Small Grants Pot

Groups and organisations interesting in applying for the next round of cash available from the ‘Small Grants Pot’ are invited to do so before the closing date, 31 May 2008. They can apply on-line at www.highpeak.gov.uk, download and send in a completed application form from the website or call High Peak Borough Council’s Customer Services team on 0845 129 7777.

>> News from the Small Grants Pot

Firm Foundations

Derbyshire Community Foundation welcomes applications of £100 to £5,000 for this new grants programme.

Projects will need to meet one of the following aims – reducing economic inequality (helping tackle disadvantage in Derby and Derbyshire) or bringing communities together.  Priority will be given to applications which incorporate one of the following concepts – encouraging people to volunteer, offering training, encouraging networking and partnership working or engaging the community in an activity which will help enhance the area.

Groups are strongly advised to contact the Grants Team to discuss project ideas before applying.  Applications for minibuses, building costs or access adaptations cannot be accepted.  Any Derbyshire or Derby City based not-for-profit organisation that can produce a constitution, annual accounts and original bank statements and has an active management committee can apply.

For more information please contact Sarah Hand or Lisa Farnsworth on 01773 514850.

>> Further details

High Peak CVS is celebrating a great boost to its funding with a Big Lottery BASIS grant worth £440,000 over the next 5 years

The money will fund development work with voluntary and community groups and charities throughout the High Peak.

There are over 850 voluntary groups active in the High Peak and there continues to be clear demand for development support, for both newly emerging small groups, as well as for established groups that are entering a transition phase or undergoing review or setback.

Nigel Caldwell, the Development Programme Manager at High Peak CVS said “this funding is really great for us. It will mean that we can continue supporting local groups, who contribute so much to the local community”. He added “Nationally, the lottery BASIS programme was hugely oversubscribed, so we’re really pleased we’ve been able to demonstrate the need in the High Peak and to secure valuable resources”.

The new funding focuses on three specific areas of development support.

Work with small groups
Enabling the CVS’s Small Group Project to continue working with those particularly disadvantaged groups in the borough, including a newly formed Polish community group and local disability access groups which offer a range of services to disabled people.

Focus on sustainability for community groups
Groups need to secure their future i.e. to develop their own sustainability and avoid grant dependency.  This mostly means financial security by diversifying funding streams and adopting more enterprising approaches to fundraising. It could also be improved use of current assets

The Sustain development work will offer tools, techniques and training on asset development, creative approaches to fundraising through enterprising activity right up to the development of social enterprises.

Groups also need to be increasingly sensitive to their own environmental impact and the Sustain project will help them to address these issues.

Arts Development
The Arts Development project is helping to implement the High Peak Arts Strategy. In particular the work will look to extend the possibilities for young people to be engaged in the arts through a young people’s art network. 

There will also be scope to increase the potential for community and voluntary groups to incorporate arts within their work.  The project will boost support to local community celebrations like festivals, carnivals and well dressings and help them promote community identity and widen the use of creative skills.

NVQ level 2 Customer Service or Business Admin – Candidates required

High Peak CVS are looking for 2 people interested in working towards an NVQ qualification in Customer Service or Business Administration.

The qualification can be completed in the workplace and will take between 6 & 12 months to complete. Candidates will be visited regularly and supported by Mark Davies, the IT Tutor at Highpeak.

No fees are required. The qualification is FREE to eligible candidates.

Eligibility – candidates can apply if they do not currently hold a Level 2 qualification or above. (e.g equivalent to 5 GCSE’s (Grades A-C) or better).

Candidates can be paid employees or volunteers.

Please register any interest by contacting Mark at Highpeak CVS for more details.

Tel: 01663 735350 , Email mark@highpeakcvs.org.uk

High Peak CVS is 5

To help us celebrate our fifth birthday, Digital Umbrella (our IT services social enterprise), has developed a special “micro” website at highpeakcvsis5.org.uk

We want to use it to gain the views of our members. Please log on and tell us what you think about our work, what we’ve done well, and what we need to get better at doing. This will form the basis of the evolution and ongoing development of High Peak CVS to meet the needs of the voluntary and community sector in the area.

Induction of HPBC Councillors

What is the voluntary and community sector up to?

On 27 September the High Peak CVS hosted a lively and useful session with councillors of the High Peak Borough Council and key voluntary organisations including all the volunteer centres and the CAB.

The aim of the session was to give local councillors a clearer picture of the size, range and quality of the voluntary and community sector in High Peak. There are over 800 voluntary operating groups in High Peak and this session aimed to highlight the issues that voluntary and community groups face, the value of the relationship with statutory bodies like HPBC and where voluntary groups currently can get support - e.g. training, information and funding advice plus some development work.

The session also covered the role councillors have when approached to help a group, whether that is informally or when asked to sit on a management committee. There was time for questions and answers and informal discussion.

This event built on the constructive dialogue that was set up when the Borough were reviewing their Community Fund policy and we are hopeful there could be more similar events in the future.

Environmental Impact Assessment

High Peak CVS’s Sustain Project is offering an environmental impact assessment for local community and voluntary groups. The assessment looks at how environmentally friendly the group is and helps them decide what they can do to improve, through an action plan. Putting the action plan into practice needn’t cost the group money – in fact, it could save money!

The assessment has several strands: saving energy and resources; travelling wisely and shopping ethically; and creating a welcoming and inclusive environment.

This initiative is a pilot project, and could lead on to the development of an Environmental Quality Mark for community and voluntary organisations in the High Peak.

Several groups have already been invited to take part in this pilot scheme, but we are looking for more volunteers. If you would like to take part please contact Esther Jones.

Head of Charity Commission Comes to New Mills!

Dame Suzi Leather, the current Chair of the Charity Commission, visited New Mills in early
September to discuss her work and answer questions.

The Charity Commission is the regulatory body for all charitable organisations and Suzi Leather will be discussing its role and in particular the current changes being made to the regulation of charities under the new Charities Act which was passed in November 2006.

There are many positive improvements in the new Act which will be phased in over the next few months.  Definitions of what can be interpreted as charitable activity have been modernised and broadened but there is still much public debate about what constitutes “public benefit”. A registered charity is now required by law to demonstrate public benefit if it is to qualify for tax relief.

This was the third of a series of meetings organised by Tom Levitt MP. The previous ones have been well attended and very useful meetings where our MP has been able to invite key national and regional figures who exercise an influence over the voluntary and community sector.

The first was with the then Third Sector minister Ed Milliband. As a consequence of a lot of debate around the allocation of Lottery Funds locally Mick McGrath, the Director of the East Midlands Big Lottery attended the second meeting. One useful point that emerged is that it is now possible to get feedback on why a grant was not successful. The advice is to contact the grant officer who did the assessment and ask for feedback.

A full report of the meeting attended by Suzi Leather will be available on the CVS website in due course.

We are the Champions!

High Peak CVS’s IT services wing, Digital Umbrella, have recently been appointed as the 'Regional IT Champions' for the East Midlands, with funding from the ICT Hub until March 2008 for this role. 

Tony Okotie will be leading this work, with support from the rest of the team. For the last three years, under Tony’s direction, High Peak CVS have been leading on delivering various IT projects and IT services across Derbyshire, designed to help 3rd sector organisations make the most of IT in delivering their mission. These services are now branded 'Digital Umbrella' and run as a social enterprise. This project naturally fits with the work of Digital Umbrella. Tony is looking forward to contributing to the more effective use of ICT by the sector.

He said “technology is not a force for good in its own right – its how it is used that is important. I’m looking forward to working with organisations and partners to help create an environment where there is increased recognition of what ICT can do, and how to resource it, along with better support for organisations in how to use it”.

To find out more about the role of the Regional Champion, and how it could benefit your group, visit the Digital Umbrella  websiteor call Tony on 01663 736 422.

IT in the East Midlands 3rd Sector - ITEM3
Tony has started a newsletter entitled 'News from ITEM3', to help promote IT resources, events in the region, etc. This aims to be a flexible resource to help groups find out more about what IT can do for them. The Newsletter can be downloaded from a website / blog (an online diary), where Tony will be posting details of his work and useful information - www.ITEM3.org.uk

Get your Logo on the Go Go!

First impressions count, and a professionally designed logo can create the right impression and help build awareness of your organisation.

is a new, creative design service from Digital Umbrella, creating or redesigning the logo for your organisation, business or project.

We offer three levels of service with logosagogo, depending on the number of initial designs that you require and the complexity of the work. All levels include:

• Initial consultation (telephone or face to face, depending on level of service chosen)
• Production of draft designs
• Follow up consultation and amendment to chosen design
• Chosen design, produced in various formats and resolutions, provided on CD
• Provision of pantone and RGB colour references, to allow you to match new publicity materials to the logo

At the start of the process, we ask you to send any current logos, promotional information, mission statement etc to help us get a “sense” of your organisation. We aim to turn round draft designs in two weeks from commission.

To find out more, and to get your logo on the go go, visit the Digital Umbrella website or  call us on 01663 736 422.

HPBC Community Fund 'Small Grants Pot' Scheme

High Peak Borough Council Community Fund “Small grants pot” scheme is now open for applications of up to £500. The grant scheme is available to voluntary organisations and community groups who provide services, facilities and activities to improve the quality of life for residents of the High Peak.

Organisations can apply on line or download and send in a completed application form. All submitted forms will be acknowledged within 14 days, and the cut off date for the first round of applications is 31st May 2007. The assessment of the first round of applicants will take place in June 2007 in time for the Area Forum panels to meet and consider allocations. Applicants will be informed of the panel decision by the end of July 2007.

Full details and application forms can be found at http://www.highpeak.gov.uk/neighbourhood/CommunityFund/

High Peak CVS’s Sustain project

How do you keep a group well resourced, not grant dependent and sensitive to the environment? Our Sustain Project helps local organisations answer this tough question.

The Sustain Project was set up in 2004 to provide advice and support to VCS groups to develop economically and environmentally sustainable ways of working. Groups are encouraged to grow whilst reducing their environmental impact, and to develop social enterprises and enterprising behaviour to diversify their income and become less grant–dependent.

Read more of what the Sustain Project has achieved and plans:
>> Article on HPCVS Sustain Project for NAVCA 'Circulation' Newsletter

Visit the Sustain Project web pages

HOW? becomes KnowledgeBank

KnowledgeBank is the new name for our HOW? Guides - the range of information sheets on a variety of issues and subjects relevant to voluntary and community groups. Our HOW? guides have been a great asset to lots of local groups, presenting important information in a concise and simple to understand way. We are in the process of re-writing, updating and rebranding these as KnowledgeBank, and this process will take place over the next few months.

The first of the re-written guides is “CRB and Screening”

The guides can be downloaded from this website

…and IT Quick Reference cards

Digital Umbrella, the IT services wing of the CVS, now has a range of quick reference cards available on a variety of software applications. Each is only two pages long, and contain all of the keystrokes and keyboard shortcuts displayed in one place. The quick reference cards are ideal to laminate and put beside your PC!

Subjects include all of the Microsoft Office software (Word, Access, PowerPoint etc, from 97 to 2007); Windows (including Vista). You can download them (all pdf documents, about 300Kb) from the Digital Umbrella website.

High Peak Borough Council new Community Fund Strategy and Policy

>> Download the HPBC Community Fund Strategy

The new Community Fund Strategy and Policy was approved when it went before the full HPBC Executive on February 7 2007.  The final draft was the result of a lengthy consultation process over several months seeking the views of voluntary and community organisations, including two open meetings organised by CVS in July and November 2006.

Over that period many of the voluntary sector’s views were taken on board. The result is that the policy that will guide how voluntary and community groups obtain funding from HPBC has been significantly improved and is much clearer.

1. 3 year funding agreements to organisations that need certainty of funding for core activities and longer term planning
2. Longer term funding for strategic partner organisations helping to fulfil the strategic aims of the council under a service level agreement.
3. A “Small Grants Pot”. One off grants will be made on an annual basis to voluntary and community groups wanting to undertake projects and also to new groups just starting up. The pot will be divided equally between each Area Forum and a grants panel made up of elected councillors will make decisions. The Small Grants Pot will open to bids in two rounds each year. The total amount available for next year is likely to be around £8000. The first round decisions will not be made until after the May elections.

Organisations who already receive significant funding will have transitional arrangements. They will be reviewed before the start of the financial year beginning April 2007, but any change in the level or the status of their funding will be subject to a 12 month notice - their current funding will not be affected for a further 12 months.

Applying for Funding
Soon iIt will be possible to apply on line. Closing date for applications for the first round will be May 30. Decisions will be made within the relevant area forums via a grants panel late June / early July, and groups should have a decision by the end of July. The small-pots grant will be around £8000 in total, split between the 4 area forums, so it will be small pots of money that are granted.

About the Community Fund
The Community Fund is a grant scheme available to voluntary organisations and community groups who provide services, facilities and activities to improve the quality of life for residents of the High Peak. The aim of the fund is to help in the development, promotion and co-ordination of sporting, artistic, cultural, community, environmental, educational and development initiatives within the High Peak.

Any constituted voluntary/community (non profit-making) group can apply for a grant from the Community Fund for either capital or revenue funding, to help with running costs for an event, the purchase of equipment or improvements to facilities.

If you want further information you can contact HPBC via Dave Bennett on 0845 129 7777 ex 2156 email daveb@highpeak.gov.uk ; or Nigel Caldwell at High Peak CVS 01663 736423  email.

Improving support for sport!

High Peak CVS is working on ways to increase the level of support available to voluntary sports groups through a partnership with the Borough Council and freelance support workers. We have already been one of the key partners in developing the SportsTrain project, which is now able to offer a “one stop shop” for sports coach training in the High Peak and Derbyshire
Dales.

The idea of improving support for sport is at an early stage and an outline proposal is being drawn up which will be used to attract additional funding. The idea is to be able to provide a flexible support service that could come from the most appropriate source, whether that is a freelance sports consultant, the Borough Council or the CVS.

To help back up the bid we are keen that sports groups get their voice heard. To this end we have a very simple questionnaire which groups can use to say what kind of support they are need and how they would want that help to be provided. Sports groups will find this enclosed with the mailing. If your group is involved in sports and you feel able to give some ideas please complete a questionnaire as that will help back up our bid for extra resources. Sports groups should find a questionnaire in this newsletter. If you don’t please contact Nigel at High Peak CVS (01663 736423)

Signpost
Families with a child under 18 in the High Peak or Derbyshire Dales can contact Signpost on 01629 810 900 for information about where they can go for help or advice.  Signpost also offers short term support. For more information see Derbyshire Dales CVS website.

Signpost has appointed Shena Lawrence from August for 2.5 days a week (Mon, Tue & Wed
mornings).  She is based at the CVS outreach office in Ashbourne (01335 348 395),
although she will also work from the DDCVS Bakewell office.  Email shena@ddcvs.org.uk .