Welcome to the London Plus Newsletter.

It isn’t long until the end of the year, and what a year it has been. There have been many challenges, including the war in Ukraine, the summer heatwave and the rising cost of living.

It has been our aim throughout the year to continually support organisations across London and we look forward to continuing to work with you all next year.

Enjoy, and we hope you have a restful break.

If you have any suggestions for the next newsletter, feel free to contact Henry at info@londonplus.org.

London Plus News

London Communities Emergencies Partnership
Check out our blog on the new London Communities Emergencies Partnership, which will better prepare and equip the voluntary and community sector for emergencies in the capital. You should have also received a separate email about this.

We’re Hiring!
Following the announcement above, London Plus is also hiring a Partnership Manager for the London Communities Emergencies Partnership. The post holder will be responsible for developing and strengthening partnerships in preparation for emergencies. See here for more information and to apply.

Good Practice Document
London Plus recently released a new document full of examples of organisational good practice, aimed at alleviating the effects of the cost of living crisis. We also added information on London’s warm spaces to our cost of living support and resources document. Let us know if you have anything else to add by emailing info@londonplus.org.

New Chair Announcement
London Plus is delighted to announce that Sarah Mulley will be joining the team as the new Chair. Take a look at the official announcement on the London Plus website.

Feedback
As it’s our last newsletter of 2022, we would like to invite you to give us any feedback, suggestions, or recommendations for the coming year. We want this newsletter to be as helpful and informative as possible, so if there is anything you would like to see here, please let us know by contacting Henry at info@londonplus.org.

News

Climate Change and Poverty
COP27 took place last month, and the Centre for Thriving Places released an article on reducing climate change and poverty simultaneously, drawing on data from their Thriving Places Index.

Charity Governance Awards
The Charity Governance Awards is returning next year. There’s still a while to go until the awards ceremony, but the application process is now open. If your organisation has outstanding governance and trusteeship, apply by 8th February 2023.

Twitter’s Turbulence 
Twitter has become a little unstable over the past month or so. Get CharityComms’ perspective on the situation and what it might mean for charities.

Events and Training

Volunteer Management Conference
Tuesday 31st January
Next year’s Volunteer Management Conference features a wide range of speakers and will look at the current trajectory of the volunteering landscape.

Working with Funders During Cost of Living
Tuesday 17th January
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Association of Charitable Foundations are teaming up to host this webinar on how to effectively work with funders during the cost of living crisis.

Great Mental Health Day
Friday 27th January
Thrive LDN’s Great Mental Health Day is returning next year, which is a great opportunity for organisations to speak out about mental health and get people talking about the issue.

Free Digital Skills Training
Dagile London offers free digital skills training specifically for Londoners. They have a range of courses on topics like marketing and digital creativity.

Resources

Event Cycle
This excellent initiative collects unwanted waste from events, and redistributes them to charities, community groups, and the events industry.

In Kind Direct
This organisation partners with leading manufacturers, retailers, and brands to give essential products to charities, community groups, food banks, and more.

Cost of Living Support
My Community has created a page dedicated to helping charities and community groups during the cost of living crisis.

Fundraising Help
Non Profit Growth has a wide range of services aimed at helping charities grow, including training days and fundraising assessments.

Event Accessibility 
This article lists 14 ways to make online events more accessible and inclusive.

Sustainable Steps
Cross River Partnership has created this website to help businesses become more environmentally sustainable.

Festive Fundraising
The Access Group has created a guide on how to get the most out of your festive fundraising campaigns.

Charity Advent Calendar
Time to Spare has released their own free digital advent calendar, which offers a new tool every day aimed at saving time, helping clients, finding funding, and more. It’s already half way through, but you can still sign up.

Data First Aid
Pro Bono Economics has a free volunteer matching service, designed to match expert economists with charities to help them with short-term ad hoc data tasks.

Funding

Compass Wellbeing
There are two London-focused funds from Compass Wellbeing on this page; the inequalities fund and the hospital admission avoidance fund.
Deadline: Sunday 8th January

Behavioural Research
UK Research and Innovation is offering to fund a leadership team to form a behavioural research hub aimed at addressing major societal challenges.
Deadline: Tuesday 24th January

Cost of Living Grant 
Asda Foundation have opened applications to their Cost of Living Grant.
Deadline: February

City Bridge Trust Funding
City Bridge Trust awards at least £28m per year to charitable causes across London. Grants are available across a wide range of programmes, and most are continuously open, with no deadline for applications.

Children in Need: Core
Children in need has a number of funding streams. This one focuses on organisational core costs.
Deadline: Ongoing

Climate, Health and Community Fund
This fund is for Black and Brown-led community organisations operating in the climate, environment and health sphere. They are distributing a total of £440,000, you can submit an expression of interest now.
Deadline: Tuesday 10th January

Synergi Project
This is a funding project for groups led by Black people and people of colour who are taking action on mental health and racial injustice.
Deadline: Sunday 29th January

Big Energy Saving Loans
Big Issue Invest is offering loans to help charities and social enterprises move toward energy efficiency. Loans can be used for things such as insulation, boiler replacements, and more.
Deadline: Ongoing

Young People in the Community
From 2023, National Citizen Service Trust will be awarding grants to local, grassroots initiatives aimed at helping young people. You can currently register your interest.

Reports

Resilience Framework
The Government has released their Resilience Framework, which outlines the UK’s response to national risks, challenges, and crises.

Connecting Locally
The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action have written a report that explores the current state of local voluntary, community and social enterprise infrastructure.

UK Civil Society Almanac
This annual publication from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations is a well-known publication on the state of the voluntary sector. Their 2022 report is out, displaying the most up to date data.

Give your Culture a Workout
This report from Pilotlight shows the positive impacts that can come from employers supporting skills-based volunteering.

Surveys

Food Aid Survey
London Communities Emergencies Partnership (LCEP) are conducting this survey for organisations who are offering food aid to Londoners during this winter 22/23 period. The aim is to gauge local needs and challenges in terms of demand and need for volunteers.

Cyber Security
The government is currently conducting their cyber security breaches survey with UK businesses, educational institutions and charities. The aim is to find out more about issues that organisations face, and how they approach cyber security. Ends February 2023.