of a mental health problem, but having the ability to think, feel and act in a way that allows us to enjoy life and deal with the challenges it presents. Yet it can be easy to assume that ongoing stress is the price we have to pay to keep our lives on track. It is time to challenge that assumption.
Spirit of 2012 has partnered with the #iwill fund to create a £2 million partnership that will enable girls and young women to change their communities through social action for the benefit of other girls and the wider community.
Please note: the #iwill Fund is currently only available for activities in England.
The Social Audit Network’s Annual Gathering.
Friday 20th October 2017
54 St James Street, Liverpool. L1 0AB
Event Fees*
FULL DAY - £125 per delegate / SAN members £80
HALF DAY - £75 per delegate / SAN Members £50
(including lunch)
*Discounts will be available for Members of Social Value UK (SVUK) and Social Enterprise UK (SEUK)
ICSA: The Governance Institute has released guidance to help charities recruit trustees.
The Code changes include new requirements regarding:
The awards want to influence the immigration debate by highlighting positive examples of people doing vital work in their communities which have allowed migrants, refugees, and host communities to flourish.
The Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement has published its Call for evidence. Interested parties and organisations are invited to submit written evidence to the Committee by 8 September 2017.
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, Chairman of the Committee said:
There’s a lot of information out there for start-ups, and this guide takes you through the essentials, but we focus on the parts that are most important in a social enterprise. Social enterprises have some unique challenges. For example, in a social enterprise you don’t just have to worry about keeping the customer satisfied. You have to satisfy your social ambitions too – whether that means serving a community, protecting the environment or solving a social problem.
The Winifred Tumim Memorial Prize for best practice in charity governance has been established by NCVO in honour of the work done by Lady Winifred Tumim, chair of NCVO from 1996-2001, to improve the quality of charity governance.
CQC make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.
Some of the key findings from their state of care in mental health services report are:
A spokesperson has said that all three Do-it staff will transfer to Vivo Life and there will be no change to the existing Do-it service, which will remain the case when it has been upgraded to a new platform.
Welfare benefits increasingly require people to meet particular conditions and behave in certain ways. This study aims to understand the impact of these conditions on Armed Forces Service leavers who are accessing the benefits system. Researchers want to hear from veterans living in Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Merseyside or London who are currently in receipt of any of the following benefits:
The Employability and Skills Sectors have joined forces to issue a statement aimed at making the case for properly replacing the European Social Fund when the UK exits the European Union.
Fraud is estimated to cost the charity sector £1.9bn every single year. This is money which is being syphoned off from charities and the beneficiaries they serve.
Charities are awake to this threat and many are leading the way with robust counter fraud policies.
But others are still grappling with this constantly-evolving criminal threat.
CQC has been asked by the Secretaries of State for Health and for Communities and Local Government to undertake a programme of local system reviews of health and social care in 12 local authority areas.
The Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England have launched the new Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Alliance (HW Alliance). The HW Alliance will amplify the voice of the VCSE sector and people with lived experience to inform national policy, facilitate integrated working between the voluntary and statutory sectors, and co-produce solutions to promote equality and reduce health inequalities.
While the majority of services are safe and of a high quality and many are improving, too many people across England are living in care homes and receiving care and support in their own homes that is not good enough. Without a proper recognition of the importance of adult social care and a renewed commitment to quality, the numbers of people affected by poor care could increase and have a profound impact on their lives.
By 2022, more than 7 million households will be receiving it, over half of whom will be in work.
The aim of Universal Credit - to simplify the benefit system - is right. But Citizens Advice's research shows it is currently failing too many people and forcing many into debt.
The system will be accepting applications up until midnight on Sunday the 16th, however after the 14th there will not be anyone to answer queries or provide assistance with the application process.
SUD is part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and a major project in the Greater Manchester low-carbon agenda.
The King’s Fund, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund have opened applications for a unique programme that enables charity leaders to help each other through sharing expertise and developing skills. There are 80 places initially available on the programme, which is free to attend. Charities applying for places, worth up to an estimated £3,000, must show how their work improves health and wellbeing.
The Life Chances Fund (LCF) is an £80 million top-up fund, whose objective is to help those people in society who face the most significant barriers to leading happy and productive lives. This forms part of the Prime Minister’s life chances approach.
The deadline for entries for the Charity Times Awards has been extended until Friday 23 June due to phenomenal demand.
This report examines the role of the social economy in bringing about inclusive growth that generates more and better jobs in UK cities, particularly for people who are in - or at risk of - poverty.
The report finds that:
Background
There is no doubt that the Lobbying Act is flawed and there is scope for substantial improvement.
However, I am increasingly hearing of charities who consider that the Act is a major impediment to their campaigning. I fear that they are almost always mistaken and are unduly stifling their voices.
New research conducted by National Voices and Social Enterprise UK has found that only 13% of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) can clearly show that they are actively committed to pursuing social value in their procurement and commissioning decisions.
In their latest opinion piece Charity Digital News highlight that despite the recent WannaCry epidemic hitting the headlines, the most common weakness in security systems is human error.
Human error can result in security breaches from losing sensitve papers or unprotected data sticks, but commonly easy-to-hack passwords are the culprit.
Charity Commission and partners issue advice on safer giving.
The Charity Commission is encouraging people wishing to support the victims of this week’s terrorist attack in Manchester to donate to a genuine charitable appeal.
It says that the great British public are always generous in their support for charities and this has already been reflected via the many giving sites set up to support the victims and families of the appalling attacks in Manchester.
None of us see ourselves as simply disabled - there are all sorts of aspects to our identities - we are mums, dads, children, partners, workers and carers.
In 2007, MySpace was the world’s most popular social network, Gordon Brown was prime minister and only the earliest of early adopters had an iPhone. It was also the year CharityComms was born.
Today, one Brexit vote, and millions of smartphone swipes later, the landscape looks very different. But, despite big political and technological changes, one thing has stayed the same: comms is still at the heart of how charities change the world.
A recent NetSquared London Meetup investigated the IT tools that can be used to get charity operations done cheaply and effectively and how charities can tackle the process of finding the tech that helps the most when you don’t necessarily have the time to research.
A flagship report from charity think tank NPC explores to what extent and how charities are transforming to deliver greater impact in a changing world.
Charities are under ever-increasing pressure to deliver more with less, amplified by recent fundraising and governance scandals. While some are adapting and taking the lead in new thinking and ways of operating, others are lagging behind.
ESIF Technical Assistance - Upcoming Funding - 22nd March 2017
The Technical Assistance team updated organisations about calls to be released in Greater Manchester as part of the ESIF programme.
Part 1: live and upcoming calls in Greater Manchester.
As a broad-ranging funder, Esmée Fairbairn are not expert on every issue and sector they support. The real experts are the funded organisations. They have much greater knowledge or lived experience, and they operate in the real world, without the security of an endowment. However, as an independent funder Esmée Fairbairn have an overview and a freedom which others in the sectors do not. With this comes the responsibility to share what they are learning from those we support.
Rathbones, the investment management firm, and the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) have partnered with Dorothy Dalton, former chief executive of ACEVO and one-time editor of Governance magazine, to publish Financial governance: a gentle guide for the non-financial charity trustee.
This is freely accessible on KnowHow NonProfit. It contains tips on how voluntary organisations can engage effectively with local politicians across party lines while making sure they’re always on the right side of charity and electoral law.
Why does it matter?
The ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
The ICO have create a data protection reform website, this is where they will post information about the reform of data protection legislation, including under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Directive.
The Social Audit Network will be running a Prove, Improve, Account Workshop in social accounting and audit on 27th and 28th June 2017, hosted by For Viva, Board Room, 52 Regent Street, Eccles. Greater Manchester. M30 0BP.
The Social Economy Alliance, representing hundreds of social enterprises, co-operatives, charities, investors, entrepreneurs, trusts and associations has today launched its manifesto for the General Election.
Skipton Building Society’s Grassroots Giving community funding scheme launched for 2017 on Tuesday 2 May – and this year there is a total fund of £82,000 to help small groups and organisations make a difference in their neighbourhood.
The Institute of Fundraising (IoF) has launched a new guide today, GDPR: the essentials for fundraising organisations in partnership with law firm Bircham Dyson Bell.
This will have an impact on the way that fundraising operates.
Share Somewhere is brought to you by Youth United, a network of the UK’s largest and most established voluntary and volunteering youth organisations. Youth United’s vision is that every young person in the UK has the opportunity to a join a uniformed youth group.
NCVO have produced guidance on volunteering and state benefits. The guidance outlines some rules that volunteers need to be aware of to make sure that their volunteering doesn’t have an impact on the benefits they receive.
The guidance aims to help people start volunteering by giving an overview of what they would need to know before they start volunteering.
After a series of assaults on their ability to campaign, charity leaders today respond with a outlining the critical role of independent political pressure in a healthy democracy. At no time is this clearer than when the nation is engaged in the highest manifestation of the democratic process, a General Election.
NHS's 'Next Steps' reviews progress made since 2014 and sets out a series of practical and realistic steps for the NHS to deliver a better, more joined-up and more responsive NHS in England.
One thing that came back loud and clear is that there is a strong mood to see change. People think that the government must act, and that no one should be forced to rely on charity.
A vital insight into donor behaviour, key issues affecting charities and responses to significant UK events.
Published annually, The CAF UK Giving Report is the largest study of giving behaviour in the UK and is freely available to download.
Brought to you by Charities Aid Foundation, the report reveals comprehensive insight on who gives to charity, how they give and which causes they are most likely to support.
A study produced by the FSI says voluntary income for charities with turnovers of £1.5m or less has risen by only 1 per cent since June 2013
Small charities are being urged to act now to ensure their survival after a second survey this week revealed flat levels of income.
The Fundraising Regulator has now opened its registration system to charities registered in England and Wales, that fall below the £100,000 fundraising levy threshold. This has come as part of a stepped process that saw levy payers registered from October 2016 and former FRSB members registered from February 2017.
Also includes guidance about Elections and Referendums.
Guidance to advise charities to what extent they can get involved in campaigning and political activity.
Charities can campaign to achieve their purposes. But a charity can’t:
In a political world where leaks are routine, Theresa May’s announcement of an election campaign seems to have caught everyone by surprise. Charities will not have made detailed plans for an election, so it’s worth thinking about what we should be doing to make sure we’re part of the debate.
Over the past year, the Charity Governance Code’s (the Code) steering group has developed a revised version of the Code designed to support charities in meeting governance good practice. The group consulted on the proposed new Code from the beginning of November 2016 to the beginning of February 2017.
Employer commitment to the voluntary Living Wage is strong, and the experience of most Living Wage employers has been positive, a new study by Cardiff Business School finds.
This year's survey has now been launched.
To help Carers UK to get a full picture of what caring is like in 2017, please fill in the confidential survey.
This report explores the potential of the new context created by Brexit, including Theresa May's personal commitment to a Shared Society, and looks at what might need to change to make that vision a reality.
Child Action Poverty Group (CAPG) has outlined their impact in a comprehensive list of social security changes to be made and changes that are already in place.
CAPG cover changes to:
Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) have been developed by NHS and local government leaders in 44 parts of England. The plans offer a chance for health and social care leaders to work together to improve care and manage limited resources. But will they succeed where other initiatives have failed?
The case studies in this report show great mutual regard and understanding between public health and the VCSE sector – a relationships of equals.
This green paper sets out the vision for a modern industrial strategy and some early actions we have committed to take.
GDPR – the General Data Protection Regulation – is a new EU law governing data protection, which will supersede the Data Protection Act in 2018. GDPR will not introduce widespread changes to existing law, but will increase the monetary penalties for non-compliance.
AVM has welcomed the key recommendation around supporting volunteer management in ‘Stronger charities for a stronger society’, the new report from the House of Lords Select Committee on Charities.
The report contains the recommendation:
DVSA has published theirr 5-year strategy and business plan which set out a range of commitments we've made to improve road safety, user experience and value for money.
The strategy explains what they will do between 2017 and 2022 to help you stay safe on Britain's roads.
The business plan sets out which parts of the strategy they will be taking forward in 2017 to 2018.
On 28 March a new £1 coin will go into circulation. It features twelve sides and a series of security features designed to combat counterfeiting. From 15 October 2017, the old £1 coin (or ‘round pound’) will no longer be accepted as legal tender. Anyone will still be able to trade in their old coins for new ones after the deadline, but they will have to do so at their own bank.
The House of Lords Select Committee on Charities has published its report, 'Stronger charities for a stronger society', in which the Committee praises the important role that charities play in our society.
Big data is “levelling the playing field” for charities and allowing them to gain similar insights into their customers as international corporations, Microsoft’s first-ever digital skills conference in Scotland has heard.
NHS Digital aims to help thousands of people to improve their digital health skills, with the launch of the next phase of a three-year Widening Digital Participation (WDP) programme.
The project will develop 20 local digital inclusion pathfinder projects across all four NHS regions, over the next three years. The pathfinder projects will be delivered by NHS Digital, in conjunction with the Good Things Foundation.
From Co-operative Councils to Co-operative Places is Collaborate’s new report for the Co-operative Councils’ Innovation Network (CCIN). It is a strong statement of intent about the future direction of local government in a post-Brexit landscape.
JRF have issued a call for analysis to feed into their first in-house Poverty Monitor Report (replacing the series of reports they previously produced in partnership with the New Policy Institute – Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion).
This guidance explains what trustees need to do to comply with the law relating to the management and control of their fundraising.
The guide sets out 6 principles the trustees should follow to achieve this. The 6 principles are:
Trustees have a vital role to play, but how do you know if you are governing well?
Across England the NHS is publishing draft plans that aim to improve health and care for patients whilst also making the most of the funding available.
If these plans involve decisions that have an impact on local services, what should the public expect when it comes to being involved?
The NHS in every area of England has been tasked with setting out how it plans to achieve wide-scale changes that make the most of the funding available and improves care for patients.
A new easy-read guide to trusteeship has been published that will help people with learning disabilities to become charity trustees. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has translated its best-selling Good Trustee Guide into easy-read format in order to provide information about a trustee's role and best practice guidance to people with learning disabilities.
It considers evidence reviewed by the Commission through the course of its inquiry, which included evidence hearings, written submissions, research visits, seminars and policy and citizen engagement.
At the heart of devolution is the belief that decisions should be made by the people affected most. Nowhere is this more important than the design and delivery of public services, some of which are under intense pressure.
With huge experience of addressing complex needs and advocating on behalf of disadvantaged groups, charities are an important partner for combined authorities looking to use their newly acquired powers to redesign struggling public services.
As in previous years, we have considered the key drivers shaping the sector in four areas: political, economic, social and technological. Here are some of the key issues identified in each section.
Brexit will dominate the political agenda and almost completely monopolise the attention of decision makers. Charities will need to quickly understand the threats and opportunities, so they can be part of the debate.
Below is 60 second summary of their report.
You can koin the call for change by signing the petition online.
The EOI are due 24th April and full applications due in June and awards made by late-summer 2017.
All documents relating to the fund including the online EOI form can be found on the Sport England website.
Research reveals that nearly a third (30 percent) of children in England1 are behind in development by age five, while 16 million across the UK have less than £100 in savings and owe more than £3,000, excluding mortgage repayments2.
The resources aimed at primary and secondary schools fit alongside the existing Real Love Rocks resources around Healthy Relationships and Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness.
Project Worker Paula Bowman says: “We are really excited to be launching our new resources that will help teachers and professionals to be more inclusive of LGBTQ identities within lessons.
Charities want to make sure that their supporters and the public have complete confidence in what they do, because ultimately charities can only do what they do thanks to volunteers, donors and spokespeople.
Every day, charities spend £136.4 million – equivalent to £1,578 per second – improving lives and supporting communities.
The government has introduced bold new plans to fix the broken housing market and build more homes across England.
The white paper includes:
Women’s Aid and the TUC wanted to find out more about women’s experiences of financial abuse and the potential implications for Universal Credit.
The King's Fund decribes social prescribing (sometimes referred to as community referral) as a means of enabling GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services.
Greening Grey Britain is an RHS initiative inviting the nation to help tackle the growing trend of Britain paving over its gardens and green spaces and not growing any plants. The RHS believe it is vital to reverse this trend for the nation's health and wildlife, and to protect the UK from flooding, pollution and heatwaves.
HMRC has confirmed that charities will be granted an exemption from new rules that will force businesses keep digital records of its accounts and produce quarterly updates.
The funds open at the end of February with EOI due 24th April and full applications due in June and awards made by late-summer 2017.
NAVCA has published the findings of their 2016 survey of Chief Officers, an annual survey carried out to gauge the views of NAVCA members on current policy issues. Over a third of members completed the survey.
A government spokeswoman confirmed today tha the consultation has been delayed because HM Treasury has not given it the go-ahead.
National Energy Action’s (NEA) vision is that ‘no one is living in fuel poverty’ but today the charity warns, that at the current level of delivery and funding this won’t happen in the average lifetime of a baby born today.
Squeeze on poorer households, rather than 80s-style boom for the rich, driving 21st Century inequality
Britain is on course for a major living standards slowdown, with typical households seeing almost no income growth over the remainder of this Parliament, according to the Resolution Foundation’s annual audit of living standards published today (Wednesday).
It involved hundreds of people and organisations. The project have published our final report for you to use in your organisation. The reports are available to download and use under a Creative Commons licence.
We’ve all met one. A volunteer hero that makes our community a better place. You can find them in community centres, on the streets or in your own home.
They are the glue that connects us with each other and with the causes we’re passionate about. They are the volunteers that teach your child to read, who spend an hour with your Grandmother or spend their Sundays raising money for charity.
With cases of dementia on the rise, it's more important than ever that services give people the support they need.
Cases of dementia are on the rise. Around 700,000 people in England have the disease currently, and this figure is expected to increase to over a million by 2025.
Nearly 4 million children in the UK are living in poverty(i) and two thirds of those children are in a household where at least one parent is in work.(ii) Forecasts suggest that child poverty rates will rise significantly in coming years.
IVAR's latest report, ‘People, places and health agencies: Lessons from Big Local residents,’ looks at the role communities play in supporting and influencing health and wellbeing in their area.
As outlined in the Childhood Obesity Plan, people need accessible, simple information on how much sugar, fat and salt is in food and drink. One of the ways the government is helping people make healthier choices is the Be Food Smart app.
The ‘Q2’ round of the Transform Foundation’s 2017 Charity Website Grant Programme is officially open.
A new report by Localgiving has found that fewer than half of local charities are confident they will still be operating by 2021. Escalating demand for services, coupled with ongoing volatility in the funding landscape has left many groups fearful for their long term survival.
It will come as no surprise to those of us in the voluntary sector to hear that charities often have testing relationships with their local commissioners.
Statements of Recommended Practice (SORPs) provide recommendations for comprehensive accounting and reporting.
The Charities SORP is an important document as it can help charities in the preparation of its annual report and accounts.
The full guidance can be downloaded by following the embedded link at the end of this article but here are highlights of the document that are particularly relevant to VCSE organisations.
Recent failures of government grant giving, particularly Kids Company, have threatened to give grants a bad name. These occasional, though sometimes high profile lapses have made it all too easy for critics of the sector to describe grants in principle as wasteful and to question statutory funding for charities altogether.
Studies have shown loneliness to be as damaging to health as smoking and obesity. It’s also putting unnecessary, additional pressure on our hard-pressed public services.
Here below is a glimpse into the many policy issues that have happened in November. I have not included the Autumn Statement, which was perhaps the most important event last month: for an expert analysis of what the Chancellor’s announcements mean for charities please see Michael’s blog post.
The code, a tool to help charities strengthen and develop their governance, was originally created in 2005.
This major overhaul, launched at the start of Trustees Week 2016, sees new and more detailed guidance included in the code, with an enhanced focus on delivering organisational purpose and direction.
Since the outlook for public sector settlements changed in 2010, public services across the country have felt more than the pinch. Six years in and the outlook continues to be dire.
By concentrating on the voice of small and medium-sized charities and communicating what they learn to other charities, investors and intermediaries, IVAR aim to provide a bridge between those in the field of social finance.
This is a live project and IVAR will be sharing their thinking as they go along.
The paper, published earlier this year, focuses on the impact of high-quality early education and effective early intervention, which can act as protective factors for children against the negative effects of poverty. It also highlights how access to flexible, affordable childcare can reduce pressures on family income and help parents work, train or study.
This report illuminates the power of people in movements to improve health and proposes the need for new models of engagement between institutions and social movements.
Key findings
The UK should be a country where, no matter where people live, everyone has the chance of a decent and secure life. Instead, millions of people – many from working families – are struggling to meet their needs.
The Charity Commission has published guidance for trustees about the new social investment power that was introduced 31 July 2016 as the first phase of the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 came into force.
The Community Life Survey is an annual survey commissioned by Cabinet Office to provide Official Statistics on issues that are key to encouraging social action and empowering communities, including volunteering, giving and community engagement. Headline findings show:
NPC have produced a report; Boldness in Times of Change' which makes the case for bold and imaginative change from charities in response to the current climate.
You can download the report in full at the bottom of this page.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued a call to healthcare leaders and staff to do more to identify and listen to children at risk of harm, in a report published today.
'Not seen, not heard' looks at how effective health services are in providing early help to children in need, the health and wellbeing of looked-after children and how these services identify and protect children at risk of harm.
The review seeks to improve the CQC's understanding of how services work together to meet the needs of older people. The CQC gathered evidence from a range of sources, undertook site visits and spoke with older people and their carers to understand how integration across services affected their experiences of care. They also looked for examples of where care was coordinated effectively and identified barriers that prevent it from working well.
These have been troubled times, and they will continue to be so. Britain is facing political and economic unrest for months if not years to come.
Your support and advocacy for the people and causes you work for will be essential in this climate.
You’d think that, having gone to the trouble of setting up a community anchor organisation and choosing the right structure, which in many cases is a company limited by guarantee, you could sit back and get on with the real job of delivering. But unfortunately you can’t leave it there.
The report, based on the largest ever review of the voluntary sector’s involvement in statutory health and social care, urges local hospitals, clinical commissioning groups and councils to do more to involve expert charities in the design and delivery of services of all kinds.
In November 2014, the Department of Health, Public Health England, and NHS England initiated a review of the role of the VCSE sector in improving health, wellbeing and care outcomes. The review included a comprehensive consultation process which ran from August to November 2015 and included feedback through online surveys, face to face interviews and event across the country facilitated by Regional Voices and other strategic partnership organisations.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care services in England. We make sure that hospitals, care homes, dental and GP surgeries and other care services in England provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and we encourage them to make improvements.
This year over 6,149 people shared their views and experiences on what life is like for carers in 2016, making this the largest State of Caring Survey carried out to date. Thank you to everyone who took part.
The first of the new reforms take effect next month. Collectively, the new reforms are expected to take almost £13bn a year from claimants by 2020.
Crisis have launched their No One Turned Away report setting out how to reform the homelessness legislation. They are calling on MPs to change the law to ensure that no one is turned away when they approach their local authority for help.
This document sets out how Public Health England (PHE) intends to achieve its aims over the next four years and outlines the key actions for the year ahead.
NCVO have launched the 15th edition of the UK Civil Society Almanac, providing a comprehensive overview of facts and figures related to the voluntary sector. Read the Almanac on the NCVO website.
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Salford CVS is the city-wide infrastructure organisation for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector; providing specialist information, advice, development support and opportunities for influence and collaboration.
