East of England Learning Together Programme Registration Form
Thank you for your interest in joining the FREE East of England Learning Together programme for Autumn – Winter 2021/22.
The closing date for applications is Friday, September 24th, 2021.
This regional programme is open to voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations across the East of England region interested or involved in social prescribing. Places are limited to two people per organisation.
By completing this form you agree to be contacted via email by the following Thriving Communities partners in relation to social prescribing and Learning Together programme:
The National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP),
East of England Regional Thriving Communities programme team at Communities 1st, and any approved training partners
Thriving Communities programme partners: Sport England, Natural England, Arts Council England, the Money and Pensions Service, Historic England, NHS England & Improvement, NHS Charities Together.
Essex County Council is offering grants of up to £20,000 to support voluntary and community projects tackling climate change in the county.
The £500,000 Climate Action Fund, which is available until March 2023, was announced at the Essex Climate Action Commission’s report launch event on July 20. The fund has been created to support the commission’s ‘Net Zero: Making Essex Carbon Neutral’ report, which makes recommendations on how all organisations, businesses, local communities and residents can work together to make Essex net zero by 2050.
Cllr Peter Schwier, Climate Czar at Essex County Council said: “We are all working to tackle the climate challenge here in Essex. I hope this ambitious fund can inspire people across Essex to act and do their bit with friends and family. It’s a great opportunity for more communities to get involved.”
A video from Danbury Park Primary School kicked off the event, with the young pupils discussing their concerns about climate change and bright ideas to help prevent its adverse effects. Further encouragement was drawn from a showcase of all the impactful projects already happening across Essex, from flood management schemes to solar panel installation, cycle hire schemes and retrofitting homes with sustainable heating systems.
The Essex Climate Action Commission revealed its recommendations on how Essex can transform itself into a net zero county as quickly as possible. These included recommendations for best practice across six core themes: land use and green infrastructure, the built environment, waste, energy, transport, and community engagement.
The Essex Climate Action Commission is an independent, voluntary, and cross-party body, made up of over 30 commissioners from the public and private and third sectors, to promote and guide climate action in the county. The online event marked the end of the commission’s first year considering how best to achieve net zero in Essex.
Lord Randall of Uxbridge, chair of the Essex Climate Action Commission, said: “The Commission’s 30 plus members include an array of experts and people who are really expert and experienced in their field. This includes not just academia, but those in the public sector, business leaders, people who really have a grounding in what the practical issues are when it comes to climate change.”
The commission’s second year will focus on green growth and green finance, establishing how the county can benefit from the many opportunities that changing to a low carbon economy will bring.
Cllr Kevin Bentley, leader of Essex County Council, said: “Climate change is the biggest issue we are facing both globally and in Essex, because it’s not just about us, it’s about the generations to come.
“Essex County Council is proud to be on the forefront of combating this alongside the Commission, and we look forward to working together with everybody who lives and works in Essex to help make net zero a reality.
“What’s more, I’m delighted to launch the new Climate Action Challenge Fund to support inspiring environmental initiatives in the region. The future truly is bright for a greener Essex.”
A new funding initiative has been launched to support local groups to deliver initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing for local residents.
The North East Essex Hyperlocal Fund will be administered by Community360 on behalf of One Colchester, the strategic partnership for Colchester and CVS Tendring on Behalf of Tendering Together.
The purpose of the North East Essex Hyperlocal Fund is to support the development of asset rich, resilient local Neighbourhoods that improve health and wellbeing for local residents. Funds can be used to support local projects and to improve residents’ lives.
The grant fund initiative is inviting applications from not-for-profit organisations, local networks and public sector partnerships such as registered voluntary and charitable organisations, community groups, tenants and resident groups, district and parish councils, faith groups and social enterprises.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched a new programme to support councils seeking to innovate and develop pioneering initiatives to boost digital inclusion in their communities. The Digital Pathfinders Programme will award up to £20,000 per council in England and Wales for projects that advance digital inclusion, digital connectivity such as broadband and mobile improvement programmes, and cyber security to support residents, the council, businesses and local places.
The LGA will help councils to deliver their proposed initiative which should be scalable, sustainable and transferrable between authorities.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 12pm on the 10th September 2021.
Councils, health services, charities and faith organisations across Suffolk and north east Essex are collaborating to support refugees from Afghanistan as part of a scheme to provide sanctuary for those most at risk of persecution by the Taliban.
Click here to read the briefing from the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System
They redirect business end-of-line, surplus and discontinued stock to the most deprived communities in the UK.
Giving World have a wide range of products available to support your beneficiaries, including clothing, toiletries, baby products, toys, bedding, kitchen equipment and other household items, books, crafts and ambient foods.
Their website is regularly updated with new stock so register here (no charge) to receive stock updates and access goods as and when you need them.
Charities with HSBC accounts face a host of new charges from November after the bank announced it will charge a £60 a year fee just to keep the accounts open.
The bank has also introduced charges for branch transactions including a 0.4 per cent fee to pay in and withdraw cash, a charge of £4 on a £1,000 donation, and a fee of 40p to deposit a cheque.
Charities will also be charged a 1.5 per cent fee when withdrawing change over the counter for fundraising events.
For more than a decade the bank has allowed charities and non-profit organisations to manage their finances for free, as long as they made no more than £100,000 a year.
But the bank said it has had to increase its prices to more accurately reflect the cost of providing and maintaining a business bank account, and the value and benefits of the proposition.
HSBC contends that its £5 monthly account fee is lower than standard banking tariffs and its offer is competitive, while the new account is not subject to the £100,000 annual income cap so will be available to a wider range of charities.
The bank would not say how many customers will be affected, but confirmed it is writing to all the charities involved to make them aware of the changes and to support them to reduce charges by migrating from the use of cash and cheques to electronic transactions. It stressed that it had not taken the decision lightly.
Membership bodies have warned that the increased costs will reduce the ability of charities to deliver services in the communities they serve.
Rebecca Young, lead policy and influencing manager at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, pointed out that 81 per cent of voluntary organisations have an income of less than £100,000.
She added: “Any increases in unnecessary costs and banking charges will reduce the funding that can be invested in the key work of charities and the difference they make in every community.”
Clare Mills, head of communications and external affairs at the membership body Navca, said: “With HSBC introducing charges for charity accounts, many organisations will be faced with meeting these costs or dealing with the significant administrative and time burden that changing banks involves – and it’s unclear at this stage if other banks will be adopting the same new charging structure.”
Mills said that Navca has been working with the Charity Commission and UK Finance to make the banks aware of the many difficulties charities and voluntary organisations face every day with their banking.
Rita Chadha, chief executive of the Small Charities Coalition, said that HSBC could have given charities more notice.
She added: “All organisations need to make money, but the banking charges being introduced by so many high street banks are doing nothing to ‘level up’ our nation.
“We would encourage all banks to look at the contradiction between their own CSR policies and their commitment to inclusion.”
A HSBC UK spokesperson said: “Over the years, we have made significant enhancements to our business banking proposition to meet the evolving needs of our customers.
“We are committed to supporting UK charities and not-for-profits and are confident that our offer remains very competitive.”
Vodafone has announced the launch of charities.connected, an initiative allowing UK charities to apply for free data.
The aim is to help individuals and families supported by charities, as well as enable organisations to improve their own digital capacity.
According to the 2021 Charity Digital Skills report, almost half of charities (45%) have had to give their users devices, data or support to enable them to get online and 20% said they had to cancel services because they did not have the skills or technology needed to deliver them.
Vodafone UK general counsel and external affairs, Helen Lamprell, said: “At Vodafone, we’ve put tackling digital exclusion at the heart of our business with our pledge to connect one million people by the end of 2022. We hope that by giving free connectivity to charities across the UK, we can enable them to better support their local communities, particularly those that are digitally excluded. We want to support projects big and small – please help us share this offer so we can reach as many charities as possible.”
Registered charities can apply for SIM cards with 20GB of data, plus free calls and texts every month for six months.
Multiple SIMs can be requested and repeat applications can be made if the organisation has a range of digital exclusion projects underway.
SIMs will work in any SIM-enabled device, for example, a phone, tablet, laptop or Mifi dongle.
The online application form includes proving information on how free connectivity will support the project and the number of people set to benefit.
On the 22nd September at 16.00 arranged by Citizens Advice Essex in partnership with FRP.
Charities, small and large, will face unprecedented challenges in the coming years. If you’re a charity trustee, what are the warning signs that there could be trouble ahead for your charity?
This timely webinar, provided by experts in charity restructuring and insolvency, examines the lessons to be learnt from charities that have experienced distress and some of the root causes that could have averted crisis if addressed earlier.
To create a robust digital fundraising strategy and campaign with appropriate comms to increase income reach
Develop strategies for growing income and delivering an excellent supporter experience through email, paid social and other digital marketing channels
To carry out our advertising, executing digital campaigns through email marketing and banner advertising
To develop and maintain Google Ads to expand the reach of Age Concern Colchester & North East Essex.
Recruit and coordinate fundraising volunteers, companies, community groups, etc for fundraising on our behalf
Manage and monitor and create engaging content for all of our social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc. as well as other marketing and communication materials (including our website)
Work across-team to ensure coordinated and cooperative fundraising approaches
Improve the integration of online and offline channels
Source direct delivery branded products and create WooCommerce store
Write press releases and be the main contact point for press engagement with the CEO.
Skills and experience
Experience working in a digital fundraising/marketing and/or communications role.
Proven track record of digital fundraising, income generation, social media, and use of google analytics and SEO
Educated to a degree level ideally in, Digital Fundraising, Marketing and/or Communications
Have demonstrable experience in producing high-quality written content, presenting compelling cases for support and impact information
Maintaining and developing successful donor relationships through timely and appropriate communications and engagement
Planning and managing digital fundraising and marketing activity
Ability to write clear and jargon-free copy reflecting the brand and values of Age Concern Colchester; to edit and proofread to a high level of accuracy.
Personal Qualities:
Self-starter, motivated, results-driven
Friendly with a positive attitude
Be passionate about all things digital, with a focus on e-commerce
Able to work independently, manage deadlines and prioritise work in a fast-paced environment
Excellent time management skills
Excellent interpersonal and influencing skills
Excellent attention to detail
Good at working as part of a cross-functional team
Flexibility in responding to urgent requests, whilst maintaining and adjusting work schedules.
Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines, producing accurate work
Desirable, not essential:
Experience using Adobe Suite and WordPress, Buffer, Mailchimp, and Facebook Business Manager, Google analytics, Dotdigital. Experience in film & Podcasts.
This is a permanent role for a maximum of 20 hours a week between Monday – Friday 9am-5pm. Salary dependent on experience and hours to be worked.
We aim to be an equal opportunities employer and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.
To join a high-performing team in a charity with a great current and future growth plan apply today.