Useful information – w/c 30/06/25
June 30, 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: 27/06/25 – 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
Building financial resilience in uncertain times
Monday 30th June, online. A live webinar packed with practical strategies and expert insights to help your charity stay financially strong and sustainable.
With economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and increasing demand on services, financial resilience has never been more critical for charities. This webinar will explore practical strategies to strengthen reserves, diversify income, manage risk, and plan for long-term sustainability – balancing mission delivery with financial prudence.
[NEW] Reserves Policy Training
1st July, online. This half-day online course has been designed to help charity finance professionals develop a reserves policy that meets the requirements of the Charity Commission and SORP but which is also focused on financial risk and forms an integral part of the charity’s financial strategy.
Dementia and digital adjustments that can help
Wednesday 2 July 2025, online. Do you or someone you know live with dementia? Aimed at older people and some of the issues they may commonly face, join AbilityNet’s free lunchtime learning session Dementia and digital adjustments that can help on Wednesday 2 July at 1pm.
In the webinar, you’ll learn from our special guest Phil Joddrell from Dementia UK, about touchscreen apps for people living with dementia and guidance on adaptations to make apps more user friendly, to enhance engagement and enjoyment.
AbilityNet BT Digital Skills trainer Anna Dolphin will also share practical ideas for digital tools that can help you manage daily life with dementia and how AbilityNet and BT Group can help you and those you know with dementia with their tech, for free.
Crafting your perfect team: Strategies for requirements gathering and partner selection
3rd July, online. Join Hart Square for this webinar, where we’ll cover how to effectively gather your business and technical requirements to ensure your project is well defined and set up for success from the start.
We’ll share proven techniques for identifying, capturing, and documenting your requirements and how best to align stakeholders, prioritise needs, and avoid the common pitfalls at this stage of a project.
Introduction to Digital Accessibility
Thursday 3rd July, online. Get the lowdown on the basics of digital accessibility to see what changes you need to make
Digital accessibility is a crucial aspect of modern-day digital products and services. It not only ensures equal access for disabled people, but it improves the overall user experience for everyone.
This beginner-friendly course will teach you the basics to get you started on your accessibility journey.
How to master grant-funding
3rd July, online. Grant-funding allows charities to boost their impact. But grant-funding is a complex area, full of difficulties around eligibility, finding the right funding opportunities, crafting compelling proposals, meeting the often dizzying reporting requirements, and so on. The world of grant-funding can often feel a little overwhelming, particularly for small charities unsure where to start.
This webinar will cover, among other things, the importance of ‘being fundable’, the right funders for you to approach, how to make an application stand out, and tips to increase your chance of success.
Digital Fundraising Conference
3rd July, online. Cut through the noise, remove overwhelm, and learn the tools, tactics, and strategies to grow your digital fundraising. Join the UK’s largest virtual Digital Fundraising Conference.
With big opportunities – and challenges – facing digital fundraising, we’re bringing you our largest ever virtual conference to help you tackle each one.
You’ll learn how to:
- set and grow a digital fundraising strategy – and how to budget one!
- how to use AI for staff wellbeing and supporter engagement – because AI isn’t just about ChatGPT writing your emails
- find the right digital tools to grow your fundraising – and how to use them
- find and nurture Gen Z engagement – tips from actual Gen Z folk
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.
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.
[NEW] 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
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] Westmorland and Furness Council newsletter
You can view Westmorland and Furness Council’s newsletter from 27th June here, including:
- FREE activities and meals for kids this summer
- Waste and recycling market stall sessions success
- Showing support for Armed Forces Week 2025
[NEW] Help Your Community Access Wearable Technology!
Step Up – part of the Travel Actively project, supports people in getting around more sustainably through walking, wheeling, and cycling for everyday journeys through innovation.
Through Step Up, eligible residents in Barrow can apply for a Garmin Smart Watch over a 6-month trial in which they will report your steps to assess the impact wearable technology can have on active travel. The aim is to encourage walking for everyday journeys, like commuting, shopping, or visiting friends.
This project is designed to give residents with low income backgrounds, who might otherwise be unable to afford a smart watch, the opportunity to use the watches. Due to the nature of the technology users will be required to have a mobile phone which is capable of connecting to the watch via Bluetooth and is able to support the app associated with Garmin. Upon successful completion of the 6 month trial period, the users will be free to keep their watch.
[NEW] Government rejects society lottery cap rise despite study showing benefit to charities
The government has refused to raise a ticket sales limit on society lotteries despite research concluding that doing so would increase funding for charities.
The study, published last week after being commissioned by the previous Conservative administration, found raising the annual sales limit on the lotteries from £50m to £100m per operator “would lead to a net increase in returns to good causes of between £16m and £132m”.
The figure was based on projected growth in sales by the People’s Postcode Lottery (PPL), the largest society lottery, and took into account an expected corresponding decline in National Lottery ticket sales of between £25m and £148m.
[NEW] Cyber security for small charities: how to stay protected in 2025
In this article, Charity Digital explore how small charities can strengthen their cyber security in practical, affordable ways.
[NEW] Proposed SORP requirements are ‘too burdensome’ for smaller charities, CFG warns
The Charity Finance Group (CFG) has warned that proposed changes to accounting rules for charities could be “too onerous” for smaller organisations.
In March, proposals to update the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) were issued, including the introduction of three tiers based on voluntary organisations’ annual income levels.
Tier one rules apply to charities with an income below £500,000, with tier two rules applying to charities with a turnover between £500,000 and £15m and tier three rules concerning charities with revenues over £15m.
[NEW] Charity sector’s gift aid income rises to £1.7bn
Charities in the UK received £1.71bn through gift aid in the last tax year, up 7% on the year before, according to new figures published by HM Revenue and Customs.
HMRC’s statistics, published last week, 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.
[NEW] Free office space in Brampton
Anchor is the biggest provider of specialist housing and care for older people in England. We currently have an amazing space at Anchor – Union Court scheme in Cumbria – Union Lane, Brampton CA8 1BX.
This space has housed charitable organisations before, and they would like this space to be used at the benefit of the community.
It has:
- 198 square meters of space
- Private entry
- Toilet / Disabled Toilet / Disabled bathroom with hoist/bath and shower
- A kitchen
- Multiple side rooms
- Storage
- Small garden area
They are looking for an organisation to occupy the space, long term. They would like to offer this space at no cost, with the occupier only paying for their own utilities. Images and a video of the space can be requested via Rebecca Heede, Community Partnership Manager – Rebecca.heede@anchor.org.uk
Surveys, Research, Feedback and Reports
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.
