London Plus September Newsletter 2023
Hello, welcome to our September newsletter.
The nights might be drawing in, but with the end of summer break and the kids going back to school, September can feel like a fresh start and a great time for renewed enthusiasm to drive projects forward and consider preparedness for the winter months.
It’s voter registration week this week, which is a great time to ensure your networks are aware of the recent changes to the voting process, particularly the introduction of Voter ID. Please spread the word about this, and look out for #NoVoteNoVoice on social media.
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.
Ukraine Crisis Support Document
Another ongoing document is our Ukraine crisis support document, which contains information on organisations and groups that can help Ukrainian refugees in London. The contents are separated by theme and by borough.
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 their account for updates.
News
London Voter Registration Week 2023 – 18th-24th September
Join the Greater London Authority (GLA) this London Voter Registration Week and beyond to ensure that all Londoners can exercise their democratic rights!
The GLA is running the fifth annual London Voter Registration Week 2023 with Shout Out UK, all London boroughs and a pan–London coalition to increase voter registration rates, raise awareness of accepted forms of photo Voter IDs and ensure all eligible Londoners, especially under-registered and under-represented communities, have a voice and vote.
London already has some of lowest voter registration rates and many Londoners are not aware of the voting system changes brought in by the Elections Act, so get in touch with democracy@london.gov.uk to receive accessible social media and print resources that you can share in your networks and venues or to organise activities, this week and beyond.
You can find more details and further info on the GLA Democracy Hub at https://registertovote.london/
#NoVoteNoVoice
Events & Training
CharityComms
Wednesday 8th – Thursday 9th November
The CharityComms Digital Conference is a multi-day event with talks on a range of topics, including artificial intelligence, social media, and many more things relating to charity communications. Note that this is a paid event.
Resilience and Faith
Multiple Dates
The Greater London Authority is holding a resilience training course specifically for faith communities. It will give up-to-date knowledge on keeping these communities safe, secure, and prepared for emergencies.
Voter ID Workshop
Multiple Dates
This voter ID workshop from Voice4Change is for community leaders and organisations. It’s designed to increase political literacy and raise awareness for voting laws.
Data & Digital Training
Multiple Dates
Check out this programme of training, developed by Superhighways. It contains a comprehensive list of training opportunities throughout autumn and winter 2023.
Winter Hubs & Older People
Multiple Dates
The Good Practice Mentor Team are running a workshop on finding older people that may benefit from visiting warm spaces. They also have a range of other workshops on this page.
Resources
Volunteering in Local Communities
This toolkit from Belong helps to develop awareness of the benefits that volunteering can have to local communities. It contains topics including social cohesion, the concept of ‘place’, and developing an action plan.
Small Charities Data
This is a research hub specifically about small charities in the UK. It contains a range of data and interesting insights on small charities.
Social Media for Charities
The Charity Commission has updated its guidance on the use of social media for charities.
Cost of Living
This page from the Directory of Social Change has a range of excellent resources relating to the cost of living crisis.
Charity Misconceptions
This blog discusses common misconceptions surrounding charities, and possible responses.
Flash Flooding
This useful guide from the Greater London Authority aims to spread awareness about flash flooding and what to do if it occurs.
Community Resilience
The Communities Prepared resilience hub helps communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
Funding
LGBTQ+ Funding
The Unity Fund is for LGBTQ+ grassroots organisations and their goal of strengthening the LGBTQ+ community.
Deadline: Sunday 24th September, 5pm
Tree Planting
London boroughs can apply for the Coronation Living Heritage Fund, which seeks to support tree planting initiatives.
Deadline: Tuesday 26th September, 11:59pm
Suicide Prevention
The government has released this £10million fund to support suicide prevention in England. This fund is specifically for non-profit organisations.
Deadline: Saturday 1st October, 11:59pm
Happiness Fund
The Happiness Fund from Laughology funds community projects throughout the UK that improve mental health.
Friday 6th October
Energy for Tomorrow
Centrica are looking to fund projects in London that seek to develop sustainable energy solutions.
Deadline: Friday 13th October
Funding for Racial Justice
Trust for London is accepting applications for their Racial Justice Funding, which seeks to focus on increasing economic empowerment amongst people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Deadline: Monday 16th October (expression of interest)
Cost of Living Fund
This funding from the National Lottery Community Fund is for organisations that support people who are impacted by the cost of living crisis.
Deadline: Monday 16th October, 12pm
Duke of Edinburgh Funding
The Access Without Limits funding is available for community organisations that are looking to run Duke of Edinburgh Award activities.
Deadline: December 2024
Community & Environment
This Community and Environment funding is specifically for those that are disrupted by HS2 construction, (which may include some London communities).
Deadline: Monday 31st March, 2025
Reports
London’s Housing Market
London’s housing market is worsening, with 25% of Londoners living in poverty after housing costs. This report looks into the current state of housing in London.
The Women’s Sector
Women’s organisations have been hit hard by the cost of living crisis for a range of reasons. Read this report from the Women’s Resource Centre to find out more.
Child Poverty
Child poverty is on the rise. See the latest findings in this annual report.
Surveys
State of the Sector
The voluntary and community social enterprise sector barometer survey is back. From Pro Bono Economics and Nottingham Trent University, this survey seeks to understand the current state of the voluntary sector in the UK. The results of these surveys are always insightful, so please fill it out if you can.
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