London Plus November Newsletter 2023
Hello, welcome to our November newsletter.
There’s a lot of London Plus news to catch you up on this month!
We attended the brilliant Securing a Fairer Future event earlier this month, hosted by the Greater London Authority. It was great to be there and we were fortunate enough to co-host one of the workshops. The workshop was about the future of volunteering – you can find out more about this below, along with a number of other London Plus updates.
We also have our usual range of events, funding opportunities, and more from across the voluntary and community sector in London. Enjoy!
Hopefully you find this newsletter useful. As always, if you have any suggestions for the next one, feel free to contact Henry at info@londonplus.org.
London Plus News
Cost of Living Documents
Check out our cost of living resource page for all our cost of living documents, all of which serve different purposes:
1. Resource document – contains information on how people can get support.
2. Good practice document – has examples of good organisational practice and innovation aimed at mitigating the impacts of the crisis.
3. Data document – an ever-growing list of the available data relating to the crisis.
4. Evidence and insights toolkit – aims to help small organisations and community groups to build an evidence base for funding applications, with some key external data sources and tips around gathering data from the communities they work with.
London Plus Researcher
We are looking for a Researcher and Data Analyst to join the London Plus team. Applications close Saturday 25th November.
London Plus Treasurer
We are recruiting a new London Plus Treasurer! Applications close Friday 8th December.
Winter Preparedness
Our new winter preparedness blog has a range of resources to get organisations ready for the colder months, including a brand new report.
The Future of Volunteering
We hosted a workshop at the Securing a Fairer Future event recently which discussed the future of volunteering. The event was a big success – check out our blog about it.
London’s Lifelines & Christmas Food Aid
Christmas is crucial for food aid organisations – they need people to help provide for hungry Londoners and prevent surplus food going to waste. In the coming months, London’s Lifelines will be promoting food aid volunteering in London to help get enough volunteers for the busy festive period, and are looking for content to share. See this thread for more details, and follow them on X for updates.
Felix Project Volunteering
The Felix Project are looking for community food distribution volunteers for the busy winter period. See more about this on the London’s Lifelines website.
News
Self Care
Last week was Self Care Week! Take this as a reminder to always take care of yourself, both in work and in your personal life. The theme this year is ‘Mind & Body’ – take a look at the Self Care Forum website for more information.
Community Tension
Tension is high among some UK communities. This article from Third Sector looks at some of the ways that charities can ease community tensions.
London Living Wage
The London Living Wage has risen to £13.15, something that will help many throughout the capital.
Fare Deal
Care leavers aged 18-25 are will receive half-price bus and tram travel in London in ‘fare deal for care leavers’.
Gen Z Volunteering
A new survey has found that the cost of living crisis made 52% of young people (born after 1997) want to volunteer.
Inspiring Communicators
The CharityComms Inspiring Communicator Awards nominations are now open (closing 14/12/23). These awards celebrate the best communicators in the voluntary and community sector – nominate today!
Events & Training
Time Well Spent
Tuesday 28th November, 10:15am
Join this event to hear insights from new research on barriers to volunteering among the global majority, which describes people from black, Asian, mixed, and other groups generally referred to as ‘ethnic minorities.
Video Content
Thursday 30th November, 12pm
This event will teach charities how to create effective video content using just your phone.
Boundaries in the Workplace
Tuesday 5th December, 9:30am
Setting boundaries in the workplace can be difficult. This workshop from Peer Partnership will help voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to implement boundaries.
Collaboration Skills
Friday 15th December. 1pm
Want to learn how to collaborate better with others and develop better working relationships? This event will go through the skills needed to succeed!
Resources
Charity Blogs
This piece on charity blogs studies 50 different blogs and finds common mistakes and tips for better charity blogs.
Charity Websites
Read about five common problems charities have with their websites, and ensure you don’t make the same mistakes!
AI & Ethics
As Artificial Intelligence continues its upwards trajectory, it’s important to consider the ethics of the situation. Check out this piece on AI and the ethnical considerations for charities.
Funding
Rewild London
The Rewild London Fund will support organisations to deliver the London Environment Strategy habitat targets.
Deadline: Monday 27th November, 12pm
Children & Young Adults
Grants from The Magdalen Hospital Trust are available for organisations that work with children and young adults, especially those at risk of sexual and other forms of exploitation.
Deadline: Thursday 30th November [rolling]
W.G. Edwards
The W.G Edwards Charitable Foundation gives grants to organisations that seek to improve the wellbeing of older people in the UK.
Deadline: Sunday 10th December [rolling]
Nature Hubs
The Hubbub Nature Hubs Scheme seeks to create more green spaces in the interest of improving physical and mental health.
Thursday 11th January, 2024
Lloyds Bank Foundation
The Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Specialist Programme offers grants to charities that help people overcome complex issues, such as homelessness, domestic abuse and addiction.
Deadline: Thursday 25th January, 2024
Sport England
The Small Grants Programme from Sport England seeks to develop opportunities to get more people physically active.
Deadline: Sunday 31st March, 2024
Awards for All
The National Lottery Awards for All programme has changed, and you can now apply for up to £20,000 for projects of up to two years in length.
Deadline: rolling
Thrive Together
The Thrive Together Fund from Groundwork provides unrestricted funding of between £25,000-£150,000 to unlock the growth of charities and social enterprises in England. Each package consists of 75% loan and 25% grant.
Deadline: none given
Reports
Destitution in the UK
This report shows that around 3.8 million people experienced destitution in the UK in 2022.
Diversity in Volunteering
Take a look at the latest statistics on diversity in volunteering in the UK.
Adult Carer Report
The Carers Trust has released a new report on adult carers, which discusses results from a survey of 3,430 unpaid carers from across the UK. 41% of respondents felt that they don’t get enough support in their role.
Surveys
Young People & Housing
Young people are rarely taken into account in housing policy. This survey gives the chance for young people to have their say on the issue.
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