£42 million support package for Third Sector announced

The Government yesterday launched a £42 million funding initiative to boost the Third Sector during the economic downturn.

 

The funding package, part of an action plan for the Third Sector developed by Minister Liam Byrne, is designed to specifically target volunteers, charities and social enterprises.

 

It is hoped the funding support will encourage charities and local voluntary and community groups to continue to do what they do best, despite the recession – offer advice, support and volunteer services in hard-hit areas across the country.

 

In particular, third sector organisations providing employment advice and mental health and family support services in deprived areas throughout England and Wales will benefit from cash injections.  Similarly, social enterprises will receive funds in order to find new, more equitable ways of working and doing business.

 

Proposed initiatives as part of the funding support include:

 

• A £15.5 million Community Resilience Fund for local organisations providing services in the most deprived communities in the country.
• A £0.5 million boost for the School of Social Entrepreneurs.
• A £10 million investment in a volunteer brokerage scheme for unemployed people to allow them to gain skills and experience through community-based work.

Speaking about the proposed initiative, Minister for the Third Sector, Kevin Brennan, pointed to the skills and expertise of the sector in helping people work through challenge and change as the reason for such a substantial investment and vowed to help the Third Sector “get stronger now and in the future”, despite the current economic climate.

 

 

 

To download a copy of the action plan and for further information visit:

 

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

 

 Source: Cabinet Office

02.10.08 (2)

Future of volunteering firmly on the agenda

 

Organisations from the voluntary sector, government and business are set to begin putting their heads together to discuss the future of volunteering.

 

A wide range of organisations, including the RSPB, Time Banking UK, the Office of the Third Sector and the National Trust, will work together in order to put into practice some of the suggestions made by the Commission on the Future of Volunteering, which began in March 2006.

 

Volunteering England will set the ball rolling by investing up to £100,000 in six action teams throughout the country.

 

It is hoped this initiative will take great strides towards making volunteering a cornerstone of British society – a recent political hot topic which can only be beneficial to the voluntary and community sector.

 

Source: Third Sector

1.10.08 (1)

Funding Deadline Round Up!

 

You might want to get your skates on if you’re thinking of applying for these programmes – they all have upcoming October deadlines!

 

 

Access to Nature – Natural England, Big Lottery Fund – 17/10/08

 

V Match Fund – V – 31/10/08

 

SITA Enriching Nature Programme – SITA Trust – 14/10/08

 

Children, Young People and Families Grant Programme – Department for Children, Schools and Families – 31/10/08

 

Wales: Volunteering in Wales Fund – Wales Council for Voluntary Action – 31/10/08

 

Northern Ireland: Integrating Communities – Northern Ireland Rural Development Council – 10/10/08

 

Scotland: Voluntary Sector Development Fund – Scottish Government – 31/10/2008

 

Source: j4bCommunity

 

 

For further information consult the j4bCommunity website:

 

http://www.j4bcommunity.co.uk/Default.aspx

 

26.09.08 (3)

Time off for community volunteers!

 

An announcement this week from Communities Secretary Hazel Blears could see a big boost in volunteer numbers across the sector.

 

Plans to refresh the list of activities that entitle people to take time off work in order to offer their services as volunteers could see more and more people getting stuck in to community projects or charity work in their local area.

 

Currently only school governors, magistrates, members of health bodies and police authorities are entitled to time off to carry out volunteer duties.  The latest citizenship data, however, suggests the nearly three quarters of all UK adults participated in at least one day of volunteering in their community in 2007.

 

Blears’ plans follow the lead of a number of major companies such as HSBC and Unilever who already run active volunteering policies which encourage their employees to get involved, allowing them to not only give something back to their community but also to build and develop their own skills base.

 

These proposed changes can only be good news for voluntary and community groups, who often rely heavily on unpaid local support, as more and more volunteers are able to get their hands dirty…

 

Source: Department of Communities and Local Government

 

 

24.09.08 (1)

Credit crunches for Voluntary Sector?

 

It seems no one is safe from the credit crunch these days – least of all the voluntary sector.

 

In troubled times that have seen the collapse of finance giants Lehman Brothers and travel company XL, and an eleventh-hour merger between Lloyds TSB and HBOS, UK voluntary organisations are bracing themselves for a drastic drop off in corporate sponsorship and volunteering hours.

 

Many voluntary organisations rely heavily on large annual donations from blockbuster corporate firms and make use of thousands of their workers as sponsored volunteers. But with even tighter economic conditions forecast, these kind of handouts look set to become a thing of the past.

 

Speaking this week, David Emerson, Chief Executive of the Association of Charitable Foundations, suggested it might not be time to panic just yet, however.  He noted that large donations are often given to voluntary organisations years in advance and proposed that any changes for the sector are likely to “filter through slowly”.

 

Source: Third Sector