Small and medium sized charities and social enterprises based in and delivering impact in England, who are looking to grow or diversify their business models.
Am I eligible?
Incorporated voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations*
Based in England and delivering social/ environmental impact in England
A minimum of two years’ operating activity
A minimum turnover of £100k in the last financial year
A viable borrowing proposal.
* Must be registered as a Charity, Community Interest Company or Community Benefit Society. If registered as any other legal entity, it must have a social object, asset lock and restriction on profit distribution (must distribute less than 50% of post-tax profits) written into its governing documents.
What could I receive?
Product
Blend of loan (75%) and grant (25%)
Amount
£25k – £150k (inclusive of 25% grant)
Repayment Term
1 – 6 years (inclusive of any capital repayment holiday)
Interest Rate
7.5% fixed per annum
Arrangement Fee
2% on loan value (added to loan balance)
Repayment
Capital repayment holiday of up to 12 months at the start of the loan (optional)
Over the last 12-18 months, Essex County Council has been working with a broad range of partners to undertake a system wide engagement of the current Voluntary and Community Sector landscape. Essex County Council is proposing a change in how it invests in Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Infrastructure from April 2024, and the Strengthening Communities Team, who are leading this review, have published a Prior Information Notice, known as a PIN, that is the first step in the process and seeks to notify the market in good time of the procurement exercise and open up engagement with potential providers in advance.
We hope you can take a look at the PIN and, if it is something you have an interest in, please come and join the team at the online Market Engagement Event planned for 18th July 2023. Details of how to request attendance can be found in the PIN – https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017148-2023.
If you are a VCS organisation and have any queries, you can email Strengthening.Communities@essex.gov.uk, your question will be logged and answered during the Market Engagement Event.
If you are a Statutory Sector partner and would like more information or a discussion about this commission please email Strengthening.Communities@essex.gov.uk
This survey is aimed at helping the Community Safety Partnerships working across Southend, Essex and Thurrock to identify the impacts of crime and anti-social behaviour in the county.
You can complete the survey about any area in Essex, whether you live, work or study there. You can also complete this survey more than once to give us your views about a different area if you wish to do so.
The results will be used by the Community Safety Partnerships for each area, and Safer Essex, to inform their priorities for the next year.
How we use your data
This survey is for you to provide information to be used by the Community Safety Partnership project. Under the GDPR we have a legal duty to protect any information we collect from you. The information will only be used for the purposes of this project and will not be kept longer than is necessary to do so, up to a maximum of five years.
We share this information with our district council partners and Essex Police, but we will not share your personal details with any other agency unless we have concerns that you or another individual may be at risk of harm or if it is required by law. We do not collect personal information for commercial purposes.
Community360 have announced a Recruitment Open Day that will showcase the opportunities available at the charity.
Taking place on Saturday 15th July at the One Colchester Hub, Long Wyre Street, staff will be on hand to talk to perspective candidates about the organisation and what vacancies are available.
Tracy Rudling, CEO at Community360 said: “We are delighted to announce our Recruitment Open Day and able to share the range of exciting job opportunities and apprenticeships currently available. Potential applicants are invited to come along to chat to our staff and find out more about the vacancies on offer and to find out first-hand what it is like to work in the
community voluntary sector. This is a great way to learn more about Community360, the work that we do and what it’s like to be part of our growing team.” She added: “Come long, grab a tea or coffee, bring along your CV and discover if a career within Community360 is right for you.”
Community360 has a wide range of opportunities on offer from working with volunteers, families, the vulnerable, community development, finance, community transport and fundraising. The day runs from 10am to 3pm at the One Colchester Hub, Long Wyre Street, Colchester. Find out about Communit360 at www.community360.org.uk
This month they will be analysing the increasing impact of the crisis on mortgage holders and private renters. Alongside Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice and Tom McInnes, Chief Data Analyst, they’ll hear from Jackie Jeffrey, Chief Officer at Citizens Advice Shropshire about how this is affecting the people they see everyday.
The cost-of-living crisis is far from over and our data shows how people are being affected. Both Section 21 and Section 8 eviction notices are putting private renters at greater risk of homelessness. We’re seeing an alarming trend in the numbers of private renters needing help with a homelessness issue. We’ll be speaking more about this on 24 July.
Side by Side is a peer support service for families who care for, or support, an adult with a learning disability or autism. We achieve this by pairing them with another family with first-hand experience and empathy, who can provide informal support.
Our aims are:
To find and link families who would benefit from informal, over the phone support
To help families connect and build a rapport one to one
To bring families together with common shared experience
The role will provide specialist counselling and support to young people (12-19) who have experienced rape, sexual violence or sexual abuse. There is also the potential to work with children under 12 if qualified to do so. The role includes wider responsibilities as a member of CARA’s staff team including line-management of sessional or volunteer counsellors and activities to raise awareness of the impact of sexual violence amongst agencies and the wider community.
For a full job description and person specification, please click here.
CARA is looking for and Integrated Support and Advocacy Manager to lead and develop a new and innovative CARA service, now in its second year – the CARA Integrated Support service. The Integrated Support service is aimed primarily at victims and survivors who have a high level of immediate need or require crisis support. Alongside managing and supporting CARA’s specialist Advocacy service, the Integrated Support Service includes provision of:
One-to-one tailored emotional support and psychoeducation activities.
Support in accessing mental health or other external services, whilst developing relationships with other agencies.
A programme of regular groups.
For a full job description and person specification, please click here.
Closing date of advertisement is Wednesday 5th July 2023, Interview date TBA.
To apply for this position please click on the application form button on the vacancies page and submit your completed application by the closing date advertised. For any questions please contact HR – email HR@mindinwestessex.org.uk
Each year Community 360 produce a report looking in detail at what they have achieved throughout the past year with the local voluntary sector. They get the chance to show precisely what their volunteers and staff team have been able to do, who they have been able to work with and what more they might want to do in the future.