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: rachel@ecvys.org.uk 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
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has published a resource to help fundraisers look after both their own and their colleagues’ wellbeing.
Available on the CIoF site, the Wellbeing and Fundraising resource is divided into a number of sections, covering areas including wellbeing and Covid-19, understanding fundraising and wellbeing, issues impacting the wellbeing of fundraisers, and more, and including lots of tips for managers as well as fundraisers.
There are also links to other useful resources, and related blogs.
In September, Dan Jones, global head of campaigns at WaterAid, found himself crumpled on the edge of his bed, “sobbing in pain and desperation as my wife tried to convince me I wasn’t losing my mind”.
The Covid-19 pandemic had pushed Jones’ work to a point that it felt as though it was taking over his life. Long days with no clear boundaries had become the norm, he says, combined with an interim leadership role and personal pressure to prove his worth during a period of extreme uncertainty.
“There was also lots of long overdue debate within our sector about decolonising international development, and I was having some serious existential angst about how I, a white British man, could play a role in this – or if I simply shouldn’t be working in this field any more,” he says. “At the same time, many of the ‘taps’ in my life, the joys and replenishments, got switched off.”
This was not Jones’ first experience with mental ill-health: he describes his anxiety manifesting as thick clouds flooding his mind and clogging it up with negative thoughts.
Love Payroll Giving for fundraising? That’s why the UK’s first National Payroll Giving Week has a Valentine theme and runs until 14th February.
National Payroll Giving Week takes place for the first time this year, running from the 8th to 14th February. It aims to raise awareness within the sector and beyond about the benefits of donating through the simple, tax-efficient method.
The Road Safety Trust is inviting applications for funding for technology-focussed road safety projects. The charity has a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on UK roads.
Grants of between £25,000 and £200,000 are invited from public and private organisations, registered charities and not for profits from across the UK. Grants are available for projects lasting up to three years that explore how technology can reduce road offending and improve road safety.
Applications to the main theme programme will be open from 25 February 2021 until 19 April 2021.
Ten months after the first national lockdown, with schools across England once again closed due to the pandemic, it is clear that many students still do not have access to a computer, laptop or data. Here are some of the initiatives that have been launched, or re-launched, to tackle this as a matter of urgency.
One point to make early on: please do not turn up to a school to drop off donated technology. Apart from COVID-19 safety issues, they will not be set up to accept, handle, store, refurbish and distribute technology equipment. You should use some of the services featured here.
A new platform in the UK is raising funds for good causes by monetising social media posts into microdonations.
GoPoolit was founded in the UK during lockdown by fundraising professionals to provide a new income stream for charities through social media.
Instead of prompting users to post ‘asks’ and lobby for funds on behalf of charities, GoPoolit users are encouraged to use the GoPoolit app or website to share posts over their usual social media networks and nominate a charity to benefit.
Instead of a ‘like’, their friends, family and followers on GoPoolit have the option of giving (or ‘pooling’) between 1-10p to that post, and therefore the charity it supports. The more viral users go, the more opportunity to raise microdonations. Users can nominate a different charity for each post if they want to.
There are currently around 50 charities to choose from on the platform, from Greenpeace and SOS Children’s Villages to smaller grassroots organisations, with more being added everyday. People can ask GoPoolit to include causes, and charities themselves can contact GoPoolit and request that they are added.
There is no upfront cost for charities to join the platform, but GoPoolit does have a service charge when funds are withdrawn to help it cover costs. Funds can be withdrawn however at any time.
Matt Turner, Director of Communications for GoPoolit, said:
“Imagine if every post you ever made on Facebook or Twitter could be monetised into micro-donations for a cause you care deeply about. In the months and years to come, we are confident that GoPoolit will become a part of millions of people’s everyday lives – and joining today means you’ll be able to say that you were there from the start. Sometimes, the smallest gestures can collectively have the biggest impact.”
The pandemic has helped to reignite people’s interest in their local community with three in ten (30%) planning to get more involved in 2021, according to research released today by The National Lottery Community Fund.
The National Lottery Community Fund questioned over 7,000 UK adults for the survey, asking how people are feeling about their community and their ambitions for their local area for the year ahead.
The findings show that across the UK almost seven in ten people (69%) feel like they are part of their local community, with around a third acknowledging that Covid has increased their sense of belonging (35%) and also made it more important for them to feel part of it (33%).
As part of a wider package of funding to help charities tackle winter loneliness, the government have announced two new funds to help support community radio stations.
A total of £500,000 will be distributed via two existing radio funds: the Community Radio Fund (CRF) and the Audio Content Fund (ACF). The CRF will provide £200,000 emergency funding to help not-for-profit stations meet the core costs of continuing to provide their services, and the ACF will receive £300,000 to support the creation of content that will make listeners feel less lonely and connect the vulnerable with their communities this winter.
Community Radio Fund
The Community Radio Fund helps to fund the core costs of running Ofcom-licensed community radio stations.
Grants can only be made to community radio licensees in the UK, who are broadcasting under a community radio licence.
The window for applications closes at 5pm on 14 January 2021, with the awarding panel meeting in February 2021 to consider the applications.
The Audio Content Fund is a scheme to provide funding for the creation of original radio production in the UK.
The Fund is responsible for distributing a grant of up to £3 million which will be used by independent production companies to produce distinctive, public service radio content for broadcast on commercial and community radio. The fund aims to support programming that is traditionally more difficult to support on a commercial basis (such as documentaries, comedy, drama, events).
There are currently two funding rounds open:
Winter Loneliness Round – 18 January deadline (content must be broadcast by 31 March 2021)
Standard Round 6 – 25 January deadline (content must be broadcast within one year)
BHIB Charities Insurance have created a FREE ‘Community Centre Reopening Checklist’ and a ‘General Workplace Risk Assessment’ which we hope you will find useful. We have detailed them both below with links to download them for free.
COVID-19 – Community Centre Recovery/Reopening Health, Safety & Fire Checklist/Risk Assessment
This checklist aims to list some of the key issues that charities and voluntary organisations should consider prior to reopening their community centres. It should facilitate charities in reviewing your internal policies, risk assessments and safe systems of work to make sure they are still relevant, as well as ensure the charity has considered how staff and volunteers will return to work safely.
This generic Risk Assessment aims to support community centres to get their services back up and running. It is not likely to cover all scenarios and each charity and voluntary organisation should consider their own unique circumstances. Much more specific assessments may look quite different although many of the principles will still be relevant.