ECC Business Growth Teams Partnership Work Achieves National Recognition
The Business Growth team, in the Sustainable Growth Directorate, are proud to share that the North Essex Economic Board partnership (NEEB) has achieved national recognition, showcasing excellence in public procurement. At the recent Government Opportunities (GO) UK National Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2022, NEEB was highly commended, putting it in the top three of its category.
The Business Growth team managed ECCs role in establishing the NEEB partnership along with 5 North/Mid Essex Authorities (Braintree, Maldon, Tendring, Uttlesford, Colchester and Chelmsford) to help local businesses recover from the pandemic. The team recognised that taking a connected approach, across council boundaries, was vital in maximising available funding, acknowledging that people do not see the invisible lines between council areas. The partnership authorities combined some of their Additional Restrictions Grant Funding to establish a Business Support and Skills Programme, procuring a suite of fully funded support packages for businesses and residents, led by the Business Support team.
Procuring several support programmes across multiple councils was not easy and to be highly commended in these awards is testament to the dedicated work done by the Business Support team and the NEEB partner authorities to achieve this.
The fully-funded business support packages, helping firms with topics such as finance, low carbon and digital skills are now live, along with the skills support for residents.
Britain is facing its biggest cost of living crisis in decades. Citizens Advice has seen more people coming to us for help with crisis support, energy problems and not having enough money to make ends meet than ever before. In this dashboard we share insights from across our service on how the crisis is affecting the people we help.
We’ll be updating this dashboard every month tracking how the cost of living crisis is changing. If there are insights you’d like to hear from us, please get in contact at [email protected].
Sage Foundation NPO Success is committed to helping non-profits by providing valuable learning opportunities suitable for employees, leaders, trustees and volunteers. We have partnered with three established industry providers, Colour Accounting, Charity Digital and NCVO to build a tailored range of courses that will meet your needs regardless of where you are on your learning journey.
All of are courses are free and you can choose whether to attend all or a specific few. To find out more and to register click on the tabs below. If you are unable to attend please do let us know so we can offer your place to another individual.
New dates will be added regularly, so if the course you want is fully booked, check back soon!
Colour Accounting is an international publishing company and workplace education provider. Their mission is to empower individuals and organisations by improving accounting literacy.
Charity Digital was established to help other non-profits deliver their missions using digital technology. In addition to being the UK’s only software donation platform they focus on raising digital skills and knowledge for NPOs.
NCVO is a long established organisation that champions the voluntary sector. They support over 16,000 members with practical resources designed to support the day to day running of their organisations.
Earlier this week, guidance was issued by the Charity Commission on some of the changes that will begin coming into force later this year with the introduction of the Charities Act 2022. These include:
Fund raising appeals: where fundraising appeals exceed, or fail to reach their target, the obligations on charity trustees will be simplified. For example, there will no longer be a requirement for charities to wait six months for donors to request a refund.
Provision of Goods: In certain circumstances, the rules concerning when a trustee can be paid for providing goods and services will be relaxed. A review of the charity’s governing document may be required for those wishing to take advantage of this.
Ex gratia payments: charity trustees will be given extended power to make small ex gratia (or “moral”) payments. This could arise if, for example, a charity was left a legacy but then after the donor’s death, evidence arose that he/she had changed his/her mind about the gift. In those circumstances the charity may consider the right course of action to be to waive the gift. This change will provide greater discretion for charities to do so.
Royal Charters: there will also be new statutory powers allowing Royal Charters to change certain sections that they are not currently able to amend (if approved by the Privy Council).
The hope is that these changes will (to some extent) simplify charity law complications for the benefit of charities moving forward.
The Think Ahead programme is an innovative route into social work, for graduates and career-changers remarkable enough to make a real difference to people with mental health problems.
How does it work?
You will be paid to work in an expert team alongside clinical professionals, study for a master’s degree in social work and develop your leadership skills.
Where you will work
We work with NHS Trusts and Local Authorities across England, who act as host organisations for our participants. Your specific workplace is likely to change during the two-year programme, but it will always be within the geographical area covered by your host organisation.
When you apply, you can let us know where you would prefer to work. We do our very best to support these preferences but may need you to be flexible about where you live and work.
Social workers often support people over a large area and in more rural places you will need to travel by car. You are less likely to be given a place on the programme if you cannot drive because many of our host organisations cover rural locations.
When you apply, you will be able to let us know whether you are able to drive, and if not whether you are willing to commit to learning before you start the programme.
When you will work
The Think Ahead programme is full-time, Monday to Friday, for its entire duration. You will not usually have to work during evenings or weekends, but there are occasional lectures and events that you may want to take part in.
This is an intensive programme, and you may find that you use some evening and weekend time for your academic studies.
In Year One, you will have 25 days leave. In Year Two your annual leave allowance will be set by your host organisation, as your employer.
How you will be paid
You will receive a tax-free training bursary for the Summer Institute and Year One. This will be around £17,200 (£19,100 with London weighting) paid monthly. Year One is a 14-month period, so for each full month you will receive around £1,230 (£1,360 with London weighting).
In Year Two, you will be employed as a newly qualified social worker and receive a taxable salary. Your exact salary will depend on the NHS Trust or Local Authority employing you, typically ranging from around £21,000 – £33,000, location dependent.
There are no programme fees, and all qualifications are fully funded.
We are working with NHS Mid and South Essex to support marginalised communities, helping to address health inequalities for people who have mental health problems.
To be eligible to apply, charities and community groups must be working in Mid and South Essex (Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Maldon, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, and Thurrock).
There is £185,000 in grants available from the ‘Mid and South Essex Mental Health Inequalities Programme’ to support either revenue costs, projects or capital costs.
Applications from these areas must be for work that:
Focus on historically underserved communities
Help us learn how to improve the accessibility and inclusiveness of mental health support for people experiencing mental health inequalities
Offer innovation and originality in supporting these groups of people to achieve their goals
Grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 can be given to individual organisations. Grants of up to £30,000 are available for organisations that are working together in a partnership to tackle an issue in their community.
The panel are keen to hear from community and voluntary organisations who have ideas for projects and initiatives that will reduce the health inequalities for marginalised and historically underserved communities.
How do I apply?
To provide more flexibility, the programme will open for applications on 23 August as a rolling programme with regular panel meetings.
To apply, please read the guidance. You need to complete our online application form here.
If you have any questions about making an application, you can phone us on 01245 356018 or book a time slot for a 1-1 meeting with a member of the Essex Community Foundation (ECF) grants team here.
Find out more:
ECF is hosting a Teams webinar which you can join to learn more about this Programme and ask any questions you may have. We will also be sharing information about the findings of our community listening project and marginalisation, and you will hear the experience of an ECF grant partner.
We are delighted to invite you to join us for the LandAid Eastern Region Pro Bono Breakfast, taking place on Wednesday 19th October from 8:30-10:00am (via Zoom)
At this online event, you and your colleagues will find out more about LandAid’s Pro Bono Programmewhich brokers free support from within the property industry to provide professional services to charities, non-profit and community groups across the UK
Join us to hear from charities and businesses in your region, who have benefitted from their involvement in pro bono work. And find out more about the process of donating and accessing professional time, skills and expertise.
We will also host a panel discussion and Q&A to share best practice and guidance around the challenges faced around pro bono support.
Our programme can help charity partners achieve their property goals at the same time as enabling corporate organisations to create impact aligned with their ESG initiatives on a local level and capture the social value of that support while making a meaningful difference.
We look forward to seeing you at the event.
Very best wishes,
LandAid Team
LandAid is the property industry charity, working to end youth homelessness. LandAid’s Pro Bono Programme was established to add value to the charities they support, brokering free professional expertise to drive real change.
A part time Charity Operations Manager is required The Art Ministry.
We help the community engage in creative art and craft activities to maintain and improve their mental health and well-being. The core of our service provision are weekly sessions for children and adults with special needs, adults with physical, visual and/or mental health issues.
We provide creative activities at numerous local community events. This is a new role, with funding secured for the first six months. One of the most important tasks for the new manager will be to work with the trustees to secure longer term funding.
This is a part time role for 22 hours a week. A great deal of flexibility is required to be able to attend sessions, events and meetings throughout the day, occasionally including evenings and at weekends, but we will work with the job holder to provide at least one no-working day each week day. Some home working will be allowed, such as for administrative tasks.
Candidates must have access to a vehicle that they can use for business use.
The salary is £18,304 a year, equal to £33,280 if it was full time. You must have experience operational manager experience, preferably in the charity sector, as the job holder will help to define this new role and secure future funding for it. The Art Ministry is an organisation committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, trustees and volunteers to share this commitment. As such we will carry out an Enhanced DBS Check and obtain references.
Closing date for this vacancy is August 29th 2022
For any questions please call 07582 025163 or email [email protected]
PATACC is once again pleased to announce that the 2022 Harlow Black History Multicultural Festival comes off on Saturday, 1st October 2022 at the Market Square, Harlow. CM20 1BL.
The theme this year is BLACK HEALTH AND WELLNESS IN HARLOW AT 75
Themes of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and its relevance to the Commonwealth will be shared as well.
PATACC is therefore inviting all potential artists, performers, exhibitors, Information Stall holders, Caterers etc who might want to participate in the 2022 Harlow Black History Multicultural Festival to complete the attached form, providing as much information about their proposed activities, as possible.
Please share this information with all your contacts and invite all friends and family to this event. To get your organisation’s name published on the leaflet please fill in the form as soon as possible.
We count on your usual support to make this year’s festival greater.
Not long ago we were just called Age Concern Colchester, however we are committed to supporting older people to have happier, healthier and wealthier lives across much of Essex, and the new name better reflects our new approach and our wider geography.
Our ambition is limited only by our need to grow sustainably, stick to what we are good at and the needs of older people suffering poverty, isolation and poor health in the East of England. This is an exciting time as we partner with other third sector organisations, the NHS and local government. Our income has grown nearly five-fold in five years and our priorities are delivering on a number of new contracts and ensuring that we overcome the growing pains of medium sized charities.
We want our trustee board to be as diverse as the communities we serve. We only have two essential criteria for our next two trustees, that you share our values and that you live in Essex or Suffolk. We are specifically looking for somebody who can act as vice-chair or somebody who has experience of, or a strong interest in, either raising funds or human resources management. That having been said, we are always looking for new talent and fresh faces..
Application Instructions
Please provide a short cover letter, explaining what you would bring to the role of trustee at Age Well East.