Applications are still open for this new role in the NCVS team.

We are looking for an individual who can support the development and growth of the Practice Development Unit (PDU) so its learning offer can engage with and reach a broad cross-sector audience, in close collaboration with voluntary and statutory sector partners. NCVS has hosted the PDU in partnership since 2017, originally with Opportunity Nottingham and since 2022 with Nottingham Changing Futures.

This role will help ensure that people working in Nottingham and surrounding areas understand how to best support people who experience Severe Multiple Disadvantage (SMD), and that services and staff from a wide range of organisations feel confident to deliver approaches that work.

The role is initially for 12 months with a possible extension dependent on funding. Secondments and job shares will be considered.

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week
Salary: £26,945 per annum
Closing date: 12 noon on Monday 14 August 2023

Please share the full job advert (pdf) with your networks.

An additional information pack (pdf), providing context to the work of the PDU and SMD, can also be shared.

NCVS is working in partnership with Nottingham City Council Parks to plan a volunteer celebration and promotion event in the restored Victoria Embankment Memorial Gardens, near to Trent Bridge.

This will be on Saturday 7 October 2023 from 11am to 2pm.

We hope to have games and activities, music in the bandstand, and displays and stalls from local voluntary and community groups serving the south of the city. It will be a completely free event for you and for visitors.

At this stage, we are asking for expressions of interest from local groups who would be interested in taking part. It's a great opportunity to promote your activities and talk to people about how they can volunteer with you, or support you in other ways.

Please email volunteercentre@nottinghamcvs.co.uk by Wednesday 16 August, with your name, your organisation’s name and contact details, using the subject line 'Embankment Memorial Gardens volunteer event'.

We'll be sending out more information and a booking form nearer the time.

Image credits: Victoria Embankment: the restored Memorial Gardens
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Sutton - geograph.org.uk/p/7477645

Deadline for nominations is Thursday 31 August 2023

The aim of the Black Achievers Awards is to recognise and promote the achievements of our BME community. This year Merlita Bryan and her team will be celebrating 10 years of hosting the awards.

Nominations are still being accepted for eight of the categories, including the Community Award 2023 which is sponsored by Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS). Nominations for the Black Businessperson Award have already closed.

Please be aware that the nomination system is based around the quality of information provided for the sponsors to decide on the winner, not by public vote.
Self-nominations are accepted.

The black-tie event will take place on Saturday 28 October at the Delta Hotels by Marriott, Nottingham NG8 6PY. The host for the evening is one of the first Black comedians on BBC - Rudi Lickwood - with a track record of over 25 years in the industry. British reggae singer and DJ from Brixton, Tippa Irie, will perform. There will also be local performers from Derby and Nottingham.

It will be a night of glamour not to be missed. Tables of 10 are available for purchase at a discounted price, or individual tickets are available through the website. Please email theblackachieversward@gmail.com for more information.

Remedi has been successful in tendering for the Notts Victim Care and Restorative Justice contracts via the Nottinghamshire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC). These services are currently delivered by Catch 22.

Remdedi will be taking over the service in October 2023, and is currently recruiting staff. Details of some of the roles are on the NCVS jobs page.

FMB Radio is a local community radio station, broadcasting from Lenton, which relies on the hard work of volunteers who want to have an impact in their local community.

Their website now looks crisper, with new pages for podcasts and articles.

As they continue to expand their team of presenters and behind-the-scenes volunteers, they have availability for people to get involved with making their own live shows, podcasts, assisting with newsreading, online content, and so much more! If you are interested, please email info@fmbradio.com.

FMB Radio also has the ability to broadcast live radio from within your own event / venue. If this interests you, email info@fmbradio.com.

Deadline for applications is 5pm on Tuesday 22 August 2023

The Energy Saving Trust has opened its fifth round of funding for the Ofgem Energy Redress Scheme, which distributes fines paid by energy companies that have breached rules.

The fund will support projects that help households at risk because of high energy bills, or schemes that work to reduce carbon emissions.

There are four funding streams with grants of up to £250,000 available.

Charities and community groups must register at least 10 working days before the fund closes in order to apply. This means you must register online before Saturday 12 August.

Deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 16 October 2023

The government has announced the launch of the Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund (CCLF), as part of a package of over £100 million for charities and community organisations announced in the 2023 Spring Budget.

Delivered in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF), the CCLF will support organisations across England to deliver critical frontline services for those struggling with rising costs and increased demand. It is focused on small and medium sized organisations, but national organisations can apply where they can demonstrate local impact.

You can apply for between £10,000 and £75,000, even if you already have funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.

Your organisation can apply if you provide at least one of these critical services to low-income households and individuals:

• Food and emergency supplies
• Emergency shelter
• Safe spaces
• Warmth
• Financial or housing advice.

To find out more, you can register to attend an information webinar. Webinars are being held on:

• Monday 21 August, 11am to 11.45am
• Tuesday 12 September, 2pm to 3pm
• Tuesday 28 September, 11am to 12 noon.

Rolling application process - trustees meet four times a year. The next application deadline is Friday 27 October 2023.

Small and medium-sized UK charities are invited to apply for funding from the A B Charitable Trust. The organisation is particularly interested in supporting charities that work with migrants and refugees, the justice system, human rights and access to justice.

Applicants must have an annual income of between £150,000 and £1.5 million. Open Programme grants are usually between £10,000 to £25,000 per year and are awarded from one to three years.

After the success of our first face-to-face Leaders of Volunteers Network (LoVN) meeting for three years, in June, it was unanimously agreed that we want to continue in-person sessions in addition to our online meetings.

We will be meeting in-person again on:

Wednesday 13 September 2023, 10am to 12 noon, at Refugee Roots, Clarendon Chambers, 32 Clarendon Street, Nottingham NG1 5LN.

Although places are limited, there are still some available, and you will meet your colleagues in real life rather than on a screen. If you would like to attend, it's essential you book your place quickly.

We are promised a presentation from Daniel Parkin of Refugee Roots about research carried out with Nottingham Trent University, looking at male volunteers. Many of us find it difficult to recruit men into our teams. This research not only considers why this is, but has some recommendations for how we can address this.

We will also be discussing power relationships in volunteering as part of our work on the Vision for Volunteering.

Don't forget to let us know if you'd like to take part in the volunteer celebration and promotion event we're planning for Saturday 7 October 2023 at the Victoria Embankment Memorial Gardens.

Please email volunteercentre@nottinghamcvs.co.uk by Wednesday 16 August, with your name, your organisation’s name and contact details, using the subject line 'Embankment Memorial Gardens volunteer event'.

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, was one of seven government Green Social Prescribing Test and Learn sites.

While the National Test and Learn may have ended, NCVS continues to embed green social prescribing into health systems to make nature-based/outdoor activities an intervention of choice to support people to improve and maintain their mental and physical health and wellbeing.

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.

The Big Green Book is a directory of nature-based/outdoor activities, and was first developed as part of the GreenSpace project to highlight activities in Nottingham City.

Designed for both social prescribers and the general public, the book helps to link people with activities that can help to support and improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

A Big Green Book is now available for the Rushcliffe area.

Nottingham Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) is planning an event bringing together organisations in Nottingham which campaign against racism in many forms. The provisional date for the event is Saturday 16 September 2023, and venues are already on standby.

The next meeting to plan the programme for the event is on Tuesday 8 August, from 6.30pm at NTU’s Global Lounge, Goldsmith Street NG1 5GT. All are welcome, and people will be able to join in via Zoom.

If you/your organisation would like to be represented at the planning meeting or be part of the event on 16 September, please contact SUTR at info@nottmsutr.co.uk.

The Carers Roadshow includes many information stalls to support all unpaid carers and the people they care for. Free to attend.

• Wednesday 16 August 2023, 10am to 2pm, St Ann’s Valley Health Centre NG3 3GG
  
  
• Friday 18 August 2023, 10am to 2pm, Cornerstone Health Centre Clifton NG11 8EW

Friday 18 August 10pm until 2am on Saturday 19 August 2023
The Marcus Garvey Ballroom, 221 Lenton Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 2BY
Free to attend, but register for tickets

Fearless Youth Association (FYA) is hosting another free music event. They have 14 super talented Nottingham artists who will be bringing the energy all night long!

Nottingham’s South Asian Festival of Art and Culture returns on Sunday 10 September 2023 at Wollaton Park.

Nottingham Mela is an annual celebration presented by Nottingham Mela Network. Nottingham Mela Network is a partnership between New Art Exchange, Nottingham Asian Arts Council and Nottingham City Council.

Further information will soon be available at https://wollatonhall.org.uk/mela/

Effective risk management for charities in 2023
Wednesday 13 September 2023, 2pm to 3pm
Online via Zoom
All charities face risk. It could be the risk of losing money, injuring clients, bad publicity, or losing key staff or volunteers. Join this webinar with experts from Zurich Insurance to gain insight into effective risks management.
Register here

Flexible working in frontline roles
Thursday 21 September 2023, 11am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom
Join this webinar delivered in partnership with Timewise. It will explore ways to implement flexible working for staff who deliver frontline services.
Register here

Wednesday 11 October 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 24 October 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

Wednesday 30 August 2023, 10am to 12.30pm

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

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 16 August 2023, 6pm to 7.30pm

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

Monday 9 October 2023, 11am to 1pm

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

Thursday 19 October 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

Tuesday 10 October 2023, 10.30am to 12.30pm

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 7 November 2023, 6.30pm to 8.30pm

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 16 January 2024, 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 11 October 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

Monday 8 January 2024, 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

Tuesday 19 September 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 cost of living funding and recovery support as well as other general funding.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 22 November 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

Thursday 9 November 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

Thursday 5 October 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

Thursday 21 September 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 5 September 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

Tuesday 17 October 2023, 10am to 11am

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.

Tuesday 8 August 2023, 10am to 12 noon, online via Zoom

This session will discuss ideas on how we can start to have conversations around employability and skills with people who experience Severe Multiple Disadvantage (SMD) who are supported through our services.

We want to use this session to explore ways to engage people facing SMD in conversations about work, training and volunteering, particularly in supporting individuals who may be reluctant to talk about this. We encourage you to bring and share your ideas, resources, experiences, and good practice. 

Our aim is to develop a simple and easy to follow resource that can be used in a variety of settings, to help staff feel more equipped and confident to talk about employability. 

Please email enquiries@pdunottingham.org if you are interested in being involved in this group.

Tuesday 22 August 2023, 10am to 12 noon, online via Zoom

This is a supportive peer led space for us to better understand and address the barriers that people face in accessing work and training opportunities whilst in supported housing, to try and improve outcomes for people and challenge how the system operates. 

We are keen to involve a wide range of services including supported housing providers, employers, employment support services, DWP and people with lived experience.

Please email enquiries@pdunottingham.org if you are interested in being involved in this group.

As the Professional Statutory Regulatory Body (PSRB) for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) sets the occupational standards for youth work, as well as supporting the sector to build its skills and capacity to enable more young people to access the personal, social, and educational development opportunities provided by youth work.

In line with its ambition to raise professional standards the NYA has published a number of new resources to support those responsible for commissioning or delivering youth work to meet their legal requirements and which reflects best practice.

• Raising the bar: Youth Work Practice Standards is the go-to guide to support youth work delivery and outlines the requirements for governance, planning and evaluation.
• Safeguarding Standards for the Youth Sector have been designed to support good safeguarding practices for all those working with children and young people, adults at risk, volunteers and paid staff in youth work environments. This collaborative tool bas been designed for and with youth work organisations and young people.

There is an opportunity to find out more about how to incorporate the new standards into youth work practice at the NYA’s upcoming webinar:

Understanding the new Youth Work Practice and Safeguarding Standards
Wednesday 13 September 2023, 1pm, online via Zoom
Register here

Closing date for receipt of quotations is 12 noon on Thursday 10 August 2023

Nottingham City Council is seeking a suitably experienced organisation to build/ expand capacity in local providers, to grow local provision for community Short Breaks for children/young people with disabilities. The prospective Provider will need an understanding of support for children/young people with disabilities and their families.

Community short breaks are defined as:

• Group activities, which can include evening activities such as youth groups, weekend activities and school holiday clubs
• One-to-one support
• Community Short Breaks do not include overnight breaks.

Nottingham City Council is seeking quotations for provision of this service. Quotations should be up to the value of £45,500 in total, for the duration of the contract (7 months). Quotations above this value will not be considered.

Please email Melody Hinds, Commissioning Lead Officer to receive the full briefing document: melody.hinds@nottnghamcity.gov.uk. Mark the subject of your email ‘Community Short Breaks Market Development’.

Quotations should be returned to SCandMD@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.

We've shared information about Nottingham Co(l)laboratory in past e-bulletins. Co(l)laboratory is a partnership project between Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham which aims to bring together researchers, community-focused organisations and local citizens to deliver meaningful change for the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

They have launched a crowdsourcing campaign - Notts Voice in Research - inviting residents to share their lived experiences and actively participate in shaping the development of research projects within their local communities.

By registering on the Crowdicity platform, residents can contribute their valuable insights, which will help guide the direction of these research projects.

Through the platform, Co(l)laboratory wishes to engage with various members of the community, including students, local organisations, and other stakeholders, to share their perspectives and experiences.

The campaign runs until September 2023.

Deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Wednesday 23 August 2023.

Please contact energyefficiencyscheme@dcms.gov.uk by Wednesday 16 August with any questions.

DCMS will be holding a virtual engagement session for clarification questions at 11.30am on Tuesday 8 August. Please email the address above to request further information or to sign up for this event.

The competition to find an Intermediary Grant Maker for the £25 million VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme is now live. This is the second part of the government's £101.5 million package to support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations struggling with cost of living pressures.

The VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme has been developed to increase the energy efficiency and long-term sustainability of a broader range of frontline voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, allowing organisations to deliver more efficient services for individuals and communities. 

This grant competition is inviting charitable, philanthropic and benevolent organisations or consortia in England to apply to deliver this scheme from December 2023 to March 2025. Delivery will be England-wide.

Register interest by Friday 15 September 2023

NIDAS is organising an art exhibition for domestic abuse survivors to show their artwork and share their unique stories while offering inspiration and encouragement to others.

NIDAS needs your help to spread the word. Dates for the exhibition are to be confirmed, but in the meantime, NIDAS is asking survivors to register their interest in participating in this exhibition.

Please share this flyer with anyone you think would be interested.

Home Truths 2 is a new programme of work from ACEVO and Voice4Change England designed to challenge and support mainstream UK civil society to take serious practical action on anti-racism and race equity.

Over the course of the next 18 months, Home Truths 2 will engage stakeholders from across civil society, including senior leaders, staff and those working within and alongside civil society organisations in a targeted practical programme of activity.

The work includes approaches to calculating and remedying ethnic pay disparities, integrating race equity into the core mission and bringing senior leaders together to drive forward their anti-racist and race equity practice.

The programme will include a survey to learn about Black and minoritised experiences in mainstream civil society. It will also involve meetings to support Black and minoritised civil society groups to influence, hold to account and engage with mainstream organisations on anti-racism and race equity.

Applications must be received by Monday 11 September 2023 and bursaries will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Civil Society Media is offering 10 bursary places to people with protected characteristics, giving free access to their events and publications. Applicants will be able to choose any three items from the Civil Society Media portfolio, providing a likely benefit of around £500.

The aim is to support the charity sector to become more reflective of the diverse communities it serves and to redress some of the existing imbalances.

To apply for a bursary place, you must be a person of a protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation) who is employed by or volunteers as a trustee for a charity.

The organisation is particularly interested in hearing from people who have never been to a Civil Society Media event before, and who may not ordinarily be able to attend.

Download their brochure or visit civilsociety.co.uk for further details of the products on offer.

Please complete the questionnaire by 5pm on Wednesday 16 August 2023

Nottingham City Safeguarding Adults Board (NCSAB) would like to better understand the current picture around Transitional Safeguarding for young people in the city.

They have developed a questionnaire for local agencies/services and the voluntary and community sector to allow them to undertake a mapping exercise.

Transitional Safeguarding is an emerging concept and focuses on the distinct safeguarding needs of adolescents who are transitioning from childhood to adulthood.

Some organisations may already have undertaken a similar piece of work for Nottinghamshire County. NCSAB is exploring how to work together with both County and the City Safeguarding Children’s Partnership on this going forward.

The Board is holding an Extraordinary Meeting on Monday 4 September 2023 with Dez Holmes from Research in Practice attending as a guest. Dez Holmes is a National Lead on Transitional Safeguarding and will be sharing knowledge and expertise with the Board on the findings of this mapping exercise.

If your organisation does not have an invitation but would like to be part of that meeting, please email Emma Coleman (Adult Safeguarding Board Manager): emma.coleman@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.

Consultation closes at 11.59pm on Wednesday 6 September 2023

Working Together to Safeguard Children is the multi-agency statutory guidance that sets out expectations for the system that provides help, support and protection for children and their families.

It applies at every level from senior leaders to those in direct practice with families, and across all agencies and organisations that come into contact with children. It gives practitioners clarity about what is required of them individually and how they need to work in partnership with each other to deliver effective services.

Department for Education is seeking your views on revisions to the guidance.

Consultation closes at 11.59pm on Friday 6 October 2023

This consultation is aimed at anyone with an interest in the action the government will take during 2023 and 2024 to improve the lives of disabled people.

Disabled people and disabled people’s organisations may be particularly interested but anyone, including any organisations or individuals, may respond.