Croxton Kerrial Heritage Trust have raised £115 in a month through easyfundraising – could your organisation do the same?

They and lots of other voluntary organisations in Leicestershire use online fundraising site easyfundraising to receive free monetary donations when their staff, volunteers and supporters shop online. Over 7,500 retailers will donate to your organisation, including eBay, M&S, trainline, Screwfix, Sainsbury’s, Homebase, Tesco, John Lewis, Booking.com, Just Eat and Argos.

Richard from the Heritage Trust says,

“easyfundraising has given us a way for all friends of our charity to give financial help, at no cost to themselves. Any good cause considering signing up to easyfundraising can benefit from the number and range of businesses who are involved and the amounts they make available. It has been a great way of increasing unrestricted funds for the essentials needed to meet our running costs.”

In just 30 days, your organisation could raise £100 for free. Sign up to easyfundraising and see what you can do: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/val/

Independent Members are volunteers using their specialist knowledge to help our Corporate Governance Committee.

This includes giving independent assurances about specific functions of the council, challenging when needed and ensuring compliance with Members’ Code of Conduct.

If you have a commitment to high standards and ethics in public life, can be objective, open minded and impartial as well as have knowledge of organisations at a senior level, we want you.

We’ll help with support and training, as well as reasonable travel/subsistence costs being paid.

Find out more about what we’re looking for and how to apply before 6th April at:

https://volunteer.valonline.org.uk/opportunity/volunteer-position-of-independent-member-leicestershire-county-council/

Starting a Friendly Community

A Friendly Communities approach can support any initiative that is looking to increase collaboration and achieve inclusiveness; working with more than one group or individual can enhance the opportunities to achieve this in your local street, a group of streets, town or a village.

There are several ways to start a Friendly Community and the approach will vary depending on the issues, local interests and support available in different communities. The questions below set out some of the things you might want to consider to help start a Friendly Community.

Is there a topic, issue or event in the local area that would benefit from wider community involvement? For instance, a community fete, dance or park run could be developed to increase a sense of belonging and improve physical activity and inclusion amongst communities that find it difficult to have a voice (e.g. people and families with autism, over 70s living alone, under 18s with limited opportunities to exercise or meet other people or people with poor mental health).

Are there existing connections in the community? Scouts, Church groups, Age UK, Local Area Coordinators, Dementia cafes, Friendly Bench, coffee mornings, etc. A Friendly community DOES NOT need all these groups, but more extensive connections with people can help to develop empathic and inclusive solutions and a greater sense of cohesion in the community.

Are there any local champions, (known local individuals that are already active in the community)? These individuals are usually committed to support the area where they live and will also know many people in the local area. They can help to make more connections and bring people together (often they are doing that already).

View the full flyer here for more information.

Guide to Friendly Communities of Leicestershire

This guide aims to support communities around Leicestershire to coordinate local initiatives and to contribute to a welcoming, friendly, and inclusive environment.

Download and Read the full guide here: W0729 Friendly Communities – GUIDE TO FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES 01

The sessions will take place on:

Thursday 6th April – 12pm-1pm 

Healthy Start is for pregnant women or those who have a responsibility for at least one child under 4 years of age and are receiving certain income-related benefits. Families can receive up to £8.50 each week to spend on fruit, vegetables, milk and to collect free vitamins; helping families to prioritise healthy food and increase their vitamin and mineral intake. We want every child to have the best start in life and increasing the uptake of the Healthy Start Scheme is a key part of working towards this vision.

For more information and to book your tickets, please log onto: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/589425837547

Independent Members are volunteers using their specialist knowledge to help our Corporate Governance Committee.

This includes giving independent assurances about specific functions of the council, challenging when needed and ensuring compliance with Members’ Code of Conduct.

If you have a commitment to high standards and ethics in public life, can be objective, open minded and impartial as well as have knowledge of organisations at a senior level, we want you.

We’ll help with support and training, as well as reasonable travel/subsistence costs being paid.

Find out more about what we’re looking for and how to apply before 6th April at:

https://jobs.emss.org.uk/pages/job_search_view.aspx?preview=preview&jobId=23122

(Reference LCCO0027).

Through easyfundraising, 7,000 online brands will donate money to your organisation when your volunteers, supporters, trustees and staff shop with them. 

It doesn’t cost the shopper anything extra as the free funding comes directly from brands like Tesco, eBay, Amazon, John Lewis, Booking.com, Sainsbury’s. Wilko, Asda, Just Eat, trainline and thousands more. It’s the brand’s way of giving back to local groups and communities.

Funds raised through easyfundraising are helping third-sector organisations to fund exciting projects, maintain facilities, pay for day-to-day running costs, and more. As it’s unrestricted funding, you have the ease and flexibility to spend your funds on whatever your organisation sees fit.

To receive funds in the next payout, register your organisation with easyfundraising – it’s quick and easy to get started. You can even book a call with the easyfundraising team for advice and tips to get you off to a great start. Find out more here: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/val/

Third Sector Trends has been surveying the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector every three years since 2010. In 2022, 6,070 responses were received across England and Wales (an average of ~600 responses in each region).

This is the only fully representative longitudinal survey which can produce robust and detailed comparative analysis at a regional and national level.

The project is funded in 2022 by Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Power to Change, Barrow Cadbury Trust and Millfield House Foundation.

This is the fourth of five reports from Third Sector Trends England and Wales 2022.

Full report and information available – https://www.stchads.ac.uk/research/research-news/third-sector-trends-relationships-influencing-and-collaboration/

Summary

Groups applying to the National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards for All programme in England can request funding for the following major events in 2023:

• The Coronation of His Majesty the King on 6th May.
• The Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool from 9th to 13th May, and the UK’s role hosting it on the behalf of Ukraine.
• The 75th Anniversary of Windrush on 22nd June, and the contribution the Windrush generation and their families have made to the UK.

This is in addition to the fund’s usual guidance, and all projects must:

• Involve people and communities from the start.
• Build on people’s strengths.
• Be connected in their community.

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire can provide support and advice on how to structure your application and feedback on the draft application

Information on local events that are taking place for The Coronation of His Majesty the King is available on Leicestershire County Council’s website:

https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/civic-and-ceremonial/the-coronation-of-his-majesty-the-king

The event is on Sunday 7 May 2023, 12noon – 5pm at the Bath Grounds, Ashby de la Zouch.

Ashby de la Zouch Town Council has kindly provided a space at the King Charles III Coronation – Party in the Park where residents of Ashby will be celebrating throughout the afternoon. Leicestershire County Council, North West Leicestershire District Council and Voluntary Action LeicesterShire are working together to deliver an opportunity for groups to showcase their organisation, encourage membership and most importantly recruit volunteers.
With a large attendance expected at the event, this is a fantastic opportunity. We would like to hear from any organisations who would like to come along to the event and be a part of the Volunteering Village.

If your organisation would like to take part please email volunteering@valonline.org.uk and register your interest by 31 March 2023.

The National Lottery Community Fund started this process by asking you to join us in a conversation so we could better understand the challenges and opportunities you face, your aspirations and hopes, and the ways we can best support communities in the future.

This is a time for reimagining and exploring new possibilities, and we’re delighted to have you with us as we take this journey.

What we’ve heard so far and what comes next

Since launching this process, we’ve had almost 2,000 engagements with communities and civil society organisations across the UK where we have looked specifically at our future strategy. We’d like to extend a big thank you for taking part in the first phase of our strategy renewal process, which has helped us on our journey of understanding how we can best support UK communities to thrive.

You’ve shared your ideas, experiences and insights and we are hugely grateful for your input.

The conversations relating to our strategy renewal have so far been broad and wide. We wanted to start with your views. Now, based on the insights and feedback to date, alongside reviewing evidence and learning, and scanning the trends and horizon for the coming years, we are delving deeper into certain areas that could help us achieve more for communities, before deciding on our future strategic direction.

Read more about our strategy renewal process here.