Useful Information – December 2023
November 28, 2023
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 December. Please check back regularly. (Last update: 02/01/24 – items added on this date are marked as [NEW])
You can view last month’s Useful Information here to catch up on new information added during November ’23.
If you’ve seen something you think we should be sharing, let us know! Email us: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Looking for funding information? Check out the latest edition of Focus on Funding here
Training and Events
Festive Drop-ins
Recovery Steps Cumbria and The Well invite you to come along to one of our drop in sessions over the Christmas period. There will be refreshments, people available for an informal chat and a warm space to relax.
See the flyers below for dates for Whitehaven and Workington.
Festive drop in sessions Whitehaven
Festive drop in sessions Workington
Get Grants free introduction workshops
Get Grants are continuing our monthly FREE Introduction Workshops during 2024. Each workshop will be a taster session of one of our training courses led by our fantastic expert trainers themselves and will focus on a different topic of Fundraising.
Introduction to Major Donor Fundraising Workshop – Tuesday 30 January 2024, online
Introduction to Trusts and Foundations Fundraising Workshop – Monday 5 February 2024, online
Virtual Fundraiser Networking
Thursday 25 January, online. These friendly sessions involve a Get Grants Expert providing an update on the current grant fundraising landscape, before facilitating discussions about how the grant fundraising world continues to change, and what opportunities and challenges this presents to you as fundraisers.
Storytelling for Fundraising
Tuesday 23 January & Tuesday 30 January 2024, online. This course is designed to support fundraisers to improve their confidence and success through effective use of storytelling. Telling stories is a powerful tool that is too often overlooked. Stories are used to engage, inform, persuade, and create connections between people. As a fundraiser, storytelling is a valuable skill that can be used to influence your potential supporters and maximise on your fundraising efforts.
Storytelling skills bring to life your fundraising activities across the communications of your organisation. In this course, you will develop a key skill that will benefit the success of grant fundraising, corporate partnerships, crowdfunding, major donors, legacies, and many more!
Developing a Fundraising Strategy
Tuesday 9 January & Tuesday 16 January 2024, online. Across the sector, fundraisers and charity leaders are working to ensure their organisations put themselves in the best possible position to meet the future needs of their beneficiaries. Having diverse income sources that works for you is an essential part of making your organisation stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient.
In response to demand from the sector, Get Grants Online Developing a Fundraising Strategy Training Course has been created to give fundraisers the practical skills and knowledge to develop an effective fundraising strategy and increase their organisation’s income and sustainability.
Bid Writing For Charities and Community Groups
Tuesday 9 January & Tuesday 16 January 2024, online. Wednesday 17 January & Wednesday 24 January 2024, online. Our Online Bid Writing Course will give you pragmatic support that will improve your ratio of success and motivate you to write further grant applications and proposals with greater confidence.
Our course will give you access to our Fundraising expert’s extensive knowledge and advice and is equally useful for novices and people with all levels of experience in fundraising. It will help you increase your organisation income through fundraising and materialise those much-needed projects.
Core Costs Masterclass
Thursday 21 March 2024, online. The sector is crying out for core costs funding. Fundraisers consistently tell us that core costs are one of their greatest fundraising challenges. Despite increasing pressure, many fundraisers don’t feel as confident applying to grant funders for core costs and funders’ definitions and willingness to fund core costs can be unclear and vary wildly.
Our Core Costs MASTERCLASS invites you to put everything you know and feel about core costs aside and join us to explore a practical approach to core costs grant fundraising that you can confidently put into practice.
Cost of Living Fundraising Masterclass
Thursday 29 February 2024, online. Fundraisers are required to navigate a challenging economic environment. It can often feel like a battle to raise vital funds for our cause and support our communities. The cost-of-living crisis continues to impact all of us as fundraisers, our organisations, and our beneficiaries and wider communities – particularly those with limited resources.
We have heard of fundraisers facing intense pressure, stress, and financial challenges, and how some organisations are at risk of closure. When times are hard, it is important to focus on the essentials. This Masterclass will explore how you can make more strategic decisions within your fundraising, minimise your outgoings, and understand the behaviours and decisions crucial to maintaining (and growing) your organisational income.
5 AI Tools for Fundraisers Masterclass
Tuesday 6 February 2024, online. We have seen a massive interest in AI (Artificial Intelligence) amongst our community of fundraisers. More and more of us are looking to use AI to benefit our fundraising, save time and make our fundraising processes easier. By popular demand, we are continuing our series of AI Masterclasses! In our first AI for Fundraisers Masterclass we looked at ChatGPT and Google Bard as two AI tools, but there are many other AI tools fundraisers can use to make their donor communications more efficient and effective.
Join us to discover the 5 AI tools every fundraiser should know about, helping demystify AI in fundraising, build your confidence, and learn to use a range of AI tools to maximise your fundraising success!
Case For Support Masterclass
Thursday 18 January, online. As demands on Fundraisers increase, we need our fundraising tools and processes to be as effective, efficient, and simple as possible. We regularly hear that having a comprehensive Case for Support is important. This is a key document that acts as your ‘bible’ supporting all your fundraising applications and communications. However, it’s not always clear what goes into making one and how we should be using them.
This Masterclass will demystify why having a case for support is important, how to put one together, and how you can confidently put it into practice across different areas of fundraising.
Westmorland and Furness Family Hub launch
21 December, Barrow Library. Join us for a Christmas Family Fun Day at Barrow Library. Santa will join us (11-1pm) to open your Family Hub. There is lots of festive fun to keep the family entertained: Get a selfie with Santa; Drinks & Snacks; Christmas Jumper Swap; Decorate a Festive Bauble; Goodie Bags; Teen Zone & Air Hockey; Meet the Family Hub Team.
Also on hand: Citizens Advice Bureau, Inspira, Birchall Trust, Health Visitors, Women’s Community Matters, Family Action, Financial advice, Various Health teams.
More details in the attached poster
An introduction to skills for collaboration
Friday 15 December, online. To collaborate well requires building relationships, finding ways to overcome challenges, and creating productive ways of working together, whether this is bringing together teams from across an organisation or building relationships with other agencies or partners.
This free webinar delivered by PCC will explore:
- What is collaboration?
- An overview of the interpersonal skills needed for collaborative working to thrive
- The benefits of collaborative working
Innovation in Business model of place-based business support for the social economy
Friday, 8 December, online. Cooperatives UK are holding an online launch of their Innovation in Business model of place-based business support for the social economy.
You will gain insight from those involved in shaping the model; be the first to see the new online resource portal; and hear from members of Cooperatives UK’s ‘community of practice’, about how they’re using the model to support communities in developing and nurturing local economies.
Barrow Library Events
Clink on the links below for details of events taking place at Barrow Library during December.
What’s On – Events Programme December 2023
Digital Marketing Strategy Training for Charities 2024
Free in-person digital marketing training for charities – Do you want the opportunity to build your digital marketing knowledge and learn from an industry-leading expert? Media Trust are offering you the chance to improve your digital marketing skills, for free.
Thanks to support from the Marketing Trust, they are offering 60 charities the chance to win a free place at one of their full day in-person Digital Marketing Training Workshops.
Support your communities with Get Grants In-House Training!
Did you know that Get Grants provides In-House Training for all our fundraising courses? Our Get Grants Experts can deliver a wide range of courses to meet your needs and support your staff, members, and wider community to maximise their fundraising success.
If you think your organisation would benefit from Get Grants In-House Training, please get in touch! We’d love to talk about how we can help you.
Growing Well Egremont – site clearance and prep
Thursday 7 December at Beck Green Nurseries, Cross Side, Egremont, CA22 2AP. We are planning an initial site clearance and prep session and would be very grateful if you could give up your time to come and join in.
The session will run from 9:30 – 3:45 and will comprise unskilled (but vital!) physical tasks including weed clearance, debris clearance, shovelling, sweeping, tidy and clean of building interior. We are grateful for any time you can give on this day, be it two hours or the full session.
RSVP to Mary Smith: mary@growingwell.co.uk
Webinar: How to generate ethical and high-quality AI content
7 December, Online. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) was the tech talking point of 2023 and will continue well into 2024. AI, particularly in content creation, has witnessed an unprecedented surge. Platforms like ChatGPT, Bard, Scribe, Dall-E2, and others have become the go-to tools for crafting quick and convenient words and images.
However, a challenge has emerged in this AI-driven content landscape. Generative AI content often falls short in terms of quality, accuracy, and ethical considerations. This webinar will explore and discover the responsible and ethical usage of generative AI.
Carbon Literacy Action Day
The world’s largest climate education and action training event – Carbon Literacy Action Day – takes place, in-person, on Monday 4 December.
Cumbria Action for Sustainability are running a full day event in Penrith. The interactive Climate and Carbon Literacy training course provides a clear understanding of climate science, an awareness of carbon costs and the impacts of everyday activities.
Responding Well – Domestic Abuse Training
Dates and locations in December & January. Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council, in partnership with SafeLives, are offering the training opportunity to complete ‘Responding Well’ Domestic Abuse Training.
SafeLives are a UK-wide charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, for everyone and for good. They are independent, practical and evidence-led, with survivor voice at the heart of our thinking. They work with organisations across the UK to transform the response to domestic abuse. This face-to-face training is free to all professionals and the sessions will last a full day.
See the attached poster for more information
Digital Fundraising
Wednesday 6 & Wednesday 13 December 2023, online. With ever-increasing digital fundraising tools and platforms available, it can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start, and a drain on limited time and resources if you don’t know what is going to work for your specific organisation and fundraising needs.
Get Grants Digital Fundraising Training Course will give you the practical insight and information you need to successfully plan and deliver digital fundraising for your organisation. This course will help you understand the benefits of different digital platforms and tools, and where to focus your efforts to maximise your digital fundraising success.
Bid Writing For Charities and Community Groups
Friday 8 & Friday 15 December 2023, online. Get Grants’ Online Bid Writing Course will give you pragmatic support that will improve your ratio of success and motivate you to write further grant applications and proposals with greater confidence. The course will give you access to their Fundraising expert’s extensive knowledge and advice and is equally useful for novices and people with all levels of experience in fundraising.
It will help you increase your organisation income through fundraising and materialise those much-needed projects.
Trusts & Foundations Fundraising
Wednesday 6 & Wednesday 13 December 2023, online. Get Grants’ Trusts and Foundations Fundraising Course will equip you with the techniques and practices you need to increase your organisation’s income through Trusts and Foundations fundraising. This course supports attendees to establish, deliver, and manage an effective Trusts and Foundations fundraising programme that works for your organisation.
The course is designed as both a follow-on course to the Bid Writing for Charities and Community Groups Course and as a stand-alone course for fundraisers with a minimum level of experience.
An introduction to skills for collaboration
Dates in December & January, online. A free event for voluntary and community organisations.
Would you like to know more about how to create relationships that foster collaboration? To collaborate well requires building relationships, finding ways to overcome challenges, and creating productive ways of working together, whether this is bringing together teams from across an organisation or building relationships with other agencies or partners.
Find out more in the attached leaflet
Meet the Funder Events
Dates through until January ’24. There has never been a greater need for fundraisers to get-together and share knowledge and experience. Get Grants FREE Virtual Events bring fundraisers across the UK together to share experiences and connect with other fundraisers.
In our popular Meet the Funder Virtual Events, Get Grants Funding Experts are joined by funders to talk about their funding programmes. These events give attendees the opportunity to speak directly to funders, take part in discussions, get unique insights, and ask questions specific to their project or organisation.
VCFSE News and Information
Charities Act 2022 needs ‘amendment’ property expert says
The Charities Act 2022 needs to be amended, as it “covers the sale of property but not the buying of it”, a charity property expert has said.
Antonia Swinson, chief executive of the Ethical Property Foundation (EPF), was speaking at an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) that looked at the challenges of managing a charity property.
VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme (VCSE EES) is open
The Government has launched a £25.5 million funding package to help voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in England improve their energy efficiency.
Eligible organisations will be able to apply for 1) an independent energy assessment and 2) capital grants to install energy efficiency measures.
For further details, including eligibility criteria and application timelines, please see www.groundwork.org.uk/vcseenergyefficiency
Warm Spots in South Lakeland
Click on the link below for details of confirmed Warm Spots in South Lakeland, including opening times and what’s on offer.
Warm Spots List South Lakleland 2023-2024
An interactive map and registration process (for additional Warm Spots) is also available online on the Westmorland & Furness Council Winter Ready pages.
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity
We now have some keen recruits coming through and so wanted to advise that we can offer our services to the Armed Forces families in Cumbria. If you know of anyone who has served in the Armed Forces, or their dependant families, who need support we are available and keen to help.
Any referrals should be forwarded to enw.region@ssafa.org.uk and will be responded to within 3 working days.
Carlisle Youth Zone Launch Winter Warm Zone
We will be providing:
- Free Annual Memberships (to be done at our website www.carlisleyouthzone.org and use the code WINTER at checkout)
- Free Entry to all Youth Clubs
- Free Hot Meal and Drink
No need to book… you just turn up for the session.
Click on the thumbnail image for more information.
The best Christmas campaigns in 2023
Take a look at five of the best Christmas campaigns to give you some fundraising inspiration.
Westmorland and Furness Council Newsletter
View the Westmorland and Furness Council newsletter from 08/12/23 here, including:
- Communities are welcomed to apply for a 20mph speed limit
- Council Launches New Community Asset Transfer Scheme
- Highways teams worked tirelessly to clear road network
Cumberland Council Newsletter
View the Cumberland Council newsletter from 08/12/23 here, including:
- Food survey
- Petteril panel makes first investments
- Council to be centre of excellence in health research
New project on UK grantmaking landscape to launch
360Giving is set to launch a project to develop a new platform that will bring together data on the landscape of grantmaking in the UK.
UK Grantmaking.org will be launched in response to the needs of funders, stakeholders, data users and partners. It will be a centralised repository that provides a comprehensive ove
What does inverse giving mean for the charity sector?
Some charities have reported an uptick in donations when they receive negative media attention. So what does inverse giving mean for the sector?
Charity sector experts launch project to develop investment principles for trustees
Charity sector experts have announced that they will develop investment governance principles to support trustees when making decisions about charity investments.
Yesterday, Charity Finance Group (CFG) unveiled the Charity Investment Governance Principles project, which will “explore best practice in decision-making around charity investments”, and will “draw on the experiences of charities across England and Wales”.
High-street banks pledge to support charities amid sector’s banking woes
High-street banks have pledged to support the charity sector after the charity regulators recently called for “urgent action to help hard-pressed charities”.
Last month, the chief executives of the Charity Commission, Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator urged the UK’s main high-street banks to improve their “substandard” services for charities.
How to prevent fraud and drive donations
Charity Digital explore a new e-book from Melissa, which gives charities best practice advice on cleaning data and preventing fraudulent activity, while driving donations.
Warm Spaces – Workington
Workington Leisure Centre are opening spaces to local residents this winter to keep warm, charge a phone and enjoy a friendly chat over a cuppa.
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10am – 2pm.
Click on the thumbnail for more information.
Here to help with your water bills
It’s a difficult time for many households due to the cost of living crisis so the message from water company United Utilities is to give them a call if you’re struggling with your water bill so they can help.
They have lots of ways to make your water bill more affordable and there are full details about United Utilities’ support schemes at https://www.unitedutilities.com/difficulty-paying-bill or call their team on 0800 072 6765.
There are more details in this document and a Westmorland & Furness Affordability Presentation from UU here
Safeguarding Digital Charitable Donations
Scammers have been using fake charity appeals to swindle the public out of their donations – how can we as the charity sector do more to help our supporters avoid these schemes?
The latest blog from nfpResearch considers ways in which organisations can create a reassuring donation process and educate donors on how to recognise and report scams.
Centring Lived Experience: a strategic approach for leaders
New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) are offering a free, downloadable guide to help senior leaders in the charity sector take a strategic approach to effectively incorporate insight from lived experience through their organisation.
Charities are increasingly recognising the value of lived experience has in delivering impact, but without a strategic approach there is a risk of it appearing tokenistic. This guide will help to develop your approach and prepare for meaningful and safe delivery.
North East and North Cumbria ICB share AI overview
At a recent Integrated Care Board (ICB) board meeting, Professor Graham Evans, Executive Chief Digital and Information Officer, shared his overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and implementation of it’s widespread adoption within Healthcare.
He kindly shared his slides following the presentation, which you can access here.
Over 70 environmental organisations sign up to be ‘force of nature’ to diversify the environmental sector
Over 70 environmental organisations from across the UK have pledged to be a ‘Force of Nature’ in a campaign designed to ask environmental organisations to do more to diversify the green jobs workforce.
The campaign, led by Groundwork calls on the environmental sector to create more accessible pathways into work for young people and will seek to inspire young people from all backgrounds to view jobs in nature as an accessible and rewarding career path.
Find out more on Groundwork’s website
IPPR North: Autumn Statement disproportionately benefits London and the South East
IPPR analysis of the Autumn Statement tax measures has revealed that the much-trumpeted cuts to National Insurance contributions largely benefit the best-off households.
Gains made by those in work – employed and self-employed – from the changes announced are no solution to increases in the cost of living, which disproportionately hit those on low incomes. For every £100 Jeremy Hunt spent on personal tax cuts, £46 will benefit the richest fifth of households. Only £3 of every £100 of tax cuts will go to the worst-off families.
Swept under the carpet: outlook for charities following the Autumn Statement 2023
In this blog, Pro Bono Economics detail the outlook for charities following the Chancellors Autumn Statement 2023 – highlighting concerns around the impact changes to Work Capability Assessments will have on people managing long-term health conditions and disabilities.
The blog also highlights the lack of support offered to the VCSE sector saying the impact of the current economic, social and healthcare challenges on the charity sector was ‘swept under the carpet’. With millions of people relying on charities’ support, a further increase in need comes alongside continuing challenges around funding and volunteer numbers when a strong and resilient charity sector will be more important than ever.
Fundraising Regulator proposes increases to the Fundraising Levy
The Fundraising Regulator has opened a review to the charity sector on its proposal to increase the Fundraising Levy.
The levy constitutes the majority of the Fundraising Regulator’s funding and sees charities that spend over £100,000 on their annual fundraising activity pay a voluntary contribution to fund the regulator’s services.
Free guide urges leaders to avoid being ‘tokenistic’ in approach to lived experience
Without a strategic approach to lived experience charities risk being “tokenistic which can lead to more harm than good”, a new guide says.
New Philanthropy Capital (NPC’s) free guide, Centring Lived Experience: A strategic approach for leaders, provides steps for senior leaders to follow in order to embed lived experience in their organisations.
How small charities can think ambitiously about film
Top tips on how to break the mould with your films to create something special with limited resources.
Westmorland and Furness Council Newsletter: Update on multi-agency response to the major weather incident
View the Westmorland and Furness Council newsletter from 04/12/23 here, including:
- School closures
- Support for communities with power outages
- Useful links
Charity Awards 2024 open for entries
The Charity Awards, the longest-running awards ceremony in the sector, has opened for applications.
Organised by Civil Society Media, the Charity Awards identifies organisations that have original and effective ideas, which the rest of the sector can learn from.
Find our more, and how to enter, here
Cumberland Council Newsletter
View the Cumberland Council newsletter from 03/12/23 here, including:
- Winter weather – latest update and advice
- Complete our food survey
- Become a Referral Order panel member
Westmorland and Furness Council Newsletter
View the Westmorland and Furness Council newsletter from 01/12/23 here, including:
- Yellow weather warning for ice and snow in Cumbria – We are ready, are you?
- Council launches new community orchard grant scheme
- Funding to boost community transport solutions in Eden agreed
Proposed legislation risks undermining membership charities’ ability to claim gift aid
A proposed government bill that is making its way through parliament could deprive membership charities of their current ability to claim gift aid on members’ subscriptions, sector experts have warned.
On 25 April, the House of Commons introduced the digital markets, competition and consumers bill, which seeks to “regulate and increase competition in digital markets”.
Charities ‘need to know’ about the new campaigning code, Commission chair states
Charities need to be aware of the new Non-Party Campaigner Code which comes into effect from 1 December, the chair of the Charity Commission has advised.
Orlando Fraser, chair of the charity regulator, and John Pullinger chair of the Electoral Commission, wrote in a blog that charities “need to know” what this will mean for the charity sector.
Charity Governance Awards 2024
Charity Governance Awards 2024 are the UK awards that recognise and reward charities achieving great governance. The awards shine a light on the trustees – and their charities – that make change possible day after day, showcasing the stories that best demonstrate how effective governance can help charities transform the lives of people and the communities in which they live.
The Charity Governance Awards are organised by The Clothworkers’ Company – a City Livery company that supports trusteeship initiatives – in partnership with NPC (New Philanthropy Capital), charity recruitment specialists Prospectus and volunteer-matching charity Reach Volunteering.
Money Advice Outreach Fund still open
Westmorland & Furness Council allocated £500,000 of its 2023/24 priority investment fund towards welfare support. This is to help alleviate poverty and meet people’s welfare needs, and includes investing in financial advice services to help people manage their income.
Money advice covers debt, budgeting, cost of living support, benefits advice, mortgage/ rent and signposting onward to specialist support agencies. The Council will fund outreach services delivered in our priority locations of Barrow and Eden ( South Lakes has had good coverage from this grant funding, although further applications are accepted).
More information, and details of how to apply, are in the attached application form
Westmorland and Furness Council Newsletter: Amber Cold Health Alert issued for the Northwest
View the Westmorland and Furness Council newsletter from 29/11/23 here, including:
- Amber cold health alert issued as temperatures fall
- Keeping warm and well in cold weather
- Cost of Living Support
Should charities have a voice in the national conversation?
In this article, Tania Mason looks at what trustees think about charities having a voice in the national conversation…
Regulators launch campaign as almost £3m in donations lost to fraudsters last year
Charity sector regulators are urging the public to take care when donating to charity, and have launched their annual safer giving campaign.
The Fundraising Regulator, Charity Commission, and Action Fraud campaign launches this Charity Fraud Awareness Week, which takes place from 27 November to 1 December.
National Energy Action – resources available
National Energy Action have a range of services and support schemes to help people in fuel poverty.
This includes offering energy advice sessions e.g. at warm spaces and one to one support via the Warm and Safe Homes Helpline 0800 304 7159.
Funding for Community Transport in Eden
Westmorland and Furness Council has allocated £20,000 to a new Community Transport Grants Panel to support the provision of community transport services in Eden. The Council’s Locality Board for Eden has agreed to establish a Community Transport Grants Panel as part of a wider £1 million project to make it easier for people to walk, cycle and travel in sustainable ways across Westmorland and Furness.
The Panel aims to support the provision of community transport services during the 2023/24 financial year with applications welcome from organisations which provide community transport services in the Eden locality.
For more information and an application form, please contact the Eden Community Development Team by emailing Eden.AreaSupport@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Podcast: The UK charity sector in 2023
It’s been a year of perpetual crises: the hangover of the health crisis, the emergence of geo-political crises, national and international economic crises, and an environmental crisis. Charities had to navigate various issues, overcome myriad threats, and practice resilience in the face of all challenges.
Join the Charity Digital team as they discuss the ups and downs of 2023.
Cumberland Council Newsletter
View the Cumberland Council newsletter from 26/11/23 here, including:
- Food survey
- Bring festive cheer to a care home resident this Christmas
- Tackling gender-based violence
Westmorland and Furness Council Newsletter
View the Westmorland and Furness Council newsletter from 24/11/23 here, including:
- Heart of Kendal project to receive £13.5million from Levelling Up Fund
- Have your say – Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy
- Adult safeguarding highlighted during week of action
King’s Speech 2023: Takeaways for the voluntary sector
NCVO’s Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Chris Walker, has summarised the announcements made in the King’s recent speech that could impact charities and voluntary organisations. The King delivered his first King’s Speech as monarch on 7 November, which outlined the government’s legislative programme ahead of the next general election.
Read the round-up of the key announcements here
List published to recommend ‘hidden gem’ charities for donors
A list has been published to recommend “hidden gem charities”, whose programmes are shown to be effective, to prospective donors.
The Good Giving List, created by sector consultancy Giving Evidence and focusing on charities operating in the UK, aims to ensure that donors’ money will improve lives.
Autumn statement ‘a blow for charities’ with sector facing £9bn shortfall, groups warn
Charity sector infrastructure bodies have criticised chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement for its lack of measures to support voluntary organisations.
NCVO, the Charity Tax Group (CTG) and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) all said there could have been more support for charities in the statement.
Cumbria Police – Fraud Prevention Newsletter – November 2023
The newsletter contains some timely tips from our partners at Get Safe Online to protect you if you are using the internet to put your orders in for Santa.
And we’ve got some more words from one of our economic crime experts as she works with another organisation in our efforts to advise the public on staying safe.
Surveys, Research, Feedback and Reports
Over 40% of people more likely to donate to charity at Christmas, report finds
Some 42% of people said they are more likely to donate money at Christmas than at other times of the year, according to a new report.
Enthuse’s latest Donor Pulse report found 42% are likely to give a monetary donation, either via a straight donation or taking part in a sponsored event.
Mapping England: CTA State of the Sector Survey
The Community Transport Association (CTA) provides leadership, training, advice, and operational support to transport related charities, community groups and social enterprises in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
If you are a Community Transport organisation in England, whether it the main purpose of your organisation, you use minibuses to support other activities, or you run a community car scheme, CTA want to hear from you! They need your help to compile a comprehensive view of Community Transport in England: one that highlights the strength and diversity of the sector for policy makers and funders. Your organisation doesn’t need to be a CTA member to complete the survey, just be involved in Community Transport in some capacity. At the end of the survey, non-profit organisations can enter a prize draw to receive one of four £250 donations for your organisation!
Fill in the Mapping England Survey here
Charities must adapt to appeal to ‘overlooked’ generations, report claims
Charities have “inadvertently overlooked” the needs of younger generations in their fundraising and marketing and must adapt to appeal to them more, a report has said.
Tomorrow’s Donor, Today is the first instalment of a research project by the GOOD Agency, Eden Stanley and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF).
Thousands of charities face eviction due to insecure tenancies, investigation suggests
Charities across the country are at risk of eviction and closure due to tenancy agreements imposed by local authority landlords, according to new research.
The Ethical Property Foundation (EPF) made a series of freedom of information (FOI) requests to all 32 London local authorities as well as samples to councils across all regions of England.
Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Westmorland and Furness’ Health and Wellbeing Board is developing a new Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This will describe how partners and organisations across Westmorland and Furness will work together to improve the health and wellbeing of the local population and reduce inequalities.
In order to guide priority setting, we would like to hear from our residents and communities to understand their priorities for improving health and wellbeing. We have developed a short survey to gather this information and will present the findings to the Health and Wellbeing Board and other key partners to inform the strategy.
Social enterprises in deprived areas have fallen over the last decade, study finds
The proportion of social enterprises based in the most deprived places has fallen over the last decade, but more are delivering services in those areas, a new study suggests.
The State of Social Enterprise 2023, a report by Social Enterprise UK, found there to be approximately 131,000 social enterprises across the UK.
Employers urged to do more to encourage staff to volunteer during national disasters
There is appetite among employees for the firms they work for to enable them to use their time and skills during national crises, according to a new survey.
Research by the National Emergencies Trust and Business in the Community (BITC) shows that 76% of employees want their companies to “play an active role” during crises in the UK such as floods, terror attacks and pandemics.
CharityComms Salary and Organisational Culture Survey 2023
Each year, the survey gives an insight into how charity comms and marketing professionals feel about their role and how they are perceived within the sector – here’s what we learnt last year.
The more data we can gather, the better the insights we can provide the sector in benchmarking changes in salary levels, role perceptions and workplace culture for communication professionals. The goal of our survey has always been to outline where the sector has been and where we need to go to improve the support for this segment of the workforce.
Report reveals lack of ‘tangible action’ by charity sector to tackle racism
Though there are some signs that organisations are signalling that they are against racism, they are not taking the associated practical steps to change experiences, a report has found.
The report Warm Words, Cold Comfort: UK Civil Society’s Ongoing Racism Problem, by ACEVO and Voice4Change England, is informed by a survey of over 130 Black and minoritised ethnic people working in civil society.
Quarter of people to give less to charity this Christmas, poll suggests
Due to the cost-of-living crisis, 25% of the public will give less to charity this Christmas, according to a recent poll.
Match funding organisation Big Give polled 2,235 UK adults over three days in November to gather the findings.
Eden Poverty Research Commission – Request for Quotation
Westmorland & Furness Council is letting a contract for the delivery of a research project to better understand the voice of living with poverty in Eden in order that this can be used to influence change.
You are invited to quote.
Details are in the attached document
Health and care commissioning and the VCSE sector
Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) contribute substantially to the English health and care system. To tackle health and care priorities, including addressing inequalities, the importance of commissioners and VCSEs working together is clear. This research explores VCSE sector and health and care commissioning relationships, practices and experiences to better understand the realities of commissioning and where improvements could be made.
The study is based on extensive research, including analysis of Clinical Commissioning Group spend on VCSE organisations, and over 160 interviews with VCSEs and commissioners in six localities across England, focusing on end of life care, learning disability services and social prescribing.
Explore insights from the research here
Cost-of-living crisis ‘catalyst’ for fraud risk as more charities fall victim of fraud
The cost-of-living crisis has increased the risk of fraud as more charities fell victim to fraud or attempted fraud last year, according to new research.
The Charity Fraud Report 2023, released recently by BDO and the Fraud Advisory Panel, shows that 43% of charities have reported fraud or attempted fraud in the last 12 months.
Global majority volunteers are twice as likely to feel excluded, report finds
Global majority volunteers are twice as likely to feel excluded than volunteers overall (12% to 6%), according to a new report from NCVO.
Time Well Spent 2023: Volunteering among the Global Majority aims to address an “evidence gap” in the experiences of those from a global majority.
Food & Financial Resilience survey
Cumberland Council have teamed up with the University of Liverpool to understand the extent to which people are struggling with food bills, whether they can get the food they need, and the impact of rising living costs in Cumberland.
If you buy the weekly food shop for your household, please complete this short, anonymous survey. By taking part, you will be helping them understand where support needs to be directed, and you have the chance to win a gift voucher of up to £100.
Click here for more information and to complete the survey
Hootsuite Social Trends 2024: Nonprofit Report
A glimpse into the future of non-profit organisations on social. It’s overwhelming to know if your efforts on social media are positively contributing to your mission these days.
Fortunately, Hootsuite’s Social Trends 2024: Nonprofit report, created in collaboration with GivingTuesday and Pulsar, is all about helping you focus your time and resources to generate the greatest impact.
Carnegie UK’s Life in the UK index finds inequality between old and young a major barrier to collective wellbeing
Carnegie UK has published landmark research designed to measure the collective wellbeing of people in the UK. Their new Life in the UK index measures wellbeing by examining answers to questions across social, environmental, economic and democratic themes.
This groundbreaking research in based on a survey of more than 6,900 people reports on an age wellbeing gap and democratic crisis, including that 73% of people in the UK feel that they cannot influence decisions affecting the UK as a whole.
Charity Comms – culture survey now open
Each year, the CharityComms salary and organisational culture survey gives an insight into how charity comms and marketing professionals feel about their role and how they are perceived within the sector.
Take part in the 2023 survey to help benchmark changes in salary levels and workplace culture.
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.
