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London Plus September Newsletter

London plus amplifies the voice and influence of London's civil society

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London Plus updates

Employment and skills

This month we have welcomed another new member of the London Plus team, our Employment and Skills Policy Lead Rayhan Haque. Rayhan will lead our strategic influencing on employment and skills policy. He has previously worked for a leading social business and a major frontline charity, that supports disadvantaged Londoners to train, learn and find work. If you would like to get in touch with him please email rayhan@londonplus.org.

Margaret our CEO has been invited to represent the sector on the Mayor of London’s Skills for Londoner’s board and will be attending her first meeting this month.

Website and brand

We would like to thank you all for your patience during our transition from Greater London Volunteering to London Plus. This month we have been continuing to work on building our brand and website. We aim to have something to share with you in November and will update you on this nearer the time.

Networks

The team have been out and about visiting Volunteer Centres, CVS’s and other infrastructure organisations across London which has been a great opportunity to meet so many members of our network. September was also the first month that London Plus facilitated the CVS Directors network meeting, thank you to all of those who came, we are looking forward to working further with you in the future.

Croydon data hack

In October, Natasha our Data and Intelligence Coordinator will be running a workshop at the Croydon Data Hack organised by Croydon Voluntary Action and Superhighways. The day will involve learning about all things data and how your charity or community group could be using this information better to sustain and thrive. Other speakers include 360 giving, the Croydon Observatory, Superhighways and the Greater London Authority (GLA). This opportunity is for organisations based in Croydon.

Events and Training

Datakind drop-in sessions

First Wednesday of every month, 17.00-20.00, Pivotal, 2nd floor, The Bower, 211 Old St, EC1V 9NR

DataKind open their doors to civil society organisations once a month to assist you with data analysis or data related projects. You do not need to be knowledgeable about data to attend these sessions. Find out more about DataKind or go straight to their booking form to book a session.

Chatbots: hot or not?

Wednesday 3rd October, 18.30-21.15, Entrepreneur First, The Biscuit Factory, 100 Clements Road,  SE16 4DG

The October meetup hosted by Datakind is focused on the potential of using chatbots to create positive change. Datakind will be joined by a panel who have a wealth of experience in using chatbots in the civil society sector. Click here to find out more.

Activating communities for health: a conversation

Thursday 4th October, 17.30-20.00, Nesta, 58 Victoria Embankment, EC4Y 0DS

Nesta will be hosting the event to discuss how community-centred approaches can improve health and well-being in communities and the challenges that come with this kind of approach, especially in the most disadvantaged communities. Find out more and book your free spot.

Negotiating and managing your lease

Wednesday 17th October, 10.00-15.30, The Canbury Pavillion Community Centre, KT2 5AU

Book your free place at this property workshop for non-profit organisations. It is a great opportunity to learn about different type of leases, common problem areas and much more.

Funding

Community business fund

Are you or do you know of a community business, who would benefit from funding to enable them to become more sustainable? The community business fund offers grants between £50,000 – £300,000. Is your organisation eligible to receive the community business fund grant? Closing date 9th October 2018.

City bridge trust

You don’t always have to be an environmental organisation to receive an environmentally friendly grant. City bridge trust are offering free eco-audits to civil society organisations.

London community energy fund

Grants of up to £15,000 are being offered to support the development stage of community energy projects so your projects can become ‘investor ready’. This can include clean generation and energy demand reduction.Get in touch with the sustainability exchange for a assistance with your application bid.

Jane Slowley memorial membership programme

This membership programme is open for women who are aspiring to become a CEO or who have just started their role of CEO in the last two years for a charity or social enterprise. Participants on the programme will receive full ACEVO member benefits such as advice and support and access to events as well as a mentor.

Access enterprise development programme

Does your organisation run a youth or homelessness service? There are two funds available for organisations in those sectors who are looking to create new enterprise and social investment models.

Resources

My Community

Do you ever get stuck knowing where to go to find out about funding opportunities?  My Community have listed over 30 different funding sources and funding search engines available for voluntary and community organisations. They have a wide range of funding opportunities from small grants at the Greggs Foundation to large sums with the Reaching Communities grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

One of the search engines which they highlighted is Funding Central:

If your organisation’s annual income is less than £100,000 you can register to funding central for free. The website lists thousands of funding opportunities available in England. You can still register if your income is greater than £100,000 for a £100+VAT registration fee.   

Qlik

Free online learning modules covering a variety of basic data and analytics topics such as understanding data, interpreting bar charts and loading data from a database. ‘Qlik’ here to access the courses.

Recruitment

Laureus – Sport For Good are looking for three community coordinators based in Hounslow, Barking and Haringey. Take a look at the job descriptions below.

Hounslow (PDF)

Barking (PDF)

Haringey (PDF)

Did you see our first newsletter as London Plus?