Welcome to November’s edition of our newsletter containing sector reports, funding opportunities, resources to support your practice and much more.

Funding

Mayor’s London Resilience Fund
An exciting new fund that matches social enterprises and community groups with tech innovators who will help them find new ways of delivering their products and services. The first stage is to address the most important challenges facing London, and find the right partners for the fund. Applications are now open.

CAF Resilience Fund
This fund is for organisations supporting those working with vulnerable and disadvantaged groups such as those living in deprived areas, those supporting Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and people with disabilities. Closing date 10 November.

Community Business Renewal Fund
The Fund provides grants of between £10,000 and £20,000 to community businesses in England affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The fund is aimed at organisations delivering services in their local community to support those who have been most affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

Understanding how open data can support referrals into physical activity
London Sport released the invitation to tender [doc] for the first phase of research. They are looking for a partner to undertake consultation and research with referral organisations, their service users and local activity providers. To explore the context in which physical activity referrals currently take place and identify the need and opportunities to enhance this process, via the use of open data about local opportunities. Download the information document to find out more [doc]. Closing date 10 November.

Data Collective lead 
CAST are looking for a partner to shape and lead a Data Collective – a coordinated effort by a group of organisations to help charities gather, share and analyse data more effectively. This is a pilot project. The partner will need to understand best practice around collecting and analysing data. Click here and scroll to the bottom to find out more. 

Weston Culture Fund
The Garfield Weston Fund is offering grants of £100,000 to £2m to registered charities, CIO or exempt organisations registered with the Charity Commission and operating within the UK in the cultural sector for capital or project work.

News

Mayor of London’s Volunteering Awards
Nominations are open! Do you know an exceptional volunteer who you couldn’t have done without during the pandemic?  Submit your nomination by 9 November so their volunteering can be acknowledged and celebrated.

Pensioner Credit: Did you know that? 
People who receive Pension Creditcan also get free dental treatment and possibly help with Council Tax, housing costs and heating bills and over 75s get a free TV licence. Pension Credit is a benefit for people over state pension age who many of us might be seeing.

Engaging people over 55 in physical activity? 
Ukactive, Research Institute in partnership with EGYM, has just launched a new consultation that seeks to obtain a deeper understanding of what best practice looks like with those over the age of 55 in physical activity. In the first instance, they are calling for submissions of case studies from the physical activity sector to understand what the sector is doing to meet the needs of the older population.

Community COVID Survey: What have you been doing?
The Community COVID Research Team are a group of researchers and organisations funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council to understand how people have occupied themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. They would be very grateful if anyone who has been providing or engaging in arts, nature-based or other community-activities (on or offline) during the COVID-19 restrictions could fill out this online survey.

Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion 
The Ultra Low Emission Zone is expanding from 25 October 2021. Have you checked your vehicle? Click here to check it meets the ULEZ emissions standards and view the interactive map of the zone.

Events & Training

How do you get the best out of online surveys?
Thursday 19th November, 10.00-11.30
London Plus in partnership with Coalition for Efficiency are running a free online interactive session about designing surveys for beginners. Supported by the wider DataWise London scheme , Surveys 101: an introduction to designing better surveys will show you how to design effective surveys including tools and resources that are available.

Saving money for your residents
Groundwork London have a fantastic service called Green Doctors. They are expert energy advisers who help London residents save money, stay warm, and improve energy efficiency in the home.  They are offering free online Community Energy Talks aimed at residents in the following boroughs: Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hounslow, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Westminster. They can either host the session in Zoom or Microsoft Teams or join any of your current social prescribing activities. Email: Carolina.castilla@groundwork.org.uk

Free Suicide Awareness Training
In these difficult times it is important to feel equipped for any kind of conversation. Zero Suicide Alliance have produced the ZSA Suicide Awareness Training course. This online training focuses on breaking stigma and encouraging open conversations. The session takes approx. 20 minutes and there is no charge.

Intersectionality Good Practice for Refugee and Asylum Organisations 

Friday 6th November, 10.00-12.00
The HEAR Network, Refugee Women Connect and Refugee Action are planning an interactive workshop exploring Intersectionality and what it means for holistic service design for voluntary and community sector organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers. Register your interest  or ask a question by emailing lorae@refugee-action.org.uk, including your name, organisation and contact details.

Volunteering Matters annual conference
Thursday 19th November, 9.15 – 12.30
This free conference titled: ‘Volunteering is for Life – not just for Covid’ will explore how volunteering has changed and how communities have responded to COVID-19.

Reports

COVID funding and what the future might look like
Ian McLintock of Charity Excellence has been crunching the numbers to provide an analysis of COVID funding, some lessons we might learn from that, what that might mean for the future and guidance on how charities might best respond. It draws some interesting conclusions.

Rapid evidence review
Greater London Authority has produced a rapid evidence review: inequalities in relation to Covid-19 and their effects on London. The report highlights the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 in relation to disability, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic position, age and other factors, including homelessness and being in prison. It also finds that voluntary and community sector organisations play a crucial role in reaching those disproportionately impacted and marginalised groups, including disabled people. 35 recommendations and a big shout out to the importance of the VCSE sector during this crisis. Hurrah!

Crisis in the Capital
This report explores the impact of the coronavirus crisis on London’s labour market, and on low-paid Londoners. It sets out what could be done by central government and London local government to mitigate the impact of the crisis, and to build back better.

Resources

Struggling to get people outdoors? 
The Outdoor Guide (TOG) is a free online hub for all things walking. The website curates hundreds of walks around Britain, including walks suitable for those with mobility challenges.

Covid19 guidance for those leading a nomadic way of life
Public Health England have produced some useful guidance on how to support people if they develop Covid19 symptoms when living on a traveller site, in a vehicle or on a canal boat.

Positive Behaviour Support helpline
Health and Wellbeing Alliance partner Bild is offering a free Positive Behaviour Support helpline to support families and carers of people with learning disabilities, mental health issues or autistic people with the challenges of living with Covid-19 restrictions. Bild’s qualified and experienced PBS consultants will be providing phone support and people can book an initial half hour call through Eventbrite.

Assemble
Assemble is a new step-by-step process to help you choose third party tools and software. It’s made for charities and social enterprises who have zero or a small budget.

Responsible Data
This leaflet created by Oxfam will help anyone handling, sharing or accessing programme dafa to properly consider responsible data issues throughout the data life cycle.

Covid19 recovery website
The website offers information and links to additional support for people recovering from coronavirus as well as families and carers.

Free resource for staying safe online
A brilliant free resource from the National Cyber Security Centre for small charities [PDF]. The guide covers data usage and staying safe online.

Group Consultations 

With everything going online it can be hard to know how to run groups. Group Consultations have developed an easy system designed to help set up and run groups virtually.

Half term support in the UK
A very useful visualisation & toolcovering all the food offers for children on free school meals this half term created by ODI Leeds.