A shiny new room in the shiny new Hope House Centre, Radstock, is available for hire by groups and organisations to meet and/or run health and wellbeing related sessions. It’s 62m2, has tons of natural light, with a modern kitchenette that can be partitioned off from the main space, and has disabled access and toilets nearby. Please get in touch with Hope House for rates and availability bswicb.wellbeing@nhs.net If you’re an informal group or small organisation then the Radstock & Westfield Big Local may be able to support you with the cost, speak with Rob for more details: 07901 950114. If your organisation is a 3SG Member, then you can also take advantage of the 3SG Directory of Community Venues which has over 200 listings across Bath and North East Somerset. Simply login or create a profile to our website and head to the resources page.

Digital accessibility has never been more important, with online communications and service replacing many of the traditional methods utilised by charities before the pandemic. As organisations that support the community, it is vital that messages and advice are received and understood by all those who may benefit from the service being offered. Not only this but accessible communications is paramount for both external and internal comms in order to ensure colleagues and teams are able to work effectively with one another. Below are ten tips on accessible communications that Charity Digital has provided. The UK Government has also provided some helpful resources on inclusive communication, which can be found here. Please do get in touch with us (contact@3sg.org.uk) if you have any tips, questions or would like to help support local non-profits to be more inclusive in their communications. Use plain and simple language Using language that is easy to understand will help you reach more people, whether they have accessibility needs or not. Any barrier, such as an unfamiliar word, may stop someone reading on through a post, article, or paper. To use one example, Human Rights Watch produces easy-to-read versions of their complex research reports. Use simple fonts Blind and partially-sighted people may be using screen readers to access your content. Screen readers are set up to read basic fonts, but not the more elaborate ones. Recite Me have a useful accessible fonts guide. Use alt text for images Most websites, blogs, and social media platforms will offer you the option to add ‘alt text’ to your images. Be specific about what the image shows, describe the image briefly, and include any text in the image. You can include keywords for SEO, but these must be in context and included in a sentence, not a list. The primary purpose of your alt text is to support accessibility. Tag people and organisations in images Tagging people and organisations in the images you post, particularly on social media, will support understanding. Users can click through to individuals and organisations to better understand who they are and how they relate to your content. Keep text on graphics minimal Try not to include too much text on graphics. On social media, include the most important information in your caption or tweet and use the alt-text option or a line in your caption to describe any graphics that reiterate or elaborate on your point. Explain GIFS and videos GIFS with words cannot always be read by screen readers and videos without captioned speech also need explanation. Use alt-text or a line in your caption or tweet to explain your GIFs or videos. For videos you can also use voice-overs to describe what the video shows. Use camel case for hashtags If you are writing a hashtag such as #BeMoreDigital, capitalise the first letter of each word to make sure it can be read easily and so that each word can be picked out by screen readers. Use emojis once A screen reader will read the meaning of an emoji aloud, so if you repeat the emoji, it will be read repeatedly. For example, “Charity Digital ♥♥♥” would be read as “Charity Digital heart heart heart”. Avoid using strings of emojis for the same reason. Use captions or auto-captioning for video, lives and webinars You can commission a transcript for your video from services like VEED transcription tool, Rev and upload the .srt file provided to YouTube or Vimeo. Services like Kapwing or Headliner offer AI or self-transcribe options for videos. On social media, Facebook has a live auto-captioning service. For webinars, you can switch on closed captioning in the account settings on Zoom and then invite a participant (best added as a panelist) to type live captions or copy an API token for an AI live captioning service like Otter.ai. Content or trigger warnings Flashing content may prove dangerous for people with epilepsy. For example, anything that flashes more than three times in a one second period. Content describing or referencing violent incidents may be triggering for people who have experienced a related trauma. Using a content or trigger warning will allow your audience to make informed choices about what they view and read. Too often accessibility is an afterthought when it should be embedded in the way we create digital content. Charities in the UK have a legal responsibility not to discriminate on the basis of disability and there are excellent resources available within the sector from RNIB, RNID, Epilepsy Action, Ability Net, and others to help. With diverse teams, training, and specific goals around accessibility we can raise standards in our digital communications and reach more of the people who need us. Link to original article here, written by Helen Olszowska

An analysis conducted by fiscal think tank, Pro Bono Economics (PBE), has highlighted a concerning and widening gap between pay in the private and charity sectors. Neither sector is keeping pace with inflation, but year-on-year wage growth for the third sector was recorded at 3.8% compared to 5.6% in the private sector (May 2022). Voscur have summarised the findings along with the Bank of England's decision-maker panel survey. PBE also recognised in their analysis that motivations for private sector employees can often differ from third sector employees, and this can allow for stagnant wage growth in charities where employees are motivated by job satisfaction over financial compensation. However, PBE warned that this effectively excludes prospective employees from less advantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups, and can facilitate workplace burnout for existing employees. Both sectors report facing difficulties in recruiting new staff, and PBE warns that this disparity in wage growth between the third and private sectors may deter potential employees from taking jobs in the charity sector in favour of better pay in the private sector. 3SG hosts a busy jobs page specifically for the third sector across BaNES. If you'd like help with your vacancy, we can boost your chances of reaching suitable candidates. Click here to upload a job, or email contact@3sg.org.uk

With inflation climbing to historic levels, it's vital that charities invest in forward planning to mitigate negative effects, no matter their size or position. The current cost of living crisis is overwhelming many individuals and organisations, including those who may have previously been unconcerned. So what does this mean for charities, and what should you do? The fiscal thinktank, Pro Bono Economics (PBE) has put together a guide for charities trying to tackle the impact of rising inflation and understand its biggest impacts on charities specifically. The main three areas that will be hardest hit for charities include rising costs, depreciating income, and the impact on beneficiaries finances. Expenditure is inevitably going to increase, and to ensure that staff are not worse off, charities would need to increase wages by 8.8% from 2021. For an organisation with an annual expenditure of £1M, this would translate to an additional £32,600 spent on wages in 2024, to counter the impact of inflation. This will likely sound extremely daunting for many charities, who may already be struggling to meet wage expectations. The Living Wage Foundation found that 17% of third sector professionals were earning less than the real Living Wage, and this rose to 29% for all part time workers, the majority of whom are women. Salaries that fail to keep up with inflation will inevitably drive up skills shortages as employers risk losing staff, and shouldering higher recruitment costs to replace them. Not only is it less cost-effective to replace staff rather than spend more to retain them, but Charity Job has also reported a decrease in the number of applications per vacancy since the start of the pandemic. In the context of a candidate-led recruitment landscape, it's important for charities to consider wage negotiations as soon as possible, whilst realising that many staff may already be struggling. As the cost of living rises, the capacity for donors to maintain donations - and subsequently for charities to maintain income levels - is at serious risk. Many donations are anchored, either through direct debits, or by a specific amount that individuals have in mind to donate. Inflation is unlikely to change this amount, so in real terms, donations will be worth less. The most common gift amount of £20 would depreciate to a worth of £17.60 by 2026. This is important for charities to consider and initiate discussions around expected costs of services and impact of inflation on donor behaviour. This also affects grants; a grant of £100,000 awarded to an organisation in 2021 would be worth £94,000 in 2023. Taking this into account when applying for grants and considering financial decisions will therefore be vital. As the third sector is a net saver, not a borrower, ensuring your money is working hard for your charity will be increasingly important. This may involve discussions around investment strategies for those with reserves, particularly as interest rates remain low. Charities nearing or below their reserves policy must put serious consideration into this. Finally, the pressure on charities through an increase in service users is highly likely. With household budgets seriously stretched, many more people will find themselves living below the poverty line and in need of assistance. With the average monthly food shop increasing by £15 in December 2021 alone, food banks will naturally be one charitable service experiencing overwhelming increases in demand. Any charity that provides services to those on low incomes will inevitably be put under increased pressure, as well as charities that rely on ticket purchases and visits, such as cultural charities with museums and theatres. As the cost of living pushes many to cut back on non-essential expenditure, these charities will see a decrease in footfall, undermining their income streams. So what can charities do now to plan ahead and mitigate the risks? The three key messages endorsed by the PBE are... Determine if the demand for their services is likely to change and plan for it. Enter wage negotiations early and appreciate many are likely to be struggling. Revise income targets and plan how to deliver them in the context of inflation. In order to best tackle these, it is important to keep up to date with current trends and have the best possible understanding. You can keep an eye on the current economic climate in relation to the third sector on PBE's news page here. If you have any related concerns or ideas that you'd like to share with us, or anything we may be able to help your organisation with, please do let us know by emailing contact@3sg.org.uk

Have you got a passion, skill or hobby that could make you money? Are you feeling the squeeze and need to make your hobby pay for itself? Maybe you’ve already started selling and want to ‘do it properly’? Explore the potential of turning your hobby or passion into a business with a free workshop brought to Midsomer Norton by Cool Ventures in partnership with Bath and North East Somerset Third Sector Group (3SG) on Wednesday, 24th August from 10 am - 1 pm at Wansdyke Business Centre (behind Western Power, just off Radstock Road, BA3 2BB). This interactive session will give you tips on how to make money from your skills, hobby or passion and is FREE for residents based within Bath and North East Somerset. During the session you will be introduced to essential things to consider, with basic information and tools to help you get started - and turn that dream into reality! Subjects covered during the session include the pros and cons of setting up on your own, essential tools and information you need to know before you start; plus a deeper understanding of the reality of self-employment. There will also be space for you to reflect - is this really right for you? Is your idea viable? If you decide it is, you'll also leave the session with the confidence to plan your vision and take your next step. This workshop is aimed at individuals exploring self-employment, are thinking about setting up their own business or are in the early days of starting up. Get unstuck and discover the possibilities! The session will be led by Business Mentor, Blogger and Author, Amy Morse. Amy has been supporting small businesses for over ten years across various projects. As a creative writer, published author and avid blogger, she helps others to embrace their story and develop their small business with courage, confidence and creativity. Spaces are limited, so reserve your place today by visiting the 3SG events page here. Can't make this date? A condensed, online version of the workshop will be available on Tuesday, 6th September between 11 am and 12.30 pm - Sign up here. As part of this project, there is also the opportunity for free one-to-one online support by members of the School for Social Entrepreneurs team, Traci Lewis and Alison Belshaw, which last for up to an hour. You will have the chance to discuss your idea and receive advice on what to do next. Traci's experience includes start ups, specific expertise supporting women to set up and run their own successful social or environmental business, sustainability and decarbonisation - Book a slot with Traci Alison has particular experience in project managing for social enterprises, governance, leadership and fundraising - including community shares, crowdfunding and grant applications - Book a slot with Alison This event is sponsored by 3SG (Bath & North East Somerset Third Sector Group), as part of a project resourced by the Community Renewal Fund and School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), providing advice and support to individuals and groups interested in creating and launching new enterprises or developing existing ones. 3SG is a membership network supporting the charity, social enterprise, faith and voluntary sector operating in Bath and North East Somerset. It holds regular networking opportunities and ongoing support for members, whilst providing a voice for the sector at the table of governing bodies. Find out more at: 3sg.org.uk Cool Ventures have been providing tailored, high quality business support and advice across the West of England for more than ten years. A further twelve hours of free business support is available here or view their range of workshops at: www.coolventures.co.uk/workshops

UPDATE: 11th August 2022 As you may be aware, NAVCA has signed up to support the campaign led by the Community Transport Association [CTA] to ask Treasury to review the approved mileage rate [AMAP] in relation to reimbursement of volunteer expenses, community transport schemes etc. The CTA have a meeting next week with a senior official in Treasury and are looking for additional information / data to add to their case. If you have any data demonstrating the scale of the issue that your organisation is encountering, or any specific examples, please could you forward them to Jill Hopkins (jill.hopkinson@navca.org.uk) by close of play on Monday 15 August. Examples could include withdrawal of services, increased costs to users, fewer numbers willing to volunteer in driving roles etc. CTA are particularly keen to help understand to what extent problems are caused by volunteers finding that 45pm is not enough, or that volunteers do not receive the maximum currently as it can’t be funded. NAVCA* are currently circulating a petition launched by one of their members, the Good Neighbours Network, requesting that the HMRC mileage allowance be increased from 45p/mile to 60p/mile, amid the current cost-of-living crisis and skyrocketing fuel prices. The rate of 45p/mile has been fixed since 2011, and NAVCA, The Good Neighbours Network, and other charitable organisations have already reported a decline in the number of volunteer drivers because of this, and there are concerns that it will continue to impact the availability of volunteers, and undermine incentives to become a volunteer. You can find the petition here - https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/600966 The Community Transport Association (CTA) is also leading a campaign, in a coalition of 11 charities (including NAVCA*), to call on the Chancellor to tackle rising fuel costs and the detrimental impact it's having on the voluntary sector. You can read more here. *NAVCA is the national membership body for local support and development organisations in England. It stands for National Association for Voluntary and Community Action and 3SG are members along with hundreds of other infrastructure organisations across the country.

Brevio, a social enterprise, based in Somerset, is changing the way non-profit organisations research and apply for grants, to build a more efficient system for everyone. Brevio’s mission is to create a more efficient third sector, by uniting nonprofits and funders to grow together and create more impact on society. Brevio simplifies grant research, grant application and grant management to free up hundreds of millions of pounds lost to administration every year. Throughout the past two years, the third sector has faced more than its share of challenges. Non-profits have navigated lockdowns, a lack of funding and staff shortages, putting a strain on resources. During 2020, many charities were spending three days a week researching and applying for grants, according to Brevio research. Even worse, around 66% of all grant applications are not successful, showing just how inefficient the process can be. Streamline it with Brevio Brevio currently has over £50M of live funds available, from 888 funders and over 1400 live grants. The platform automatically matches non-profit organisations based on the details of their funding needs, to the grants for which they may be eligible based on funder criteria. This saves non-profit organisations a significant research time. Brevio is currently free of charge for non-profits and the process is very straightforward. Non-profits can simply create a Brevio profile, set up their funding needs and then get matched instantly to grants that they are eligible for. As a Brevio user, non-profits also get access to tailored insights and advice on applying for funding, forming partnerships with grant givers, and using data to power their potential. Brevio is a BCorp registered non-profit social enterprise. Find out more by visiting https://nonprofits.brevio.org/

UPDATE: DUE TO THE VERY HIGH LEVEL OF INTEREST, THE CAP ON REGISTRATIONS FOR THE AUTUMN 2022 FUNDING ROUND WAS REACHED SOON AFTER OPENING, SO REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. Applications to The Fore fund will soon be opening - set your alarms for 10am on Monday 25th July! This funding is offering unrestricted grants of up to £30,000 to small organisations who work with marginalised groups, and who may have had difficulty accessing trust and foundation funding in the past. The funding can be used in a variety of ways, so long as it helps your organisation to deliver its mission! This could be to expand your workforce, grow your organisation or increase efficiency or sustainability. The Fore is particularly interested in those community-led groups lacking in connections or experience in fundraising, as it wants to give everyone a fair opportunity to access funding. Your registered charity, CIO, CIC or Community Benefit Society must have an annual income under £500,000 to be eligible. To apply for funding you must first register your basic contact details; registration is capped and on a first-come-first-served basis, so be sure to register ASAP! You do not need to be ready to submit your application at the time of registering (you will have 4 weeks to do this), but registering early is quick, easy and necessary! Find out more here! Please note, registration will not be open until Monday 25th July at 10am - before that time, no link will be displayed on their webpage to register, only to read more about the fund and watch the webinar.

Charities and voluntary groups in Bath and North East Somerset that are supporting the arrival of refugees from the Ukraine are invited to bid for a share of new Government funding. The B&NES Ukrainian Support Fund will support the integration of Ukrainian guests into local communities to help promote their wellbeing, independence and skills. The funding made available in the first round is £10,000 and bids are invited from charities, volunteer and community groups to benefit the groups of refugees they are supporting. Organisations can apply to Bath & North East Somerset Council for up to £500 for a one-off event, or up to £2,000 to establish new services or extend an existing one. The money allocated by central government could be used to provide services for groups such as access to translation, organising community events or working with faith groups to signpost the right advice and support. The fund has been set up primarily to support people arriving from Ukraine, but the projects to be supported could be widened to include refugees from other countries. You can make applications open via this link https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/apply-ukraine-support-fund Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, and Communities, said: “Councils continue to play a key role in helping Ukrainian guests integrate into our local communities and this new fund will help to strengthen those connections. It will also promote the wellbeing and future prospects for our Ukrainian groups. The money could be used to support them to improve English language skills, employment skills and independence. “Local organisations who have detailed understanding of the needs of the groups they support are invited to bid for a share of the £10,000. The grants will help people who have arrived from Ukraine to thrive in their new communities.” The first round of funding will be available until January 20 but will close earlier if all funds have been allocated. All applications must: benefit a group of people, not an individual person. be a charity, voluntary or community organisation that operates for the benefit of the local community and is not for profit. have a constitution and valid bank account or a lead organisation, with a constitution and valid bank account. show at least one of the following ways it will support Ukrainian Refugees: Promote Health and Wellbeing Promote Independence Improve English Language Skills Assist with Employment Skills Help Integration into local B&NES Communities Find out more here Anyone needing help to apply online can contact Mark Hayward on 01225 396975 or email mark_hayward@bathnes.gov.uk Media release from Bath & North East Somerset Council.

ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco, Waitrose and other supermarkets are giving third-sector organisations free funding. Register your organisation with fundraising website easyfundraising, and when your supporters, staff and volunteers buy their weekly groceries online, supermarkets will donate money to you. For example, Sainsbury’s will donate £1.50 to you every time one of your supporters shops online with them. One person shopping every week could raise £72, while 10 people would raise £720 just by doing their usual online shop. It's a free, easy and low-effort way of creating a pot of funds to help carry on your vital work. Get started here: http://efraising.org/Pt8j28y9Kh

The Rotork Community Challenge is back! For the past 10 years the University of Bath’s School of Management faculty have partnered with the University of Bath’s Student Union Volunteer Department with the aim of encouraging small teams of students to volunteer their time and/or skills in October and November to add value to local charitable organisations. They are now looking for a set of ‘challenges’ that will allow up to 16 teams, each of which will consist of about 7 students, to get involved with. They are looking for 16 charities to get involved. If your charity has a project that a team of 7 students could help with and deliver between October and December, get in touch! The majority of students involved in this scheme are international and will be put into teams of other students that they have probably not met before. Therefore, part of their challenge may well include language and cultural barriers, as well as the short time given to deliver the project, but they usually really embrace the opportunity and will go above and beyond the brief to deliver a successful event. However, your time will be needed to support them as this is a learning experience for these students and things may go wrong but it’s how they then deal with these problems that is a key learning curve for them. Your project will be helping them to develop their teamwork, problem solving, communication and leadership skills to name but a few! The projects will be launched to students the week beginning 10th of October and the students then choose which challenge they would like to deliver. If we receive more than 16 challenges, then we will be shortlisting to achieve this number. Therefore, some challenges will not get selected to go through to the final round. However, we do have other groups of students who might then want to take up some of these projects at a later date. The student group’s then deliver their results as part of a presentation evening during the week beginning the 5th of December and the charities will be invited to attend this event, where an overall winner will be announced! Deadline to apply - August 25th. For more information email volunteers@bath.ac.uk Read more from last years challenge here. Application form Example applications

We're delighted to share the news that Halena Coury has joined the board of trustees at 3SG! Halena joins as our newest Treasurer, bringing with her a wealth of experience from her role as Head of Fundraising at Bath Rugby Foundation. We're very excited to start working with Halena! Halena would like to share a few words with all our lovely followers to introduce herself... "I am honoured to be taking over the role as Treasurer at 3SG, and to continue the excellent work of my predecessor, Nicky Tew. 3SG is a vital organisation representing all charities in the region. Its support throughout the pandemic and beyond enabled Bath charities to pull together to support the local community, in a coherent and cohesive manner which we have all benefited from. I am thrilled to be able to bring to the table my experiences and learnings gained from my role as Head of Fundraising at Bath Rugby Foundation and am excited to integrate them into the 3SG culture. I look forward to driving things forward alongside Becky, Miles, Emma, and my fellow 3SG trustees." Welcome Halena!

Forget the TV show - Tyning's Whisty Hall was the venue for this year's Dragon's Den, which returned to the area after a Covid hiatus. The event, hosted by Radstock & Westfield Big Local, offers local charities and community groups the chance to bid for up to £500 of Lottery funding, as part of the £1 million grant that was awarded over ten years and finishes in 2026. The idea is to make the money long lasting, having a wider effect across the areas of Radstock and Westfield for years to come. Four 'friendly' dragons - representatives from the Quartet Community Foundation, National Lottery, Rotary and B&NES 3SG (Bath & North East Somerset Third Sector Group) had the task of asking some probing questions to participants who had just 90 seconds to pitch their ideas. Each had a display beforehand for everyone to take a look at - with some participants being very inventive indeed! There were plenty of wonderful ideas and each cause was extremely worthy, but the overall winners, with £500 each, were the Small Stuff Baby Bank, who had applied for a supply of pressure fitted baby gates to help local families in financial hardship; SWALLOW, who won a day out at the beach for its members, and Norton Radstock Boxing Club, who will have a new defibrillator serving the area of Coomb End in Radstock. Radstock Foodies Club, which supports local families in cooking and eating also won £500 for slow cooker recipe books and Radstock Library will also be able to go ahead with a brand new outdoor messy play area. Radstock in Bloom won £500 to develop a community garden, with an eventual undercover potting area and the sewing of vegetables such as onions, potatoes and runner beans, with an idea to work alongside organisations such as the Foodies Club, by growing food that can easily be frozen and not go to waste. The Radco site in the centre of Radstock will become far more colourful, with Youth Connect South West hoping to take part in a graffiti project to brighten up the boards that have gone up around the site, choosing positive messages and images for those passing by. Work is expected to begin on the redevelopment of the site this year (Luce I would just check this!) The community of Tyning will enjoy future events and Radstock Arts Festival won the backing of the audience. Radstock Scouts were also winners of funding for a new cooker, which will help with hall hire and scouting events.The hall has been targeted twice by vandals in recent weeks and so the award was a most welcome piece of good news. Audience members had to place five votes each, with those who missed out now being supported by Big Local to see how they can be helped. Refreshments were provided by SWALLOW, who packed picnic bags for each guest and everyone enjoyed a fun, networking event after such a long time away. For more information about Radstock & Westfield Big Local or how you can be involved if you live in either of these areas, visit: radstockwestfield.org.uk/join-in/ email: info@radstockwestfield.org.uk or call Rob on: 07901 950114. Photo below of the four friendly dragons from Quartet Community Foundation, National Lottery, Rotary and B&NES 3SG.

We currently have an Amber Warning for Extreme Heat covering a large part of the UK for 00.00 Sunday 17th July – 23.59 Monday 18th July. The alert level can be found here. The heatwave plan can be found here. Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the advice on how to reduce risks in your settings. You can also find the Heatwave alerts Comms toolkit here.

The Children’s Public Health Team is reviewing how the Early Help App is used and they need your help! The B&NES Early Help App provides information, tools and links to a range of resources that can support volunteers and paid workers to find and access the Early Help offer in the area. As part of their continued commitment to enabling easy access to information and advice on Early Help services, they are asking current, past and potential users of the app for their views. Whether you volunteer or work for a community organisation, are a health visitor, school nurse, teacher, social worker, GP, college or university, early years provider or mental health service, the Early Help App is available to you, for free. It can be downloaded from App Store or Google Play. The survey can be found here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KMZLCRK and will take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Your time to complete the survey is appreciated and your opinion is important for them to ensure the App is continuing to meet your needs. Thanks to those of you who have already filled it out. It is not too late if you haven’t; the deadline is the end of August 2022. Please contact public_health@bathnes.gov.uk, if you have any questions or would like to discuss the Early Help App with the team directly.

Would you like ‘pro bono’ help to grow your impact? Well, take a look at Pilotlight. Pilotlight is a charity that brings in teams of business experts to help leaders address the challenges the charities and social enterprises face. We create experiential programmes that develop employees and give charities the expertise they need to thrive. The programmes – which get rave reviews - are free to access, but there is a time commitment to make the most of what they can offer. The support is designed for organisations with some paid staff rather than volunteer-only and over twenty five years, Pilotlight has helped over 1,000 charities to ignite change that lasts. Currently Pilotlight is looking for charities interested with specific challenges that they want help on over 2022, including a new pilot programme which offers a brainstorm with multiple experts over a ninety minute session and an ‘inclusive leadership’ programme focused on support for charities working with diverse communities. Since 1996 they’ve developed partnerships with over 180 of the UK’s top businesses including Barclays, Ipsos Mori, Lendlease, Morgan Stanley and Virgin Media. Register your interest so you hear about new programmes on or choose a current programme and apply on https://www.pilotlight.org.uk/join/charity/how-to-apply-for-support Copy provided by Ed Mayo - Pilotlight

Charity Digital has put together a great article offering expert advice on digital solutions and free digital assistance available to charities. We've put together an overview of their valuable advice and encourage you to find out how your organisation can make the most out of digital, even if you don't have the expertise in-house. Keeping costs down to preserve funding often means charity professionals dabble in areas outside of their expertise, and attempt a jack-of-all-trades approach to fuel the charity's mission. As Charity Digital rightly highlights, this isn't always the most productive use of time, and can add additional stress to those charity professionals who already have fingers in many different pies. Knowing what resources are out there to help charities with their digital needs can lift the burden on small teams without in-house digital expertise, allowing those teams to focus on what they do best, in turn creating a much more efficient operation. Some great resources for free digital advice include... Digital Candle - Offering a free 60-minute session with a matched digital expert, no strings attached. Ask a question, and you will be matched with one of their 349+ vetted volunteers, who are experts in all areas of digital, including CRMs, Social Media Marketing, SEO, Data Management, Service Design and many more! DigiShift - DigiShift hosts monthly zoom calls for hundreds of charity professionals to come together with experts to discuss and share best practice in all-things digital. As well as live events, they also have helpful podcasts and recordings to benefit from, on a variety of hot topics such as using digital technology sustainably. The Curve - Third Sector Labs runs a series of regular free, 90-minute workshops run especially for charities, called the Curve. These workshops cover useful knowledge and awareness of the best digital resources out there whilst helping charities make the most of digital. Recent themes have included data science, and online event promotion. Similarly to DigiShift, they have recorded workshops which you can watch at any time on their website! Coffee Connections - A virtual hub to share a chat and a brew with another member. You'll be matched with another charity professional and get the chance to network and learn from someone new. Read more from Charity Digital here.

Do you run a project or organisation that exists to improve your local community? Is it led by local people and ideally less than four years’ old? It’s tough and rewarding. But you never get the time to focus ‘on the business’ as you’re always ‘running the business’. This FREE support programme will give you the head-space, support network and funding needed to start or diversify your income from trading. You’ll become a stronger, more sustainable community business as a result of this programme. Applications are welcomed from all community businesses. SSE are particularly keen to support community business who meet any of these criteria: Led by a board or team who are mostly from a racialised and minoritised community* Led by a board or team of mostly young people (aged 16-35) Located in and giving support to very deprived or disadvantaged local communities Key features A free learning programme, to help you build your income, confidence, resilience and impact Up to £5,000 Match Trading grant A community business peer mentor An opportunity to meet regularly with other people running organisations like yours, so you can help each other out Programme benefits Grow a stronger, more sustainable community business or project Start or build your income from trading and sales Benefit from time to reflect and map out next steps Improve your leadership and business skills Build a local support network of other people running organisations like yours You’ll benefit from SSE’s practical learning style and Action Learning approach. No textbooks – just inspiring people who’ve been there and done it. Need help with your application? Drop in and ask them your questions on any of these dates: Friday 15th July 10-10.30am Tuesday 26th July 9.30-10am Find our more about the programme and if it's right for you at an online webinar: Thursday 21st July 11am-12.30pm Find out more here.

B&NES Council have launched their application portal for 2022! This year’s festival will be taking place from the 24th September to the 2nd October and like last year, organisations and community members are asked to submit events to the festival programme. Following an initial community meeting the theme of this year’s festival is to “Take action for your community”, focusing on what we can all do to combat the climate and ecological emergencies. The festival is an opportunity to run events which engage community members with climate and ecological issues, and the huge range of activity taking place across B&NES to make a positive difference. Events can be online, in person or a mixture of both. B&NES Council is also here to offer support, there are a range of FAQs on our website, but if these do not cover your questions do get in touch with them directly. If you have an event idea, but no location or if you have a great community space, but no event ideas, submit your ideas/resources through our online portal and they'll be in touch to connect and discuss. Our community drop-in sessions will be continuing each month during the run up to the festival where they can answer questions directly and update on latest festival news. Find dates and zoom links on our community network here. Expressions of interest close on Friday 8th July so get your submissions in now!

BaNES Council are happy to announce that the Bath and North East Somerset Strategic Evidence Base is now live, meeting their requirement to produce a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for the local area. These documents tell the story of Bath and North East Somerset through its data. It is designed to be used to support decision making and strategic planning across the area. The Strategic Evidence Base is an evolving document and presents their best understanding at the current point in time. This useful resource provides detailed insight into areas such as population, health, inequality, growth, emissions and housing. Find out more here.