Useful information – w/c 07/07/25
July 7, 2025
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: 09/07/25 – 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? Check out the latest edition of Focus on Funding here
Training and Events
Reserves – What They Are and How to Calculate Them
Tuesday 8 July, online. Reserves are a critical element when building small charity resilience. However, they are often, for very valid reasons, miscalculated.
The session will look at Why we hold reserves, how to calculate reserves, what a good reserves policy looks like and how to report on reserves.
Supercharge your use of social media
8th July, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to supercharge your use of social media. We’ll explore how you can pick the right platforms for your charity and how to know whether you should invest, or divest, in other platforms.
We’ll show you how to increase social media engagement, how to extend your reach, and how to ensure you target the most rewarding demographics.
Charity Content Conference: building better content
10th July 2025, online. Through sessions with peers and sector experts, you will learn how to effectively plan, design, and execute content which creates better user experiences and helps meet your organisation’s strategic objectives.
This conference is ideal for anyone responsible for creating content and communications within charities.
Free Webinar: Everyday Premises Management
Thurs 10th July, online. Managing charity premises can be daunting – but you’re not alone! Join the Ethical Property Foundation’s expert team for a free, practical webinar designed especially for charities and community groups. We’ll guide you through the day-to-day essentials of premises management – from assessing your property needs to identifying risks, cutting costs, and creating a more sustainable workplace.
You’ll leave feeling more confident and informed about running a safe, efficient and effective space. You’ll also receive a handy info pack and free follow-up advice via our Ask a Property Expert service.
Making the most of M365 apps – tips and tricks
15th July, online. This three-hour session shows you how to master 365 apps. The first section will cover an overview of the apps available. It will explore web vs desktop applications, the joys of Copilot, the best way to use Microsoft Forms, and the secrets of Sway.
The second section is dedicated to Teams, exploring meeting and channel management, file storage, whiteboards and polls, and so much more.
Cumbria Safeguarding Adults Board – Practitioner’s Forum
Wednesday 16th July, online. CSAB are introducing the first of regular Practitioners Forums for staff working with adults at risk. The Practitioner Forum forms part of the CSAB Learning & Development Strategy 2024/26 and will be hosted on a quarterly basis facilitated by colleagues from across the partnership. Forum’s will take a themed approach with supported discussions providing the opportunity to explore in a safe space;
- What has worked well/not in some cases?
- Opportunity to reflect on practice.
- Discussion time in a multi-agency forum.
- Opportunity to use as evidence for Continuing Professional Development.
- ‘Professionals Spotlight’ to improve understanding of each other’s roles.
- Identify barriers to partnership working to identify how to improve.
CSAB welcome professionals across the system to attend our 1st Forum. Please attend ready and willing to take-part in discussions.
How to build a disability inclusive workplace
Thursday 17th July, online. At the end of this course you will be able to:
- Recognise the advantages of proactively designing inclusivity into your working practices
- Describe where your organisation currently sits on our disability inclusion gap analysis scale overall and at each stage in the employee lifecycle
- Identify barriers that could stand in the way of implementing cultural change and how technology can act as an enabler
- Make a plan to move forward
This training is suitable for anyone interested in building high performing teams, EDI and disability inclusion.
Getting started with Google for Nonprofits
22nd July, online. This course provides an introduction to the Google for Nonprofits program, which offers eligible UK charities free access to a suite of Google tools, including Google Workspace, Google Ad Grants, the YouTube Nonprofit Program, and Google Earth and Maps.
We will explore these tools and highlight how UK charities are already using them to enhance their operations and impact.
ADHD Awareness Event
23rd July, Whitehaven. Authentically ADHD is an ADHD awareness event, in partnership with Sellafield’s A.D.Ders group. If you would like to find out more, come and join us: This event is open to professionals, members of the community and health and social care stakeholders.
Click here to view an event flyer
If you are an organisation which would love to be involved, reach out to:info@healthwatchcumberland.co.uk
[NEW] Meet the Funder Event: Lloyds Bank Foundation
Tuesday 29th July 2025, online. Get Grants is delighted to host a Meet the Funder event featuring Peter Cunnison from Lloyds Bank Foundation West Midlands.
This session will provide valuable insights into their DDPO (Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations) Grant Programme.
[NEW] Advanced Excel – tips and tricks
29th July, online. Join this 3 hour session to find out how to optimise your spreadsheets so they can do what they’re meant to be doing – saving you time, facilitating effective service delivery and enabling you and your team to get insight into the bigger picture.
[NEW] Accessibility Basics: Inclusive Websites for People with Sight Loss
Wednesday 6th August, Online. Join Vision for Access CIC for a practical and engaging session on website accessibility, focusing on making online spaces more inclusive for people with sight loss.
Whether you’re a small business owner, charity worker, or content creator, this event will give you the confidence to improve your website’s accessibility – even if you’re not a tech expert.
[NEW] Budgets Masterclass
Monday 11th August 2025, online. Presenting your budgets and financial information is a key element of any application’s success – incorrect and unclear budgets give funders easy reasons to reject your application!
Get Grants Director John Ellery will use his decades of experience writing and assessing funding applications to show how you can design clear budgets that give your application the best chance of success.
Charity Digital Academy: Writing a Successful Funding Application
19 August 2025, online. This 3 hour course provides a beginner’s guide to how to write a successful funding application, using the National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards For All online application form as an example.
In these 3 hours you’ll get:
- The chance to go through a successful funding application and understand how you can emulate it
- Advice on key elements such as writing project outcomes, evidencing co-production and creating an accurate budget
- Time to start sketching out your own application, ask questions and get expert advice
- The chance to step back and decide what you need to do next to lay the foundations for a strong application for your project
Introduction to Improving Quality
Thurs 18th Sept 2025, online.
Improving Quality is a clear, simple system, and focuses on the key issues that make a difference for charities. IQ can either be used for self-assessment or accreditation, and has international recognition: a number of organisations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland are already accredited to it. Find out more about it at our free online workshop.
This event is free but you will need to book.
Get Grants free Virtual Conference 2025
7th-8th October, online. The Conference will provide two days of expert fundraising advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat, bringing together thousands of Fundraisers from across the UK for a programme led by Get Grants Experts, funders, and other experts from across the sector.
VCFSE News and Information
[NEW] NHS 10 Year Plan
Last week, the government published its 10 Year Health Plan.
There is a comprehensive 11-page executive summary that covers many of the ambitions and aims of the 10-year plan here
Link to the full report: Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England
NAVCA have compiled a summary, with details of how the plan may affect the VCSE sector.
[NEW] Statement on the future of Healthwatch
Healthwatch Westmorland and Furness have shared a statement regarding the government’s recent announcement about the closure of Healthwatch England and the local Healthwatch network.
“Like us, you will have seen the news this weekend regarding the government’s decision to close Healthwatch, including Healthwatch England and the network of more than 150 local Healthwatch. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by this decision and we are awaiting the publication of the NHS 10 Year Plan and Penny Dash Review into Patient Safety to help us understand this further.”
[NEW] The fractional workforce: time for charities to embrace?
From boardrooms to creative studios, more professionals are splitting their time and expertise across multiple employers than ever before. It’s a profound shift in how we think about work, and it’s one the charity sector can’t afford to ignore.
In this blog, NPC Director Erwin Hieltjes argues that charities should be frontrunners in fractional working. The appetite is there—but we need pioneers willing to try, learn, and share what works.
[NEW] Regulators urge charities to prepare for ‘soft opt-in’ law change
The Fundraising Regulator, with support from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has encouraged charities to prepare for new “soft opt-in” marketing rules being introduced.
Changes to direct marketing rules received royal assent last month as part of the Data (Use and Access) Act.
When the new laws are implemented in the coming months, charities will be allowed to send electronic communications to a person without their consent if certain conditions are met.
[NEW] NCVO appoints interim chief executive
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has appointed Saskia Konynenburg as interim chief executive while it continues the process of recruiting a new permanent CEO.
Konynenburg will step up from her current role as executive director of voice and impact on 1 August.
She will take over from Sarah Elliott, who joined the membership body in January 2020 as director of membership and engagement before becoming chief executive.
HMRC’s UK charity tax relief statistics show an increase in gift aid for charities
Recent HMRC’s statistics show that charities in the UK received £1.71bn through gift aid in the last tax year, up 7% on the year before.
Their statistics show that overall tax reliefs for charities in the year to April 2025 amounted to £4.75bn, up 5% on the previous year, with business rates accounting for the majority of this (£2.75bn, up 7% from 2023-24).
However, relief of stamp duty land tax for charities was down 18% to £270m in 2024-25. Aside from the £4.75bn of reliefs to charities, reliefs for donors also increased by 5% to £1.92bn last financial year.
Working in hot temperatures
With temperatures increasing across the county this week, employers must ensure workers are protected during hot weather. There’s no law for maximum working temperature, or when it’s too hot to work, because every workplace is different.
HSE’s website has a practical steps guide on temperature in the workplace.
This includes guidance on:
- what the law says
- managing workplace temperature
- preventing heat stress
- protecting those working outdoors
They also provide a workplace temperature checklist to help you carry out a basic risk assessment.
Cumberland Futures project
Cumberland Futures is a new project led by Groundwork covering Cumberland, and aimed at supporting people to work and manage wellbeing and debt.
Find out more about the project in this leaflet
Surveys, Research, Feedback and Reports
[NEW] Largest ever social prescribing study proves positive impact on patients
A study of more than four million patient records shows that the rollout of Social Prescribing Link Workers has led to improved patient outcomes and experiences.
The research is by far the largest analysis of the national impact of the Government’s 2019 drive to increase the numbers of Social Prescribing Link Workers, who connect patients to activities and support in their communities which boost health and well-being.
This National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded research – led by researchers from The University of Manchester and co-authored with the University of Edinburgh, Newcastle University and University of Bristol – demonstrates that the scheme has led to improved outcomes and experiences for patients with long-term conditions and mental health needs.
[NEW] Charities opt to continue four-day working week following six-month pilot
All eight charities and other not-for-profit organisations that took part in a recent four-day working week national pilot have opted to continue offering reduced hours to their employees.
Last week, the 4 Day Week Foundation and Boston College published the findings of the six-month national pilot of the four-day working week, which began in November last year.
Of the 17 organisations that took part, with over 950 employees between them, eight operate within the charity, not-for-profit, NGO or voluntary sectors, including Bioregional, Bron Afon, the British Society for Immunology, ADD International, CARAS and Global Witness.
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.
