Useful information – w/c 15/06/26
June 15, 2026
Events, training, charity news, surveys, research, feedback, reports, services and much more – in one handy place!
This page will be updated with new information as we receive it during the week. Please check back regularly. (Last update: 15/06/26 – items added on this date are marked as [NEW])
You’ll also find the latest Health and Wellbeing news, events and opportunities in the current post on our News page here.
You can view previous Useful Information posts here to catch up on our archive of information.
For useful resources, information, news and events, updates on our climate commitment, blog posts from colleagues about what they’re doing (in a work capacity and privately) to minimise environmental impact and more take a look at Cumbria CVS Green
If you’ve seen something you think we should be sharing, let us know! Email us: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Looking for funding information and news? Check out Focus on Funding here
Leadership Training – Bursaries available
Are you a leader in a small business or charity in West Cumberland?
OneAIM together with Centre for Leadership Performance Cumbria have bursary places available on the upcoming cohort of the Leader 2 Leader programme.
Closing date for applications is 30th June, and full details are available in this document
Every Life Matters – Training
Every Life Matters offer a range of suicide prevention and mental health training, including Suicide Alertness, Safety Planning, Mental Health First Aid and Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace.
There are dates for sessions from now until December in this leaflet, online and around the county in-person: Cumbria Training 2026
Free film workshops
The Saltways, a video production company specialising in working with charities, are running free workshops for charities.
These workshops are open to anyone involved with a non profit who is interested in creating more effective video content, including fundraisers, communications managers, front-line staff, beneficiaries, and even marathon runners. There are free workshops taking place throughout June and July.
Spaces are limited, so book your place here.
Excel: Advanced
Excel is an incredibly useful tool to help you store, analyse and present your data. Even with basic skills there’s a lot you can do to help with your organisation’s monitoring and evaluation practice – but how do you get started?
➡️ Advanced: Tuesday 16th June, online. More information here
Impact Reporting for Charities
Tuesday 16th June, online. Funders want proof of the difference your organisation makes. They want to understand your charity’s impact across services and locations, and what the benefit is of the services they have agreed to fund.
Amongst other things this session looks at ‘what is impact and how do you measure it’, ‘what does impact look like’ and how do you engage with your stakeholders to maximise impact.
Community Fundraising Conference 2026
Wednesday 17th June, online. Join Fundraising Everywhere as they explore the reality of community fundraising, volunteers showing up late, supporters with brilliant ideas and unrealistic timelines, and events that work… until they don’t.
This conference is for the fundraisers who keep community fundraising alive, the ones who say yes when they probably should say no, who turn small budgets into big impact, and who know it’s about so much more than the income it generates.
How charities can build financial resilience in an uncertain funding environment
Wednesday 17th June, online. Charities are operating in an increasingly challenging funding environment. Rising demand for services, sustained cost pressures, uncertainty around public spending and policy change, and volatile markets are forcing charity leaders to rethink how they fund their missions – both now and for the long term.
In this Rathbones Charity Expert Series webinar, we are joined by Emma de Closset, Chief Executive of UK Community Foundations, to explore how charities can strengthen their financial resilience in the face of ongoing pressure and uncertainty. Drawing on her extensive experience across the charitable and philanthropic landscape, Emma will share insights into how charities are adapting their funding strategies, reassessing risk, and planning for a more unpredictable future.
This session will be particularly valuable for chief executives, finance directors, trustees and senior charity leaders who are navigating difficult funding decisions and looking for informed, practical perspectives on building resilience in an uncertain landscape.
Cumbria Diversity Carnival
Saturday 20th June, Carlisle. Participants will meet at the Old Fire Station from 11am, with the parade starting at 11.30am. The parade will travel through Carlisle city centre and return to Bitts Park at approximately 1pm for a free Big Lunch.
Cumbria Diversity Carnival is being organised by local youth and community groups, including Pride in North Cumbria (PiNC), Multicultural Cumbria, Cumberland Sanctuary Network, Carlisle One World Centre and Afrikana.
The event will celebrate the diverse communities that live, work and learn in Cumbria, with representation from LGBTQ+ organisations, diaspora communities and disability groups. This year’s carnival will also mark key dates including Refugee Week, Pride Month and Learning Disability Week.
#SmallsForSmalls Week
Monday 22nd to Friday 26th June, online. #SmallsForSmalls Week is back, with loads of webinars, resources, reports and guides for small charities organised by the smalls themselves and their friends.
Find out what’s available here
Small Charities Week
Monday 22nd – Monday 29th June. Small Charity Week is a national celebration of the vital role small charities play in communities across the UK.
It shines a light on the organisations creating connection, opportunity and hope where it’s needed most. Whether you are planning an event, sharing your story or looking for ready-to-use resources, help is available to make the most of the week. There’s also a guide on how to get ready.
Developing a Fundraising Strategy
Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th June, online. This popular two day course will walk you through a tried-and-tested framework for developing a fundraising strategy, enabling you to evaluate and prioritise the most valuable fundraising activities for your organisation and make the best use of your limited resources.
You’ll be shown you how to analyse your current fundraising performance, explore future opportunities and challenges, and identify key fundraising audiences – then scope out and prioritise a range of different types of fundraising, identify key building blocks to put in place for long-term success, and accurately forecast the likely financial return.
Digital Exclusion — What It Is & What You Can Do
Wednesday 24th June, Salterbeck. An interactive workshop exploring who is being excluded, why it happens, how it affects people, and what your organisation can do help them.
This free workshop will help you:
- Understand what digital exclusion looks like
- Identify who is affected and why
- Recognise the impact on health, wellbeing and finances
- Explore practical support your organisation can offer
- Learn about local help available, including Digital Champion training
Why it matters:
Digital access is essential for daily life — yet many people in our communities still face significant barriers. This session will help you support them with confidence.
Free networking lunch included.
Insight to execution: Turning AI Experiments into Real Results
Thursday 25th June, Online. Most non-profits understand AI’s potential but struggle to turn experiments into workflows that deliver results.
Join Hart Square for this free webinar to learn what charities and membership organisations they work with are doing: which tasks they’re automating safely, how they’re turning early wins into repeatable workflows, and how they maintain human oversight while improving efficiency.
Finance for Trustees
Thursday 25th June, online. How confident are you that you really understand your charity’s finances? It’s a complicated business, what with managing different types of funds and income, the accounting and reporting rules, as well as dealing with tax and VAT.
This course, lead by the team from leading accountancy firm BDO, will give you the tools to get to grips with how all that works in your own organisation, and includes time to chat with fellow trustees over the practicalities and challenges you face.
What we can learn from Big Local and public service innovation in Liverpool City Region
Monday 29th June, online. What does community-led systems change look like in practice?
Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW), in partnership with Local Trust, is launching the first session in the Big Local North West Learning Programme.
Co-hosted with the VS6 Partnership, the session will draw on more than 15 years of learning from Big Local and explore how resident-led approaches in the Liverpool City Region can drive neighbourhood change and influence wider systems. The event will bring together funders, commissioners, VCFSE organisations and community partners to explore community power, public service reform and place-based working.
Find out more and register here
AI for Managers and Team leaders: Lead with Confidence
Tuesday 30th June, online. This practical, one-hour session is designed for managers who want to use AI effectively, ethically, and with confidence.
AI is reshaping how teams work — and middle managers are at the centre of that change. This practical, one-hour session is designed for managers who want to use AI effectively, ethically, and with confidence.
Whether you feel like AI is moving fast around you, or you simply want to know where to start, this session will give you the tools and clarity to lead your team through it.
Reserves Policy Training
Thursday 2nd July, online. Learn how to develop a reserves policy for your charity.
This half-day online course has been designed to help charity finance professionals develop a reserves policy that meets the requirements of the Charity Commission and SORP but which is also focused on financial risk and forms an integral part of the charity’s financial strategy.
Cyber Essentials Training: Mastering the Five Key Controls for Digital Security
Tuesday 7th July, online. This three-hour workshop offers an accessible introduction to Cyber Essentials, a government-backed framework designed to help organisations protect themselves from the most common cyber threats.
It also includes coverage of the 2026 ‘Danzell’ updates, explaining what has changed and what it means in practice for your organisation.
Over two engaging sessions, we’ll break down the scheme’s five critical controls and run a live hack, including reconnaissance and initial access, where you will play a lead role in the operation. By the end of the training, you’ll be equipped with actionable strategies to strengthen your organisation’s digital defences.
The Future of Marketing
Thursday 9th July, online. Join Charity Digital for a dynamic day of insight, inspiration, and informed discussion exploring the evolving world of modern marketing. This online event brings together bold ideas and practical expertise, creating a dynamic space where attendees and sponsors can build meaningful connections and amplify their impact.
It will welcome hundreds of engaged, forward-thinking marketing professionals from across the not-for-profit sector, fostering a vibrant online environment for learning, collaboration, and shared innovation.
New course: Creating an interactive dashboard using Power BI
Tuesday 21st July, online. As brilliant as it is, sometimes Microsoft Excel can’t deliver everything you need when it comes to data analysis, visualisation and publication.
This is where Microsoft’s Power BI steps in, enabling you to take your data analysis to the next level creating and sharing powerful, interactive and secure dashboards which can be shared privately or published and embedded in your website.
➡️ Getting to grips with Power BI’s basic building blocks
➡️ Getting data from Microsoft Excel
➡️ Creating & customising charts and visualisations
➡️ Printing, sharing & publishing reports
Introduction to Google Analytics 4
Wednesday 5th August, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to help you get to grips with GA4.
It explores recent changes to the platform, how to ensure you have the best data, the metric that you must know, and a general run-through of the interface, dipping into ‘realtime’ reports.
Google Ad Grants for beginners
Wednesday 12th August, online. Is your charity looking to set up a Google Ad campaign, but don’t know where to start?
This 2-hour course is specifically for nonprofit staff who have been awarded the $10,000/month Google Ad Grant, but do not know the basics for setting up their first campaign.
You will learn:
➡️ What is a Google Ad Grant?
➡️ How to structure your charity’s account
➡️ Google Ads & Keywords
➡️ Setting up a conversion with Google Analytics.
➡️ Google Ad Grants compliance and maintenance
Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference
Tuesday 6th & Wednesday 7th October, online. Join Get Grants for two days of expert fundraising advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat!
The Conference is a celebration of fundraisers, with a programme designed around the topics you want to talk about.
Bringing together thousands of fundraisers from across the UK every year, this fun and heart-warming event with lots of practical advice is not your typical fundraising conference!
[NEW] How to write for social media
Writing good copy is a skill that takes time. Here’s some tips to help your copy stand out on social media.
[NEW] Cumberland Council newsletter
You can view Cumberland Council’s newsletter from 12/06/26 here, including:
- Have your say on highways and transport services across Cumberland
- New Carers Charter to celebrate Carers Week
- Silloth Share and Support Food Pantry
[NEW] Westmorland and Furness Council newsletter
You can view Westmorland and Furness Council’s newsletter from 12/06/26 here, including:
- Healthy Hearts Roadshows – all welcome
- Free water safety sessions for children aged 7 to 14 years
- Help shape Adult Social Care – drop-in event in Kendal
[NEW] Charitable companies alerted as new accounts filing reform date announced
The government has confirmed that delayed changes to accounts filing through Companies House, affecting charitable companies, will now come into effect in 2028.
Originally scheduled for next year, the changes require all organisations to file accounts in a digital format, meaning an end to paper-based systems.
Meanwhile, from April 2028, small and micro companies will no longer be able to prepare and file abridged accounts.
[NEW] Regulators issue joint fundraising guidance for members of the public
The Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator have published joint guidance for members of the people who want to raise funds for charities.
It recommends that people asking for donations set a clear target and time limit for their appeal, tell donors upfront about any expenses that will be deducted, and use a reputable online fundraising platform over a personal bank account.
The guidance also advises people to fundraise for a named charity from the outset, and to be transparent in all communications about what the money is being raised for, including the charity’s name and registered number.
[NEW] Two-thirds of general public ‘overwhelmed’ by charity appeals, survey finds
Some 66% of the British general public feel “overwhelmed” by charity appeals, according to a new survey.
Research agency Vision One surveyed 3,000 people and a third of those asked (33%) said that they have reduced or stopped their charity donations altogether due to financial pressures.
The agency’s Charity Brand Barometer report says that when it came to the public’s engagement with charity brands, it was personal connection, emotions, generational priorities and visibility that mattered most for driving engagement.
Disclaimer
The information above is provided in good faith. Whilst every care is taken to ensure that it is correct, Cumbria CVS cannot accept liability for any omissions or inaccuracies and does not take responsibility for the quality for any services or products mentioned.
