Useful Information – July 2024
June 28, 2024
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 July. Please check back regularly. (Last update: 26/07/24 – 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 last month’s Useful Information here to catch up on new information added during June ’24.
For useful resources, information and news, 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
We have a dedicated page covering resources, information and guidance relating to the forthcoming General Election in the UK, which is regularly updated.
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
Self Employment as a Career Option
Tuesday 10 September, Kendal. Inspira are facilitating this free course to help you become self-employed.
Click on the thumbnail image for more information.
CPD-accredited training on Gambling-Related Harms
Women’s Pathway Programme deliver CPD accredited, free, 2-hour training ‘Women and Gambling Related Harms’ that is aimed at practitioners working directly with women, to feel more confident in identifying gambling-related harms, and how to respond and signpost to the support available to them at GamCare, whether they are gambling themselves, or if someone else’s gambling is harming them.
As well as this, we now have a 2-hour ‘Women, Domestic Abuse and Gambling Harms’ training, looking at the correlation between gambling and economic abuse, as well as an opportunity to review and discuss a Domestic Homicide Review. This training will also include information on how to respond to gambling-related harms and where to signpost for support.
If you are interested in either of these training offers, please get in touch with Georgia Hunt-Vogel: georgia.huntvogel@gamcare.org.uk
Networking for Fundraisers Masterclass
Thursday 25 July, online. Networking – meeting and speaking with potential supporters including corporates, major donors, and grant funders – is an essential part of fundraising that can open up many different income streams for your organisation.
Many of us will struggle with this at times – whether you are a new or experienced fundraiser! This session will help you understand how Networking can benefit your fundraising and build your confidence to help you make the best use of your time and efforts.
Virtual Fundraisers Networking
There has never been a greater need for fundraisers to get together and share knowledge and experience. Get Grants FREE Virtual Fundraisers Networking Events bring fundraisers together to access friendly peer-support from our UK-wide Get Grants Community. The next events are happening on:
Thursday 25 July 2024
Wednesday 28 August 2024
Click here to find out more and book
Fully funded self-employment course
This fully funded self-employment course via CLEP and Westmorland & Furness Council is open to all residents of the Westmorland and Furness council area, and is available to anyone that could benefit from a better understanding of their options and the support available to them when considering self-employment.
Click on the thumbnail image for more information.
Healthwatch Community Forum
Friday 12 July, Whitehaven/online. The next Healthwatch Community Forum takes place at West Cumberland Hospital (in the boardroom) from 10am to 12pm. In a change to the usual format, the second half will be a tour of the new building at WCH for those attending in-person.
Presentations in the first hour are: Dr Helen Skinner, Medical Director of NCIC, will speak about the community engagement on the Trust’s clinical strategy; Updates from the ICB and Trusts; Healthwatch Enter and View showcase. The forum is hybrid and can be joined online or in-person. Everyone is able to attend the forum but spaces on the tour are very limited.
Webinar: Ten tools and tricks to boost motivation and productivity
18 July, online. This webinar explores how you can improve your motivation and your productivity, with some simple tools and tricks.
The webinar will cover, among other things, why attention management is more important than time management, how to stay motivated while still prioritising your wellbeing, incredible productivity tricks that anyone can implement, and so much more.
Webinar: Wellbeing tips for social media professionals
4 July, online. Working in social media is fast-paced and exciting, but it can also be relentless. Our ’always on’ culture means people expect immediate responses, making it hard to switch off and blurring the lines between personal and professional use. Social media platforms are becoming more negative spaces, with trolls and distressing content impacting our wellbeing.
Join this webinar to learn tips, tools, and techniques for protecting your mental health and that of your team.
Find out more and sign up here
Charity Social Media Conference 2024
17 July, online. How are you adapting to the changing social media landscape? Join experts and peers for a day of learning and conversation with CharityComms. This one-day conference is packed with insightful sessions to help you maximise and future-proof your charity’s social media approach, including:
- Putting the social back in social media: community engagement tips
- Using AI to boost your social media
- Building trust online
- The future of social media platforms
- Content trends to elevate engagement
Get Grants Virtual Conference
1 & 2 October, online. Two days of expert fundraising advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat.
The Conference will be full of celebration, inspiration, and practical advice and support, bringing together Fundraisers from across the UK for a programme led by Get Grants Experts, funders, and other experts from across the sector, providing practical support and advice for fundraisers of all levels that can easily be put in to practice.
Cumbria Local Resilience Forum Summer Hazards Workshop
10 July – Wigton Market Hall or 16 July – Barrow Town Hall. Do you want to know more about the hazards we might face in Cumbria this summer and how your community group might begin to prepare for them?
Cumbria Local Resilience Forum is holding two Summer Hazards workshops in July where you’ll be able to find out more about extreme heat, drought, surface water flooding, wildfires and more – as well as their common consequences such as loss of power. The workshops will be a mix of presentations and practical activities, and a great chance to meet other groups as well as staff from responder organisations.
See the attached flyer – and use this link to book your place
Trust and Foundations Fundraising Course
Monday 3 July & Monday 10 July, online. This course offers a comprehensive overview of the grant funding through Trusts & Foundations process that you can apply to your organisation. The course is designed as both a follow-on to the Bid Writing for Charities and Community Groups Course and as a stand-alone course for fundraisers with a minimum level of experience.
During the course you will improve skills and confidence fundraising from Trusts and Foundations through practical support that can be taken away and put into action.
Civil Society Workshops
The University of Cumbria is working with the Cumbria Lieutenancy, Cumbria Development Education Centre (CDEC) and Thinking Philanthropy to develop an enquiry into how Cumbrians define an effective Civil Society. We are asking together:
– What is most needed to create a more thriving and equitable community life in Cumbria?
– What is working already that makes us a strong, connected, and flourishing place to be?
If you would be prepared to join us in this investigation, there is one remaining in-person opportunity: Barrow on 4 July.
Find out more and register here
VCFSE News and Information
Cumberland Council Newsletter
You can view Cumberland Council’s newsletter from 07/07/24 here, including:
- Event for Fells and Solway residents
- Free family festival focuses on wellbeing
- Whitehaven active travel improvements set to get underway
Westmorland & Furness Council Newsletter
You can view Westmorland & Furness Council’s newsletter from 05/07/24 here, including:
- Join the conversation and help shape our future
- National Co-production week
- Have your say on residential and nursing care homes
Award for first Age Friendly premises in South Lakeland
A Cumbrian business has become the first to receive a new award in recognition of its efforts to be inclusive and welcoming to people of all ages.
Lakeland has received the first gold standard Age Friendly South Lakeland Premises Award for its flagship store in Windermere. The award scheme was created by Age Friendly South Lakeland to celebrate businesses and organisations who have taken steps to make their premises more welcoming to older people, both in terms of the physical environment and behaviour of staff, and practices such as communication and recruitment.
£1m awarded to good causes in Cumbria
Over £1 million has been awarded to a range of good causes across Cumbria, supporting projects promoting resilience against floods, early years communication skills, rural youth groups and many more.
A total of 130 grants worth £1,064,819 were given out to community organisations and individuals at three recent Cumbria Community Foundation grants committee panels.
Funders ‘afraid’ of supporting smaller charities, says charity leader
Funders are “afraid to allocate funding to small charities” as they perceive them as being more likely to close, delegates at a recent conference heard.
Chloe Knott, manager of the UK Veterans Hearing Foundation (UKVHF), was speaking from her experience as the leader of a charity with 1.5 members of full-time equivalent staff.
The Fore Autumn 2024 Funding Round
The Fore’s upcoming Autumn 2024 Funding Round offers unrestricted grants to help small charities and social enterprises grow, strengthen, become more efficient or resilient.
Successful applicants will receive:
- A grant of up to £30,000 of unrestricted funding spread over 1 to 3 years.
- Access to free, highly skilled support provided by experienced professionals.
- Access to our programme of workshops, covering areas such as fundraising, communications, finance, strategy and more.
- A fully funded place on an impact measurement course.
- Access to peer networking opportunities.
Closure of British Red Cross mobility equipment services in Cumbria
British Red Cross mobility equipment services are closing, with a NEW centralised Hub in Sheffield. The service will become a new direct-to-customer home delivery service. This new service means people across the UK will be able to hire a wheelchair, delivered direct to their door rather than coming from one of many local locations.
To book or a hire a wheelchair visit: https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/hire-a-wheelchair or call: 0300 456 1914.
See the attached document for more information. The Carlisle Mobility Hub closes on 16 August.
Labour politician proposes new government unit to ‘harness’ philanthropy
Former chief secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms has proposed a new government unit on the impact economy, to aid with Labour’s main five missions.
Writing in City AM, the candidate for East Ham suggested that a Labour government should set up an “office for the impact economy”, which would be “a joint Treasury-Business and Trade unit to partner with key stakeholders, working to align socially motivated capital and business with our missions”.
Five free marketing tools for charities
In this online article, Media Trust share details of five free, tried and tested marketing tools that they think stand out from the crowd and will help charities to communicate their messages effectively.
Where are all the young trustees?
Taken on Trust research published by the Charity Commission shows that 92% of trustees in England and Wales have an average age of 55-64 rising to 65-74 in smaller charities. A huge swathe of the population (and potentially your organisation’s beneficiaries) is simply not being represented on Boards nationwide.
So, with trustee vacancies at record highs, how can you increase your chances of attracting a younger trustee to your Board? In this latest article from North Tyneside VODA, their Governance Advisor Rebecca Williams gives 10 top tips on how to diversify your board.
UKGrantmaking.org has launched
A new and innovative collaboration between 360Giving and partners launched recently, aiming to provide an interactive way to understand and explore grantmaking in the UK.
It collates and analyses information available on grants made by UK grantmakers in 2022-23. Providing information on over £20bn of grants from across all grantmaking sectors to the voluntary, community and social sectors, UKGrantmaking is the definitive resource for grantmaking data and insights. Whether you are a funder interested in understanding the context your organisation works in, a charity developing income generation strategies for fundraising, or a researcher/policy maker seeking to understand the trends in grantmaking, take a look at UKGrantmaking to help inform your work.
£315,000 programme to help young people leaving care
Young people leaving care will benefit from mentoring, work experience placements and life skills development, thanks to a new three-year £315,000 programme created by Cumbria Community Foundation.
Delivered in partnership with Cumbria Youth Alliance, Inspira, Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, the Brighter Futures programme will provide personalised support to 80 young adults aged between 18 and 25 over three years, designed to address the challenges faced by care-experienced young people as they transition into adulthood.
How to switch up your fundraising for 2024
Explore three innovative ways that charities can boost their fundraising in 2024, including artificial intelligence and low-code technology.
Cumberland Council Newsletter
You can view Cumberland Council’s newsletter from 30/06/24 here, including:
- Result of the election for the Cumberland Council seat of Harraby North
- Holiday activities
- Open-air Theatre events
Westmorland & Furness Council Newsletter
You can view Westmorland & Furness Council’s newsletter from 28/06/24 here, including:
- Drop-in and share your views on residential services for adults
- Showing support for our Armed Forces
- Work begins on a new classroom extension at St Patrick’s School
Commission CEO warns charities not to be led by ‘whim’ in final speech
Helen Stephenson has warned charities not to be led by “whim, fashion, or funding” in her final speech as Charity Commission chief executive.
Speaking last month at an event organised by the Welsh Centre for Voluntary Action, Stephenson said she had seen charities both “achieve the impossible” during her seven-year tenure as well as “get it badly wrong”.
Charity investment governance principles to be launched in the autumn, CFG says
Charity Finance Group (CFG) has said that a set of principles for trustees to use when making decisions about their charity investments will be launched this autumn.
Delegates at CFG’s recent annual conference heard about the Charity Investment Governance Principles, a project hosted by CFG and led by independent consultant Gail Cunningham.
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust – Election to the Council of Governors
If you are interested in getting more involved in the work of the Trust and the development of NHS services, you can stand for election to our Governors’ Council.
For information about vacancies, what is involved, the role of the Governors’ Council and how to submit your nomination go to www.cesvotes.com/NCIC2024 – here you will also find details of how to join an online Governor Awareness Session on Friday 19 July 2024 3pm – 4pm.
Closing date – 5pm Friday 2 August 2024.
Community Foundations
The Community Foundations website has a new collaboration with UK Community Foundations that collates data and insight on over £20 billion of funding from across all funding sectors, using data from regulators and funder accounts to provide an interactive platform for understanding grantmaking in the UK.
Westmorland and Furness Local Plan – Consultation 8 July – 9 September 2024
We are starting work on a new Local Plan for Westmorland and Furness (excluding the National Parks) which will replace all the existing local plans adopted by the former Councils.
We are kicking off the process with an ‘early conversation’ with our communities and stakeholders from 8 July 2024 until the 9 September 2024. Drop in events are happening across the district, where people can chat to Council officers about the new Local Plan.
Information about the early conversation, the drop-in-events and how to respond is available on our website.
Preparing for changes to Facebook fundraising tools
Explore recent changes to Facebook Fundraising in Europe and what they mean for charities in the UK, including tips on how to prepare for fundraising outside of the Meta platform.
Raise £1000 per year in unrestricted funds with the GivingLottery
The GivingLottery supports good causes to raise regular unrestricted funds. Sign your cause up for free and start receiving funds from the sale of your very first ticket.
With 27 supporters, your cause could be raising over £1000 per year with a minimum amount of effort. You will have your own dashboard and we’ll supply all your marketing materials. Plus, your supporters are in with a chance of winning £25,000, from just £1 per week.
Big Help Out organisers estimate 6.5 million people took part in second event
Some 6.5 million people took part in this year’s Big Help Out (BHO), the second following the inaugural event last year to coincide with King Charles’s coronation, organisers have estimated.
According to estimates based on a poll of 2,065 British adults, 6.5 million people took part across the weekend of 7-9 June, with younger people more likely to be involved than other age groups.
A cut-price shopping list for AI products
Charities need not be locked out of artificial intelligence opportunities thanks to an increasing range of cheap and free tools on offer.
Cumberland Council Newsletter
You can view Cumberland Council’s newsletter from 23/06/24 here, including:
- Don’t miss a summer of fun – Summer Holiday Activity and Food programme launched
- Economic Growth Board Member Recruitment
- Armed Forces event
Westmorland & Furness Council Newsletter
You can view Westmorland & Furness Council’s newsletter from 21/06/24 here, including:
- HM The King’s 2024 Birthday Honours announced
- Summer Holiday Activity and Food programme launched
- Share your views on adult residential services
Surveys, Research, Feedback and Reports
How are charities coping with a rise in young people seeking mental health support?
New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) research explores how charities are responding to the rising mental health needs of children and young people. The report suggests how funders can better support the charity sector as it grapples with unprecedented demand.
They’ve identified six key areas where funders have the potential to create long-term positive change for children and young people.
Applicants to major grantmaker report increase in perceived barriers to funding
A major charitable foundation has reported that an increasing number of its funding applicants feel they face barriers to accessing its financial support.
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation’s report shows that though unsuccessful candidates are receiving increased feedback, some are frustrated by not knowing the specifics for their rejection.
Loan Shark Survey
Cumberland Council have pulled together a working group to look at tackling loan shark activity in our area.
The first step is to try and evidence how big an issue it is in Cumberland, as by nature of how loan sharks work it is difficult to get people to disclose. The working group has drawn up the short survey – please share it with clients and colleagues.
Responses will be used to understand the scale of the issue in Cumberland and inform a pilot project to support residents.
Almost half of public mistrust information on charities in traditional media, survey finds
Some 48% of the UK public do not trust what they see, hear or read about charities in traditional media, according to a new survey.
Enthuse’s latest Donor Pulse report found that people were most trusting of the information they receive from a charity’s own channels, with 73% saying they trust this source.
Most small charities are using AI, report finds
More than half of small charities are using artificial intelligence (AI), according to new research.
Most respondents to a survey of 385 charities with an income of less than £1m said that they were using AI and agreed that the technology was relevant to them, but recognised that it presented challenges.
Charities urged to avoid ‘pigeonholing’ refugee staff in lower status roles
A new report has encouraged charities to stop “pigeonholing” people with lived experience of the refugee system in frontline and lower-status roles rather than helping them progress into leadership positions.
The Refugee Council report says there are “significant gaps” between the rhetoric and reality of organisations’ commitment to the career development and progression of staff with lived refugee experience.
Central government grants to charities fall by over a quarter
Grant funding for the voluntary and community sector from central government fell by 26% last year, according to a new dataset.
According to data from 360Giving’s new UKGrantmaking data platform, central government distributed £3.03bn to the sector from April 2022 to March 2023 compared to £4.12bn the previous financial year.
Quarter of people used a small charity due to cost-of-living pressures, research finds
A quarter of people have used a small charity because they needed support with the pressures caused by the cost-of-living crisis, new research has found.
In response to a survey commissioned by NCVO, 15% of people said they had used a small charity because “they had nowhere else to turn to” and 17% said that public services were insufficient.
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.
