It's Trustees Week 2019! We've really enjoyed seeing and reading about all the ways that our members and the thousands of charities they support throughout England, are celebrating and thanking their trustees. We also wanted to say a big thank you to our own excellent board of trustees and remind them how much we appreciate all of the time and support they provide to NAVCA. Take a look at our
Twitter feed to find out more about our Trustees and why they make such a difference to our organisation. In this issue of LINX, we've included some of the stories, events and resources that we've come across this week but there's lots more to see, take a look at
#TrusteesWeek on Twitter and check out the
Trustees Week website. Enjoy!
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News, views & opportunities from Trustees Week 2019
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Getting on Board and ACEVO are running a low-cost workshop for charity employees, about becoming a trustee. They want to support more charity sector workers to become trustees of other charities, for their own professional development and their understanding of the sector, as well as for the good of both the charity which employs them and the one whose board of trustees they would be joining. Win-win-win! The workshop is on Monday 11 November in London and costs between £30-£40. More details and booking
can be found here.
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A consultation on changes to the Charity Governance Code
The steering group behind the Charity Governance Code are continually looking to improve the code, taking into account the evolving understanding of what is good governance, and the changing expectations of the sector’s various stakeholders. As such, they have launched a consultation on how the code can be improved in anticipation of a ‘light refresh’ in 2020, followed by more far-reaching changes taking place in 2023. You can
find out more and take part in the consultation here.
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Why trustees need to go agile
This blog, written by digital specialist Zoe Amar, explores why and how charity boards can adapt their ways of working to be more agile. This includes why putting users at the heart of what you do, working collaboratively and being able to respond to change quickly are all essential to good governance. You can
read the full blog post here.
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The Charity Governance Awards – enter now!
The
Charity Governance Awards is an exciting not-for-profit initiative created to celebrate outstanding governance and trusteeship in charities across the UK, allowing large and small not-for-profit organisations to inspire and learn from one another.
We would love to see some NAVCA members put themselves forward; this
is for charities like you and you have some great stories to tell, so go for it! The winner in each category will receive an unrestricted grant of £5,000 and all shortlisted entries will be invited to a complimentary and exclusive Awards Ceremony and Reception in May 2020. There is nothing to lose, so
click here for more information and to submit your entry.
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Celebrations from the sector
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Here’s a look at how some of our members and charities within their networks are celebrating Trustees Week:
Reading Voluntary Action have been sharing their trustees’ stories throughout the week, including this brilliant film featuring Lina, who is a trustee at The Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading. Lina talks about why she chose to take on the role, how to choose a charity and the challenges involved in becoming a trustee.
CVS Tendring is hosting a special dinner during the evening of
Friday 8 November for Chairs of trustee boards and senior officers to attend, in order to celebrate the work of Tendring trustees. Councillor John Jowers will be there to meet the guests and feedback from last year’s dinner included: “
We always enjoy meeting and socialising informally with other trustees and like-minded people at the annual dinner”.
Community Action Bradford & District is having a Trustee Mingle on Thursday 7 November, giving VCS organisations the chance to meet prospective trustees in a relaxed atmosphere with refreshments, and hopefully find a good match!
Middle Park Community Centre celebrated the outstanding efforts of one of its trustees, Barbara, who has been a volunteer for over 35 years at the Centre and has recently been awarded a Long Service Award from the Mayor of London.
Cycling Projects
is
celebrating Trustees Week with its first Board of Trustees photo, some delicious cake and a 'Meet our trustee blog' so that staff, volunteers, clients, funders and supporters can understand what their trustees do and why they got involved in the charity.
Take a look at the
'Meet the Trustee Blog'
from 2018 featuring Cycling Projects Trustee Sue.
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We are looking for a new Head of Business Development
Our departing Head of Business Development, Tom Watson, has built a successful income generation model for NAVCA that directly benefits our members and is built around a clear product offer and a foundation of excellent relationships with clients and collaborators.
Now that Tom has decided to move on, we are looking for a new Head of Business Development to start working with us in the new year, to take the baton and continue to drive and develop our income generation work.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to work with a national body that is small in size but that punches well above its weight. You’ll be part of a dynamic, agile, fully committed collaborative team, all focused on bringing the best value to our members and making the world a better place for the multitude of small local voluntary sector organisations that are the life blood of local communities.
The role will be home based, with regular travel to Sheffield and London, as well as across England. You should be located within 2 hours travel time of Sheffield. Experience, attitude and potential mean more to us than formal qualifications – we are signatories to Children England’s ‘Open to All’ pledge, and do not specify the need for a degree for any of our current roles. We are also committed to ensuring genuinely equal opportunities by asking for ‘blind’ applications.
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Empowering charities to speak up about funder practice
Sometimes, charities receive a poor service when applying for and receiving grants. No matter how unclear a grant application process, how inaccessible the foundation staff are, how prolonged the decision making, or how onerous or disproportionate the reporting requirements, charities haven't had a platform to share their experiences.
Grant Advisor UK seeks to change that. Currently running as a pilot, Grant Advisor UK is a free website that enables charities and fundraisers to post totally anonymous reviews of funders. Reviews are a public, transparent and user-led way of holding funders to account. The site is being hosted by CAST, a tech for good charity.
Anyone who has sought or secured funds from any of the funders listed on the site can post a review, simply by going to
the website
. There is plenty of opportunity to flag up good practice, as well as to say where things could be improved.
To post a review, or to read the published reviews, visit
grantadvisor.org.uk
It is free, totally anonymous, and a service to fellow charities and fundraisers.
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My Community BETA website launches
The new My Community BETA website is now live and available for you to take a look around and let MyCommunity.org.uk know what you think.
The website is designed to provide all the tips, tools and ideas for people to make their communities better, giving trusted advice and resources from the community sector. My Community was created by 12 community organisations, including NAVCA. We’ve combined our knowledge and skills so individuals and communities can access support and advice in one place, on a simple to use, searchable website.
Take a look.
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Apply for an Analytical Volunteer
The Government’s Analytical Volunteer Programme arranges short placements for professional analysts from across government to provide free analytical support to voluntary sector organisations. The scheme has successfully been running over the past few years and applications for this year’s scheme are now open. So, if you would like some professional analytical support in your organisation, totally free of charge, why not apply? The deadline for completing applications is 13 November and you can
find out more details here
.
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Do you know how to protect your organisation against a cyber-attack? Have you thought about the risks to your business if you were hacked, phished or your online presence crashed? Join Nottingham CVS for a free session which will explore the type of cyber attacks that a small charity could fall victim to, what steps you can take to enhance your cyber security and what you should do if you suffer a cyber attack.
20 spaces are available for VCSE organisations with an income below £50,000 and tickets are limited to two people per organisation.
Find out more.
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Join Good Things Foundation for a free event on Wednesday 20 November at Trinity Community Arts Centre in Bristol to find out more information about local membership and community services that can help you to strengthen your own organisation and to build resilience. You can drop in and chat to them, and any of the following partners any time between 11am and 2pm. Please book your place so that they know you are coming!
Some of the exhibitors attending include: Good Things Foundation, Online Centres Network, Locality, VOSCUR, Citizens Advice Bristol, Groundwork, St John's Ambulance, WECIL and North Somerset Training. If you are another organisation also interested in having a free space to talk to local people at this event, please contact Good Things Foundation at
hello@goodthingsfoundation.org
.
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Help shape the future of grant reporting! A group of funders and funded organisations have developed a
set of principles
to make grant reporting a shared, more meaningful and mutually beneficial experience. Now, they need your help to strengthen the case for other funders to change their reporting requirements. The Institute for Voluntary Action Research will be running this workshop, for small and medium sized voluntary organisations with multiple funders. It will take place on 26 November, 13:45-16:30 at The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London, SE11 5RR (travel expenses will be covered). The issues from the workshop will be shared with a group of nine funders who have been testing the principles and with funder networks across the UK, to encourage wider adoption.
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Visit our
jobs page
for more details on current vacancies in the voluntary and community sector, or click on the links below:
Also here's a
quick guide
to selling yourself when applying for a job in the voluntary sector.
Advertise jobs and contracts here, on our website and through our Twitter page!
Just send details including a weblink to
webedit@navca.org.uk
. This service is free to members.
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Funding, contracts & awards
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The Holiday Grants programme provides grants for recreational trips and holidays for groups of children aged 13 and under in the UK who are disabled or disadvantaged. Deadline 16 November.
The Worshipful Company of Weavers Benevolent Fund's principal aim is to support people in trouble, particularly young offenders and ex-offenders, and other disadvantaged young people. Preference is given to pump priming new projects, especially those which are innovatory and can serve as a model elsewhere. Deadline 30 November.
The Trust aims to help to provide facilities for the disabled to take part in country sports and recreation, and training in agriculture and horticulture.
The Barchester Healthcare Foundation is a registered charity that helps older people and other adults with a disability across England, Scotland & Wales. They hope that their grants will help people lead more fulfilled lives and reach their full potential.
The David and Elaine Potter Foundation is a charitable family foundation established in 1999 to encourage a stronger, fairer civil society.
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An anonymous former commissioner writes for Lloyds Bank Foundation England and Wales in this guest post, which reveals what commissioning looks like from the inside.
Blurt it out shares an overview of social prescribing from the perspective of somebody living with depression, explaining what it is and how it might help.
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