Useful information – w/c 08/12/25
December 8, 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: 12/12/25 – 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
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16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence
25th November – 10th December. The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
We’re pleased to share this year’s programme of Lunch and Learn sessions, accessible to all those across the Partnership. Full information on how to book a place for each session is included in the attached document.
UK data reform: what charity leaders need to know now
Tuesday 9th December, Online. Join ACEVO’s upcoming leadership webinar hosted by Hope & May to unpack the most significant changes to UK data protection law in many years.
With reforms rolling out over the next 12 months, now is the time for CEOs and senior leaders to understand what is changing, and what action is required.
How to excel as a charity trustee
9th December, online. Trustees are the backbone of every charity. But excelling as a trustee can often feel difficult, with so many demands and often little support.
In just three hours, this course aims to give trustees the tools and confidence to excel. We will explore the responsibilities of trustees, the expectations of them, and the core skills trustees need. It will help to clear up misconceptions about responsibilities and the time commitment typically involved. We offer guidance as to how to attain any skills you might not possess.
The course is perfect for trustees and people interested in becoming trustees. The course provides a safe space to ask questions of the presenter and explore how you can improve.
How to master email marketing
10th December, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to boost your email marketing.
The course provides a hands-on approach, showing charities the basics of email marketing, the best platforms, strategies for effective list-building, the importance of segmentation, tips and tricks for crafting effective emails, the best way to write a subject line, the virtues of personalisation, and so much more.
Anti Racist Cumbria ‘Community Conversation’ Workshop: Difficult Conversations
11th December, Barrow. Why is it we find it difficult to talk about racism?
If we don’t have the conversations, how can we take the opportunities to challenge for change? These workshops support us to reframe what might seem like a ‘difficult conversation’ and resourcing ourselves to recognise it as a ‘Courageous one.’
Get in touch to register or for more information: niall@antiracistcumbria.org or 07979 551999
Flyer for the event series here
Clinks Area Engagement Criminal Justice Forum
Thursday 11th December, online. Clinks is inviting voluntary sector organisations working in the criminal justice system to join their upcoming Area Engagement Criminal Justice Forums.
These events offer a chance to meet the Clinks team, hear updates about area engagement and policy work, and explore how your organisation can build connections with local partners such as Prisons and Probation.
Whether you’re a small grassroots project or a larger charity, these forums are a valuable opportunity to network, share good practice and discuss challenges in delivering services in the criminal justice system.
Anti Racist Cumbria ‘Community Conversation’ Workshop: Courageous Conversations
12th December, Barrow. Why is it we find it difficult to talk about racism?
If we don’t have the conversations, how can we take the opportunities to challenge for change? These workshops support us to reframe what might seem like a ‘difficult conversation’ and resourcing ourselves to recognise it as a ‘Courageous one.’
Get in touch to register or for more information: niall@antiracistcumbria.org or 07979 551999
Flyer for the event series here
Practical uses of AI for your charity
16th December, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to boost your everyday use of AI.
The course takes a hands-on, practical approach, showing charities how to use AI to improve meetings, boost email marketing, smash data analytics, enhance workflow efficiency, and so much more.
Planning your strategic communications for 2026
Tuesday 16th December, Online. Join Media Trust’s series of free interactive drop in clinics for charities with global PR and communications agency Edelman. Each hour-long drop-in session will focus on a different communications strategy topic. Joined by 2-3 expert volunteers from Edelman, you’ll have the chance to ask your most pressing questions and get their guidance.
You’ll also have the opportunity to connect with a small group of charities facing similar challenges, so you can tackle them together.
This session will concentrate on how to clarify your charity’s mission and brand while setting measurable communication goals for the year ahead.
Introduction to Google Analytics 4
13th January 2026, online. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool that can supercharge your charity. It provides an accurate and insight-rich understanding of your supporters and donors.
It provides a complete view of user journeys and enables you to make effective data-driven decisions. And, perhaps most importantly, it can drastically improve your marketing and fundraising.
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.
Faith-Based Governance Training
13th January 2026, online. Good governance is often seen as a burden – but it can be one of a charity’s greatest assets.
This faith-friendly course helps senior leaders and trustees understand what good governance really looks like and how to make it work in a faith context. It explores how to clarify roles, strengthen decision-making, and build confidence around risk. Scenarios and case studies help participants develop skills in practical, relevant ways.
Understanding Governance Stage 1: The Trustee Role
15th–16th January 2026, online. If you are new to the role of being a charity trustee, this course will provide the perfect introduction, while experienced trustees will also benefit from a refresher of their responsibilities and comprehensive updates on evolving elements of the trustee role.
Brand Reputation Training for Charities
20th January 2026, online. In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, a charity’s reputation is one of its most valuable assets.
Trust, public perception, and the ability to raise funds or deliver services can be significantly impacted by how well a charity manages its brand. From copyright and trade marks to online abuse and data breaches, reputation management is essential. This practical, expert-led training will help you understand the legal and strategic tools needed to safeguard your charity’s identity and uphold public trust.
Supercharge your use of social media
20th January 2026, 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.
Getting started with Google for Nonprofits
21st January 2026, 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.
Data Protection Training for Charities
27th January 2026, online. It is important for every charity leader to ensure their organisation is fully compliant with the latest data protection regulations.
This half-day course will guide you through the key points to consider and what measures you should have in place. You will also learn how to avoid some common data protection pitfalls.
Finance for Trustees
29th January 2026, 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.
Protecting your Legacy Income
3rd February 2026, online. Managing your charity’s legacy income can be a lengthy and complex process.
From the various tax considerations (Inheritance, Capital Gains), to dealing with contested legacies and all of the adminstration in between, there are many factors that can delay legacy income reaching your charity.
Led by the legacy protection team at VWV, this course has been designed to give clear and practical legal advice for breaking down these obstacles as well as tools for recognising legacy risks early on in the process.
The Digitally Informed Trustee
4th February 2026, online. Trustees play a vital role in providing strategic leadership, financial oversight, risk management, and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance. Yet many trustees feel underprepared, especially when it comes to digital tools and technology, from managing cybersecurity risks to interpreting data dashboards or understanding AI-driven systems.
This series is designed to equip trustees with the confidence and competence to navigate the digital tools and technologies essential for modern governance. Through interactive sessions led by expert facilitators, respected organisations, and thought leaders, you’ll gain the skills, insights, and support needed to be an effective, ethical, and digitally-savvy trustee.
Preventing Charity Fraud
5th February 2026, online. Combining 25 years’ expertise as a charity lawyer and governance trainer with frontline experience from various voluntary leadership sector roles, Claris D’cruz will lead this half-day training course to help your charity prevent and deal with fraud or suspected fraud.
This training is relevant to charity trustees, CEOs, finance directors, finance managers, charity advisors and anyone with responsibility for dealing with fraud in their charity.
Throughout the morning we will explore the types of fraud and financial crime to be aware of, the controls and procedures to prevent fraud and how to handle a fraudulent incident.
Charities SORP Training Series
Starting Tuesday 10th February 2026, online. Are you ready for the changes to the 2026 Charities SORP?
The Charities SORP 2026 comes into effect for accounting periods starting from 1 January 2026.
It contains a number of important updates, including on lease accounting and revenue recognition. It also introduces a three-tier reporting system based on income. In addition, refreshed trustees annual report requirements, with further guidance added on how to report financial reserves and plans about the future. Areas of particular public and donor interest – including impact reporting, and environmental, social and governance issues – now have dedicated sections, with guidance on reporting.
The Art of Being an Effective Chair
12th–13th February 2026, online. The role of the chair of the board or a committee is more demanding and can be more complex than most people realise.
This course will help you to chair well and to ensure that board governs effectively and that board committees add value to the governance process. Scenarios and case studies help develop skills in practical ways.
Contract Training for Charities – Managing Contracts with Confidence
26th February 2026, online. For a charity entering into a contract with any other party, there are a number of key factors to consider.
In this half-day session Ed Rimmell, partner at VWV, will share his expertise on managing charity contracts effectively to ensure risks are mitigated, all parties fully understand what has been agreed and what to do if a dispute arises. Ed will also guide you through some common and important contract clauses which are often poorly understood.
[NEW] Suicide Prevention Conference
Thursday 23rd April, Rheged, Penrith. This year’s theme, “Take action. Prevent suicide.”, focuses on the practical steps we can all take to save lives and support those affected by suicide across Cumbria.
This full-day event brings together inspirational speakers, interactive workshops, and hands-on training to equip individuals, organisations, and community groups with the skills and confidence to help create a Suicide Safer Cumbria.
Whether you work in a school, a workplace, health or public services, the third or faith sectors, a sports club, or are attending as an individual – join us in our mission.
[NEW] Hope Not Hate
Hope Not Hate have a wide range of useful information and research reports on racism and racist riots, the far right, and up to date polling ‘The State of Hope’.
Amongst these is a study of over 11,000 Reform UK voters and their analysis shows that people who support Reform UK have disparate and often contradictory views.
Visit the Hope Not Hate website here
[NEW] Julia Unwin endorsed as next Charity Commission chair by select committee
The government’s choice for the next Charity Commission chair has been endorsed by a select committee and will take up the role pending final approval.
Julia Unwin was backed by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to become chair of the Charity Commission after a pre-appointment hearing last month.
Following the committee’s report, the final decision to appoint Unwin now rests with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
[NEW] Budget offers ‘little to celebrate’ for charities, say sector bodies
Charity sector bodies have criticised chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget for offering little in the way of support for voluntary organisations.
Details of a previously announced VAT relief on business donations of goods to charities due to come in next year were celebrated by the sector, which had lobbied for the change to incentivise charitable gifts from private firms.
Measures to clamp down on inheritance tax avoidance were more cautiously welcomed, with the Charity Tax Group (CTG) seeking to ensure there are “no unintended consequences” for legacy income.
[NEW] Digital trends to help charities prepare for 2026
Half of charities find keeping up with emerging challenging trends challenging or are not across them at all, according to the 2025 Charity Digital Skills report.
This statistic is hardly surprising given how quickly the digital landscape changes, especially in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Embracing new tools and opportunities requires continuous effort from organisations, who must scan the horizon for ways to meet their challenges with digital technology.
As 2026 approaches, Charity Digital and Techsoup share some of the most noteworthy digital trends for charities, to help them thrive in the new year.
[NEW] Charities brace for extra staff costs as minimum wage rises announced
Many charities are expected to face increased staff costs next year after the government confirmed that minimum wage rates will increase from April 2026.
Ahead of November’s budget, the government announced a 4.1% increase in the national living wage (NLW), which applies to workers over 21, to £12.71 per hour.
The national minimum wage (NMW) for workers over 18 is set to rise by 8.5% to £10.85 an hour while rates for apprentices will increase by 6% to £8 per hour.
Disclosure and Barring Service Regional Outreach – How can we support you?
The DBS Regional Outreach team provides advice and guidance to both employers and voluntary organisations on DBS products and services. This includes supporting organisations to understand eligibility for DBS checks and helping to ensure that they are requesting the correct level of check for the role, as well helping understand when their legal duty to make a referral to DBS is met.
The Outreach team provide a variety of free workshops and webinars to help with the understanding of these areas. The workshops can be delivered virtually or in some cases face to face, each Regional Adviser hold workshops specifically for their region and can also deliver to individual organisations if something more bespoke is required.
They also appreciate that sometimes the dates aren’t convenient so there are monthly workshops that are held on Eventbrite too, details can be found here:
DBS Disclosure and Eligibility Workshop
DBS Barring and Legal Duty to Refer Workshop
DBS Harmful Behaviour Outside of the Workplace
DBS Enhanced Application Process Workshop
If you would like support from the Regional Adviser, contact Jordan Hayden jordan.hayden@dbs.gov.uk
The essential guide for changing minds on migration
In order to build a broad movement for migrant rights, we need to talk to each other. We need to counter the tactics of division, scapegoating, and misinformation.
Right now, misinformation about migrants and refugees is incredibly widespread. But here’s the good news: people are more likely to trust and listen to information from people that they know. That means we can change the story being told about migration – one conversation at a time – with the people in our lives.
This guide by Praxis, for Migrants and Refugees aims to help you do that. To have open conversations where you both feel heard and in the process hopefully open someone to a new way of thinking about migrants and refugees.
Rookhow Retreat Away Fund
Rookhow’s Lake District group accommodation is a secluded haven of tranquility, set in 12 acres of ancient oak woodland nestled between Coniston and Lake Windermere.
Rookhow puts 5% of every booking fee into a fund to support groups, who may not be able to cover the cost themselves, to stay at Rookhow.
The next round will be April 2026. Get in touch if you would like to make an application.
Free AI training programme for UK charities launched
Charity Excellence has launched a set of free artificial intelligence training courses for charities in partnership with Microsoft.
The platform announced the AI Online Learning Programme last month, after spending several years tracking AI adoption across the charity sector.
Charity Excellence launched its first AI system in 2022 and began delivering practical AI training in 2023 and has now used its experiences to develop the AI Online Learning Programme.
The role of CEOs in digital strategy development
Find out how a CEO can be a catalyst to drive digital transformation forward.
2026 National Fundraising Awards
With less than a week until nominations close for the 2026 National Fundraising Awards, now is the time to get your nominations in! Hosted by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, these Awards shine a dazzling spotlight on those whose creativity, dedication, and innovation have transformed lives and communities.
There are so many reasons to nominate either yourself, your charity, your team or a friend. End the year by taking a moment to nominate someone and recognise their positive impact.
The deadline for submitting nominations is 23.59 on Monday, 15th December 2025.
Charities raise ‘serious concerns’ as Home Office consults on migrant volunteering plans
Charities have raised “serious concerns” after the Home Office launched a consultation outlining its plans for migrants that volunteer to earn settled status faster.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood recently published details of the plans, which state that migrants must earn UK settlement through “good conduct, contribution and integration”, expedited by voluntary work.
The paper says that three to five years could be chalked off the new “baseline” 10-year qualifying period – previously five – for indefinite leave to remain if an applicant volunteers in the community.
How to improve your annual report
The trustees’ annual report (TAR) is an important task for any charity. On the one hand it’s an essential ‘hygiene factor’. On the other hand, it’s a valuable piece of marketing collateral.
With a job as daunting as an annual report, it can be tempting to do it how you’ve always done it. But there’s always value in stepping back to think about doing things differently.
Charities urged to be ‘deliberate’ about new impact reporting requirement
Charities should be deliberate about their impact reporting, the Charity Commission chief executive has said, as changes to accounting rules are introduced from next year.
The new Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), which applies to accounting periods beginning after 1 January 2026, states that impact reporting will be “a ‘must’ for all charities”.
Directory of Social Change chief executive Debra Allcock Tyler recently criticised the impact reporting requirement, warning that many charities are unable to measure their impact easily and would instead resort to a “cut and pasted” statement.
[NEW] Report encourages charities to focus on donor engagement to survive
Charities have been urged to focus on supporter engagement after research found that almost half of first-time donors do not make a second donation amid a broader decline in charitable donations.
Published last month by digital agency manifesto, the report draws on research with 2,000 supporters and 300 charity professionals in August and September.
It found that overwhelming supporters with messages had put one-time only donors off, with 61% of respondents saying they disengaged because charities “ask too often or too forcefully”.
[NEW] Report: Digital service delivery in the UK charity sector
Charity Digital reveal findings from their most recent survey, Digital service delivery in the UK charity sector, which explores the importance of co-design and co-delivery, the impact of artificial intelligence on service delivery, and so much more.
AI-generated imagery in the charity sector
The Saltways, a video production company specialising in working with the charity sector, are researching how AI-generated imagery is being used in the charity sector and what support organisations need.
They plan to create a resource that:
1. Explains how AI actually generates images – because understanding the mechanics (and the biases baked into training data) is essential
2. Gives practical, ethical guidance – when is it okay to use AI imagery? When is it absolutely not? How do we avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes?
3. Shows how authentic storytelling can be your competitive advantage – in a world drowning in AI content, real stories from real people can help charities cut through the noise
Your responses will help develop practical guidelines for ethical AI use. This survey takes approximately 5-7 minutes to complete and all responses are confidential.
Many charities cutting jobs and services since NICs rise announcement, survey finds
A new survey by the Charity Finance Group (CFG) depicts a “stark” impact of the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) on charities a year after its announcement.
In her October 2024 budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the rate of employers’ NICs would increase to 15% from April 2025, which umbrella body NCVO estimated would cost the charity sector an extra £1.4bn per year.
In CFG’s survey of 54 charity leaders published this week, over three-quarters of respondents reported a worse financial position than a year ago, while six in 10 said they are running deficits.
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.
