Cordell Ray MBE

Re: State of the Voluntary and Community Sector Report Bromley 2024  Delighted to be able to share with you our report on the Voluntary Sector in Bromley. It includes a comprehensive analysis of the current landscape and a set of recommendations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of voluntary services in our community.    The report highlights key areas where collaboration between statutory partners, funders and the sector can lead to significant improvements in service delivery and community outcomes.     Some of you will also be aware of the Government plans to develop a civil society covenant and the guidance recently published by the LGA/ NAVCA - Working with Local Infrastructure Organisations to engage smaller VCFSE organisations: Good practice guide | Local Government Association  Taken together we believe they provide a really helpful starting place for a conversation about working together to build a strong and thriving voluntary sector. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the report and how we can turn it into concrete actions on the ground! https://lnkd.in/eHkCtm7k #StateoftheSector #Covenant #LGA #ThirdSector #NAVCA #LondonPlus

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This year, more than ever, with the new The Labour Party government and Department of Health and Social Care seemingly focused on priorities other than social care, it is imperative that adult social care finds a voice. Today Hft and Care England launch our annual Sector Pulse Check, giving an opportunity for that voice of social care to be heard by policy makers and those within government. I’m urging all those within and outside of my network that are care and support providers, to take a short period of time out of your busy day and to complete this survey. Each return gives a stronger and stronger case for the challenges we all face and the pressures we are subjected to, hopefully enacting the government to take social care seriously. Could I also ask for you to share with your network and make sure that this goes to as many social care organisations as we can reach. All providers are welcome, be it learning disability, mental health, older people, specialist or any variation of such. For profit, not-for-profit, charitable, CIC; it does not matter and the ability to all have our say is more important.

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Lived Experience and trusteeship - a few thoughts, this #TrusteesWeek The two charities I'm a trustee for and the one I work for I have lived experience relating to that cause. For Visionary_UK I'm visually impaired and have worked for two member organisations. For HOME-START OXFORD I'm a dad of two cheeky boys under 5. These are a few things that spring to mind regarding lived experience as a trustee: 1. Representation For me, if a charity is supporting people like me, I would want to see people that are like me within the charity, whether staff, trustees or volunteers. If you don't see yourself you will assume it's not for you! 2. A deeper understanding Having lived through, or living through the issues faced, this gives you a deeper understanding that others will not have, you don't switch off from the issues after the board meeting and sometimes you will just get it when various challenges are raised. 3. A voice I don't believe it's important that the voice of the people you serve is involved, it's vital! Sure, it's not about one person's perspective, but ensuring you have multiple people on the board will give you some basis for understanding. 4. Purpose I'm all about purpose. Making good from the hand you've been dealt. So, aligning your own purpose with the cause will give you drive to ensure the organisation is successful, that purpose doesn't necessarily have to come from lived experience, but those that don't, need to understand their position as allies and champions. 5. Lean into your lived experience I often hear people spouting all sorts of career achievements and say they're not in this position because of their lived experience, which really diminishes the point of lived experience. I can tell you now, I wouldn't be in any of my positions if it wasn't for my lived experience, so I lean into that and unashamedly so! Are you a trustee with lived experience? If so, please share yoru thoughts. #TrusteesWeek2024 #LivedExperience

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A perfect example. 👀 For funders to show fundraisers a little insight into their grant making. Well done to The Robertson Trust who today told us: ❓How many grants they had made. 🕣 The timeframe in which they were awarded. 💫 The success rate. 🏆 And a breakdown of how the money was awarded by theme, type and location. Here's the link - https://lnkd.in/en9qpFxe If you have any similar examples you would like to share, comment below.👇🏻 ♻️ And if you want other Funders to see this post for inspiration, hit the repost button. #philanthropy #funders #fundraisers

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Comic Relief Community Fund Organisations in England can apply for grants of up to £5,000 through the Comic Relief Community Fund to help support the delivery of services and activities that benefit local communities. Funding is available to organisations with an income of less than £250,000 for applications under one the below areas: Tackling immediate impacts of hardship - Organisations that directly address the immediate impacts of poverty, including providing food, warmth, shelter and financial advice such as foodbanks, community hubs, homeless shelters or welfare advice agencies. Building resilience to poverty and hardship - Organisations that deliver activities to empower people to take positive steps out of poverty in the longer term. Examples include skills training, job search, volunteering, mental resilience and financial confidence skills. Working to support equity and inclusion - Organisations that champion social justice, diversity and inclusion. This could involve service or projects to tackle inequalities which can lead to poverty and exclusion including gender, sexuality, age, race, language or ability. Working to support climate justice - Supporting activities that improve energy efficiency, environmental education and resilience-building within communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such communities at risk of flooding or urban heat islands and those more vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as older people, isolated communities or people with disabilities. The closing date for applications is 5pm on the 8th November 2024. https://lnkd.in/eJX8xpmi   https://lnkd.in/eMSwgNur Thanks to Grants Online News

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I love this podcast, so much covered and all relevant.

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‘Children facing a ‘brutal’ loss of time and space for play at state schools’ - The Guardian Shorter playtimes and shrinking outside space in England have serious implications for children’s wellbeing and mental health. New research from the UCL Institute of Education showed a continued downward trend in the amount of time children have for playtime in the wake of the Covid lockdowns, with the youngest losing the most time. The demands of the curriculum have increased, and continue to diminish time outside, while staffing shortages are reducing capacity to oversee playtime. Schools face difficult financial decisions, which are having an impact on the funding to care for grounds. Headteachers in the state sector have said they are in desperate need of funding to improve basic facilities for children. School buildings are crumbling, as many were built with RAAC that was not replaced within its usable lifetime, meaning in some cases playgrounds are being used to host temporary classrooms. This is squeezing out the little space some schools have for children to spend time outside. Damien Jordan, Headteacher said “The curriculum means that from six or seven years old play is gone . . . it’s brutal, children aren’t ready. The classrooms change from a free-flow space to what is more like an office.” Dr Jackie Applebee, a GP said ”Severe cuts to council budgets mean that local councils often don’t prioritise outdoor play spaces and cuts to the education budgets mean that schools, who are heavily inspected and penalised, inevitably prioritise the classroom over the playground.” Dr Helen Dodd said what she saw in schools was part of a worrying wider picture. “Children are losing space and time to play everywhere.” This👆🏼is why Play England are calling on the next Government to introduce #PlaySufficiency legislation in England, which would establish statutory guidance for local authorities to provide and secure sufficient play opportunities ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eKtJWuBg 🏫🚸🌿🍁🍂🪵 🚲 🛴 🛹🛼 🛝 🏃🏼‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏾👩‍🦽🚴🏿🚏🚶🏻🤸🏾‍♂️🤸🏼‍♂️🌳🏘️ #PlaySufficiency #FreePlay #Play #PhysicalLiteracy #PhysicalActivity #ActiveTravel #PlayStreet #SchoolStreets #StreetPlay #HomeZones #UNCRC #FreerangeUrbanNeighbourhoods #FUN #KnowBallGames #Parks #Playgrounds #PublicRealm #RaisingTheNation

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Great service offering skilled and targeted support for no financial outlay…

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#pureinsight #catch22 #nlcbf Our Mentoring and Psychological Wellbeing Services are both cited as a best practice example’s in the recent Independent Review of Childrens Social Care Independent review of children's social care: final report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) on pages 194 as a best practice organisation ‘helping care leavers build a network’ and p221 “Achieving better mental health outcomes for care leavers will form part of the National Children’s Social Care Framework, and best practice should build upon existing work done by organisations such as Pure Insight, which provide a psychological wellbeing service and counselling service to young people and care leavers.” https://lnkd.in/eUA6x3nf

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Short notice I know but if you want learn more about engaging your members/clients/service users in the election sign up to these sessions

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In the new government, we have more Cabinet Members and MPs with experience of the voluntary sector than ever before – a great opportunity to ensure that charities are front and centre in political discussions and decisions. With the overwhelming majority of smaller charities still citing income as their main concern – unchanged in over a decade – what can we realistically expect the new government to do for the sector? It’s highly unlikely that there will be substantial financial support for charities, but we can ask for public and formal recognition of the vital role the sector plays in society. MPs and ministers can help to educate everyone on how modern charities work, on our close relationship with government in service delivery, and on how our funding is structured. Without charities, we’d all struggle to maintain and enjoy our daily lives, and we’d lose so much in terms of community and companionship. With a new government elected on the promise of change, let’s make sure that change happens for charities too. Every Minister should be for and speak up for charities – let’s hear it for and from the Labour government. Full article: https://lnkd.in/e3ZgwQZ4

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If you're child or young person is struggling OR you are struggling as a parent and carer OR a sibling needs support we can help 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 Don't hesitate and get help as early as possible to minimise longer term impacts for you and your family. We deliver direct therapeutic support and courses for parents and carers to support your youngsters. #TransformingYoungLives #emotionalwellbeing #positivementalwellbeing #overcomingbarriers #thriving #growing

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A Community Consultation and Co-Production Approach to Transforming the Primary to Secondary Transition Thank you to all the participants who took part in the community consultation online session on Friday. The session was full of rich conversations and invaluable contributions from parents, teachers, school staff, and a range of other professionals. The scariest, yet most exciting part of a community consultation is having the boldness to leave the outcome open-ended, truly centering the voice of the community rather than just paying lip service to another buzzword. Over the past four years, I've built Paradigm Project and our "My Next Steps" program with a determination to empower and equip children through this critical transitional period. We also explore methods to identify risk and vulnerability at an earlier stage. Some insights from Friday's session: - Communication needs to be improved between primary and secondary schools. - Vulnerable groups need additional support to ensure they don't get left behind. - Parents need more support and to be listened to throughout the process. - Schools need support to provide comprehensive transition aid. - While there are examples of good practice, they are fragmented, lacking a universal approach. Paradigm Project might be small, but we have big ambitions to be a catalyst for reform, helping protect and empower our children. Addressing children's needs at this age is a proactive approach to mitigating more complex needs down the line. I look forward to delivering the same session to students on May 8th and adding their insights before we rebuild and scale our offer. Big thanks to Daniel Pink for helping spread the word and recruit for these sessions, and to Eve Froude for all her help behind the scenes.

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This is deeply alarming - The impact of the NIC rise on charities is estimated at £1.4bn annually. This comes at a time when charities are already stretched to their limits, grappling with escalating demands for their services while battling declining donations and rising operational costs. Finding money to cover NIC increases will mean reducing the spending on services. Without urgent action, the very survival of many charities will hang in the balance. Who knows when you will need the support of a charity but more than likely you will. Approximately 90% of UK households will use the services of a charity at some point in their lives. Let's hope they still exist when you need them. NCVO and ACEVO, co-signed by 7,361 charities and voluntary organisations, have issued a joint letter to the chancellor outlining their concerns for the sector. You can read more at https://lnkd.in/eGiWrNBc

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One of the top priorities of any charity is raising funds and attracting volunteers. In this 3-hour session you will be able to create an action plan for your charity or CIC. This course is free for Community First members! This course will help you to consider ideas and practical actions to use within your organisations to help with crowdfunding: Learning outcomes: • Identify ways of attracting volunteers to help with crowdfunding • Discuss recruitment, induction and training/support requirements • Identify 'micro' volunteers to maximise fundraising initiatives • Discuss ideas for and ways of implementing crowdfunding activities Course link in the comments.

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**SAVS Helps Local Voluntary Sector Find Funding Opportunities** As a Council for Voluntary Services, SAVS help local Southend charities and community groups develop and thrive. One such way in which SAVS do this is to offer free ‘Tailored Funding Searches’ and access to ‘Meet the Funder’ events. Funding support is carried out in-house by Maria Hayton, SAVS Funding Support Officer. She comments, “Identifying relevant funding opportunities is a part of the service SAVS provides to the sector on a regular basis. SAVS has paid subscriptions to funding databases, which enables access to a wide range of potential funders. The regular funding updates circulated in the newsletter and via media channels offers a snapshot of these.” For new organisations and more established ones, researching options for funding can be time consuming, resource intensive and overwhelming. Maria continues, “By completing a simple form, SAVS capture key data about an organisation and can complete tailored funding searches for them. Not only can SAVS help find funding for a project or service but they can also identify any potential barriers to an application being made. And the help doesn’t just stop there, this information also allows SAVS insight into which funds local organisations would benefit from learning about at ‘Meet the Funder’ events.” Penny Langran, Grants Officer at Fowler, Smith & Jones Trust, who hosted a recent Meet the Funder event at SAVS comments, “As always, it is very useful to visit SAVS to have the opportunity to speak to the groups who attended. It is always lovely to meet people in person and not only hear about what they are doing within the Southend community but to answer any questions they have, either as part of the meeting forum or individually.” Since the launch of the Tailored Funding Search form at the start of April 2023, 86 tailored searches have been completed for 78 individual organisations. The total number of funds shared is 738. SAVS has hosted five Meet the Funder events both in-person and online with further events being planned. To complete the SAVS Tailored Funding Search Request Form visit: https://lnkd.in/e529qJR8

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Have you seen the latest Chartered Institute of Fundraising briefing? "How you can help charitable giving thrive: a guide for MSPs on supporting charitable giving in their constituencies". You can download here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eRtDTnkR Thanks to Policy Manager Charlotte Sherman for writing a top notch briefing. Check out the briefing and share it with your MSP. #MSP #PolicyBriefing

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Getting the Family Action Greater Manchester Team away day going. Privileged to of spent the day with such inspiring team members hearing about their work and ideas. Supportting part of the day working through the Practice Wheel to gain clarity and vision for services, thinking about impact & outcomes and the golden thread of EDIB and Co Production. A lovely way to end the working week. #practicedevelopment #teamwork #quality

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