Agewell have moved office to Rounds Green Library, Martley Road, Oldbury B69 1DZ.
The contact number remains unchanged: 0121 796 9333.
Visit the website for the latest news from Agewell.
Agewell have moved to Oldbury
Free Charity Toolkit Upgrades Revealed
A free to access digital toolkit aimed at improving charity performance has been upgraded to include a tool to support income generation.
The funding tool has been developed by the Charity Excellence Framework to help charities ensure they can prove the impact of their work to the public and funders.
This offers a dashboard that tracks around 300 issues across the organisation in areas such as maximising impact, delivering value for money, financial sustainability and ability to deliver in terms of capacity and planning.
Compliance, leadership and safeguarding issues, such as tackling bullying and encouraging whistleblowing, are also included.
Response to Falling Trust
Charity Excellence Framework Founder Ian McLintock said the funding tool has been launched to help charities respond to falling trust in the sector.
“The Charity Commission Trust in Charities 2018 report found that four in 10 members of the public are donating less, as a result, and when charities are able to show that most of their donations directly reach the end cause, and they are having quantifiable positive results, both trust and willingness to donate increase,” he said.
“The dashboard assurance table enables charities to do so, by providing hard data for funding bids and annual reports.”
The funding tool is one of a number of improvements made in this first major upgrade since the toolkit launched last summer, added McLinktock.
“System navigation has been improved and the framework generation process, which creates a unique set of questionnaires for each user, has been made more sophisticated, making it not only easier to use, but also lower workload and more effective,” he said.
Last month the Charity Excellence Framework launched a resource hub available to anyone in the charity and social enterprise sector covering areas such as finding funders, mentoring and free goods and services for the sector.
Source: Charity Digital News
Building a Business Case for Investing In Fundraising
For many charities and social enterprises in a tight financial position, it’s the classic dilemma. You need to invest in fundraising, perhaps to replace dwindling income from other sources, but have less disposable cash than ever.
So building the case for investing in fundraising – whether that means a new staff member, hiring a consultant or increasing your marketing budget – isn’t easy. Particularly when it involves dealing with management or trustees who may know less about fundraising than you, and are naturally risk averse.
If you were asked to put together a robust and convincing case for investing in fundraising, where would you start? How would you address people’s concerns? Here are their top tips:
1. Show how fundraising success would boost your overall mission
When I’m working with an organisation on their fundraising strategy, I initially ask two questions: Why have you decided to focus on fundraising? What do you hope to achieve through successful fundraising?
Many organisations set ambitious goals for their project work, but fail to show the same fundraising ambition. But the two things are inextricably linked – if you’re trying to double the number of people you help, or move into a new region, you’ll likely need a step-change in fundraising.
So try to make people focus on how much more the organisation could achieve if it raised more money. You’ll stand a better chance of convincing management and trustees to make the investment needed.
2. Educate people about your current fundraising efforts
I’ve worked with organisations whose CEO or trustees have been genuinely surprised by how much they’re raising in certain areas, or completely oblivious about simple blockages that are holding back fundraising. However, people will make better long-term decisions about fundraising if they understand this properly.
Inspire confidence in your future plans by emphasising which areas are already proving successful, and which ones have the potential for a drastic improvement with a little more investment.
To read the full Lime Green Consulting article click here.
Source: Lime Green Consulting.
360Giving Launches New Grant Visualisation Tool
360Giving, an initiative which encourages funders to publish standardised transparent data about grants, has today launched new visualisation tool.
The platform, 360Insights, visualises data from grant makers and recipients of grants in an effort to further transparency in the sector.
The data shared includes the amounts awarded by grant makers, where grants are given, what types of organisations received grants, region of recipients, locations of grants and the age and income of recipients. It was developed by compiling data from sources including the Charity Commission.
Founder and chair of directors of 360Giving, Fran Perrin said: “As the numbers of funders sharing their data approaches 100, we saw the need to make it easier for anyone to see what the £26bn of grant making says about them. That’s why we built 360Insights and I am excited to see how grant makers apply this fantastic functionality into their decision making”.
360 giving was founded in 2015 to boost transparency in funding, and encourage grant makers to publish information. 99 funders presently share their information.
Its other initiatives include Beehive, a tool which enables charities to find potential funders online and GrantNav, a register of UK grant data showing 306,566 grants.
360Giving is funded by grant makers the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Indigo Trust, Pears Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Perrin said: “When I set up 360Giving three years ago, I would not have believed that in such a short time we’d have so much useful data being shared, enabling insights into issues such as homelessness and the distribution of funding.”
Paul Streets, chief executive of Lloyds Bank Foundation, believes 360Insights will help his foundation. He said “Data informs everything we do – our strategic direction, allows us to check we’re making the impact we set out to and to challenge and improve our work.
To read the full Civil Society article click here.
Source: Civil Society
Brexit Update
Whilst we’re still none the wiser about the outcome of ongoing Brexit negotiations, there is an ever-increasing amount of information being distributed along the lines of “what to do if…“.
Sandy Adirondack (www.sandy-a.co.uk/index.htm), in her regular newsletter (to which you can subscribe via her website), has helpfully summarised a number of such sources of information as follows…but it’s not definitive by any means (by her own admission!):
- Brexit Civil Society Alliance: https://www.brexitcivilsocietyalliance.org – The weekly newsletters are essential reading, and include links to many other resources.
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/policy-and-research/europe – Factsheet, videos and up to date blogs.
- Prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU: https://www.gov.uk/business-uk-leaving-eu – For businesses and organisations. Includes exporting; importing; sale of goods and services and data protection; contracts of employment and working hours; and more.
- Prepare for EU exit if you live in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/prepare-eu-exit – For individuals. Covers going and being abroad; transport; business and industry; work; environment; education, training and skills; health and social care; and parenting, childcare and children’s services.
- Continue to live in the UK after it leaves the EU: https://www.gov.uk/staying-uk-eu-citizen – For EU nationals living in the UK.
- UK nationals living in the EU: Essential information: https://www.gov.uk/uk-nationals-living-eu
- Office for Civil Society: Preparing for EU exit: https://mailchi.mp/9f803351c85a/preparing-for-eu-exit-471359 . Briefing for voluntary organisations, covering the government’s public information campaign on EU exit; data protection in a no deal scenario; the settled status scheme; EU funding; Erasmus + and European Solidarity Corps; and sources of further guidance. This has a Mailchimp link because it was sent to Office for Civil Society email subscribers. It does not appear to be on the OCS website, and was not in their RSS feed. To sign up for OCS emails, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-for-civil-society.atom and click on the link about one-third of the way down.
- Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-and-brexit/. A range of resources.
- Matheson Solicitors: Brexit and contracts: https://www.matheson.com/news-and-insights/article/brexit-and-contracts-a-practical-guide. Issues if contractual obligations become difficult or impossible to perform because of Brexit.
And if there is No Deal…
- Third Sector – How a no-deal Brexit would affect charities: https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/no-deal-brexit-affect-charities/policy-and-politics/article/1562886. Implications for staff, the economy, investments, and international development charities.
- Mills & Reeve solicitors – Government confirms charity shops can sell CE marked goods after ‘no deal’ Brexit: https://www.charitylegalupdate.co.uk/2019/03/government-confirms-charity-shops-can-sell-ce-marked-goods-after-no-deal-brexit.html.
- Department for Exiting the EU – How to prepare if the UK leaves the EU with no deal: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-to-prepare-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-with-no-deal. Fairly detailed guidance on a wide range of issues. This link was in my update 1823 but I’m repeating it here in case the UK leaves the EU on 29 March without a withdrawal agreement, and therefore without a transition period.
Arts and Culture Sector Survey Launches
Arts and culture charities are being urged to take part in a survey to assess the impact of digital technology across their sector.
This is the fifth year the Digital Culture survey has been carried out by the Arts Council England in partnership with arts, science and technology innovation foundation Nesta.
The aim is to build up a comprehensive picture of digital behaviour among arts and culture organisations in England and measure trends and compare data with previous year’s findings.
The survey’s results are used by government, funders and to help arts and culture organisations with their digital strategy.
This includes helping inform the government’s Culture is Digital report and this year’s findings will provide evidence in support of its commitments.
This includes the creation of a Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Digital Code and Maturity Index, which aims to help organisations benchmark and improve their digital maturity.
Another is the launch of Arts Council England’s Digital Culture Network which brings together ‘tech champions’ to help digital development in the arts and culture sector.
Adapting to digital change
“As digital technology becomes an increasingly ubiquitous part of everyday life, it is important for arts and cultural organisations to keep pace with the rate of change so that they can successfully integrate new technologies into their working practice and remain relevant to artists and audiences,” says a Nesta statement.
“This survey will take the pulse of the sector on how it is adapting to digital change and where it requires further support.”
The survey’s research partner MTM London has sent out an invite to take part to thousands of arts and culture organisations. Any arts and culture organisations that have not received an invite and want to take part are urged to contact MTM London direct by emailing them at digitalarts@mtmlondon.com.
The survey takes around 30 minutes to complete and closes on 3 May 2019.
Source: Charity Digital News
Free Guide to Help Charities Bid for Contracts
The government has published a free guide for charities bidding for public sector contracts.
VCSEs: a bidder’s guide to working with government was published yesterday by the Office for Civil Society, with support from the Cabinet Office. The guide was commissioned by Claire Dove, the Crown Representative for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSEs).
It includes guidance on websites to find contracts, events about commissioning processes, preparing for a tender process, and how to make use of the Social Value Act, which requires commissioners to consider social value in their procurement processes. In her introduction to the guide, Dove says the guide is “just the start” and that she plans to work with commissioners and the sector to “increase the impact of the Social Value Act”.
To read the full Civil Society article click here.
Source: Civil Society
Charity Commission Email Change
Charity Commission email change
Meanwhile, the Charity Commission has changed its email addresses from this week.
On Monday 25 February the regulator removed ‘.gsi’ from its emails. For example inboxname@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk will change to inboxname@charitycommission.gov.uk.
After 31 March 2019 emails set to a .gsi email address will not be received.
Source: Charity Digital News
The Heritage Lottery – New Name, New Funding Framework
The Heritage Lottery – now know as ‘The National Lottery Heritage Fund’ have unveiled plans to distribute more than £1bn of National Lottery money to the UK’s heritage over the next five years.
Find out about our New Funding Framework
We have a new look and a new name – The National Lottery Heritage Fund. It’s a new chapter for us, although much of the great work we do still remains the same – find out more
For further Information, please contact National Lottery Fund, 7 Holbein Place, London, SW1W 8NR or telephone 020 7591 6000 or e-mail enquiry@hlf.org.uk
Save the Date! Briefing: EU Settlement Scheme
You are invited to attend a briefing with the Home Office Settlement Scheme team
Date: 25th February 2019
Location: Birmingham (venue TBC) Time: 1.30pm – 4.30pm
The briefing, aimed at those from frontline/voluntary and community groups will provide an overview of the scheme. In addition, an update on the vulnerability strategy and the additional support the Home Office is making available for more vulnerable or at-risk EU citizens and their family members.
During the session, there will be an opportunity to look at local needs in relation to the scheme, and to discuss what actions are required to address these issues together. Attendees will also be presented with the communications tools and resources the Home Office has developed for frontline organisations to help them inform and reassure EU citizens.
Confirm your attendance at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eu-settlement-scheme-briefing-in-birmingham-tickets-55646635585