Useful information – w/c 10/08/26
August 10, 2026
Events, training, charity news, surveys, research, feedback, reports, services and much more – in one handy place!
This page will be updated with new information as we receive it during the week. Please check back regularly. (Last update: 10/08/26 – items added on this date are marked as [NEW])
You’ll also find the latest Health and Wellbeing news, events and opportunities in the current post on our News page here.
You can view previous Useful Information posts here to catch up on our archive of information.
For useful resources, information, news and events, updates on our climate commitment, blog posts from colleagues about what they’re doing (in a work capacity and privately) to minimise environmental impact and more take a look at Cumbria CVS Green
If you’ve seen something you think we should be sharing, let us know! Email us: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Looking for funding information and news? Check out Focus on Funding here
Skills Bootcamp in Business and Leadership for Social Enterprise
Starts September Carlisle. This Skills Bootcamp is designed to support individuals living or working in Cumbria, who are employed within a social enterprise or a trading charity, and who are looking to develop practical leadership and management capability.
The programme focuses on building the skills required to lead people, manage performance and deliver sustainable impact within a purpose-led trading environment. It combines core business and leadership principles with a clear understanding of the social enterprise landscape.
Delivered through a series of structured face-to-face sessions, supported by online learning, the course enables participants to apply learning directly within their own organisation.
Skills Bootcamp in Project Management
Starts September, Online and in-person. The Skills Bootcamp in Project Management takes learners with little or no project management experience through the fundamentals of project management. Taught workshops provide essential knowledge and skills, and a workplace project allows an opportunity to practise those skills and reflect on learning. The programme also includes, at no additional cost, the Association for Project Management (APM) Project Fundamentals Qualifications (PFQ).
Project Management skills are in high demand across all sectors. This course introduces project management processes, tools and techniques and gives you the opportunity to try these out in your current workplace. You will learn about managing a project from inception to closedown, including planning and scheduling, quality management, budgeting and estimating, and working with stakeholders.
Every Life Matters – Training
Every Life Matters offer a range of suicide prevention and mental health training, including Suicide Alertness, Safety Planning, Mental Health First Aid and Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace.
There are dates for sessions from now until December in this leaflet, online and around the county in-person: Cumbria Training 2026
Brunch Bites: Cyber Essentials 2026 – Are You Still Compliant?
Tuesday 11th August, online. In this webinar, Qlic IT will explore explore the key changes introduced in Cyber Essentials 2026, what they mean for your organisation, and the steps you should be taking to remain compliant.
Whether you’re preparing for your next certification or simply want to strengthen your cyber security, you’ll leave with practical advice and a clear understanding of what’s changed.
Making the most of M365 apps – tips and tricks
Tuesday 11th August, online. Microsoft 365 offers huge possibilities. It helps charities with email, file storage, and provides plenty of productivity applications that can streamlines your charity.
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.
The final section looks at project management and collaboration. Attendees can expect to explore OneNote, the virtues of To Do and Outlook tasks, the best ways to utilise Planner, tips and tricks around Loop, the core functionalities of Bookings, and so much more.
Understanding Governance: The Trustee Role
Tuesday 11th – Wednesday 12th August, online. Governance fundamentals for both new and experienced trustees.
Join this two half-day course to enhance the value you can bring to your charity trustee meetings. Taking place over Zoom, the sessions cover everything from models of governance and the duties of trustees, to planning the work of the board and managing relationships.
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.
Google Ad Grants for beginners
Wednesday 12th August, online. Is your charity looking to set up a Google Ad campaign, but don’t know where to start?
This 2-hour course is specifically for nonprofit staff who have been awarded the $10,000/month Google Ad Grant, but do not know the basics for setting up their first campaign.
You will learn:
➡️ What is a Google Ad Grant?
➡️ How to structure your charity’s account
➡️ Google Ads & Keywords
➡️ Setting up a conversion with Google Analytics.
➡️ Google Ad Grants compliance and maintenance
How to create effective video content using your phone for charities
Thursday 13th August, Online. Join The Saltways team for this practical workshop for charities to learn how to create effective & high quality content on your phone.
Learn how to plan your films to get the best results possible, technical tips and introduction how to build a campaign around your film. There will also be a chance to ask questions.
How to make Meta keep working for your digital fundraising
Thursday 20th August, online.
Join Fundraising Everywhere where they’ll share practical strategies and tools to navigate the ongoing changes in digital advertising: It’s about bringing your fundraising and your communications closer together, showcasing WHY your charity exists, and bringing your story to life in exciting new ways.
Supercharge your use of social media
Tuesday 25th August, online. The landscape of social media is growing increasingly complex. Legacy platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and X seem to constantly change their offerings and shift functionality. New platforms arrive every week, perpetually touted as the next big thing, perhaps even commanding time and resources, then fade into irrelevance. It can prove difficult to navigate the social landscape, to find the platforms that suit your organisation, to identify the best demographics, to maximise return on investment.
This course aims, in just three hours, to supercharge your use of social media. You’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.
You’ll see how to increase social media engagement, how to extend your reach, and how to ensure you target the most rewarding demographics.
South Lakes Youth Work Summit
Saturday 5th September, Kendal. A day dedicated to celebrating, strengthening and championing Youth Work across the South Lakes. Bringing together youth workers, practitioners, volunteers, VCFSE organisations, public sector colleagues and partners (18+), this event will provide an opportunity for inspiration, strengthened connections and discussion.
Aim of the day: To create inspiration, strengthen connections, and reflect on youth work practice and provision, building a collaborative and sustainable future for youth work in the South Lakes.
Understanding Governance: The Trustee Role
Tuesday 8th – Wednesday 9th September, online. Governance fundamentals for new and experienced trustees.
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.
Excel: Essentials and Advanced options
Excel is an incredibly useful tool to help you store, analyse and present your data. Even with basic skills there’s a lot you can do to help with your organisation’s monitoring and evaluation practice – but how do you get started?
➡️ Essentials – Level Up your Skills: Tuesday 8th September, online
➡️ Advanced – Tips and Tricks: Tuesday 15th September online
Influencing the political landscape
Thursday 10th September, Online. Join NPC for this free online session for trustees.
The event will provide a set of clear actions for trustees to takeaway to support them in influencing the political landscape, whether they have a campaigning focus or not.
Find out more and book your place here
Managing charity reserves in an inflationary environment
Tuesday 15th September, Online. Many charities have worked hard to strengthen their financial resilience, building larger reserves and cash balances to navigate an uncertain environment. But as reserves grow, trustees and finance teams face an important question: how can those funds best support future impact?
Join CAF and LGT Wealth Management for a practical webinar exploring the role cash plays within a modern reserves strategy, the impact inflation can have on long-term purchasing power, and how charities can think about balancing liquidity needs with longer-term objectives. The session will also explore diversification, risk management and the role different types of financial assets can play within a reserves portfolio.
Crisis Fundamentals with Horizon Resilience
Tuesday 15th September. VCSEP are running another session in collaboration with Horizon Resilience. They are really keen to tailor this one for those VCFSE groups and target the limited spaces available to those supporting disproportionately impacted groups. This won’t preclude others from attending, but priority will be given to those outside of, or less familiar with, formal resilience structures.
Drawing on their experience at the heart of UK government crisis management, the training will provide participants with a strong practical foundation in crisis management principles, supported by a scenario-based discussion and applied learning. Attendees will go away with an improved awareness of crisis and resilience in the UK context, including how the voluntary and community sector fits within the wider resilience system and a practical understanding of the crisis lifecycle, from anticipation and response through to stabilisation and recovery.
Register by emailing marcusbowen@vcsep.org.uk
Get Media Interview Ready
Tuesday 15th September, online. Build confidence when speaking with the media about your charity.
Media interviews can be a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of your charity, but they can also feel daunting without the right preparation. This interactive half-day online course is designed to help charity staff develop the confidence and practical skills needed to handle media interviews effectively.
Using real-life examples, practical exercises and interview practice in a supportive environment, participants will learn how to prepare for interviews, communicate key messages clearly, respond confidently to challenging questions and make informed decisions about when and how to engage with the media. By the end of the session, attendees will feel better equipped to represent their organisation with confidence, credibility and impact.
[NEW] Writing a Successful Funding Application
Wednesday 16th September, 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.
This course is suited to people who haven’t written a funding application before, or want a refresher on the fundamentals of writing a successful application in a competitive funding landscape.
Data Protection Training for Charities
Thursday 17th September, 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 & HR – Behind the Purpose
Thursday 17th September, Online. A charity’s purpose can be measured and felt not only by its external impact, but also through its internal practices and strategies.
This ‘Behind the Purpose’ FREE online event will explore how HR and Finance teams can join forces to make the most of their organisation’s resources and deliver a greater impact – from building staff training strategies and investing in wellbeing, to collaborating on charity risk assessments.
The event will also cover the recent changes to employment law and their effect on charities, how to plan digital projects, and talking finances with funders.
Active Bystander Training with Protection Approaches
Thursday 17th September. Division in communities, rising tensions and civil unrest continue to be high on the risk register for organisations. A lot of research points to pre-bunking – intervening early to dispel myths rather than challenging misinformation after it appears, so how can community organisations feel better equipped to intervene? NAVCA are collaborating with Protection Approaches to run a special session on helping participants safely address identity based harms in their community, school or workplace, using real-world scenarios to build confidence in implementing Active Bystandership in everyday life.
You’ll learn what it means to be an active bystander, through group discussion we’ll explore what being an active bystander means. How to stand up for those being targeted safely: working through a series of scenarios to consider and learn what you can do when you encounter identity-based harms and proactive prevention: returning to the scenarios we’ll reflect on the root causes of prejudice and discrimination before discussing ways to contribute to dismantling those root causes and to building safer, more inclusive, and just communities.
Register by emailing marcusbowen@vcsep.org.uk
Contract Training for Charities – Managing Contracts with Confidence
Tuesday 22nd September, 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] Developing a Fundraising Strategy
Tuesday 22nd & Wednesday 23rd September, online. This popular two day course will walk you through Lime Green Consulting’s tried-and-tested framework for developing a fundraising strategy, enabling you to evaluate and prioritise the most valuable fundraising activities for your organisation and make the best use of your limited resources.
We’ll show you how to analyse your current fundraising performance, explore future opportunities and challenges, and identify key fundraising audiences – then scope out and prioritise a range of different types of fundraising, identify key building blocks to put in place for long-term success, and accurately forecast the likely financial return. Finally, we’ll explain how to get everyone in your organisation behind a shared fundraising vision and ensure they understand their role in successful fundraising.
Preventing Charity Fraud
Tuesday 6th October, 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.
Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference
Tuesday 6th & Wednesday 7th October, online. Join Get Grants for two days of expert fundraising advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat!
The Conference is a celebration of fundraisers, with a programme designed around the topics you want to talk about.
Bringing together thousands of fundraisers from across the UK every year, this fun and heart-warming event with lots of practical advice is not your typical fundraising conference!
Faith-Based Governance Training
Wednesday 7th – Thursday 8th October, online. Faith-Friendly Governance: Making good governance work for you.
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.
NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria: Launching our next phase of work
Thursday 8th October, Newcastle. This event will bring together our key partners to celebrate the start of our new programme of work (2026 until 2031).
We will share details of our refreshed research themes, new priorities, and opportunities for collaboration across the region. There will also be opportunities for networking and conversation, and light refreshments will be available.
A full agenda will be shared ahead of the event.
Please complete this short form to register
Emergencies Partnership: LIVE
Thursday 8th October, Leeds. Bringing together partners from across the voluntary sector, local authorities, Local Resilience Forums, faith groups, government and community organisations, EP:LIVE is all about strengthening connections, sharing learning and exploring what effective community-led resilience looks like in practice. The programme covers trust, social cohesion, bridging divides, the next generation, harnessing volunteers and empowering action – with plenty of opportunities to build new relationships across the sector.
Understanding Governance: The Trustee Role
Tuesday 13th – Wednesday 14th October, online. Governance fundamentals for new and experienced trustees.
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.
Conscious AI Summit
Thursday 15th October, Online. How can charities build an ethical future? This FREE event focuses on helping charities to use AI ethically.
Together, explore how charities can champion fairness, inclusion and awareness while navigating the risks and challenges associated with AI. The event will examine the vital role the sector can play in shaping the future of a technology that is too powerful to be defined by a select few alone.
Through thought-provoking discussion and practical insight, attendees will be encouraged to adopt AI with intention, purpose and creativity, leaving with the confidence to harness its potential responsibly and effectively within their organisations.
Understanding Governance: The Trustee Role
Wednesday 25th – Thursday 26th November, online. Governance fundamentals for new and experienced trustees.
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.
[NEW] A chance to get free hoodies for your charity
Are you part of a local charity that would benefit from free branded hoodies?
HoodieHut are offering a total of 250 printed hoodies, with 25 charities able to receive 10 hoodies (or t-shirts if preferred).
All UK-registered charities are eligible for selection. Applications close on Friday 14th August.
[NEW] Charities’ data likely copied in cybersecurity incident, Beacon CRM warns
Charities’ data held by a specialist customer relationship management company has likely been downloaded by a third party as part of a cybersecurity incident, it has said.
Beacon CRM, which says it supports more than 1,000 charities, this week reported a breach in which “compromised credentials” were used to make copies of its database backups containing customers’ information.
The company has urged all its charity customers to consider reporting the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
[NEW] 10 Common Annual Report Mistakes for Nonprofits & How to Avoid Them
A strong nonprofit annual report builds trust, shows impact, and helps donors understand why the organization’s work matters. Many teams spend a lot of time and effort every year to achieve this, yet the final result often still misses the mark.
Some reports overwhelm readers with information, while others fail to communicate the organization’s real impact. These common annual report mistakes for nonprofits can make it harder to connect with donors, volunteers, and community supporters.
The good news: most of these problems are fixable.
[NEW] New fundraising calendar to stay ahead of key giving dates
The months ahead offer countless opportunities to connect with supporters. This new fundraising calendar brings together key dates and practical resources to help you plan ahead.
[NEW] Men’s charities ask EHRC to clarify code as implementation nears
A group of men’s charities has signed a letter to the equalities watchdog, asking it to clarify how their services should implement its new code of practice.
More than 20 leaders of not-for-profit organisations providing services to men and boys warned the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) that its guidance could lead to unfair accusations of workplace discrimination.
The EHRC’s new code, updated following last year’s Supreme Court ruling which concluded that “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to “biological sex”, will come into force on 5th August.
[NEW] Mayors urged to work with charities to maximise new spending powers
Umbrella body NCVO has called on English mayors to use their new spending powers to bring charities “into the heart of local decision-making”.
Prime minister Andy Burnham recently announced that mayors will receive a share of income tax revenues for the first time and keep a greater share of locally generated funds such as business rates from next spring.
Further details on the changes are due to be set out in a roadmap at the autumn budget and form part of former Greater Manchester mayor Burnham’s plans to “take power out of Westminster”.
[NEW] Westmorland and Furness Community Safety Partnership Survey
The Westmorland and Furness Community Safety Partnership is launching a Community Conversation to support the development of a new Community Safety Partnership Plan for 2027-30.
The Community Conversation provides an opportunity for people to offer their views and feedback on a wide range of issues and concerns. The online questionnaire asks about how safe people feel in their local community and what type of crime has the most impact on them.
We would also like to hear views on what concerns people the most. We want to hear from residents, workers, businesses and community groups across Westmorland and Furness.
Findings from the survey will then be used to plan and shape the next set of priorities that the partnership will focus on over a three-year period.
[NEW] Fundraisers concerned about AI impact on role, survey finds
Many charity fundraisers are concerned about the impact of AI and automation on their roles, according to a survey by CharityJob.
According to its Voices of Fundraising 2026 report, most fundraisers it surveyed were concerned about AI but some could see its potential “to free up time to enable fundraisers to focus on the relational side of fundraising”.
Many respondents agreed that relationship-building, donor trust, community connection and empathetic communication were things that AI cannot replicate.
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.
