The Real Help For Communities Hardship Fund is now open for applications – offering grants between £50,000 and £250,000 to provide support to third sector organisations in England. The fund is aimed at organisations that are suffering financial hardship that is impacting their ability to deliver services in health and social care, housing support, education and training, and advice, information and guidance. For more information, including details of how to apply, visit the CDF website.

The Real Help for Communities Modernisation Fund is now open for applications. Between now and 17 July, frontline third sector organisations with an annual turnover of between £150 000 – £750 000 are invited to apply via the web for a £1000 bursary from the Fund, which is being delivered by Capacitybuilders. The fund is for organisations primarily engaged in one or more of the following themes of work: wellbeing and health; advice, information and guidance; and loss of income, training and skills. The Local … Read more »

This new paper, released on 8th June by the Community Development Foundation, examines how the community development field and profession is likely to be affected by the recession, and after a general election.

A free workshop for voluntary and community groups is being held at Kingsley Village, near Fraddon on 26th June to explore collaborative working and the impact of the economic downturn and to signpost you to useful resources and funding. The workshop is being run by Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum who are acting as a Local Delivery Agent for the Government’s NEW Modernisation Fund Grants Programme.

A report entitled ‘Backing communities: local solutions’ has been was sent to all local authority Chief Executives and Leaders. It highlights the many ways in which councils are working with local voluntary and community groups and third sector organisations in response to the recession. It also explores the challenges these organisations face in recession and the good practice that can be employed to minimise negative impacts on working relationships and local communities. The conclusion section of this report also sets out a number of current … Read more »

Many charities and not-for-profit groups in Cornwall are telling us they are being squeezed in two ways by the Credit Crunch.  Firstly, they are seeing demand for their services increase, as some people’s personal circumstances  change for the worse, for example due to redundancy or reduced hours.  Secondly, the sources of income for voluntary and community groups are getting tighter.  There is a threat to levels of donations, and increased competition for grants such as Lottery funding.

On Monday Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum sponsored a visit by Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission, to Cornwall. The visit was organised by Martin Pallett of the Charity Chief Executives in Cornwall group. Details and pictures are available below: vsf-press-release-dame2-09-with-cc-comments-2

Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission, is to visit Cornwall on February 9th to discuss the impact of the Credit Crunch with local charity managers. A group called ‘Charity Chief Executives in Cornwall’, set up to help support local charity managers, is holding an open meeting with Dame Suzi at Mount Edgecombe Hospice, St Austell, at 3pm that day. Dame Suzi will be giving a presentation on ‘Public benefit and personal identity in a credit crunch’ and will go on to discuss local … Read more »