Blog

Category Archives

FREE Funding for Your Organisation!

January 20, 2021by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Did you know...?, Funding, SCVO News tagged , ,

SCVO is now working with fundraising website easyfundraising to provide voluntary organisations in the region with a source of free funding. While traditional face to face fundraising is on hold, we think this offers a good online alternative and it’s free too.

As part of our aim to provide funding support to voluntary groups and charities in these difficult times, SCVO are now working in collaboration with fundraising website easyfundraising to help your organisation generate additional income. Click here for frequently asked questions.

How easyfundraising can help your organisation

easyfundraising turns the everyday online shopping of your staff, members, volunteers and supporters into funds for your organisation. When they use the easyfundraising website or app to shop with leading retailers, the retailer sends your organisation a free donation at no additional cost.

It’s free to register and use. With many more people shopping online these days and traditional face to face fundraising methods on hold, this is an easy way for your volunteers and supporters to raise money for your organisation safely from home through their normal online shopping.

There are over 4300 retailers involved including Amazon, eBay, Argos, John Lewis, Trainline, Booking.com, Currys, Aviva, M&S, Viking, Waitrose and Direct Line. It means that no matter what your supporters are buying online, they can earn free donations. They can even raise money for you when they buy their Friday night takeaway from Just Eat.

easyfundraising has enabled good causes to raise £34m to date, including £4m in 2020 alone. Your organisation does not need to be a registered charity to use easyfundraising and it is open to voluntary organisations of all shape and size.

Getting started

All you need to do is create an easyfundraising page for your organisation. It’s free and quick to set up and requires very little ongoing management.

Once you’ve set it up, you’ll get support from easyfundraising to help you get the message out to your supporters, and you can also book a free advice call with one of the Fundraising Coaches.

What do other organisations think?

“Having such a simple and effective way of fundraising has been a big boost to our Centennial project; to place a defibrillator in each of Stoke’s six towns.” Bill, Stoke on Trent Lions.

“I cannot help but recommend it to all charitable organisations. It is such an easy way to raise funds. We have raised over £800. Register and start benefitting.” Derek, Treasurer, RPSB, Macclesfield Local Group.

“We would highly recommend it. It’s fantastic that supporters can help make a significant difference to people’s lives simply by doing online shopping.” Just Caring Midlands

About easyfundraising

A member of the Institute of Fundraising, easyfundraising has helped UK good causes raise over £34m to date. Founded in 2007 by Walsall based businessman Ian Woodroffe, easyfundraising is still proudly Midlands based, with offices in Lichfield.

Click here to get started!

Save the date!

SCVO in partnership with easyfundraising will be running a Virtual Meet the Funder Webinar on Tuesday 13th April 2021, 10am-11.30am via a Zoom Conference Call. Sign up to our e-bulletin at www.scvo.info to ensure you don’t miss out when the booking goes live.

Mistakes to Avoid with Digital Fundraising

January 20, 2021by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Did you know...?, Training Support and Resources, VCS Feature tagged , ,

Are you making errors with your digital fundraising? Mistakes happen however there are a number of mistakes that charities tend to make, and opportunities they commonly miss, when approaching their digital fundraising  that could be avoided.

You may need to rethink your digital fundraising strategy and in Charity Digital News article they discuss common mistakes, what you should be considering and solutions to them. You can read the full article by clicking here.

Source: Charity Digital News

Virtual Meet The Funder: Seven Trent

January 20, 2021by Libby Mahoney in Blog, SCVO News tagged , ,

Seven Trent in partnership with SCVO are running a virtual Meet the Funder webinar with their Community Fund Officer, Sue Heyes, who will be taking you through their Community Fund criteria, eligibility and how to apply.

This webinar is for all Severn Trent customers whether water or/and waste and will be held on Thursday 18th February 2021, 10am till 11.30am via Lifesize video conferencing app. Please note, if you haven’t used the app before it will need to be installed on your chosen device prior to the webinar for you to be able to participate.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to find out more about the Seven Trent Community Fund, which is a commitment from 2020 to give away more than £10million over five years to support new projects by local charities and community groups in the Severn Trent region – helping to make a real and tangible difference in our communities. Take a look at the projects that have been funded so far at www.stwater.co.uk/communityfundstories.

Places on the webinar are limited to 25 people so booking is essential and your place can be reserved by emailing Sue at sue.heyes@severntrent.co.uk. Once you have booked your place Sue will send you all the details you need to access the webinar.

Please note your project needs to benefit Severn Trent customers to be eligible so if you are unsure you can check out who your water and waste supplier are by clicking here and entering the postcode of where your project us based (you can be a water or waste customer – or both).

Be sure to subscribe to our e-bulletin for future events and e-updates via our homepage at www.scvo.info.

Return to Play: Community Asset Fund

January 19, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Funding tagged ,

Return to Play: Community Asset Fund invites sports clubs, local authorities, schools, and community organisations to apply for grants. Funding of between £10,001 and £50,000 is available to help clubs and community groups through the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic to return to play.

Capital funding can help local sports clubs and organisations to adapt and open important places and spaces so people within their community can return to play and physical activity, safely. The focus is on responding to the immediate challenges of sports and physical activity returning to play.

Please note, priority will be given to:
• Projects located in areas of high deprivation
• Organisations working with Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, people on lower incomes, disabled people, people with long-term health conditions and people experiencing a greater burden of care because of coronavirus
• Organisations that don’t have a significant level of reserve funding available to utilise.

Applications can be submitted at any time.

More details

Easyfundraising Webinars

January 19, 2021by Leona in Blog, Funding tagged ,

easyfundraising is a free to use fundraising platform which enables good causes to benefit from free donations from leading retailers.

During the pandemic we’ve seen a large increase in the number of good causes using our platform because it’s a way that people can support their chosen cause safely from home, by shopping online with their favourite retailers. We’ve enabled good causes to raise over £34m to date, including £4m in 2020 alone. We are members of the Institute of Fundraising and we are currently helping 170,000 causes with funding.

The webinar will explain how easyfundraising works, how to get started and how to make the most of it. It’s free to attend of course, and it will be running twice, on 1st February and also on 9th February.

Free funding webinar: easyfundraising.org.uk is a free, safe and pandemic proof funding option for your organisation in 2021.  Join the free webinar to find out how it works, see a live demo, get advice on how to make the most of it and ask the easyfundraising team questions. Plus, there’s the chance to win a £50 donation for your organisation.

Register here:
Monday 1st February 2021, 7.30pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_duZ9oeQcRy-POHvd99UDYQ
Or
Tuesday 9th February 2021, 2pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_s0L8N_oZRkO8Lwq24kcMOw

Trustee Chat: An invitation to talk trustees and their role with Dudley CVS and SCVO

January 19, 2021by Libby Mahoney in Blog, SCVO News tagged , ,

Dudley CVS and SCVO (Sandwell) are jointly hosting an informal session for people to learn more about charity trustees and their role, share their experiences and get support.

The agenda will be open, allowing participants to ask questions, share their experiences and get support with anything to do with being a charity trustee, whatever their current level of experience is. Staff from Dudley CVS and SCVO will be on hand to share their knowledge and offer encouragement and guidance to help run your charity.

The session is particularly aimed at anyone in Dudley or Sandwell boroughs who:

  • Is interested in learning more about being a charity trustee before they become one
  • Is a new trustee
  • Has experience of being a charity trustee that they’d like to share or would like to improve their knowledge
  • Would like to find out about organisations in their areas that might be looking for charity trustees
  • Represent a charity that has trustee vacancies

This virtual session will be held on Zoom. Please register your place to ensure that you are sent joining instructions by clicking here.

When: 23 February 2021 at 10:00am until 23 February 2021 at 12:00pm
Where: Virtual meeting taking place on a Zoom Conference Call

Call to Promote Take-up of Covid-19 Vaccinations

January 19, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Health & Wellbeing, SCVO News tagged , ,

Work is now underway to deliver Covid-19 vaccinations across the country in what is being called the biggest immunisation programme in history. Staff and volunteers from the NHS, local authority and voluntary sector are all involved in a combined effort to bring closer the end of the current pandemic through protecting our population from the virus. A call is now going out across Sandwell to ensure that every person in our borough has the opportunity to benefit from this vaccination.

We know from experience that take up of seasonal flu vaccinations in Sandwell is often lower than other areas and that several challenges get in the way of residents accessing vaccinations. We also know that our local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) is excellently placed to help with the vaccination effort – in fact, the involvement of VCS organisations will be absolutely essential to ensuring that everyone in Sandwell understands the opportunity that vaccination presents and can take up the offer.

SCVO, Sandwell Council and Sandwell Public Health would like to support your VCS organisation to get involved. We know many community groups and voluntary organisations are already doing what they can to encourage, inform and support residents accessing vaccinations and others are making plans to do so. We are particularly looking to engage our faith and community leaders, who are able to reach those in our communities who are more vulnerable to Covid-19.

Activities vary widely, but can include:-
• Proactive calling or writing to service users or local community members encouraging take-up of the vaccine, or doing this in the course of current activities
• Culturally appropriate messaging or sharing information about vaccinations in different languages
• Practical help to support people accessing the vaccination programme
• Focus groups and consultation with the communities to ensure that issues and fears about the vaccine or Covid-19 can be fed back.

To ensure no residents are missed out, we are looking to form an accurate picture of what VCS organisations across Sandwell are doing, or are planning to do, to support vaccination take-up. Consequently, SCVO would appreciate hearing from you about your activities – specifically what you are doing/ have done, how many people will be/ have been reached, and who your target audience is. Please email us your information at support@scvo.info.

To support this, a new strand of the current Vision 2030 grants programme has been created which will enable applications to be made for small grants which can meet expenses (which are not already being met by existing funding) for future planned activities. For further information, please send a brief outline of your plans and expenses requests to Liz Webster at grants@scvo.info.

Sandwell Public Health team remain on hand as ever also to support with information, guidance and resources for your organisation, staff and volunteers. Please contact Katie Deeley at Katie_Deeley@sandwell.gov.uk for further information.

 

Go Play Sandwell – New Year, New Go Play Sessions

January 18, 2021by Leona in Blog, VCS Feature tagged

From the 18th January to the 12th February, join us online for your FREE term time Go Play Activity Session via Zoom!  These sessions are suitable for families aged 5 – 12 years (up to 16 years with SEND)

Take part Every Monday – Friday from 1.00pm to 2.00pm – we have LIMITED spaces available, so its important to book online no later than 24 hours prior to the session.  All Zoom sessions are password protected and are facilitated by 2 staff members.

You can find more information from our website – www.goplaysandwell.co.uk 

Our themes play videos activities are suitable for children aged 5+.  Look out for the daily videos on our social media at 5pm @GoPlaySandwell.  For more information e-mail hello@goplaysandwell.co.uk or TEXT (Only) “Call Back” to 07984388558.

Fircroft College Free Online Short Courses: January – 15th February 2021

January 18, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Training Support and Resources tagged , ,

Due to the third COVID-19 lockdown and the college building being closed to students, Fircroft College is offering online courses up to 15th February. These short courses are all free to applicants. Should the current lockdown be extended, details of adapted offers beyond 15th February will be advertised.

The course brochure, Your Future Starts Here, give information of courses after 15th February, the majority of which are residential at the college in Birmingham. Many of these short courses are open to people nationwide and are fee, or offered at a much reduced rate, depending on financial circumstances.

For IT Users – the ITQ in Social Media Level 3 course is intended to be residential (3 days, 2 nights) at the college starting 22nd February. There is an online Open Day session for this course on 26th January: details attached.  This course is available to people in certain West Midlands postcodes only.

The Free Thinking programme starts in April (again, certain West Midlands postcodes only).  The programme is aimed at people from new communities who have been victims of modern slavery, trafficking and torture: details attached.

Amendments to Jan and Feb courses

If you have questions about a course, or to find out about postcode eligibility, please email admissions@fircroft.ac.uk

 

 

Fundraising with Instagram Stories

January 18, 2021by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Funding, VCS Feature tagged ,

Since Instagram’s launch in 2010, the app has become a daily staple for its users, Charity Digital News explain how using Instagram stories can raise funds. They are also offer some advice to help you get started on your journey in their article.

It is worth remembering that more than one billion people use Instagram every month and this could be a powerful tool to help your organisation attract new donations. Many charities have realised its potential and are increasingly using the platform for free and effective marketing.

For the full article click here.

Source: Charity Digital News

Page 1 of 94123...Last