Small charities to cash in!

This week Cabinet Minister Nick Byrne announced a funding pot of more than £750,000 for small local charities and voluntary organisations that work with vulnerable members of society and carry out campaigning initiatives. 

 

The programme, which will be administered by third sector infrastructure body Capacitybuilders, will provide grants to up to 30 organisations over a period of two years.

 

The aim of this cash injection is to encourage small, locally-based groups that represent the most vulnerable people in society to make their voices heard.  Capacitybuilders are particularly keen to hear from organisations that work with people with disabilities and disadvantaged young people and have an innovative approach.

 

It is anticipated the grants programme will open to applications later this Spring.

 

For further information visit:

 

http://capacitybuilders.org.uk/

 

 

Source: Third Sector

 

Charities to get share of Empowerment Fund

21 charities have been chosen to receive a share of the Communities and Local Government £9.25 million Empowerment Fund.

 

The programme, which provides three year grants of between £250,000 and £500,000, has been designed to specifically target third sector groups that work in community development, social media, social entrepreneurship and community involvement and has received more than 150 applications for funding since its launch in July 2008.

 

Amongst the successful groups that will receive a share of the cash are Media Trust, an organisation that works with the media industry to build effective communications for the charity and voluntary sectors, the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, a charity that works to tackle injustice and Social Firms UK, the national support agency for Social Firm development.

 

The Fund has not been without controversy, however.  In September 2008, the CLG were forced to remove eligibility criteria that required applicants to the scheme to have an annual income of at least £400,000, after receiving an angry petition from excluded third sector groups.

 

Source: Communities and Local Government

Grassroots programme awards 5000 grants in first six months

The government’s three year £130 million Grassroots programme has awarded 5000 grants during its first six months of operation.

 

The programme, managed by the Community Development Foundation (CDF), has served to strengthen communities throughout England by awarding cash sums of between £250 and £5,000 to voluntary and community groups and has worked to target organisations that have never before received grant aid.

 

In addition, the scheme is determined to adapt to new economic challenges and has been recently adjusted on two levels – raising the maximum annual income of applicants to £30,000 in order to reach a larger number of organisations and ensuring a pound for pound match (rather than the previous 50p for every pound) from the Government for the Endowment Match Fund.

 

The 5000^th grant was awarded to a toddler group, Barnys Babs, in Solihull to pay for running costs and volunteer training.

 

For further information visit:

 

http://www.cdf.org.uk/bfora/systems/xmlviewer/default.asp?arg=DS_CDF_TECHART_23/_page.xsl/27&xsl_argx=3

Cash boost to bridge digital divide in Wales

The Deputy Minister for Regeneration, Leighton Andrews, has this week announced a new initiative to tackle the digital divide in Wales.

 

The Communities 2.0 programme, worth nearly £20 million, will focus on digital inclusion in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Wales and will work closely with community groups, local charities and social enterprises in order to encourage them to use new technologies.

 

The initiative, which will draw on European Development Fund money, will follow on from the acclaimed Communities @ One programme, launched in 2006.  The funding will also support the creation of a Digital Inclusion Unit which will co-ordinate programme policies and activities.

 

Source: Welsh Assembly Government

Online resources to combat youth violence

New online resources for community groups and voluntary organisations working to combat gun, gang and knife crime have been launched this week by the Home Office as part of the national ‘It Doesn’t Have to Happen’ campaign.

 

Specifically targeted at encouraging grassroots groups to engage with young people, the site now provides ideas, advice, support, access to campaign materials and best practice pointers.  It is hoped this initiative will aid local projects and activities to “amplify national campaign messages”.

 

The new resources follow the Home Office’s £4.5 million Community Fund, launched at the end of last year.  The fund offers grants of up to £10,000 to local community groups working to tackle youth violence.

 

For further information visit:

 

http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/stopknifecrime/index.htm

 

Source: Home Office

New funding to stamp out youth violence

This week has seen the launch of a £4.5 million funding programme to help tackle youth violence.

 

The programme, provided by the Home Office and administered by consultancy experts, Tribal, will target local voluntary and community organisations that work with young people to combat youth violence.  Each organisation can apply for funds of up to £30,000.

 

Organisations based in the following key priority areas will be eligible for up to £10,000 per annum, for a maximum of three years:

 

·        Bedfordshire

·        Essex

·        Greater Manchester

·        Lancashire

·        Merseyside

·        London Metropolitan

·        Northumbria

·        Nottinghamshire

·        South Wales

·        South Yorkshire

·        Thames Valley

·        West Midlands

·        West Yorkshire

 

The programme will be open to applications until 3 April 2009.

 

For more information visit:

 

http://www.grantsadmin.co.uk/

 

Source: j4bcommunity, Home Office

Voluntary organisations receive boost from Department for Children, Schools and Families

Good news for over 100 voluntary organisations who will be awarded a share of £46 million over the next two years, through the Children, Young People and Families Grant Programme.

 

The programme, intended to support the provision of essential youth and community facilities, such as play areas and youth homelessness services, aims to supply up to £134 million to over 250 organisations between now and 2011.  The programme is a national one and is keen to work towards fulfilling the Every Child Matters agenda outlined by the government.

 

In this particular wave of funding, 39 third sector organisations that were previously unfunded received support, whilst six faith organisations and seven black and minority ethnic (BME) groups also scooped a share of the cash.

 

Amongst the projects due to be implemented are the Young Leaders For Safer Cities Project, run by the Metropolitan Black Police Association and aimed at young people living in inner city crime hotspots, and the Make Every Goal Count Programme, administered by the Football League Trust and intended to provide multi-sports activities for young people.

 

For further information visit:

 

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0299

 

Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families

Third Sector Awards 2008

2008 has been a successful, if challenging, year for the Third Sector.  With the onset of a recession, it seems that now, more than ever before, the work carried out by charities, voluntary and community groups and social enterprise is vital, with its influence felt at every level of society.  The Sector’s innovative and adaptable nature is undoubtedly key to its continued success and growing relevance – always ready to rise to a challenge, this year has seen organisations become greener, work together in unusual partnerships, shake up their grant-making and invest in research.

 

Nowhere are these facts more evident than in the results of the Third Sector Excellence Awards 2008. 

 

The Sector’s ability to produce small organisations that work effectively yet modestly at a community level is proved by Small Charity, Big Achiever award winner, Storybook Dads – an initiative that helps prisoners record CDs of themselves reading bedtime stories to their children. 

 

The Sector’s characteristically quick response to changing social and economic climates is typified by another award winner – Elizabeth Finn Care.  This organisation, set up to work with those living below the poverty line, fearlessly adapted their grant programmes and services as soon as the economic crisis struck and, as a result, has maintained its relevance and impact throughout 2008.

 

The Sector’s enthusiasm for working in partnership with a range of organisations, particularly those from the public sector, can be noted in Battersea Arts Centre’s blossoming relationship with Wandsworth Council, which scooped the Public Sector Partnership award.

 

The Sector can also be enterprising, as demonstrated by another award winner, Youth Net.  Youth Net is the first exclusively online charity and offers advice for young people.  2008 saw it turn over a very respectable profit with minimal outlay.

 

For more information about the Third Sector Excellence Awards 2008 and a list of all the other winners, visit:

 

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/BigIssues/Details/58715/third-sector-excellence-awards-2008

 

Source: Third Sector

Third Sector to stick together to beat the crunch…

Acevo chief executive, Stephen Bubb, has this week urged Third Sector organisations to stick together during the current economic crisis and warned they need to be prepared to try out new approaches.

 

According to Bubb, speaking at the Charities Aid Foundation’s Funding the Future Conference, Third Sector groups should be looking to form alliances with other similar charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises if they want to survive the next few years.

 

Bubb flagged up the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella group comprising 13 UK charities who work in humanitarian and emergency aid, as a model of best practice, claiming whenever an international crisis occurs they work together effectively.

 

With the recession undeniably shaping up to be an international crisis – it’s time for the Third Sector to work together too…

 

Source: Acevo

New figures help government push to establish longer term funding for Third Sector

This month, Kevin Brennan, Minister for the Third Sector, has announced some figures which will serve as a baseline for progress on making multi-year funding for Third Sector organisations the norm.

 

According to a cross-department survey, the mean average for direct government grants that are available to voluntary and community organisations for three years or more, is 66%.  This figure will now be used as a benchmark to assess how effectively the government’s push to establish longer term funding over the next few years actually is.

 

Making funding for three years or more the norm rather than the exception is good news for the sector as the added security it offers will ensure voluntary and community groups, charities and social enterprises become more sustainable, more innovative and more cost effective.

 

For further information visit:

 

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx

 

Source: Cabinet Office