Over the past year we have been working with colleagues across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to develop a Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Provider Alliance. This Alliance will allow us to organise our sector collectively and at scale to be embedded in the newly formed Health & Care structures across our Integrated Care System (ICS).  

We would encourage all organisations with an interest in being part of the Health & Care system to find out more about the Alliance and become a member. 

All Nottingham and Nottinghamshire VCSE organisations are welcome to join the Alliance, and all members - from the largest to the smallest voluntary organisations – will act as equal partners within it.

The next meeting takes place on Tuesday 6 December 2022 from 2pm to 4pm, via Teams.  

If you would like to have a chat about whether this is right for your organisation, please get in touch with Jules Sebelin, NCVS Chief Executive: juless@nottinghamcvs.co.uk 

Additional details about how to join the meeting and the background to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire VCSE Alliance are in our extended article on the NCVS website

Nottingham City Council leaders have joined forces with leaders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire County Councils and Derby City Council to make an application to government for a £1.14 billion devolution deal. If approved, it should mean more powers to make decisions locally and lever more resources to our area.

Devolution would create a new legal entity known formally as a Combined County Authority (CCA). This would include Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council and Nottingham City Council and cover the areas of both cities and both counties. The four authorities would still exist as individual councils and would work together on a formal and legal basis to improve the region for our communities and businesses.

NCVS is hosting an online consultation event to give Nottingham voluntary and community organisations the opportunity to ask questions about what it means for the VCSE sector and local development. We will be joined by Sajeeda Rose, Corporate Director for Growth and City Development.

The consultation event will take place via Zoom on Thursday 15 December 2022 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.

Please register here to attend and have your say 

If you're unable to attend our event on 15 December, a survey is now open (until 9 January 2023) on the East Midlands Devolution website and other public consultation events will be advertised there.

Share your views and experiences today!

The State of the Social Sector Survey has been launched. Filling out this independent survey by the researchers at Pro Bono Economics and Nottingham Trent University's National VCSE Data and Insights Observatory is essential. Government and the media need to understand the pressures charities, community groups and voluntary organisations are facing - the state of the sector’s income, people, demand and energy costs - as it assesses which organisations will receive support beyond the winter. 

Backed by all major membership organisations, the results of this survey will provide essential information on where support is needed at this crucial moment. We recommend you have your latest annual accounts and energy bill (if relevant) handy to fill it out.

Please fill out the survey here by Monday 21 November 2022

To celebrate Black Achievers in the month of October, the Black Achievers Awards were founded by Councillor Merlita Bryan and her team. This was the 9th year of hosting these awards in Nottingham. It was a memorable evening for all, bringing tears to some and smiles to many.  NCVS was proud to sponsor the Community Volunteer Award.

The evening was held on Saturday 15 October 2022 at the East Midlands Conference Centre and hosted by comedian Rudi Lickwood. The event saw winners from across Nottinghamshire who are an inspiration to others, and welcomed many individuals, including someone from the Windrush generation in his 90s, a renowned pastor in Nottingham, the first Black woman to become the High Sheriff of Nottingham, squadron leaders, writers, and many more.

 Read on to see a full list of winners.

This is a fortnightly, short get-together, for networking and sharing around what is happening on the ground from the cost of living crisis organised by Emma Bates, lead for Nottingham Financial Resilience Partnership (NFRP)

This networking opportunity, for hearing and gathering what is actually unfolding on the ground/ in experience, is to help ensure we can all respond to the crisis as well as possible within the city.

There is no expectation of attending - it is there as an opportunity due to the fast moving situation.

It does not replace existing meetings such as the NFRP main meeting, or any of its sub groups. It is for more immediate front line, on the ground issues from this crisis only and listening - as relevant, any issues will be fed in to NFRP/ its sub-groups.

The dates are fortnightly on a Friday, next one 18 November 2022 up till Christmas and then it will be reviewed. Emma Bates will be logged in every fortnight at 10am. She will log out by 11am.
 

After over 2 years of stretched resources and with the current cost of living crisis, Severn Trent understand many charities and groups need their help more than ever. So, they’ve committed to allocating £150,000 from the Community Fund to cover core costs for groups finding it hard to maintain their activities, to help them to continue delivering their vital services to communities.

Charities and organisations can apply to be considered for a restricted grant of between £5,000 - £20,000 (depending on the size of the organisation) for 1 year to help them and communities get through this very challenging time.

Severn Trent Community Fund: Core Funding will be open until the budget has been awarded and they anticipate demand for this support to be high. They won’t be able to fund every application received and given the anticipated demand, the fund is likely to be completely awarded very quickly. 

Applications for the Weston Charity Awards 2023 are officially open thanks to a collaboration between The Garfield Weston Foundation and charity partner, Pilotlight.

Now in its ninth year, the Awards offer a unique package of support worth over £22,000 to small charities in the Midlands, the North of England, and Wales. The Awards nurture leadership talent while amplifying a charity’s potential impact.

This help for charities is more vital than ever as the cost-of-living crisis escalates. Charities offering community and welfare services are seeing user numbers rocket while donations continue to decline with the threat of recession looming.

Through the Weston Charity Awards, unrestricted grants of £6,500 are available for up to 22 ambitious charities. The cash contributions are available to instigate strategic change and accelerate innovative growth despite current challenges. Winning applicants also gain free access to the Pilotlight 360 programme - a ten-month package of leadership coaching worth an estimated £16,000.

The call for applications is open to registered charities working with beneficiaries in the Midlands, the North of England, and Wales and which specialise in the fields of Community, Welfare, Youth, and, for the first time, Environment (in recognition of the growing pressures on conservation and environmental charities). Charities with at least one paid full-time member of staff in a leadership position and an income of less than £5 million per year are eligible to apply.

The application deadline is 6 January 2023

Stage one applications need to be received by 23 November 2022.

The Keystone Fund aims to strengthen the organisational capacity and agility of local and regional charities which address social equity in the UK.

• Unrestricted grants, intended to enable charitable organisations in the UK to adapt ways of working, strengthen capacity or build resilience, according to identified needs.
• Grants will be awarded between £5,000 and £50,000
• Approximately 120 grants will be awarded over 2-3 rounds during 2022-23.
• Grant funds must begin to be spent within 6 months of grant payment, but can be carried forward into the following financial year if required to enable flexibility. They should be fully spent within 24 months of grant payment.

Those who can apply must be UK registered charitable organisations (including registered charities and Community Interest Companies)
Addressing social injustice or working towards social equity to build a fairer society for all. These might be organisations which primarily support:

• Refugees in the UK
• People experiencing racial inequity
• People experiencing digital poverty
• People at risk of homelessness
• Deaf and disabled people
• LGBQT+ people
• Responding to increased need among their local or regional communities.

They are also interested in hearing from charities which address other social inequities. They appreciate that organisations may be working to remove barriers for people at the intersection of more than one of these areas.

They will focus approximately 50% of the Fund towards organisations supporting refugees in the UK.

£5m programme

The funding is available to support voluntary and community sports organisations to carry out targeted work supporting children and young people who are at risk of entering the criminal justice system.

Sport is increasingly recognised as having a role in prevention and early intervention work with children at risk of, or already involved in offending behaviour. Although sport is unlikely to stop offending by itself, it has the potential to make a positive contribution.

Sport can offer:

• Supervised, positive, fun activities
• Pro-social friendships
• Positive adult role models
• The chance for young people to achieve
  Support for protective factors.

All organisations will need to apply for grant funding through the Street Games Grant Portal. This closes Monday 5 December 2022 9am

Following a period of closure to review its grants processes, the Foundation has reopened its Small and Large Grants applications on a rolling basis.

This announcement relates to grants in two main areas:

• Creating the best start in life for disadvantaged children and young people
• Reducing isolation and loneliness for older people.
  
  

The Foundation offers large grants starting from £10,000 up to around £60,000, and small grants of between £1,000 and £5,000.

Organisations with an income of less than £500,000 can apply for a small grant covering core funding, while those with an income exceeding £500,000 can apply for a large grant covering project and delivery costs.

Final decisions are expected in around two to three months for small grant applications, and around three to four months for large grants.

Applications are now accepted at any time.

This small fund has just opened to support running costs and salaries of up to £3,000 for organisations whose expenditure is less than £40,000 per year

They offer grants only to registered charities with a total annual expenditure of less than £40,000.

They will not fund work that does not focus specifically on one of  the priority groups. They only fund running costs.

Grants are normally for a maximum of £3,000 per year and they will fund for up to three years.

Most of their grants are for more than one year because they like to fund ongoing needs.

Applicants that reflect their grant making policy have the best chance of success.

Every year we get a flurry of potential volunteers contact us wanting to know how they can help over Christmas. This year’s rush has already started.

Dave Thomas our, Volunteering Development Officer likes this comment from a well-known Nottingham charity that supports homeless people, “Volunteers are for life, not just for Christmas”. While this is very true of pets, we have evidence that people who can be attracted to start volunteering at this time of year will often turn into long-term volunteers - maybe life-long ones.

This year we already have a few seasonal volunteer roles on our website which can be found in the Type of Activity volunteering search category as Christmas and Seasonal Support. None of the roles are being offered across Christmas itself but are for activities before then.

NCVS itself will be closed over Christmas and so will many other organisations. Some volunteer-involving organisations that are open over Christmas already have volunteers who are happy to give their time. Obviously these groups won’t be offering new volunteers the chance to join over Christmas.

However, if your organisation is doing any kind of festive party or activity from now until the New Year and you could use some more help, please get in touch and we'll be happy to add your role(s) to the website. You might even be able to put a seasonal spin on your existing volunteer roles.

If would like to find out more, please get in touch: Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer, at davet@nottinghamcvs.co.uk or 07564 040767

Just this week, we at NCVS have had a very productive meeting with Experian. Look out for more news about this in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, they have a whole week devoted to volunteering from 5 – 10 December where their Social Impact team is encouraging colleagues to take part in a range of volunteering activities at the Sir John Peace office in the Meadows. They are inviting a local school over for activities/games, gift wrapping for a charity, compiling comfort kits for a children’s charity and more.

Experian had a volunteer event set for Monday 5 December but the charity has had to pull out. This is short notice, but if your organisation is interested in Experian colleagues doing a volunteer activity for you at their office on that day, or if you would be interested in having Experian volunteers come to support you on the day, please get in touch.

To encourage a wide range of volunteers to take part for this activity it would be helpful if it isn’t tied to a particular skill so that anyone can take part and encourage more people to take part in volunteering.

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch: Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer, at davet@nottinghamcvs.co.uk or 07564 040767

Green social prescribing is a way of connecting people to nature-based activities and green groups, projects and schemes in their local community for support with health and wellbeing. Often this will be through a referral from a Link Worker based at a GP practice or another primary care professional.

Our scheme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called GreenSpace, is one of seven government Green Social Prescribing Test and Learn sites. It's all about improving people’s mental health. Green providers, social prescribers, voluntary organisations and community initiatives will help connect many more people with nature-based activities, helping everyone to feel better.

The Big Green Book has been developed as part of the GreenSpace Green Social Prescribing Project and it is a directory of nature-based activities and opportunities around Nottingham City

Presented in collaboration with The Institute of Mental Health, you’ll hear from artists, youth workers and academics working to explore the impact of mental health issues on young people. Attendees will consider the topic through a range of talks, workshops and discussions.

Friday 25 November 2022 5.30pm - 8.00pm

You can attend in person or online. If attending online, you will be sent a Zoom link

Registration at the venue is from 5pm – 5.15pm.
Registration online is from 5:15pm – 5:25pm.

If you are joining online, you will need paper and pencils or pens in order to take part in the workshops.

If you are attending in person, please feel free to stay for the launch of new exhibition exploring mental health, put on by City Arts’ Young Producers group.

Youth Outreach are hosting a free knife crime community event 

The purpose of this event is to bring the community, policing, young people, and different organisations together to highlight the good work that is being done in Nottinghamshire to fight knife crime and serious youth violence, as well as, to highlight the devastating impact serious youth violence has on young people, their families and the wider community.

On the day, please expect the following:

• FREE Activities
• Speeches
  
• FREE Food/ Refreshments
  
• Live DJ
  
• Stalls
  
• Performances
  
• AND Much More!
  

Saturday 19 November 2022 12pm-5pm

Park Vale Academy Top Valley Drive Nottingham NG5 9AZ

Please arrive at 12pm as doors to the theatre will close at 1pm for the live performances! Ticket holders only

Any questions please email: Youthoutreach@Notts.Police.uk

Limited tickets so book early

Free webinar from Co-operatives UK

One of a series of webinars brought to you by Co‑operatives UK in partnership with The Co‑operative Bank as part of The Hive programme which supports new and existing co‑ops.

The last decade has seen an increase in the number of community owned co‑ops across the UK. Co‑ops are democratic businesses that allow local communities to take control of the services and spaces that matter most to them. They enable people to pool resources to trade goods and services that benefit the community. 

Join them for this webinar to discover:

• How local people can form co‑ops to create solutions that meet their needs and enrich and revitalise their neighbourhoods.
• The important role co‑operatives can play in strengthening communities, creating wealth locally and enabling people to have greater control over what happens in their area or community of interest. 
• The benefits of the co‑op model for empowering people at grass roots level.
• How communities can come together to take control of local assets. 

Free online webinar

Monday 21 November 2022 1.00pm-2.00pm

Free webinar from NCVO/SCVO in partnership with Utility Aid

Energy bills have risen by 2.5 times what they were a year ago. While these price rises are beyond your charity’s control, there are some simple ways to keep costs down.

By the end of this webinar, you’ll know:

• how to check your organisation’s energy bills are accurate
• how to save costs and be ‘greener’
• where to go for further support and guidance.

Thursday 12 January 2023, 10.30am to 12.45pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of roles and responsibilities in the safeguarding of adults and how to respond to concerns.

Cost: £25 per participant

Tuesday 31 January 2023, 10.30am to 12.45pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of roles and responsibilities in the safeguarding of children and young people and how to respond to concerns.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 23 November 2022, 1pm to 3.15pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the Designated Safeguarding Lead Person.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 16 February 2023, 10.30am to 11.45am

An interactive online session for Trustees (or members of Management Committees) of organisations whose activities put them in contact with vulnerable adults or children.

Cost: £15 per participant

Wednesday 25 January 2023, 10.30am to 12.30pm

This two-hour online session covers the basic information for all trustees, whether you are new to the role or long-established.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 22 February 2023, 10am to 12.15pm

A new interactive hands-on workshop for organisations and community groups who want to practice their skills and would welcome constructive feedback to further develop their skills in writing successful funding applications.
Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 15 March 2023, 11am to 1pm

Do you manage a space, office or building? This new two-hour online session will take your Fire Wardens and/or Fire Marshal through the basics. As a result, they will be better equipped to carry out these very important roles.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 18 January 2023, 10.30am to 12.30pm

This two-hour online session is intended for trustees who have completed our 'Being a Trustee' course, who want to further develop their involvement and awareness of trustee duties and improve their personal skill set.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 7 February 2023, 10.30am to 12.30pm

Are you acting as secretary or note taker, or do you need to record meetings? Learn how to take effective minutes and make your task easier. This two-hour online session replaces our previous face-to-face three-hour course and will take you through the process of producing a 'minute'.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 15 February 2023, 6pm to 8pm

This new two-hour online session will explain the basics of health and safety, then take you through the process of carrying out a risk assessment in an organisational environment.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 22 November 2022, 1pm to 2.15pm

For organisations and community groups who are new to applying for funding, or for those in need of a refresher. Relevant for groups applying for COVID-19 funding and recovery support as well as other general funding.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 8 February 2023, 10am to 12 noon

For some time, we’ve been asked about training that goes beyond the basics of managing and supporting volunteers. In this new two-hour online session, we’ll explore some of the real-life issues that you are facing.

Cost: £20 per participant

Thursday 24 November 2022, 10am to 12pm

A two-hour online course for Leaders of Volunteers to start to develop an understanding of some of the legal requirements that relate to your volunteering programme.

Cost: £20 per participant

Thursday 26 January 2023, 6pm to 7pm

A one-hour online session to help your volunteer role descriptions stand out, ensuring you attract enthusiastic volunteers.

Cost: £10 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).

We have a new PDU Programme Manager!

The PDU is pleased to welcome it’s latest Programme Manager, Katie Hall who assumed the role late this October.

Some of you may have crossed paths with Katie in her previous role as an Information Officer for Nottingham Women’s Centre, where she worked for the last 12 months mapping services for local women involved in the criminal justice system.

Katie has almost a decade of experience working in services supporting people with complex needs across residential, education and high secure psychiatric settings. All of which has given her great insight into the complex nature of resettlement and recovery, in addition to her psychology degree. She is passionate about service user involvement and meaningful collaboration, as well as challenging patriarchal systems and health inequality.

She was keen to join the PDU to continue raising the voices of marginalised groups and to champion trauma informed practice and gender and cultural responsivity, and fervently advocates for system change.

If you would like to share your expertise as a speaker or facilitator for the PDU, or submit content to our monthly cross-sector bulletin, please email katieh@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

PDU Events

We have our Gender Responsive Services Community of Practice meeting coming up on Thursday 1 December 2022. If you are interested in joining or want to find out more information about our Communities of Practice, please get in touch enquiries@pdunottingham.org

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

In the spirit of Trustees Week and celebrating the achievements of over 1 million trustees in the UK, NPC would like to invite you to this free NPC seminar—run in partnership with the Clothworkers' Company— aimed at all trustees regardless of experience.

At this seminar, they will provide insights into key questions such as how is the role of a trustee different in times of crisis, change, and uncertainty?', and 'What is the role of the trustee in governing charities so that they can continue to be impactful in the face of change and uncertainty?'

This seminar is for people with an interest in trusteeship at all levels of experience.

Online

Wednesday 7 December 2022
4.00pm—5.30pm

Independent Age Reconnections Community Service in Nottingham - supporting people 65+ in the following areas:

Nottingham City, Arnold, Beeston, Bulwell, Carlton, Carrington, Clifton, Daybrook, Gedling, Lenton, Netherfield, Sneinton, West Bridgford, Wilford, Wollaton.

 They currently have capacity to support people in the following ways:

• Matching older people with a volunteer to combat isolation and loneliness, supporting people to become more connected in the local community. People can refer through their website and information Community Services | Independent Age. They are currently not able to support people with complex needs or who struggle with capacity and would need more specialist help.
• Offer specialist advice, they provide a confidential telephone service for people that are 65 +, their families and carers: 0800 319 6789
• Support people that are not able to get out and about, the opportunity to join a weekly telephone service with other older people in Nottingham
  

They are also running Moneywise and related themed events for older people in Nottingham City to address the cost-of-living crisis. If there are groups that may be interested in them going along, please do get in touch with them. These events comprise guest speakers to offer hints and tips for addressing economic hardship and distribution of practical information guides (Moneywise, Scamwise, Keeping Safe at Home etc)

For information contact Nottingham Independent Age nottingham@independentage.org or telephone:  0115 811 4300

Minver Sports Centre Minver Crescent Aspley

Christmas Fayre stalls available

Wednesday 7 December 2022 3.30pm-5.30pm

Please call 0115 929 3691 for more details             

JRF believe that there is a significant gap in evidence on within-year earnings and income volatility in the UK and would like to contribute towards filling this gap. They are asking for ideas they would like JRF to play a role in delivering.

They are looking for short written submissions by Friday 9 December 2022 

Any questions please email Rebecca McDonald volatility@jrf.org.uk

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together NHS services, local authorities and other local partners across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, to collectively plan and deliver joined up health and care services, to improve the lives of our population. Have your say in the development of the integrated Care Strategy

Turn2us would love to hear from Grants Search and/or Benefits Calculator users. They would love to hear what you think of these services and what you think could be improved. They would greatly appreciate if you could spend two minutes filling in this survey to ensure their tools are best serving people experiencing financial insecurity.  

East Midlands Devolution…what does it mean for you it? 

Nottingham City Council leaders have joined forces with leaders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire County Councils and Derby City Council to make an application to government for a £1.14 billion devolution deal. If approved, it should mean more powers to make decisions locally and lever more resources to our area.

Devolution would create a new legal entity known formally as a Combined County Authority (CCA). This would include Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council and Nottingham City Council and cover the areas of both cities and both counties. The four authorities would still exist as individual councils and would work together on a formal and legal basis to improve the region for our communities and businesses.

NCVS is hosting an online consultation event to give Nottingham voluntary and community organisations the opportunity to ask questions about what it means for the VCSE sector and local development. We will be joined by Sajeeda Rose, Corporate Director for Growth and City Development.

The consultation event will take place via Zoom on Thursday 15 December 2022 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.

Please register here to attend and have your say 

If you're unable to attend our event on 15 December, a survey is now open (until 9 January 2023) on the East Midlands Devolution website and other public consultation events will be advertised there.

Review of the Community Development National Occupational Standards (NOS) - It’s time to take part! 

A new consultation is being carried out by CLD in Scotland about the NOS for Community Development (as well as the Family Learning and brand new Adult Learning NOS) and you are invited to have your say.

The review is scheduled for completion by March 2023 and some focus groups have already taken place across the 4 nations in October and November with another round of focus groups week commencing 5 December 2022

The National Occupational Standards (NOS) are central to the work that is done at ESB. There is an opportunity through this consultation to have your voices heard about the direction of travel for the UK-wide picture for the Community Development NOS and you are encouraged to get involved by signing up to one of the focus groups and keep an eye out for the online survey due in January 2023

Further information about the NOS review can be found on the CLD Standards Council dedicated NOS webpage which has a separate tab for the Community Development NOS documents. 

Wednesday 7 December 2022 10am-12pm

Online