The reporting period (1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020) falls six months before and six months after the Coronavirus pandemic began.
The report highlights how the regulator responded by focusing its efforts on producing guidance in collaboration with other sector organisations to help fundraisers and the public fundraise and donate safely.
The Annual Report also shows how the nature of enquiries the regulator received changed over the period, as fundraisers adapted to the restrictions on social contact, and the volume of complaints received fluctuated across the year, reflecting times when public fundraising methods were paused.
#ReclaimSocial, the yearly viral campaign that aims to reclaim social media for good goes live today, 5 February.
Now in its fourth year, the campaign encourages charities and individuals to share inspiring and positive stories of how they use social media to make a difference, nominate heroes who brighten up their feed, thank supporters, volunteers and teams, and share the impact of work from the last year.
Previous years have seen the likes of Miranda Hart, Rob Delaney and feminist journalist Mona Eltahawy spreading positivity to followers, as well as charities like WWF UK, Samaritans, Macmillan Cancer, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), The Big Give, Giving Tuesday, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention getting involved.
Almost 9,000 voluntary sector organisations were making use of the government’s furlough scheme at the end of last year, according to new figures.
Data published by HM Revenue & Customs shows more 7,200 charities and almost 1,500 community interest companies and societies made use of the scheme in December.
An overall total of 741,285 employers used the furlough scheme over the course of the month, the data shows.
Individual information on the number of employees that were on furlough during the month was not part of the published data.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was launched in April last year and offered grants to UK employers to furlough employees who were unable to work because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Since October, 1.2 million employers had received grants of £41.4bn via the scheme.
Concerns have been raised about significant fraud in the scheme, primarily via employers claiming grants but not passing them on to employees.
HMRC told the Public Accounts Committee last year that up to 10 per cent of grants could have been affected by fraud and error. In addition, the National Audit Office found that nine per cent of surveyed employees reported working illegally while furloughed at the request of their employer.
HMRC said its goal in publishing this data was to deter fraud and help employees spot cases where their employers were failing to pass on furlough cash.
Anna Powell-Smith, founder of the Centre For Public Data, said that although the release of the information was a step in the right direction in terms of transparency, the data was not sufficiently detailed and did not allow for a meaningful analysis.
She said that when HMRC published company numbers alongside the company name it would allow for a more complete picture, because more than one-third of the companies in the HMRC data cannot be linked to Companies House records purely by name.
“The release was significant because there is evidence of organisations accessing the scheme but not passing it on to employees,” she said.
“But I’d really like to see the data on payments prior to December, as it could help reclaim some of last year’s fraud losses.”
David Kane, a freelance data scientist who has worked at 360Giving and the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, questioned whether charities were over-represented in the records that could not be matched because they had used their registered charity name.
“So 7,000 is probably an overestimate because of this issue, but an underestimate because there will be some charities in the bits of the data that Anna wasn’t able to match,” he said.
“Hopefully, if they publish a version with company numbers, that would make it a lot easier to find the actual charities.”
Charities are being encouraged to make use of the government’s revised youth job creation scheme after it was made simpler for employers to get involved.
The Kickstart scheme provides funding for six-month job placements for 16- to 24-year-olds who are at risk of long-term unemployment.
It has created more than 120,000 roles across all industries since it was launched in September, the government said.
The first phase of the scheme required organisations to have a minimum of 30 vacancies to be eligible, making it harder for many charities to take part.
But the government has removed this minimum requirement, meaning that if a charity wanted to create one new job it could apply directly to the scheme.
Previously many charities were only able to get involved if they partnered a gateway organisation, such as a membership body or local authority, which could co-ordinate applications from many different charities and submit on their behalf.
Duncan Shrubsole, director of policy and communications at the grant-maker the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, said the change of requirements should enable more voluntary sector organisations to use the scheme.
“The Kickstart scheme offers an opportunity for charities to create much-needed new jobs for young people and have costs covered by the government for six months,” he said.
“At a time when charities are seeing rising demand alongside financial challenges, opening up the scheme so that small charities can apply directly without needing to create 30 new roles means the scheme is more much more accessible and will, hopefully, enable more charities to benefit.”
Brave Futures is a nature-based group therapy programme set up to support clients who have experienced grief, trauma, addictions, social isolation, anxiety and depression which has affected their mental health and wellbeing
Wilderness Foundation UK are delighted to be able to offer FREE places on a first-come-first-served basis, while late referrals will be put on waiting list. This 8 week programme will accommodate Adults and Children groups and cover referrals from the Essex area only.
Time: 10.00-15.00
Schedule: 1 day a week for 8 weeks
Group Size: Max 8 People
Location: Chatham Green/Mann Wood, Chelmsford, Essex
Grassroots children’s/ youth clubs in Essex (not including Southend & Thurrock) have been closed due to the pandemic, and many are hoping to re-open soon.
We have some support designed specifically to help re-mobilise these clubs-
1.) A grant of up to £500 to help with club reopening costs related to Covid-19 (Open Now! Until February 22nd 2021)
2.) Telephone support, guidance/ risk assessment advice that you might need to help (Available from the start of Feb- end of March)
re-open
1.) Grant for remobilising grassroots children’s & youth clubs in Essex
This grant is designed to support small, local not for profit voluntary children’s and youth groups/clubs only.
The grant can cover Covid-19 associated costs with the reopening of these groups/ clubs. (applications open from 13/01/2021-22/02/2021)
What can these costs include?
Covid-19 related hygiene costs (e.g. Hand sanitizer, soap, face masks, gloves, increased venue cleaning or equipment costs.)
Covid-19 related Infrastructure costs (e.g. Plexiglass screens, wall mounted dispensers, signage, increased venue hire costs
to comply with social distancing.)
Covid-19 related volunteer training costs
Subs money covered for one term (up to £40 per child/ young person) for families struggling to pay subscription fees to
Voluntary, not for profit children’s or youth clubs who are affiliated to a national or Essex based governing body.
Who can apply?
Small, local grassroots and not for profit children’s and youth clubs who do not have support of this kind available through local or national affiliated bodies. This might be-
Community based and not-for-profit youth or children’s clubs, uniformed organisations, sports or physical activity groups, musical theatre groups and many more!
In this month’s bumper episode of the Third Sector Podcast, editor Emily Burt and features and analysis writer Rebecca Cooney find out what the National Council for Voluntary Organisations‘s Respond, Recover and Reset project can tell us about the impact of lockdown on charities.
The Respond, Recover, Reset project, run by the NCVO with Nottingham Trent University and Sheffield Hallam University, examines the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
It includes a monthly barometer which provides real-time data about how the pandemic is impacting the working practices and operations of voluntary organisations – as well as their responses, their learning and resilience.
The latest results, published last week, looks at the impact of the second lockdown on charities, using data gathered in November.
Essex Council for Voluntary Youth Services are excited to announce a new fund that they are running on behalf of Essex County Council and your local District Councils with some Covid-19 relief funding.
Grassroots children’s/ youth clubs in Essex have been closed due to the pandemic, and many are hoping to re-open soon.
There is some support designed specifically to help re-mobilise these clubs-
1.) A grant of up to £500 to help with club reopening costs related to Covid-19 (Open Now! Until February 22nd 2021)
2.) Telephone support, guidance/ risk assessment advice that you might need to help re-open (Available from the start of Feb – end of March)
3.) Grant for remobilising grassroots children’s & youth clubs in Essex (applications open from 13/01/2021-22/02/2021)
This grant is designed to support small, local not for profit voluntary children’s and youth groups/clubs only.
The grant can cover Covid-19 associated costs with the reopening of these groups/ clubs.
What can these costs include?
Covid-19 related hygiene costs (e.g. Hand sanitizer, soap, face masks, gloves, increased venue cleaning or equipment costs.)
Covid-19 related Infrastructure costs (e.g. Plexiglass screens, wall mounted dispensers, signage, increased venue hire costs to comply with social distancing.)
Covid-19 related volunteer training costs
Subs money covered for one term (up to £40 per child/ young person) for families struggling to pay subscription fees to Voluntary, not for profit children’s or youth clubs who are affiliated to a national or Essex based governing body.
Who can apply?
Small, local grassroots and not for profit children’s and youth clubs who do not have support of this kind available through local or national affiliated bodies. This might be- Community based and not-for-profit youth or children’s clubs, uniformed organisations, sports or physical activity groups, musical theatre groups and many more!
Contact Rachel Brett for more information Email: [email protected] Phone: 01371 404273
2.) Telephone support & guidance for all grassroots children’s & youth clubs in Essex to help them re-open (Available from the start of Feb – end of March)
Covid safe guidance and reassurance for re-opening including- ppe, social distancing and becoming a Covid-safe venue
Specific risk assessment guidance for Covid safe youth work in each individual setting
General risk assessment and safe practice guidance going forward
Specific advice on activities and adapting them to meet current regulations safely
Help with other venue queries
Advice regards to staffing and how to remain safe whilst still maintaining a service
Help with sourcing and retaining volunteers
Encouragement and guidance for any other questions that groups have around Remobilisation
For help and guidance about the support offered above please contact Sue Pell from Essex Boys & Girls clubs