Aggregated External News

Web design firm Stardotstar is working with internet company Nominet to make 1000 single page websites are available to good causes. They will be free for one year, then £1 a week after that.

Groups can use website building programme Jam, which offers an easy-to-use editor, with support available through video tutorials and a simple ‘recipe’ which makes it quick and easy to plan a website from scratch.

To build your one-page Jam website, simply visit madewithjam.org and enter the voucher code MADnominettrust before midnight on 5 November 2012.

All details on this website:

www.nominettrust.org.uk/news-events/news/stardotstar-giving-away-%C2%A350000-worth-websites-to-charities-and-community-groups

Web design firm Stardotstar is working with internet company Nominet to make 1000 single page websites are available to good causes. They will be free for one year, then £1 a week after that.

Groups can use website building programme Jam, which offers an easy-to-use editor, with support available through video tutorials and a simple ‘recipe’ which makes it quick and easy to plan a website from scratch.

To build your one-page Jam website, simply visit madewithjam.org and enter the voucher code MADnominettrust before midnight on 5 November 2012.

All details on this website:

www.nominettrust.org.uk/news-events/news/stardotstar-giving-away-%C2%A350000-worth-websites-to-charities-and-community-groups

NCVO's EU Funding team has written about the next round of EU funding, with the current period (2007-2013) coming to an end.

While it is hoped that the European Council will reach an agreement on the budget at its meeting in November, there are both UK government and NCVO events on how the Structural Funds programme would be implemented in England. See NCVO website.

This year's World of Difference UK programme from the Vodafone Foundation is now open for applications. This gives 500 people the chance to work for a UK charity of their choice, and get paid, working either full-time for two months or part-time for four.

Deadline 4pm 13th November, details at http://worldofdifference.vodafone.co.uk.

NCVO and partner organisations have published 'Open Public Services: Experiences from the Voluntary Sector'.

The report highlights examples of innovation in practice, where the voluntary sector has worked in new ways with statutory authorities to develop specialist services and argues there needs to be greater openness and flexibility in commissioning services to capitalise on the contribution from charities. New opportunities from social investment and open data could also ease contract risks and make services more accountable to their users.

read more

The Social Investment Business in partnership with Locality have Pre-Feasibility Grants available for amounts of up to £10,000 for organisations to build internal capacity to help them to compete to deliver public services and/or own and manage assets.

See news item from Social Enterprise UK.

A new service for the growing number of communities wanting to raise finance for co-operative and community-owned enterprises was launched on Friday 5th October.

The Community Shares Unit, hosted by Co-operatives UK working in partnership with Locality, is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The website at http://www.communityshares.org.uk has factsheets, reports and other resources.

Welsh umbrella body WCVA has published its analysis of the Welsh Government's draft budget for 2013/14 (see earlier news iterm).

In Word format 86KB via http://www.wcva.org.uk/news/dsp_news.cfm?newsid=1936.

A report from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) warns that the way payment by results (PbR) is being implemented threatens to exclude charity and social enterprise expertise. The report 'Funding Good Outcomes - Using social investment to support payment by results' draws on CAF Venturesome's recent experience of PbR investments.

CAF press release with link to the report (pdf, 438KB).

A survey of voluntary sector sub-contractors on the government's Work Programme finds that seven out of ten of such contracts are at risk of failure.

The survey was carried out by NCVO with its Work Programme Special Interest Group but was extended further. Some 47% of respondents felt that their contacts were at risk of failure within the next six months and 26% thought they were at risk of failure before the end of the contract.

read more

The Welsh Government has published its draft budget for 2013-14, available at http://wales.gov.uk/funding/budget/draftbudget1314/?lang=en with headline figures at http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/improvingpublicservices/2012/6664639/?lang=en.

read more

A study commissioned by Big Lottery Fund and undertaken by ClearlySo and New Philanthropy Capital has produced its report, 'Investment Readiness in the UK'. The study was set up to investigate what "investment-ready" means, what barriers sector groups and potential investors see to making groups investment-ready, and what support groups need.

read more

Welsh umbrella body has responded to the Welsh Government review of the arrangements for accessing European Structural Funds for the next funding period.

It says that Wales is a leader in Europe in utilising volunteer time as match-funding, and the response supports the recognition of volunteering within the new programmes. Other topics include length of the process, state aid, financial instruments and transnational co-operation.

read more

Looking to get ahead in the voluntary sector? Smart Training – one of the UK’s leading specialist training providers – now offers charity workers and volunteers the choice of three relevant nationally-recognised qualifications to help you on your way.

And the best news of all is that you could be taking one of the part-time courses for free* as full funding is provided for those already working for a charity or those volunteering while claiming benefits.

read more

The Untold Stories initiative run by Media Trust is designed to provide small charities throughout the UK with the chance to tell their story both online and on Community Channel.

Up to fifteen charities (annual turnover under £2 million) will benefit from having a top film-maker create a film which can be used for fundraising, campaigning, and publicity. Google is an additional partner this year.

Applications by midday, 22nd October, http://www.mediatrust.org/get-support/untold-stories-2012/.

A pilot Social Enterprise Assist scheme backed by the government will offer charities and other social enterprises in the Brighton and Hove area access to loans (no interest charged), mentors and business advice.

Charities Aid Foundation news item or see http://se-assist.co.uk.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has issued the second of a series of reports looking at common themes of concerns received about charities. The report 'Concerns received about charity fundraising' outlines the minimum legal standard for charity fundraisers and sets out what the public can reasonably expect when giving to charity.

read more

Cause4 Opinion is "a blog developed by a small team of passionate fundraisers and philanthropists to encourage debate about the latest trends in fundraising, philanthropy and social enterprise", http://www.cause4opinion.co.uk.

Stewardship, a charity which provides tools for tax effective giving, has launched give.net which enables people to set up their own fundraising web pages. Charities need to be registered with Stewardship to benefit, http://www.give.net.

The UK government has amended the Procurement Pledge, issued in May, recognising the voluntary sector's potential "to meaningfully contribute to improving the design and delivery of services, and provide social as well as economic value" and also Compact principles. Sector bodies such as NAVCA had previously been concerned about the Pledge's emphasis on the private sector.

read more

The latest figures analysed by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations shows that smaller charities are disproportionately feeling the brunt of funding cuts, with the majority of them spending more than they have coming in. SCVO media release, Civil Society Media coverage http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/finance/news/content/13359/.

read more