News Articles
Where have all the volunteers gone? (Long time passing)
Dave Thomas Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS writes... Like everyone else, Leaders of Volunteers have had to deal with the effects of the pandemic. Some of us have been able to keep our volunteers involved by moving roles online, home-based or over the phone. Others have created new roles. Some of us have had to suspend our volunteer programme, and our volunteers have either drifted away…
The Clothworkers' Foundation Open Grants Programme
Grants are available for UK registered charities, Community Interest Companies (CICs), and other registered UK not-for-profit organisations to spend on capital projects through the Open Grants Programme from The Clothworkers' Foundation.Capital projects are defined as:Buildings: purchase, construction, renovation or refurbishmentFittings, fixtures and equipment: This includes but is not…
Bid for new PDU e-learning resources
The Practice Development Unit (PDU) is seeking contributors from specialist organisations to work together in developing new e-learning resources exploring gender responsive and culturally sensitive approaches in working with people facing Severe and Multiple Disadvantage (SMD). The work has been commissioned by Nottingham City Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), to raise awareness…
The volunteer journey - first steps
Dave Thomas Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS writes... In my last blog, I suggested that the language that we use to talk about volunteering is important in valuing volunteers and in making it clear that there is a difference between volunteering and employment. I also admitted that I sometimes struggle to make that clear distinction. In this blog, I’d like to explore three very commonly…
Changing Futures funding secured for Nottingham
Nottingham has been awarded over £3.5 million in funding to help support some of the most disadvantaged people in the city. The Changing Futures programme is a £64 million joint initiative by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. The fund is for local organisations to work in…
Understanding what Honour-Based Abuse means
NCVS has been asked to raise awareness of Honour-Based Violence, Abuse and Forced Marriage. One of the local voluntary sector organisations who provides support to people affected by these practices is Juno Women's Aid. In this blog, the organisation provides an overview about what we mean by these terms and the support they can offer. Please note - The content covered in this blog is of a…
Additional income for your organisation
We're working in collaboration with fundraising website easyfundraising to provide you with a simple way to generate additional income for your voluntary and community sector organisation or group.Easyfundraising, which has been running since 2005, enables people to support charities simply by shopping online. It does this by turning everyday online shopping into free donations for a nominated…
The importance of fostering nature connection
Connecting with nature helped many of us cope during the first lockdown in Spring 2020 but new data from Natural England has revealed that this was a short-term relationship for some. The latest data from Natural England’s People and Nature Survey shows that levels of nature connectedness fell by 25 per cent between April 2020 and April 2021, meaning fewer people reported feeling a part of nature…
Mind your language
Dave Thomas Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS writes... “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”. This chant has rung out in school playgrounds and where groups of children get together since time immemorial. Even as we chanted this, or heard it chanted, we knew that it wasn’t true but it reminds us that words can hurt and the way we use them is important.…
What do we offer our volunteers?
Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS writes... One of the most important questions that I ask people who tell me that they want to volunteer is “what do you want to get from your volunteering?” The answer to this question can go a very long way to helping them to choose the opportunity that best suits them from the ones on offer on our 'Search for…
