What are your fundraising goals this year? A new project? Improved facilities? Core costs? Volunteer training?

Whatever you need funding for, make sure fundraising platform easyfundraising is a part of your strategy. easyfundraising enables voluntary and third sector organisations to benefit from cashback donations when their supporters shop online.

easyfundraising partners with 7,300 online retailers that will donate a percentage of what a shopper spends with them back to your organisation at no extra cost to anyone. Retailers include everyday favourites like Amazon, eBay, Boots, and Argos, department stores like John Lewis, M&S, Debenhams, and House of Fraser, supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, home improvement retailers such as B&Q, Dunelm, Wickes and Homebase, fashion brands like ASOS, Very, H&M, Boden and Clarks – and many more.

Space Youth Services have raised over £650 so far and say easyfundraising is the helping hand that allows them to fundraise easily for their essential needs:

“It’s useful to be able to raise unrestricted donations. We would definitely recommend it to other charities as a simple, straightforward way of raising additional funds that requires little in the way of input and maintenance.”

Free to register and use, signing up to easyfundraising is a great way to create a continuous stream of income, which complements your existing activities to make 2022 your best fundraising year yet.

Find out more here

CILIP, the library and information association has published a comprehensive set of guidelines: ‘A Warm Welcome. Setting up a warm space in your community’. These guidelines stemmed from a tweet in early September 2022 by Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, asking if there were any UK charities who could come forward and write a best practice guidance document for setting up warm spaces in the community.

Public libraries were invited to submit their best practice guidance from advice on issues such as safeguarding and accessibility, to the practicalities of health and safety, accessibility and risk assessments – but at all times remembering that these spaces should be welcoming, warm and safe.

Further information and Guidance Document: click here

For many charities, demand for your support has risen but resources are increasingly limited. Our help and guidance can help you work efficiently and effectively. It’s all in one place and covers a range of topics.

• How to find the money you need
• Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of your team
• Financial difficulty and insolvency
• Mergers
• Developing your reserves policy

Information on free webinars are in the training section
https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/running-a-charity/current-events-impact/cost-of-living/#/help-and-guidance

The VAL Volunteering Youth Panel has been created to support youth volunteering and the opportunities available in Leicestershire.

This new National Lottery funding will will work with a small number of Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) and some young people aged 16-24 to look at some of the barriers to involving younger people as volunteers and how we can work together locally to overcome them. Over the next year, we will work with local partners to scope out how we can increase the number of VIOs working with younger volunteers and increase the number of young people aged 16-24 getting involved in volunteering with local projects.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

Dave Cliffe, Team Lead said:

“Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant is a chance for us to introduce volunteering to young people and get them ready for the next part of their journey towards employment, making a difference to our local communities along the way. This will make a big difference to people’s lives.”

During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost £1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk  

If you work with someone who requires assistance, please complete one of our application forms through our Charity Link Online Application Form  or download our paper based form Charity Link Application form. Please note that Charity Link are unable to accept requests for support direct from applicants.

Where there is a crisis or immediate need, for example in cases of domestic violence or those facing homelessness, we are able to act quickly.

Once we have received the funds we then purchase the goods required, the most common are:

• Fridge & freezers
• Household goods
• Medical & mobility items
• Washing machines
• Beds & bedding
• Clothing
• Convalescence
• Cookers
• Educational expenses

Charity Link are currently able to access funding to support vulnerable people in Leicester city, Leicestershire and Rutland with their gas/electric bills. The funding available has a maximum of £100.00 per household and must be paid direct to the utility provider by Charity Link.

If you have a client that you feel would benefit from this support please submit a completed Charity Link application form along with a copy of their utility bill (note statement) which needs to show:

• The applicants name and address
• The applicants name and address
• Name and bank details for the utility company
• Applicant’s utility Account number

If you would like to learn more about our services please contact the friendly Charity Link team on 0116 22 22 200 or email info@charity-link.org

We are pleased to say that we have been commissioned by Leicestershire County Council to deliver bespoke and CPD accredited Self Harm Awareness and Suicide Bereavement course for workers throughout Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (eligibility criteria applies, see below for details). We thought that the training may be of interest and do hope you can attend, and/or share this new training to your networks. Information below and attached.

To book please use the Eventbrite link to self-register and book on the dates that suits you:

LLR Self harm awareness training

Self harm awareness training

PLEASE NOTE: You must meet the following eligibility criteria for this funded course:

• Work in Leicestershire, Rutland or Leicester City, UK
• Be a Frontline worker
• Support those who self harm
• Supporting those at risk of self harm

General:

5th December 2022
23rd January 2023 
10th February 2023 

Self harm awareness training – for schools specifically

PLEASE NOTE: You must meet the following eligibility criteria for this funded course:

• Work in Leicestershire, Rutland or Leicester City, UK
• Be a school worker
• Support children and young people who self harm
• Supporting children and young people at risk of self harm

Schools:

2nd February 2023 – 

This document sets out guidance for charities and people who distribute food for free, such as food banks.

Anyone working or volunteering with a food bank or food aid charity should be aware of the information in this guide.

You may need to register as a food business if you, or your operation, provide food to the community on a regular and organised basis, even if it’s free, 28 days before you start providing food.

We have specific advice on how to register as a food business.

Before regularly providing food to the community, contact your local authority food safety team to discuss registration requirements.

As a food business operator, you need to follow the relevant food safety and hygiene requirements, outlined in this guidance. Registering as a food business means your operation will receive inspections from authorised officers and be given a food hygiene rating, if applicable.

If you only occasionally provide food to the community, you may not need to register as a food business. However, the food you provide should still be safe to eat and we recommend you follow the food safety and hygiene best-practices listed in this guide.

If you are unsure, we have scenarios available to read of community food providers that do or don’t need to register as a business.

As a food business operator, your local food safety team can provide further support and advice on matters in this guidance.

We also have food safety and hygiene guidance for hosting or providing food at a community or charity event.

Full document available:  https://www.food.gov.uk/node/12361?print=1

Governance

Trustees are collectively responsible for their charity and ultimately accountable for everything done by the charity and those representing the charity. Trustees must actively understand the risks to their charity and make sure those risks are properly managed; the higher the risk, the greater the expectation and the more oversight is needed. In a large and complex charity, it is normal for the executive to have significant decision-making authority – but the trustees must still be willing and able to hold the executive to account.

Management

To be effective and to meet their statutory duties as charity trustees they must ensure that it is managed in accordance with its governing document and general law. All charities should have appropriately tailored internal policy documents which address the specific risks associated with the kind of activities that are undertaken.

Trustees should ensure that these policies are implemented and reviewed at appropriate junctures. A failure to implement and ensure compliance with internal policy documents could be evidence of misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity and can put assets, beneficiaries and a charity’s reputation at risk. The Commission expects trustees to make conscientious and continuing efforts to ensure that they resolve the issues that have already been raised with them by the Commission. Where a previous commitment has been given, the Commission will view non-compliance as evidence of misconduct and/or mismanagement.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-muslim-aid/charity-inquiry-muslim-aid

Our figures show that nearly one in ten people who borrowed from loan sharks last year did so to cover the costs of Christmas.

Loan sharks create an environment of fear, intimidation and control for their victims and they will use almost any means to tempt people into taking out a loan with them. They know how to spot people who are vulnerable and who need money. This creates a vicious cycle of debt for those unable to pay back their loans and often leads to serious financial issues, such as families losing their homes or being pushed into extreme poverty because they do not have enough money to survive.

The only way we can put an end to illegal money lending is with your help. Your support means we can reach more people who are at risk, put loan sharks out of business and help victims rebuild their lives. It’s especially important we spread awareness of loan sharks tactics during the festive season when their activity increases dramatically.

Please support our latest campaign #SleighNoToLoanSharks and help spread the message about the risks of illegal lending and how people can access our support. I’ve attached our national press release which can be adapted for local audiences and social media resources can be downloaded from our website here.

Loan sharks present a significant threat to the safety, security and well-being of many individuals in your community. They use deceptive tactics that can isolate people from friends, family and support services. You can put an end to the suffering these criminals inflict on borrowers. We’ll teach you about their tactics and techniques, so you’ll know how to spot and stop them. Please contact me if you would like to book a free training session for your organisation.

The Great Winter Get Together this January is all about events that act as ‘places for connection’.

It can be hard to feel connected with others in the winter months when we might not go out as often, and especially this year as many will be cutting back on social activities due to the cost of living crisis.

Jo Cox said:

“I will not live in a country where thousands of people are living lonely lives, forgotten by the rest of us.”

While in Parliament, one of Jo Cox’s key goals was to turbo-charge the response to the loneliness crisis. She was touched by hearing of people’s isolation when doorknocking in her constituency and had her own experience of loneliness during her time at university.

When we feel lonely, we seek out places for connection. That’s what the Great Winter Get Together is all about. Kicking off on ‘Blue Monday’, from 16-29 January 2023 we’ll be celebrating the events and activities around the country where you can make meaningful connections with new people.

https://www.greatgettogether.org/winter