We've reported previously that NCVS has 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).

The VCSE Alliance is a group of VCSE organisations across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire that acts as a single point of contact to help generate citizen intelligence from the groups and communities that they work with.

This vital insight is then being shared across the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS and ICB, to ensure that the experiences and views of local citizens are considered in the design and delivery of health and social care services in the region, and to enable an effective two-way flow of information.

The Alliance is currently recruiting for a Chair. This new role is an important one, as the person appointed will be instrumental in continuing to build relationships across the local VCSE sector and wider health and care partners.

The role is an appointment and not an employed role, The Chair role will be eligible for appropriate remuneration, to be agreed with the successful candidate once appointed. It is estimated that the Chair will be expected to commit up to 19 days within a 12-month period.

The Chair will be appointed via a transparent and robust process, to ensure effective management of potential conflicts of interest.

Please view the recruitment pack for details of how to submit expressions of interest by the closing date of 12 noon on Friday 3 March 2023.

In our last NCVS e-bulletin, in the leading article introducing Ruthe Sawyer, we mistakenly listed an incorrect email address. Apologies for this. Some of you cleverly worked out the correct address.

Please note that Ruthe's direct email address is ruthes@nottinghamcvs.co.uk.

Humanitarian aid charities have launched emergency fundraising appeals to support people in Turkey and Syria affected by earthquakes that occurred on Monday 6 February. We join with our Nottingham communities, and all across the world, in expressing deep sorrow for the lives lost and concern for all impacted by the disaster.

We know that many volunteers have already come together in Nottingham to gather aid and resources. If you would like to help and aren't sure how, you are encouraged to donate to the appeal launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). DEC charities and their local partners are among the first responders providing urgent help.

Donate to the DEC's Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal.

Other charities have begun appeals, including Nottingham-based Muslim Hands UK.

The Road Ahead is NCVO’s annual analysis of the changing operating environment for anyone working in the voluntary sector. The 2023 launch event took place on Wednesday 25 January and saw Alex Farrow, Director of Influencing and Engagement at NCVO, Charlotte Hill, Chief Executive of The Felix Project and Zoe Amar, co-author of The Charity Digital Code of Practice, and the founder of Zoe Amar Digital, giving their insights into the trends, challenges and opportunities facing the voluntary sector in the year ahead.

You can watch the launch event on YouTube (55 minutes).

NCVO has published five key insights for the year ahead in a series of blogs:

• The ongoing impact of cost of living: Look beyond the headlines and explore the key trends you need to navigate the cost of living crisis.
  
  

• Supporting staff, trustees and volunteers: Is your organisation doing everything that it can to attract and retain people?

• Keeping up the pace on equity, diversity and inclusion: What can we do this year to strengthen our commitment to tackle inequality in our organisations and society.
  
  

• Adapting to political change: How will the latest and upcoming political changes affect how your charity campaigns?
  
  

• Responding to new laws and regulations: Discover the new laws and regulations that will change how charities can operate.

A BBC news article reports that one in five households with pre-payment meters have not cashed in their energy vouchers issued to help pay bills. It means as much as £50million of government support for energy has gone unclaimed by some of the most vulnerable.

According to Citizens Advice, the main reason for people not cashing an energy voucher is because they have not received it yet.

Although the deadline has passed, it is still possible for the voucher money to be claimed. A person who has not received their voucher or has not cashed it in time needs to contact their energy supplier, check that their contact details are correct, and ask for the voucher to be reissued to them.

Previously Head of Promotion and Dementia Programme Lead, Bev has taken on the job of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Dementia Programme Lead.

Radford Care Group was established in 1968 and a lot has changed over the years.

Bev writes...

I am pleased to say that I now have the pleasure of leading this fantastic and well established local charity forward in to the future to support the delivery of the excellent work done here by all our treasured and hard-working staff and volunteers. Providing superb day care and friendship to the citizens of Nottingham.

Now, and in these challenging times, people need us more than ever. Supporting the vision of reducing isolation and loneliness whilst also contributing to better health and well-being, both physically and mentally.

We want more people to be able to access our centre to maintain their independence and remain in their own homes for longer, whilst also giving their loved ones and carers some respite. Our new purpose-built centre at 25 Prospect Street, Radford can welcome those who need support due to health issues including dementia, providing activities appropriate to needs as well as a two-course hot lunch (transport may also be available).

DEaf Abuse Free service has been created to break down the barriers faced by deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing women as victims of abuse. This is a new service delivered by Deaf-initely Women and funded by the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

For more information, see the Deaf-initely Women website or text the DEaf Abuse Free (DEaf) Personal Navigational Support worker for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire on 07513 010 648.

"A study of the Sybil Levin SPECAL-informed Specialist Dementia Day Service" report that we were asked to feature in the last e-bulletin can now be downloaded in full from the Age UK Nottingham and Nottinghamshire website.

Read more about the Sybil Levin Specialist Dementia Day Service.

Direct link to report (pdf).

Applications close on Sunday 26 February 2023

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire (the PCC) is seeking to fund third sector organisations to provide projects and initiatives that will help to prevent rural crime, improve confidence to report rural crime and better support victims in our rural communities.

The commissioning team is hosting online information sessions to offer support and guidance for applying for Rural Crime thematic funding. Remaining dates are Wednesday 15 February 2023 from 1pm to 2pm or Tuesday 21 February 2023 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. Register your attendance via this short form.

This new fund is a three-year unrestricted grant programme aimed at mitigating the devastating impact the cost of living crisis is having on the youth sector.

The UK Youth Fund in partnership with Pears Foundation will provide targeted funding to youth organisations delivering high quality youth work to ensure doors stay open, bills get paid and youth workers receive the salaries they deserve. This will help to ensure young people continue to be supported at this most difficult of times by the youth organisations and youth workers on whom they’ve come to depend.

Youth organisations with an annual income of no more than £500,000 are able to apply. The fund will offer three-year unrestricted grants of approximately 10% of the current turnover of applicant organisations to reflect the current inflation rate, and organisations will hear the outcome of their application within 4-6 weeks.

Regular webinars are being held between now and May 2023, giving an opportunity for you to join the grants team as they talk through the entire application process and give advice on how to make a strong application. Register to attend via Eventbrite.

There is currently no fixed closing date as the application window will stay open while funds still remain to be distributed. Applications will be assessed as they come in, so you should apply when you are ready

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.

Only a month into 2023 and it has been full steam ahead for the Greenspace team. The latest GreenSpace bulletin is available to read.

You can view it in your web browser now. If you would like to receive future issues directly to your inbox, please email greenspace@nottinghamcvs.co.uk with a request to be added to the mailing list.

Wednesday 15 February 2023, 6.30pm to 7.15pm
Online, free to attend

CPRE (the Countryside Charity) Nottinghamshire is hosting a free online talk on Active Travel. This refers to making journeys by physically active means, like walking or cycling.

The guest speaker is David Clasby from Sustrans, who are the custodians of the National Cycle Network. This live talk will appeal to those who love the countryside, particularly keen cyclists and walkers.

Saturday 4 March 2023, 11am to 3pm
Nottingham MS Therapy Centre Ltd. The Nottingham Oxygen Centre
Unit H2, Trent Park Ind. Estate, Little Tennis Street South, Nottingham NG2 4EU

This is the Centre's first post-Covid open day.

Nottingham Oxygen Centre (also known as Nottingham Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre) is a member led charity offering a relaxed environment and practical help through subsidised therapies. In particular, the Centre offers Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Physiotherapy, Reflexology, Massage, a range of accessible exercise equipment, advice and information on various topics.

Although still predominantly offering support to people with MS, their open minded approach means the doors are open to people with a wide range of conditions that benefit from the therapies they provide, including Long Covid.

All are welcome. For further information, see https://www.theoxygencentre.org.uk.

Tuesday 7 March 2023, 4pm to 5.30pm
Online via Zoom

This free seminar hosted by NPC (New Philanthropy Capital), with funding from and in partnership with the Clothworkers’ Company, is aimed at trustees and will explore how charities can support their beneficiaries during the cost of living crisis.

It will explore:

• How charities can help the people they support to manage the rising cost of living.
• What decisions charity boards might need to make to address the different challenges raised by this crisis.

Thursday 9 March 2023, 11am
Online, free to attend

What impact is the cost of living crisis having on the industry and what can charity finance leaders do to meet the challenge?

At this event, Third Sector Insight will be joined by Sage Intacct’s senior solution consultant, Grant Gevers and charity finance leaders. They'll cover some of the issues charities’ financial teams are facing including the complexity of accounting and funding streams; reporting and visibility issues and how to tackle the managing of funds and grants.

If you can't make this date, it's still worth registering, as you will be sent a link to watch a recording of the session once it's available.

Tuesday 21 March 2023, 10am to 11.30am
Online via Zoom, free to attend

This is the first community transport association forum for the East Midlands. The forum is open to all Community Transport providers and other charities, not for profit organisations and stakeholders who have an interest in community and accessible transport in the East Midlands region.

Wednesday 12 April 2023, 10am to 12.30pm

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 25 April 2023, 10:30am to 1pm

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

Tuesday 28 February 2023, 10.30am to 12.45pm

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

Cost: £25 per participant

Thursday 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

Tuesday 18 April 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

Tuesday 16 May 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

Monday 22 May 2023, 6pm to 8pm

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 21 March 2023, 10:30am to 12:30pm

What is the right structure for your organisation? This 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.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 22 March 2023, 10am to 11.15am

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

Thursday 29 June 2023, 10am to 11am

In this one-hour online session, we will identify some of the barriers that potential volunteers face to becoming involved in your organisation and share ideas to remove these barriers.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 14 June 2023, 10am to 11am

This one-hour online session aims to share some ideas about how best to deal with the inevitable disagreements, personality clashes and conflicts that arise from time to time among a team of volunteers.

Cost: £10 per participant

Tuesday 4 April 2023, 10am to 11am

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.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 24 May 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

Tuesday 9 May 2023, 10am to 12 noon

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

Wednesday 12 April 2023, 2pm to 3pm

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).

Contact Katie Hall, our PDU Programme Manager, for more information: enquiries@pdunottingham.org

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

Thursday 9 March 2023, 10am to 3.30pm
Cleaves Hall Conference Centre, 6 Castle Gate, Nottingham NG1 7AS
Free to attend, but registration is essential. Lunch provided.

Join us for a free workshop exploring financial resilience and financial capability, including what services are available to support people who face financial exclusion and difficulty, and what we can do as workers.

This session, run by Emma Bates, Sessional Specialist for Nottingham Financial Resilience Partnership, will include:

• Understanding what financial resilience is about
• Exploring different aspects of ensuring people are financially included (such as credit, banking, debt, income, saving, and service access) and also of financial capability / education
• Awareness of available services that can help people with financial matters
• Group discussions on issues faced by service users / residents and what we can do as workers to support them.

Advance booking is essential. Registrations close on Monday 6 March 2023.

Did you know you can watch the recordings from some of our past virtual events in the PDU online hub? Follow the link below to find them.

*Please note you will need to sign in or sign up for a free account first.

You can also explore our interactive e-learning suite, delving into good working practices connected to Severe and Multiple Disadvantage (SMD), including Psychologically Informed Approaches (PIE) and Trauma Informed Care (TIC).

For example, individuals who are new to the field of SMD, can begin their learning journey with our introductory module on “Understanding Multiple Disadvantage”.

In this module you will learn:

• What multiple disadvantage is and what it feels like to experience it
• What are the underlying causes of complex needs
• How services fail service-users who have multiple needs
• Why changing the system is important.

Not everyone experiences multiple disadvantage in the same way! People’s social identities can overlap creating compounding experiences of multiple disadvantage.

To help develop your understanding of intersectionality, we also have follow up modules on

• Gender Responsiveness and Multiple Disadvantage
• Cultural Responsiveness and Multiple Disadvantage.

In these short courses, you can increase your understanding of how gender, race and culture intersect with people’s experience of multiple disadvantage, as well as learn what gender and culturally responsive practice looks like and how you can develop this within your role and services.

For an overview of our PDU e-Learning suite, take a look at this infographic.

Follow the link below to start your e-learning journey on the PDU today.

*Please note you will need to sign in or sign up for a free account first.

A positive father-child relationship is linked to improved outcomes in children’s education, behaviour, health and emotional and social development. Think Dads is a half day, free, interactive training session that has been developed with support from local fathers and healthcare professionals.

Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC) is committed to ensuring that dads and male carers are valued by services to support their children to grow up happy, healthy and confident. This training course has been designed for all members of the children’s workforce, including health services, council teams and voluntary and community organisations.

Scheduled sessions are taking place at the following venues:

• 7 March 2023: Bakersfield Community Centre
• 21 March 2023: Bakersfield Community Centre
• 29 March 2023: New Art Exchange

If you would like a training session delivered specifically for your team, or have any other queries, please email felicity.callon@nhs.net.

Introduction to Domestic Violence Protection Orders
Wednesday 8 March 2023, 10am to 11am
Free to Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County workers. This one hour online briefing is delivered by Elizabeth Chapman, Safeguarding & Civil Orders Officer for Nottinghamshire Police. Register via Eventbrite.

Challenging Domestic Abuse
Thursday 16 March 2023, 9.30am to 4.30pm
Face-to-face event at Nottingham Mechanics, Dickens Suite, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham NG1 4EZ
Free to Nottingham City workers. This course is for workers and volunteers from all sectors who want to increase their awareness of key good practice guidelines for contact with perpetrators of domestic abuse. Register via Eventbrite.

Domestic Abuse in Same-Sex Relationships
Thursday 23 March 2023, 9.30am to 1pm
Free to Nottingham City workers. This online course is for workers and volunteers from all sectors who want to understand the impact of domestic violence and abuse on people in same sex relationships, and be able to support them safely and effectively. Register via Eventbrite.

Please express interest as soon as possible to cycle@nottinghamcity.gov.uk. There is an opportunity to attend a training session tomorrow, Friday 10 February 2023, from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

Nottingham City Council is making eCargo bikes freely available to trial for 30-90 days for businesses, voluntary and public sector organisations. An admin fee applies to businesses and the public sector but there is no charge to charities.

As part of the ongoing drive towards net zero carbon emissions in Nottingham, eCargo bikes can offer organisations a sustainable alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles and are specifically designed to transport cargo from A to B with zero emissions. They have a large storage space for cargo at the front of the frame and an electric motor to provide a much-welcomed pedalling boost.

International Women’s Day is nearly here and women's groups in Nottingham are proactive in acknowledging and celebrating this significant day.

Nottingham City Council is keen to involve/unite women’s groups in Nottingham in a city event celebrating International Women’s Day. if you would like to be involved or if you are already planning an event you’d like them to know about, please email CentralResidentDevelopmentTeam@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.

Nottinghamshire County Council is looking for people who are interested in taking part in a film project to share stories of their experience with suicide. The project is part of work led by Public Health to prevent suicide locally.

Films will be used to share messages that it's ok to talk about suicide and what can help people recover. The film project is designed to be supportive and positive to contribute to other local work to prevent suicide.

There will be five short films of around five minutes initially. People with their own experience of suicidal feelings/attempts, self-harm or bereavement by suicide are invited to participate. Those taking part should be well enough to do so and have their own network of support. They must also live in Nottingham or Nottinghamshire. Support can be provided through a partner organisation should the need arise.

Expressing an interest doesn’t commit anyone to taking part if it doesn’t feel right for them and people will be able to withdraw at any point during the project. The project team may also decide, with the individual, that the time is not right to take part.

It is anticipated that involvement will take around 2-3 sessions of about an hour each dependent on individual needs. The project team will be flexible with times and locations.

If you, or someone you know, is interested and would like to meet with Tracey and Steph (project team) to find out more about taking part, please contact steph.knowles@notts.gov.uk.

If you're not yet a member of the FSI (Foundation for Social Improvement), you might want to consider signing up in order to access free quarterly advice and a range of subsidised events. Membership is free if you are a charity (UK-registered or non-registered), community interest company (CIC) or community organisation with an annual turnover of less than £1 million.

The FSI has decided that their 'Big Advice Day' is too good to have just once a year. So, it is now the Quarterly Big Advice Day (QBAD). It’s a chance for you to speak to advisors about pretty much anything, and it's free.

If you have any questions, are seeking any advice for your organisation, or would love someone to spend an hour looking over a grant application, then sign up.

The next Quarterly Big Advice Day is Friday 31 March 2023.

The deadline for submitting requests for advice is Friday 3 March 2023.

Consultation deadline: Friday 24 February 2023

With experts from local organisations, Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Caroline Henry, has drawn up a draft plan for Nottinghamshire's Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. She is now asking for your opinion of the plan.

It is recognised that a whole community effort is required in order to change a culture and tackle the attitudes and beliefs that can give rise to Violence Against Women and Girls. It is therefore essential that men form part of the conversation. Everyone in Nottinghamshire is invited to participate.

View the proposed strategy document, and then complete the survey.

Nottingham City Council is asking for your views on new draft equality, diversity & inclusion objectives. Your input is important to make sure that the objectives fully reflect our communities in Nottingham.

The current 2020-2023 strategy can be viewed here.

The online survey is open until Monday 6 March 2023.

The Census is open all year round, but you will need to complete the Census by Friday 31 March 2023 for your data to be featured in the annual State of the Nation report (due to be published by the summer).

The National Youth Sector Census is a survey of all youth sector provision across England. It aims to capture an accurate picture of youth services and out of school activities.

If you’re delivering support to young people, places where they can have fun, with the support of a youth worker and volunteers who advise, guide and create opportunities for young people then you should be included.

The National Youth Agency has been funded by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport to deliver the Census and analyse the data.

The data which the Census will provide will not only help to influence decisions about funding at a national level, but it will also help you to show where there is an identified need in your area to support applications for funding.

The Census will also help you to see what other services are being provided in your region and where there are opportunities for partnership working; as well as highlighting best practice and innovation around the country.

By completing the Census you will also be more visible to commissioners and partners who could be interested in funding your services, or working with you.