Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS) is playing a key role in a new two-year partnership project aimed at improving the mental wellbeing of communities hardest hit by coronavirus.

The aim of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Green Social Prescribing Programme (NNGSPP) is to connect more people with nature and nature-based activities to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

The project has been made possible thanks to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS) which applied to deliver the two-year project from April 2021 to March 2023.

NCVS will be leading the programme on a day to day basis, working closely with Framework and the Canal & River Trust East Midlands.

We're looking for two individuals to join our small and friendly team!

We're recruiting for a Part Time NCVS Administrator and a Part Time Green Social Prescribing Programme Manager.

The closing date for both vacancies is 12 noon on Monday 22 March 2021.

We positively welcome applications from all sections of the communities in which we work and are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed and Living Wage employer.

We expect high standards from our staff, and in return you can enjoy flexible working hours, excellent annual leave entitlement, generous pension and training and personal development opportunities.

Following public consultation, Nottingham City Council has agreed on a package of budget proposals to help establish a sustainable financial footing amid the Covid-19 crisis.

After an exceptionally difficult year, the council has approved £15.6 million of savings and limited use of reserves to deliver a one-year balanced budget, while it develops a medium-term financial plan.

Small and local charities in England and Wales helping people overcome complex social issues can now apply for two-year unrestricted grants of £50,000 from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales.

At least 25 percent of all funding this year will be allocated to charities led by and for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities, building on the Foundation’s commitment to racial equity as outlined in its strategy. The funding will be open year-round, meaning charities can apply at a time that suits them and will not be restricted by deadlines.  

Financial support is available for Nottingham City residents in receipt of Council Tax Support to help with rising fuel costs.

2,000 vouchers are currently available as part of this scheme and eligible applicants will be chosen on a first-come-first-served basis.

The scheme ensures successful applicants are issued with a £49 fuel voucher to help with electric, gas and water costs.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) has released information about a new grant round, worth up to £20 million, aiming to find out what works to keep children out of the criminal justice system.

The fund will open for applications on 19 April 2021.

Although online, remote or virtual volunteering is nothing new, over the past year (2020-2021) there has been a fantastic growth in the number of such opportunities and in the organisations offering them.

Many Leaders of Volunteers have responded to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, by supporting remote teams and in this blog, I’d like to share some of the things that they, and we at the NCVS Volunteer Centre, have learned along the way.

Bookings are now being accepted for our next Leaders of Volunteers Network (LoVN) meeting.

The meeting will take place online via Zoom on Wednesday 12 May 2021, from 10am-12pm.

This online event is open to anyone with an interest in managing, supporting or leading volunteers.

The session will feed back and develop the work that was started in February's network meeting about the shape of future support for Leaders of Volunteers. We will also explore an idea to share volunteers across organisations and we will discuss plans for Volunteers' Week 2021.

Please register to ensure you are sent instructions about how to join the session on Zoom.

If you have any questions about the network or this event, please contact Dave Thomas at davet@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Tuesday 13 April 2021, 2pm-3pm

This one-hour online session looks at methods that have proved to be effective in volunteer leadership, including the best ways to plan, involve, support and retain volunteers.

To do this we will concentrate on the volunteer's journey from planning a new role to supporting established volunteers.

This session will be helpful for those who are new to working with volunteers or those who want to improve or gain new ideas for their group's volunteer management processes, making it a useful refresher for more experienced leaders.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 9 June 2021, 10.30am-12.30pm

What is the right structure for your organisation? This new two-hour online session will explain your options and provide you with some useful tips to help you through the process of registration and beyond. 

This session is suitable for anyone considering or wishing to set up a not-for-profit business with a social purpose.

Further details are available on our website, via the registration link below.

Cost: £20 per participant

The PDU aims to promote and facilitate collaborative learning and the sharing of good practice among professionals and volunteers from all sectors, in Nottingham and neighbouring areas, who work with people experiencing multiple disadvantage (understood as a combination of mental ill-health, substance misuse, homelessness, offending and domestic abuse, among other issues).

Contact our coordinator Filipa Santos for more information by sending an email to enquiries@pdunottingham.org or calling 0115 934 8428 or 07483 354 441.

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

The PDU offers a unique opportunity for voluntary and statutory sector workers who support people experiencing multiple disadvantage across Nottingham and neighbouring areas, to connect, learn collaboratively and share good practice and expertise.

By participating in our events, you will have the chance to develop your knowledge and skills and extend your professional network by making links with other local organisations.

Attendance to PDU events is free of charge, but advance booking is essential. Follow the relevant links below to register your place at our upcoming events.

Please note that it is PDU policy that people with lived experience are invited to participate in our events.

The Practice Development Unit (PDU) is pleased to announce the launch of a new set of e-learning modules that focus on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for wellbeing.

The ACT on Wellbeing e-learning suite is a set of four modules based on ideas from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is a type of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) that has a good evidence base for improving the wellbeing of people who find themselves facing a wide range of challenging situations.

Wednesday 17 March 2021, 10am-11am

Online via Zoom

Join Robert White, Director of Change at Mayday Trust, for an online discussion about how Mayday Trust stopped doing what they were doing and just listened.

This free online event will cover:

• The deficit system that we know and struggle to love
  
• Changing the Mission
  
• Developing the PTS Response
  
• How to join the fight for a true paradigm shift in systems

For more detail on Mayday Trust and the work they are doing, visit their website, you can also follow Robert on Twitter.

Audience: This event is aimed at professionals and volunteers from all sectors who are interested in learning more about strength or asset based working and system-wide approaches to change.

We are pleased to announce a new Community of Practice (CoP) launching this year that will focus on working with autistic adults who do not have an intellectual disability.

This CoP provides a vibrant but informal safe space for professionals to come together and share experiences and good practice, discuss issues with peers and gain new ideas and knowledge.

The CoP is hosted by the Practice Development Unit and facilitated by Debbie Austin, Specialist Autism Awareness Trainer, Assessor and Autistic Advocate from Autism East Midlands; and Claire Smith, CEO of Autistic Nottingham.

The first set of sessions will take place online from 1.30pm-3.30pm on the following dates:

• Thursday 8 April 2021
  
  
• Thursday 8 July 2021
  
  
• Thursday 7 October 2021

Please note: We have limited places available and these are restricted to two per organisation, so it is not guaranteed that we will be able to allocate you a place. By joining the CoP, you will be registering for all three dates.

To find out more and join, email enquiries@pdunottingham.org

Hours: Part Time, 21 hours per week (0.6 Full Time Equivalent)

Location: Currently home-based

Salary: £20,000 per annum pro rata (actual salary £12,000 pa)

NCVS is at the heart of Nottingham’s voluntary sector, and prides itself on keeping the voluntary sector connected to issues affecting it. We are looking for an individual who can support the general needs of NCVS as well as provide specific support to our growing training and development programme.

Our ideal candidate will have experience of office administration and organising meetings and events. We require an administrator who has excellent organisational and time management skills, is a skilled communicator and eager to work collaboratively with a team of staff and volunteers.

Find out what our former Administrator Lucy had to say about working for NCVS here.

Closing date: 12noon Monday 22 March 2021

Hours: Part Time, 28 hours per week (0.8 Full Time Equivalent)

Location: Currently home-based

Salary: £30,000 - £35,000 per annum pro rata (actual salary £24,000 - £28,000 pa)

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS) has been successful in securing £500,000 as part of a national green social prescribing scheme aimed at improving the mental wellbeing of communities hardest hit by coronavirus. The focus of the programme is within Nottingham City, however the project will aim to grow into Nottinghamshire in the second year.

The Programme Manager will be responsible for the day to day delivery of this exciting and complex programme, which will involve building and managing relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, developing and managing the implementation of programme and project plans and supporting the partners involved in the programme to record and track outcomes and progress.

Closing date: 12noon Monday 22 March 2021

Organised by Civil Society Media, The Charity Awards are the longest running award programme in the sector and seeks to identify charities with original and effective ideas that the rest of the sector can learn from.

After taking the difficult decision to postpone 2020’s Awards due to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Civil Society Media has decided that now is the time to celebrate and reflect, on the work of the charity sector over the past two years.

In a live-streamed ceremony taking place on 10 June 2021, the awards event will honour the work submitted by 2020’s applicants. Its judging panel is currently considering these entries and the shortlist will be announced on Friday 7 May 2021.

New for this year is the Rathbones Covid-19 Response Award. Entries are open until 1 April for this new award, find out more about how to apply here.

Equation is undertaking a survey to understand more about young men’s attitudes and awareness of domestic abuse and violence.

The survey is aimed at all young men in Nottingham, between the ages of 16 to 21 years. The results will help the local charity to understand more about whether further education and awareness surrounding domestic abuse and violence are needed and what young men's current understanding is regarding how to access domestic abuse support.

Please note, some of the questions in this survey could be triggering. Participation in this survey is voluntary and participants may withdraw their response at any point. All answers given will remain anonymous.

Please share this survey with your networks and any suitable service users. The survey will close on Friday (12 March 2021).

Russell Webster and Revolving Doors Agency are working to co-produce a guide to support organisations with providing better support to Service User Volunteers (often known as peer mentors).

The partnership is hoping to conduct the largest ever survey of service users working as volunteers in the UK.

Please fill in this survey if:

• You have previously been a service user of a criminal justice, drug and alcohol, homeless or complex needs organisation
  
  
• And, you have worked as a volunteer for one or more organisations in these areas within the last three years
  

All responses to the survey will be kept confidential. The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete. 

This survey will close on Wednesday 17 March 2021.