Up to £14 million will be made available through the Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Fund for activities enabling volunteering and tackling loneliness in 6 to 9 high deprivation local authorities. In line with the missions set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, our primary ambition is to develop our understanding of what works to improve wellbeing and pride in place in these communities through volunteering and community initiatives tackling loneliness. Citizens will be able to participate in local projects which build their skills, wellbeing and social networks.
KYN Fund objectives
The objectives of the KYN Fund are, by March 2025:
To build the evidence to identify scalable and sustainable place-based interventions that work in increasing regular volunteering and reducing chronic loneliness.
To increase the proportion of people in targeted high-deprivation local authorities who volunteer at least once a month.
To reduce the proportion of chronically lonely people in targeted high-deprivation local authorities who lack desired level of social connections.
To enable targeted high-deprivation local authorities, and the local voluntary and community sector in these places, to implement sustainable systems and processes that encourage volunteering and tackling loneliness.
Fund length
KYN Fund will commence from December 2022 and end by 31 March 2025.
The spend for each financial year of the fund is:
Y1- 22/23- £1,600,000
Y2- 23/24- up to £6,200,000
Y3- 24/25- up to £6,200,000
Note: For each financial year the actual value of onward grants for the IGM to administer is the figure stated above, minus 10% for evaluation (both elements, as outlined in the assessment criteria and section 7 of the detailed guidance below) and minus the requested % administration fee included in your bid (admin fee of no more than 6% as per eligibility criteria).
All DCMS funded activities must have taken place and the expenditure incurred by onward grantees by 31 March in each financial year of the programme i.e. in year 1, £1,600,000 must have been delivered and onward grantees must have completed DCMS funded activities by 31 March 2023.
Successful applicants can use their match funds to support onward grantees beyond 31 March 2025 when this programme will end.
Flexible home/office working with substantial outreach work within the proximity of the employing local office
Citizens Advice Harlow (1 role)
Citizens Advice Maldon (2 roles)
Citizens Advice Southend (1 role)
Citizens Advice South Essex (2 roles)
Citizens Advice Uttlesford (2 roles)Job Share/Part time applicants may be considered
CVs submitted without a full personal statement addressing the person specification for the role will not be considered. Alternatively, applicants may wish to submit a fully completed (provided) application form available in the particulars section (find out more) for each role.
Citizens Advice Essex, the consortium of local Citizens Advice serving Essex, Southend and Thurrock, has entered into a long-term partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to set up and deliver a new specialist advice service providing expert welfare benefits advice to people diagnosed with cancer and their families.
The service aims to support individuals holistically, to ensure the financial effect of their diagnosis is mitigated by ensuring all possible benefits are claimed, other sources of financial support accessed and that they are referred to other Citizens Advice or Macmillan services where appropriate.
We have 14 positions available across four roles – ranging from specialist casework, supervision and administrative support.To request download details or to apply please click on the links.For an informal discussion, please contact Martin Lord on 077422 31152 Or email [email protected]
Following the Feel Well Fund event on 21st July, Community360 are now welcoming applications and ideas generated since the event.
The Feel Well domain would like to address three key priorities:
Target suicide prevention
Supporting people with complex mental health needs
Tackle loneliness and social isolation
One Colchester, the local strategic partnership for the Borough, is holding £242,500 for distribution in Colchester over the next two years. The same figure is being held by Tendring Together. C360 and CVS Tendring are providing administrative support for managing the fund and supporting development of applications. There will be the potential to explore awarding funds to groups working across North East Essex through the collaborative management of the funding.
If you would like to access the fund, but have yet to connect with a partner organisation, please contact C360 using the details below, and they can assist in making those connections.
Please send completed applications to: [email protected].uk or by post to Community360, Winsley’s House, High Street, Colchester, CO1 1UG. Phone: 01206 505250
The deadline for initial applications is 23rd September 2022
Please find below the application form for the Fund, the application guidelines document and the slide presentations from the event.
An Introduction to Neighbourhood Working in North East Essex
The ‘Neighbourhoods Programme,’ is an exciting new way of working collaboratively between the local voluntary sector, communities, leaders, boroughs and district councils and health and social care.
Six Live Well Neighbourhood Teams will be created and developed in Colchester South, Central and North and Tendring West, East and South. The Live Well Neighbourhood Teams will be able to support individuals and communities with early interventions, ongoing care and high-level needs in a joined-up way. The aim is to break down barriers and work more closely together to focus on the improved health and wellbeing outcomes for local people.
Colchester Central and South Neighbourhood Teams have already been launched with some encouraging outcomes to date.
A new 12-page citizen facing brochure is about to be launched and some members of the Neighbourhood Team have been out and about supporting some Live Well Events in Colchester. The aim of these events is to engage with local people on the wide range of health and wellbeing services available to them, with the opportunity to meet members of their local neighbourhood team as well as other partners and organisations.
As we progress with the development of the Live Well Neighbourhood teams in North East Essex, there are some real-life case studies emerging which truly show the value and power of integrated neighbourhood working.
Listen to what Dr Sue Pickford has to say about neighbourhood working and how it has benefited her as a GP and her patients, by having access to a wider professional support network here
Download ‘An Introduction to Neighbourhood working in North East Essex’ here
A new citizen facing brochure has also been produced and is available to download here – Please contact Sonia Shelcott at Community360 if you require any printed versions
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.