Real Help Now

Information on the help that is available to the voluntary and community sector during this period of recession is detailed below:

Credit Crunch Stress Line

The NHS has recently launched a Credit Crunch stress line, for individuals who may be feeling stressed due to job insecurity, redundancy, debt or financial problems. The telephone number is 0300 123 2000.

Further information on the stress line can be found at http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Onabudget/Pages/Creditcrunchstresshelp.aspx

Funding

Modernisation Fund Grants Programme

Hundred’s of frontline organisations who are delivering services to those most affected by the recession have now been invited to apply for grants of up to £10,000 under Phase Two of Capacitybuilders' Modernisation Fund Grants Programme.

This second phase of the programme - Grow Stronger Together opened for online application from Monday 14 September. The grants will be available to bursary holders who, having gone through Phase One of the programme, are ready to take further steps toward collaboration or merger. 

To find out more about this, please visit the website: www.modernisationfund.org.uk

Hardship Fund opens for applications

The Hardship Fund is now open for applications – just three months after it was first announced by the Chancellor in his Budget in April 2009.

Building on the £42.5 million of measures in the Government’s Real Help for Communities Action Plan, the Hardship Fund offers grants between £50,000 and £250,000 to provide support to third sector organisations in England delivering front line services to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in society.

The Hardship Fund is available for third sector organisations that are suffering financial hardship that is impacting on their ability to deliver services in health and social care, housing support, education and training, and advice, information and guidance.

To apply, organisations must have a turnover of £200,000 a year or more.

The Hardship Fund will be administered by the Community Development Foundation (CDF). More information about how to apply, including guidance notes for applicants and an application form, can be found on the CDF website or by emailing hardshipfund@cdf.org.uk or calling 0113 246 1561.

Futurebuilders - Pilot consortium to help the third sector win contracts

Over the next few months more than £30 billion worth of major public service contracts are coming up for tender, yet many third sector organisations lack the capacity and capability to successfully bid for, win and deliver them.

In response to sector demand, Futurebuilders is currently looking for consortia partners to help create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which will trial a new approach for pooling expertise and resources for core services associated with tendering for contracts such as bid writing, financial modelling, contract negotiation and performance management.

Led by their Enterprise Director Ian Charlesworth, the consortium will be made up of third sector organisations with expertise in the bidding process, as well as those experienced in the direct delivery of public services. It is hoped the consortium will allow such organisations to take advantage of the upcoming contracting opportunities, helping them grow and become financially sustainable.

nterested in joining?They are currently looking for organisations with interest and expertise in contracting and service delivery to join the pilot consortium.

Any third sector organisation with special expertise in bid writing, financial modelling, contract negotiation or performance management (including the management of a supply chain) is encouraged to enquire about becoming part of the management arm of the SPV.

Any third sector organisation involved in the direct delivery of public services in the fields of welfare reform, education and training, and health and social care is also encouraged to enquire about becoming part of the delivery arm of the SPV. O

rganisations interested in joining the pilot consortium should contact Samantha Healy at Futurebuilders.
Email: samantha.healy@futurebuilders-england.org.uk
Tel: 020 7842 7709.
Website: http://www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk/what-we-offer/services/pilot-consortium-to-help-the-third-sector-win-contracts/

Third Sector Capacity Fund in North East England

A new £6 million fund from One North East is launched to help not-for-profit organisations to contribute to the region’s sustainable economic development.


About the Fund

The fund will provide grants of up to £150,000 to third sector organisations in the North East of England in order to build the capacity of the sector to deliver sustainable economic development.

Initially, the fund will focus on three specific strands:
• supporting collaboration, partnership working and innovative activities;
• reducing grant dependency and preparing for commissioning and enabling organisations to win and deliver public service contracts; and
• supporting the region’s response to the recession and rising levels of unemployment.

Who can apply?
Third sector organisations or partnerships involving third sector organisations in the design and delivery of services are all eligible to apply.

When can I apply?
The fund’s initial funding round is open for applications from 6 April 2009. The deadline for the submission of applications is Friday 15 May. There will be further funding rounds announced – see the website for details.

Where can I get more information?
The fund is managed by Rocket Science UK. Full details about the fund – including eligibility, a detailed prospectus and downloadable application forms – can be found on the www.thirdsectorfund.org.uk website.

If you have any other questions about the Third Sector Capacity Fund, please contact Mike McGoldrick or Cherri Blissett: Email: info@thirdsectorfund.org.uk Tel: 0191 230 8078 Website: www.thirdsectorfund.org.uk

£1 billion Future Jobs Fund (England)

The Government has created a £1 billion Future JobsFund to help generate jobsfor those in greatest need, particularly young people and also in areas of high unemployment. The Fund is an important part of the Government’s commitment to delivering real help for young people and those who face barriers to employment, making sure people stay connected with the labour market and do not suffer the adverse effects of long-term unemployment.

The aim of the Future Jobs Fund is to create 150,000 jobs between October 2009 and April 2011 providing real help for young people and those who face significant disadvantages in the labour market.

The Fund has only recently been announced therefore the criteria for those interested in making bids are still being developed.

As a guide for the meantime it is expected that successful bids must:

• Create additional jobs for long term unemployed people
• Benefit the local community
• Create a significant proportion of jobs quickly

The majority of jobs created must go to people aged 18-24 who are approaching 12 months on Jobseeker’s Allowance. The Fund is particularly interested in hearing from organisations in areas of high unemployment in order to understand how they can best create new jobs in these areas

The overall cost of each bid should not exceed £6,500 per job created (including any admin costs) of course this can be supplemented by funding from other sources. Bids will also need to be in line with existing locally agreed work and skills strategies and show that they do not replicate or replace existing jobs.

It is expected that funding will be awarded from autumn 2009 on a rolling basis throughout the following 18 months, at least until spring 2011. Each job created must last for a minimum of 6 months, and funding provided from the Future Job Fund will cover a 6 month period for each unemployed person taken on.

Details of the formal bidding process will be announced soon. In the meantime Local Authorities and other large organisations such as social enterprises and voluntary sector bodies are invited to come forward with their initial ideas for new jobs which will benefit the community.

Those interested in putting forward ideas can email Expressions of Interest to the Future Jobs Fund.

For further information visit: www.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/futurejobsfund/ or email: future.jobsfund@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

How resilient if your organisation?

A new online self-assessment tool, produced by Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Cass Business School and funded by Capacitybuilders as part of the Modernisation Fund Grant Programme is now ‘live’ and accessible on the Modernisation Fund website.

This easy to use tool helps determine an organisation’s strengths and weaknesses in eight key areas including governance, finance and people and creates a priority list helping organisations plan and identify where support is needed.

If you are interested in finding out more about the self assessment and the programme, please visit the Modernisation Fund website today.

New HR ‘How To’ Guides

The UK Workforce Hub has developed three new ‘How To’ guides for voluntary organizations:

1. How to survive the recession:

2. Alternatives to redundancy,

3. 360 Degree Appraisals and

4. HR software in voluntary and community organisations.

HR How to Guides >>

Find out more about the Modernisation Fund !

The modernisation fund is part of the Governments £42.5M initiative to help third sector organisations through the recession. There is a total of 9.5M available in loans from Futurebuilders under the Modernisation Fund.

Further details about the Modernisation Fund can be found in a presentation by Sharon O’Brien which is available to download here>>.

Sunderland CVS have also produced a informative presentation on Real Help for Communities: Modernisation Fund Grants Programmedelivered by Capacitybuilders. It is available to download here>>.

Resilience Toolkit

SCVS have produced this useful guide which contains details of support available to groups during this difficult economic time.

It is available to download here>>.

Sector well placed to ride out recession, says NCVO study

An NCVO study believes charities might weather the economic storm better than they expect, according to a paper published by head of research Karl Wilding and Professor John Mohan from the University of Southampton.  The paper, Economic Downturns and the Voluntary Sector: what can we learn from historical evidence? assesses the likely impact of the recession on charities by studying past downturns such as the Great Depression

Community Builders

A useful presentation from Community Builders on the recession is available to download here>>