A date for your diary and a survey!

 

The date for your diary is 24 March 2010. On this date we will be holding the first forum for all voluntary and community groups in Derby called Your Sector, Your Say.

 

To find out the needs and priorities of voluntary and community groups in the city we would like you to take part in a short survey. The outcome of the survey will inform the Your Sector Your Say forum - so this really is a chance for you to get your issues in the spotlight.

 

You can fill out the survey online or visit the Community Action  website, download a copy and email it back or print it off and post it back to us.

 

The Your Sector, Your Say forum will be held on 24 March 2010 at the new YMCA building on London Road, Derby. The outcomes from the forum will then be refined into an Action Plan for the voluntary and community sector in Derby. To book your place at "Your Sector, Your Say" please email Abigail Steanson or call 01332 346266.

Please take five minutes to complete this questionnaire - it will help to determine the priorities for the future of voluntary and community organisations in the city.

 

 

Looking for a grant of up to £10,000? The East Midlands European Social Fund Community Grants programme has grants of up to £10,000 available to small voluntary and community organisations in Derbyshire. The grants are available for local communities to deliver a range of skills and employment support activities to enable people from the hardest to reach communities back into employment.

For more information and an application form please visit the website

 

Please note that the closing date for applications is 15 January 

East Midlands National Offender Management Service are holding an event for organisations working with offenders called 'Is there anybody out there?'

 

 

If you are interested in working in partnership with East Midlands National Offender Management service and faith organisations to reduce re-offending then this event is not to be missed.

 

The annual Funding the Future conference will be held on 10 February 2010 at Central Hall in Westminster, London. Chief executives of the leading statutory, lottery and trust funders together with eight Government Ministers and Shadow Ministers will be there to give updates and advice.

 

The conference comprises of a morning session followed by your choice of seven specialised funding streams to help you meet funders interested in your field of work. These are: health, disability and social care; community regeneration and fighting disadvantage; children and young people; arts and heritage; international development; the environment; and faith-based projects.

The event is organised by fundraising and strategy consultants Action Planning, in association with ACEVO, the Big Lottery Fund, The Social Investment Business, CAF and Blackbaud. The cost of the conference is £148 which includes VAT, lunch, a networking reception and all presentation materials. For more information and to book a place please visit the Funding the Future website.

 

 

Would you like to have access to locally produced, fair trade food? Are you a voluntary or community group working in this area?

 

The East Midlands now has a dedicated advisor promoting and supporting community-run food co-ops across the region. A food co-op is a way for a group of people to get the food they want by pooling buying power and sourcing directly from producers. A food co-op might take the form of a bag or box scheme; a market or stall; or a part-time shop and may sell fruit; vegetables; wholefoods; meat; or dairy - whatever the community needs.  What food co-ops have in common is being owned and run by the community on a not-for-profit basis, usually by volunteers.

Sustain, the East Midlands food co-op advisor, would like to hear from any individual, group or organisation interested in buying collectively in order to get good food at cheaper prices.  Free advice is available on everything you might need to know about setting up a food co-op, via 'How To' workshops and training days, exchange visits to other co-ops, and regional networking events. They have also produced a food co-ops toolkit with lots of useful advice - visit the Sustain website for more details.

 

Come along to a FREE event at Alfreton Hall in Alfreton on 23 January, supported by East Midlands Development Agency, and find out what support is on offer to you as a social entrepreneur.

The event is being hosted by Genesis Academy, a part of Genesis Enterprise Foundation based in Alfreton.  The event will have a practical focus enabling social enterprises to get to grips with key aspects of the concept, planning and running of a sustainable enterprise.

 

You will gain essential insight into effective bid writing and get the opportunity to meet potential funders face to face.  There will also be an opportunity to network with other social enterprises.

 

For more information please visit the Genesis Academy website.  To book your place please click here. The event starts at 9:30 am and finishes at 4:30 pm. 

 

Genesis Academy is also offering an award worth up to £3000 in support for up to three social enterpreneurs, details of which can also be found on the website above. 

 

Regeneration East Midlands are holding a half day workshop for organisations to learn more about applying for small grants. The workshop takes place on Wednesday 10 February 2010 from 1:00 to 4:15 pm at the Healthy Hub in Lincoln.

The workshop will help those starting to apply for funding, and in particular those looking for smaller amounts of funding. Attendees will receive an overview of small grants and funding sources and find out what small grants funders are looking for. 

 

For more information and to book a place please visit the Regeneration East Midlands website. The cost of the workshop to voluntary and community groups is £40:00.

 

 

The DWP Financial Inclusion Champions are seeking proposals from voluntary and community groups to support small-scale financial inclusion initiatives.  Funding is not available for creating new national projects, but for reinforcing what already exists locally and what has not already received direct support from the Financial Inclusion Fund. 

 

Funding may be used for a variety of purposes including marketing services to consumers; infrastructure development; product development; mergers between businesses; and the delivery of affordable credit or money advice services to consumers. Particular attention will be paid to those proposals which demonstrate the positive and long term impact the funding will make.

 

For more information and an application form please visit the Financial Inclusion Champions website. The closing date for proposals is 29 January 2010.

 

 

This networking event will give you an opportunity to find out more about the Osmaston Regeneration Scheme, how this may affect your organisation and meet other people involved in similar work.

 

For more information or to book a place please email Carol Avison or call 01623 848312.