The London Plus July 2021 newsletter highlights news & resources for London’s voluntary sector, including the Vision for Volunteering and the London Voices Survey.
Vision for Volunteering
NAVCA, NCVO, Volunteering Matters and AVM have announced that they will work with a wide range of stakeholders over the next 6 months to develop a national Vision for Volunteering.
Adult Education Roadmap Consultation
The GLA is developing a Roadmap for Adult Education in London and is consulting on an initial draft. This is a Mayoral priority to set out an accessible, impactful and locally relevant system to better serve London. This includes a formal written consultation and a series of Community Conversations targeting those under-represented in learning. They would like VCSE organisations to host. The consultation closes on Aug 8th.
Peer Advisor Programme
St Giles Trust’s Peer Advisor Programme supports volunteers with ‘lived experience’ of disadvantage to become Peer Advisors. They will gain a Level 3 Certificate in Advice and Guidance, whilst volunteering in Advice-giving settings. The next cohort starts in September, with recruitment during the summer. Email Libby if you’re an advice-giving voluntary service supporting volunteers or for further details.
HEAR: Looking for trustees!
HEAR Equality and Human Rights Network is looking for trustees [PDF] to join their Board to help lead their organisation during this pivotal and exciting time. They are also looking for a Chair and Treasurer [PDF] to join the Board of Trustees to help lead the organisation during a pivotal and exciting time.
Funding
The Fore
The Fore make unrestricted grants which have the potential to have a transformational impact on an organisation. Transformational impact includes helping an organisations become more sustainable, more efficient, to grow significantly or enabling an organisation to take a major step forward of some kind. Grants up to £30,000 are available.
Deadline: 26th July 2021.
London Fund for Racialised Communities
The BME Health Forum’s first funding round aims to help London communities experiencing racial inequality meet their immediate needs related to Covid-19. This round is for charities & social enterprises with an average annual income of over £100,000 but under £600,000. Grants of up to £20,000 are available. Join their mailing list to hear about the second round for organisations with incomes under £100,000.
Deadline: 26th July 2021, 12pm.
Little Lives UK: Children’s Community Support Programme
Little Lives UK’s Children’s Community Support Programme offers grants of up to £1,500 to aid London based organisations that work with children, who are in need of support during these challenging times.
Deadline: 30th July 2021.
The Volant Trust: Covid-19 Response Fund
The Volant Trust accepts applications from charities in the UK and internationally that demonstrate a strong focus on alleviating social deprivation and helping vulnerable groups who have been particularly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Applications for medical equipment and the production or distribution of PPE will also be considered.
Deadline: 31st July 2021.
Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust – Round 3
The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust awards grants to registered charities in the United Kingdom. This funding round trustees welcome applications for grants up to £1,000 for projects that support refugees and asylum seekers. Charities must also have a minimum operating income and operating expenditure of £100,000 and a maximum of £1,000,000.
Deadline: 31 July 2021.
Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation Grant (UK)
Grants of between £250 – £1,000 are available to cover the costs of supporting those in need, including those with disabilities, affected by homelessness, or serious health issues. Previously, grants went to organisations supporting young people’s employability and purchasing a portable multi-sensory environment. Donations fund items of “capital expenditure”, which directly help those in need, rather than go towards charity running costs.
Deadline: 2nd August 2021.
Local Connections Fund – Round 2
This is the second round of the Local Connections Fund, designed to help small charities & community groups working to reduce loneliness through community connections. This second round of funding will fund hundreds of ‘microgrants’ between £300 and £2,500, so small, local organisations (with an annual income of £50,000 or less) can bring people and communities together.
Deadline: 6th August 2021.
100×100 Programme: local support for UK communities
UK charities, with an annual income of at least £1m, are invited to apply to receive a donation of £100,000 from Barclays’ 100×100 Programme, to meet the needs of communities. This includes support for: people experiencing physical and mental health issues; people facing hardship; ethnically diverse communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic; and to enhance digital accessibility.
Deadline: 6th August 2021.
Bringing Communities Back Together Fund
Grants of between £250 and £1,000 are available to get groups activities back on track, e.g. clubs & recreational activities. Applicants can hold a get-together event such as a welcome back party or community celebration. Applicants can include local community groups, charities & sports groups. Applications forms are available from Asda stores.
Deadline: 16th August 2021.
National Lottery Awards for All England
Funding of up to £10,000 is available for organisations to continue delivering services for disadvantaged and vulnerable communities affected by COVID-19. The funding will support projects that: involve people and communities from the start, build on people’s strengths and are connected in their community. Rolling deadline.
Research Requests
Minderful wellbeing app – request for participation
Minderful is a new wellbeing and self-care app launching this autumn. They are creating a series on volunteering and its wellbeing benefits. They are looking to contact people who might like to be content collaborators to create a short piece of audio content about the benefits of volunteering and its benefits for mental health. Please contact Ed if you’d like to be involved.
London Voices Survey
Help shape your city! Trust for London has come together to support comprehensive research into the mechanisms that can facilitate equal, inclusive, representative civic and democratic participation as part of the London Voices project. Trust for London’s London Voices survey also has an opportunity for three participants to win a £100 cash prize.
Events and Training
GEN Z Young Londoners
21st July, 6:30pm
Partnership4YoungLondon are hosting events for young people and those working with young people to learn more. The first event seeks to celebrate the success of ‘gen z’ Londoners in the past few years, with themes of social media activism, young people’s safety and community building.
Postcards from Lockdown London
22nd July, 10:30am
Postcards from Lockdown London by Research Institute for Disabled Consumers provides an opportunity to hear from disabled people living in London and the impact of changes made to the cities physical and social infrastructure on their daily lives. This is a live webinar that will feature the opportunity to ask questions throughout.
Media Trust’s Digital Summer School 2021
2nd – 20th August, 9am – 5:30pm
Media Trust’s Digital Summer School is a free, three-week online programme where you’ll learn how to inspire, engage & mobilise your audience. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning throughout the programme, there is a 90-minute workshop, each a different theme and delivered by a digital expert.
Resources and Support
Catalyst: 80 digital inclusion assets and resources
Catalyst has a list of resources in collaboration with the regional Digital Inclusion Subject Leads from several Councils for Voluntary Service, working with NAVCA as part of the Voluntary & Community Sector Emergencies Partnership. These resources aim to help join up the response to digital exclusion across the sector.
Register to access essential items & savings
In-Kind Direct is a charity helping small UK charities, community groups & food banks to access essential items like toiletries, household cleaning, laundry items, and clothing. Small organisations can benefit from savings on office supplies, e.g. stationery, photocopiers. Registration has a small charge which contributes to the service cost and includes UK delivery.
Navigating Space Under Lockdown (NSUL)
This research study & film by The Ubele Initiative, University College London and FOAM20 documents the perspectives and experiences of over 200 Black & racially minoritised young adults (aged 18-35) across England. Responding to a research gap, the project explored how experiences of home, work, mobility, community and well-being have been affected by the pandemic and periods of lockdown.
Free PPE for voluntary sector organisations
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is offering free PPE (personal protective equipment) for use by voluntary sector organisations. You can express your interest by completing this short form with a few details and a representative will contact you to arrange delivery. Please note that the details you provide will only be passed to DHSC, with PPE and delivery free of charge.
Reports and Blogs
A Quantitative Analysis of Gentrification in London in the 2010s
This report [PDF] by the Runnymede Trust explores how in London, gentrification is indicated by a rapid change in demographics. Rather than measuring the affordability of housing, the rate of gentrification is measured by a different matrix. It highlights that the rate of acceleration is perhaps most destabilising and for many, hard to navigate.
This report [PDF] by the Runnymede Trust explores how in London, gentrification is indicated by a rapid change in demographics. Rather than measuring the affordability of housing, the rate of gentrification is measured by a different matrix. It highlights that the rate of acceleration is perhaps most destabilising and for many, hard to navigate.
Unequal pandemic, fairer recovery
The Health Foundation’s Report covers Covid-19 health outcomes, implications for wider health & its determinants, and the experiences of groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic, including minority groups. It provides an initial assessment of the effects of the pandemic using evidence available from May 2021.
The Health Foundation’s Report covers Covid-19 health outcomes, implications for wider health & its determinants, and the experiences of groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic, including minority groups. It provides an initial assessment of the effects of the pandemic using evidence available from May 2021.
The Cost of a Child in London
This report [PDF] by Trust for London & Child Poverty Action Group draws on evidence from studies of minimum household costs in London to explore the overall cost of children in London, compared to the rest of the UK. This analysis builds on new research on a ‘Minimum Income Standard for London’, compared to the minimum income standard (MIS) for the UK as a whole.
This report [PDF] by Trust for London & Child Poverty Action Group draws on evidence from studies of minimum household costs in London to explore the overall cost of children in London, compared to the rest of the UK. This analysis builds on new research on a ‘Minimum Income Standard for London’, compared to the minimum income standard (MIS) for the UK as a whole.