Concerns over long term funding for the local Third Sector has grown 44% in the past year, our survey has shown, with urgent calls for core funding support as demand for services increase. Bath and North East Somerset Third Sector Group (3SG) has revealed the results of its 2022/23 Annual Survey of charities, community groups and social enterprises that it serves through its membership network, with the organisations that responded supporting almost half a million individuals across Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES). Published for the third year, the survey helps 3SG as the local infrastructure organisation to help support the sector and lobby on its behalf. 79 organisations responded to the questions at the end of last year, with support received from Statisticians for Society* to help analyse the results and build the strength of the annual survey for 2023/24. An infographic with the key findings can be viewed at the bottom of this article. Unsurprisingly, long term funding was the key issue, with 84% ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ concerned. 68% reported working at capacity or over; 52% were having difficulty recruiting volunteers and 32% were using reserves to meet core costs. 17% reported less than 3 months of expenditure held as reserves. In response to the cost of living crisis, 46% of organisations have taken no action. Where actions have been taken, the most common actions are unplanned use of reserves (25%) and increased cost of services (22%). These seem to be more short-term, reactive actions. If the cost of living crisis continues into the medium-term, it seems likely that actions taken would change. With the sector looking at digital inclusivity, the survey demonstrated a clear need for support in this area. 97% did not have a completely clear understanding of the use of digital to achieve goals in the organisation, with 62% stating their use of technology and tools wasn’t good or strong. But there is room for optimism, with the results showing sector resilience after three years of turmoil. Despite all of the pressures, 64.9% said that morale was excellent or good, with a very small percentage reporting poor or very poor morale within their teams. There has been a decrease in concerns around working patterns in 2022/23, 30% ‘moderately’ or ‘very’ concerned in 2022/23 compared with 82% and 86% in 2021/22 and 2020/21 respectively. There has also been a decrease in concern over viability of current services, with 80% reported in 2021/22 compared to 62% in 2022/23. Whilst organisations noted an increase in difficulty recruiting volunteers, the same respondents said that concerns over retention had decreased from 37% to 23%. Collaboration is also high, with just over half saying they had collaborated with five or more organisations in the past year and 41.8% collaborating with between two and four others. 77.2% hoped for more collaboration this year, with 100% viewing collaboration as generally positive. Becky Brooks, Director at BaNES 3rd Sector Group (3SG) commented: “Our thanks to all the 3SG members and local organisations that took part in the Annual Survey. This feedback gives us an in depth understanding of the issues facing the Third Sector and whilst there are some green shoots appearing in terms of resilience and spirit after three very challenging years, the results show a sector that desperately needs core funding support and investment. “Demand for services that the Sector provides is increasing exponentially as we recover from the turbulence of a global pandemic, adapt to war in Europe and the cost of living crisis. Residents need these services now more than ever, so we would urge people to support local charities in whatever way they can. “3SG will be using the survey results to make a clear plan for the rest of the year. We hope to provide more workshops on funding opportunities, digital skills and we are currently working on strengthening volunteering across the whole of Bath and North East Somerset, with two events coming up shortly. The first will take place online on 27th March where we will be teaming up with St Mungos and the BaNES Community Volunteer Service for organisations to discuss volunteering needs. The second, on 29th March, will be for residents to find out more about how to volunteer. We are also planning to hold a Volunteering Fair later in the year for people who want to give something back to the communities in which they live. “3SG is constantly looking at ways in which it can help strengthen the Sector - from directories to group training offerings and the launch of quarterly socials for informal networking amongst colleagues. We are also increasing work on social enterprise, as more charities look to diversify income streams in challenging times.” Kate Morton, CEO of Bath Mind and Chair of 3SG’s Board of Trustees said: “3SG’s survey is unique in our region and is a powerful barometer of the challenges and ambitions of the BaNES third sector in 2022-23. The results show that unsurprisingly, funding issues, high demand for services, limited capacity and volunteer recruitment remains difficult. There are, however, positives to take from the survey - it seems that many more organisations are open to collaboration as we move forward and hopefully this will resolve duplication, enabling charities to work efficiently together, particularly when it comes to funding bids. “The sector is also showing great resilience and spirit as it navigates yet another hard year to do what it does best - help and support other people.” To join 3SG or find out about how it supports charities and Third Sector organisations with training, advice, support and networking events visit: www.3sg.org.uk or sign up for the 3SG newsletter https://bit.ly/3SGNEWSLETTER *A huge thank you to Kat, a volunteer statistician who generously gave her time to support the analysis of the survey. Find out more about Statisticians for Society's pro bono service.

EDIT: The FSI has sadly announced that it will be formally winding up the charity this Spring 2023. Remaining training events will go ahead as planned. The Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI)* offers a range of training opportunities to support the skill sets of smaller charities, and to ensure they have the skills and training they need, not only to sustain themselves, but to thrive. Ranging from full day and half day courses, to short 60 minute webinars, a wide range of topics and skills are covered including fundraising, impact measurement, governance and project management. The FSI's extensive charity training programme is heavily subsidised at £25 for a full-day training course (their full and half-day courses have an average market value of £175 to £300) and £7.50 for a 90 minute webinar. 30 minute webinars are delivered for free. In order to access FSI's training and support, charities with an annual turnover of less than £1 million can become an FSI member for free. Organisations with an annual turnover between £1 million and £5 million can now obtain an Associate Membership for free, and access the same full suite of training and learning programme. A new initiative recently launched by The FSI is their Quarterly Big Advice Day, which offers members a chance to speak to a specialist advisor for free, on whatever topic they need. The next Quarterly Big Advice Day will be held on Friday 31st March. The FSI also offer a Charity Advice Hub, where member queries are matched to volunteer advisors for specific issues. They also hold annual Fundraising and Skills Conferences. Find out more about the services and support on offer here - https://www.thefsi.org/services *The FSI is a registered charity that supports the UK's vibrant small charity sector through the delivery of free advice and heavily subsidised training in strategy, governance, fundraising and impact. They also deliver bespoke consultancy and training packages.

Last week the Foundation for Social Improvement announced that it had taken the difficult decision to formally wind up the charity this Spring. The demise of the FSI follows the closure of the Small Charities Coalition last year. Third Sector were quick to report on the announcement, pointing out that the news comes two weeks after the 360 Giving report highlighted that over 1,000 infrastructure charities had closed their doors since 2010. A damning statistic at a time when support for small charities is needed more than ever. Civil Society also gathered responses from other infrastructure organisations. FSI Trustees cited the "increasing challenge [...of] delivering the training and support [...] with the funding received". You can read the full press release and statement from the FSI here. Since its closure announcement, the FSI is now seeking views and looking to hold discussions and consultations with small charities to hear concerns and identify ways to uphold the legacy of the FSI's work. The sessions will take place in April. Individuals who would like to be involved in the discussions can register their interest here. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), a trusted partner of the FSI, has also released a comprehensive statement and declaration of support, which can be found here. For any small charities who are worried, NCVO runs a Small Charity Helpdesk. You can call 020 7520 2552 on weekdays from 9:30am to 5:30pm or email knowhow@ncvo.org.uk.

Those with an interest in social enterprise may be interested to hear about a new fully-funded program by the West of England Combined Authority. START is a free program designed to help individuals turn their tech-based idea into a thriving startup. Through START, you will have access to intensive training, mentors, and the opportunity to pitch to award-winning business incubators. The program is supported by four local Universities and involves 28 hours of training, workshops and mentoring, to help bring your idea to life. The program is open to anyone in the West of England region, defined as Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Find out more and submit an expression of interest here.

The Small Charity Friendly Collective is an informal collective of small charity friendly specialists, who have come together to answer the challenge set in the Small Charities Coalition’s (SCC) Small and Mighty final report: to provide dedicated and trusted support to small charities. Members of this collective have extensive professional experience in the sector - previously all SCC ‘Approved Trainers’ and/or advisors, they are keen to ensure the ‘special touch’ the SCC was so known for continues on, so they are committed to following four key standards to ensure they are working in a small charity friendly way. There are eight current members of the collective, who hold expertise in areas including charity finance, charity law, fundraising and strategy, HR, leadership, staff development and communications. The initiative is in its early stages and may expand to welcome more professionals with a shared love for and dedication to small charities. To find out more about the Small Charity Friendly Collective, and read about the eight current members and how they can help, click here. *Small charities are loosely defined as those with an annual approximate turnover of under £1 million.

St. Monica's Trust have just announced the launch of a new fund - The Coronation Fund - which has been designed to allow older people to come together to celebrate the historic event within their own communities. The grant aims to support age-inclusive events and activities celebrating the Coronation, and organisations can apply for up to £500 to support the cost of arranging these. Maximum award: £500 per venue/organisation/constituted group Closing date: Midnight on 31st March 2023 Notification of decision: Early April 2023 The closing date for applications is midnight on Friday 31st March 2023 and applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application on a rolling basis – they will begin assessing applications on a weekly basis from week commencing 15th March 2023. For more information, including an application form and guidelines, please click here. If you have any questions regarding the Coronation Fund, please email charitableimpact@stmonicatrust.org.uk St Monica's Trust also continue to support older people in the region via their individual giving fund which offers one-off gifts and short-term grants. The application form for this support can also be accessed on the website.

You may recall the release of the Bath and North East Somerset Strategic Evidence Base back in the Summer, which told the story of Bath and North East Somerset through its data. BaNES Council are now pleased to release a re-published version with additional findings and updated content, which may be of great use to those making funding applications. The data is designed to be used to support decision making and strategic planning across the area. It is an evolving document and presents the Council's best understanding at the current point in time. It is therefore a useful resource to those curating funding application's for their organisations, who can utilise this information to support and strengthen their applications. The resource provides detailed insight into areas such as population, health, inequality, growth, emissions and housing. In the republished update, the following changes have been incorporated: New content: Census 2021 data: Households, Population Characteristics including: Ethnicity, Language, Religion, Disability, General Health, Unpaid Care, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Education: content updated and expanded to include the most recent published data for each education stage as well as provide greater detail on attainment and exclusions by pupil characteristics Ecological Emergency: new section added covering Nature Recovery Targets and the State of Nature in B&NES Updated content - the following slides have been updated to include the most recent data available: Life Expectancy & Healthy Life Expectancy Climate Emergency Smoking Prevalence in CYP and Adults Alcohol use in CYP Drug Misuse in CYP Severe Mental Illness Self-harm Childhood Weight (NCMP) To view the republished summary and republished full report, please click here.

The University of Bath's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has partnered up with the Santander Employability Scheme, to fund an internship for University of Bath students to support local organisations with a climate-related work project. Interns could work on a range of projects which address the host organisation’s response to the Climate Emergency, these could include: Climate change audit of the organisation – identifying carbon emissions impact, climate aspects of core business, opportunities for advocacy etc Action plan detailing recommendations for a range of actions which address reducing emissions (across energy use and the supply chain), using their organisation for climate advocacy, partnership opportunities etc – or a focus on a specific area Exploring different potential carbon emission reduction pathways Detailed analysis of technical solutions for decarbonising the organisation’s buildings Identifying staff needs and developing a climate action training and engagement plan Exploring the organisation’s approach to the climate emergency through the lens of different business models (product as a service, circular economy etc) The Climate Action team works across the University to support the delivery of our whole institution response to the Climate Emergency. As a result, they have team members working on all areas of the climate response who would offer support and mentorships to the student interns. Benefits to your organisation in taking part: An opportunity to address a challenge/issue which they are facing A cost-effective way of gaining free additional resource and insight Exposure to future graduate recruits Enthusiastic students eager to deliver high quality work CPD opportunities for existing team members The work project and internship would take place over the Summer of 2023, with up to 108 hours of working support from the intern. Their work may be completed virtually, or in person. In collaboration with the University’s Climate Action Framework Team, they have already seen positive outcomes of students working on projects to help organisation reduce their carbon footprint, and would like to continue this work with more local organisations in 2023. Eligible organisations include all companies, start-ups, sole traders, and partnerships from all sectors, that are based and registered in the U.K. If your organisation would be interested in hosting an Employability Project for one of the University of Bath's students during summer 2023, then please reach out to Amy Childe – Student Success Officer – ah2246@bath.ac.uk The University of Bath are keen to hear from organisations that are interested in the projects format, this may be a different subject from climate action, but they would still like to hear from you and how students could support one of your organisation’s projects.

The Cyber Threat Report: UK Charity Sector was recently published by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and includes valuable advice and information to easily improve cyber security within your charitable organisation, on a quick and affordable basis. Charities of all sizes are affected to some degree by cyber threats, and so it's important to keep on top of useful resources, training and news, such as this Small Charity Report released by the National Cyber Security Centre. At 3SG, we're committed to supporting our members to understand the cyber threats they face, and build defences and procedures to protect them against attacks. Often, the smallest charities mistake their risk level, and don't prioritise finding the capacity to engage in cyber security training. That's why we have partnered with the NCSC and NAVCA* to deliver short training sessions to equip your charity with the essentials. Cyber Security Training for Small Charities will run on March 7th and April 25th, and we encourage all our members to take advantage of this free offer. Sign up to one of the sessions here. More about the report: This report has been developed with Boards and trustees in mind, highlighting key threats charities face in 2023 and beyond. It reflects the ongoing threat to the sector as more charities run services and fundraising online and highlights how the sector is particularly attractive to attackers seeking financial gain. It also provides case studies showing how disruptive and costly incidents can be, it also warns about the threat from cyber criminals taking advantage of public generosity during times of hardship by masquerading as charities to receive donations. It’s thought that with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, we could see an increase in cyber-crimes. The report can be found here. *3SG are members of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA), a national membership body specifically for local sector support and development organisations (also known as local infrastructure) in England.

We know a good thing when we see one here at 3SG, which is why we need to let you know about a fabulous organisation called A Good Thing CIC, who make it their mission to facilitate donations from generous businesses, directly to local charities and non-profit organisations in need. The aim of A Good Thing CIC is to make it easy for charities of all sizes to get hold of the right sorts of things to help them achieve their goals. In doing so, efforts are made to reduce waste and reuse quality items. The possibilities are endless, so whether your organisation is in need of laptops for staff, furniture for your office, gifts for the people you help, or a meeting place, A Good Thing CIC will connect you to a local business who can help for free. It's quick and simple to sign your charity up, and start browsing current local offers online or via the app. Click here to find out more. At the moment, they have a brilliant offer of dozens of great-quality PCs available in Wiltshire – so, not too far away. The details are here: https://app.agoodthing.org.uk/public/offer/dxoVI4Q1uijjRf4onFTm

The finalists for Bath Life Awards 2023 have now been announced, and we are so proud to congratulate some of our wonderful members who have made it to the prestigious final on March 23rd. We're delighted that 21 of our member organisations are in with a chance of winning across 6 categories. Local businesses and charities were able to nominate themselves for free in any of the 21 categories to be in with a chance of receiving well-deserved publicity and recognition. For 3SG members, the Charity and Civic categories offered specific opportunities, but charities and third sector organisations were also able to nominate themselves in categories that relate to their work (such as Health & Wellbeing), until nominations closed last week (January 24th). The finalists in the Charity category are... Bath Institute for Rheumatic Diseases* Bath Rugby Foundation* Bath Welcomes Refugees* Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW)* Dorothy House Hospice Care* Great Western Air Ambulance Charity I Can & I Am* RUHX* SWALLOW* Trauma Breakthrough* Trauma Recovery UK* Young Carers Development Trust* The finalists in the Civic category are... Bath & West Community Energy* Bath Carnival* Bath Festivals* Bath Racecourse Large Vaccination Centre Community Matters Digital Wonderlab The Little Theatre Cinema Radio Bath* Unividual Widcombe Social Club Local third sector organisations have also made it to the Bath Life Awards final in alternative categories: Education Brighter Futures by Three Ways School* Share & Repair* Voices for Life* Event Bath Carnival* Bathscape Health & Wellbeing B&NES Enhanced Medical Services* Peggy Dodd Centre* YMCA Bath Health & Wellbeing Centre* Sustainability Bath & West Community Energy* *3SG Member Organisations Congratulations to all finalists and thank you for all of the amazing work you do! The Bath Life Awards Final will take place at The Pavilion, Bath, on Thursday 23rd March at 6:30pm. Find out more here.

Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool, which can be used to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more. As part of the Canva Nonprofits program, they're now allowing up to 50 people per eligible nonprofit to make the most of Canva, with access to their premium paid suite of visual communication features, absolutely free. Here's a list of some of the features you can get for your volunteers and staff: 420,000+ templates 75 million+ images 3.5+ million graphic elements 3000+ fonts Look professional with set and forget brand colors, fonts and logos Turn one graphic into many with Magic Resize Unlimited folders and 100GB storage for all your designs Bring your creativity to life with animations and GIFs Apply now for the nonprofits account to get Canva’s premium features for free. If you already have a Canva nonprofits account or when you come to have it set up, you'll need to do the following steps to add additional people:* 1. Click the gear icon to go to your Account Settings 2. Select the People tab in the side panel 3. Click “Invite People” Want to learn more about how to use Canva? 3SG is bringing back its popular Canva tutorials for 2023. This is a short online session that will go through the basics of how to optimise Canva for your external communications. Book a session below: Wednesday 01 Mar 2023, 12:00 – 13:00 - Book Here *You'll need to be a team owner or administrator of the organisations account.

Bath Women’s Fund grant programme is now open to applications. Their 2023 theme is ‘Increasing the resilience of women and/or girls facing barriers, for example, mental health or financial but not limited to these’. Under this theme Bath Women's Fund expect to fund work that builds lasting resilience rather than short-term change As a Giving Circle, their grants are funded through collective giving by all their members and together they are involved in choosing the theme and choosing which organisation will be awarded the main grant of £15,000. Two other organisations will receive awards of £4,000. To apply, organisations must have: ü a charitable purpose ü a constitution or governing document appropriate to your legal entity. For CICs this must include an asset lock. ü a board of at least three unconnected trustees, or a management committee with at least three unconnected members, or for a CIC, three unconnected Directors, with no one being a Person of Significant Control. (By unconnected we mean not related by blood, marriage or civil partnership, in a long-term relationship or living together at the same address) ü a bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two signatories who are not related to one another. If your organisation is struggling to set-up a bank account, consider talking to your local credit union about creating a bank account for your group: https://www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk/ ü all relevant policies (e.g. safeguarding), procedures and insurances in place ü a track record of working in Bath and the surrounding area (specifically Bath & North East Somerset) with local knowledge and connections. Further information, guidelines, and eligibility criteria can be found at: www.bathwomensfund.org.uk/grants Deadline for submission of Expression of Interest forms is 5 p.m. on Monday 20th February. Bath Women's Fund also has a short survey to find out more about local organisations and the people involved: https://forms.office.com/r/ABvsFKCHwK In the build up to International Women’s Day on 8th March, they will also be showcasing local organisations on social media to raise awareness and promote work to support women and/or girls, as well as celebrating inspiring women working in local charities.

If your organisation needs to upskill its workforce, or is struggling to recruit the skillsets it needs, then the West of England Combined Authority Skills Bootcamps could be just the ticket. Skills Bootcamps offer an affordable way to obtain specialist training and retain valuable staff, and WECA have now launched the fourth round of bootcamps. £5.1m of funding is available for all sectors with skills shortages, including green skills like retrofit, green transport & organisational sustainability, as well as digital marketing, apprenticeships, and leadership and management training. The launch event will be held on Monday 30th January and you can register here to find out more. Applications are welcome from a range of organisations including employers of all sizes, training providers, education, third sector and more.

You are invited to apply to the 9th Dragons’ Den, taking place on the evening of Fri 21st April (location tbc). Applications are open until Friday 31st March at 5pm. Radstock & Westfield Big Local's Dragons’ Den community event is designed to enable residents and organisations to receive money to carry out projects that will benefit and improve the communities within Radstock and Westfield (including Writhlington, Clandown, Tyning and Haydon). Residents and organisations are invited to apply to take part to win up to £500 each – and make good things happen in our community. The Green Dragon! This year our theme is the environment … so applications should focus on improving or exploring our outdoor spaces, or helping people with efforts in sustainability. Be creative with the idea! The first 15 applicants will be given the opportunity to pitch, so get your applications in ASAP! The community* decides! Applicants will be making their pitch to the audience (made up of residents), who will vote for their favourite 5 projects. There will be up to ten winners! There will be food! There will be fun and a chance to connect with the community and stakeholders (last time from Quartet Community Foundation, TNL Community Fund, Somer Valley Rotary, and 3SG). The application form is simple and quick to fill in, all you need is an idea to make your community an even better place to live. For more details please contact Rob: robwicke@radstockwestfield.org.uk / 07901950114 *Please note that only residents of the Radstock and Westfield area are able to vote, so you are encouraged to bring along supporters that live in this area – map here: About Us – Big Local | my Radstock | my Westfield (radstockwestfield.org.uk) Importantly, it’s the residents themselves who will decide which projects are their priorities. Radstock & Westfield Big Local believe that from small acorns, grand oak trees will grow, creating opportunities to inspire, engage and entertain local residents – 80 projects have already been supported! Application closing date: 5pm, Friday 31st March.

Each year students at the University of Bath select four charities to support throughout the academic year, and events are run to raise funds for the charities selected. These include regular events such as the Hitchhike, an on-campus Take Me Out and a team entry in the Bath Half Marathon. Plus collections and other fundraisers happen throughout the year for students. At the end of the academic year the profit raised for RAG is divided between the Big 4 charities. Should the funds raised exceed £20,000 for the Big 4, approximately 13% of the funds may be used for the Small Charity Grant Scheme, which is aimed at small local charities who are not eligible to apply to be one of the Big 4. Applications are now open for local charities to be part of this year's Big 4. Bath RAG are passionate about supporting our local community and as such will aim to select at least three charities that are local to Bath RAG, meaning an office located in BaNES and activities that support local beneficiaries. National charities working in BaNES are still able to apply but only one can be appointed. Please read the Big 4 application guidelines carefully before applying. The deadline is 28th February 10:00am. RAG’s Big 4 Charity Application Guidelines (thesubath.com) Please note if you are one of this year's Big 4 you cannot apply again for next year. The process and general timings of the Big Four selection are as follows: 16th January: Applications open. Charities must complete an application form in full and submit this by the deadline 28th February 10:00am. February: The student population are asked to vote for one charity in each of the four categories they would like to support in the next academic year. February / March: A panel made up of RAG committee members, the SU Activities Officer, and Volunteering Staff members will review the applications to create a shortlist of up to 16 charities. These charities are usually categorised under four general headings linked to the aims of the organisation, for example, 'Health'. March: Announcement. We aim to announce the four charities selected shortly after the vote. September: Support starts. The new academic year starts and RAG will begin fundraising for their new Big 4 Find out more here.

The Government has announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) to run from 1 April 2023 for eligible non-domestic consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This replaces the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme for non-domestic customers, which comes to an end on 31 March 2023 and provided a reduction on wholesale gas and electricity prices. The new scheme sets a cap of £5.5Bn on expenditure based on the estimated volumes that will be used. The aim is to provide a balance between supporting businesses for 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and limiting taxpayer expenditure. Eligibility for Energy Bills Discount Scheme The scheme is available to all non-domestic contracts including: businesses voluntary sector organisations and charities public sector organisations such as schools, hospitals, and care homes who are: on existing fixed price contracts that were agreed on or after 1 December 2021 signing new fixed price contracts on deemed / out of contract or standard variable tariffs on flexible purchase or similar contracts. Amount of Discount A discount will be applied to the unit price of gas and electricity for 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. However, a cap will be applied so that the reduction in unit price is subject to a maximum amount. In addition, the discount will only apply if wholesale prices are above a certain price threshold. From 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, all eligible non-domestic customers who have a contract with a licensed energy supplier will see a unit discount of up to £6.97 per MWh [Megawatt hour] automatically applied to their gas bill and a unit discount of up to £19.61per MWh automatically applied to their electricity bill. This will be subject to a wholesale price threshold of: • £107 per MWh for gas • £302 per MWh for electricity. If energy costs are below this level, the price reduction will not apply. The discount is calculated based on the difference between the contracted wholesale price and the price threshold. The discount is phased in as the contract’s wholesale price exceeds the threshold price, until the total discount per MWh reaches the maximum discount allowable. i.e. once the contract price exceeds £302 per MWh for electricity the discount is applied up to a maximum of £19.61 per MWh. This is different to the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which set an effective maximum price for energy. This gives only a maximum reduction available, prices may well be considerably higher than the threshold, even with a discount. As the discount will apply on a sliding scale up to a maximum capped amount, should prices rise considerably again, the impact of the discount will be small. Customers do not need to apply for the discount, it will be applied automatically by suppliers. This is effectively transitional support to move all non-domestic customers to paying the full costs of energy from 1 April 2024. Energy Intensive Industries Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETIIs) will receive a higher level of support, subject to a maximum discount. The maximum discounts and price threshold for these sectors are: • a maximum discount of £89 per MWh for electricity with a price threshold of £185 per MWh • a maximum discount of £40 per MWh for gas with a price threshold of £99 per MWh • the discount will only apply to 70% of energy volumes • Eligible ETII customers will have to apply for the higher level of support. This applies to industries such as mining, quarrying, steel making, paper mills; manufacturing of chemicals, bricks, glass and rubber; domestic products including consumer electronics, domestic appliances, and textiles; and food production including bread, meat, beer and dairy. It also applies to four categories that in part fall within the charitable / VCSE sector. These are: • 91.01 Library and archive activities • 91.02 Museum activities • 91.03 Operation of historical sites and buildings and similar visitor attractions • 91.04 Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserve activities. The ETII does not apply to public sector bodies such as hospitals and schools and also excludes care homes. It also does not apply to hospitality sector, the VCSE sector or sports organisations. Example Discounts The Government have provided the following examples of how the scheme could be applied, as the level of support for each organisation will vary depending on type and date of contract. These are illustrative examples only, based on recent averages of forward wholesale prices. Prices may differ from those experienced in practice. Example 1: A pub A typical pub uses 16 MWh of gas and 4 MWh of electricity each month. Under the new EBDS, bills may be reduced by up to £2,280 from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. Example 2: A small retail shop A typical small retail store uses 2 MWh of gas and 1 MWh of electricity each month. Under the new EBDS, bills may be reduced by up to £403 from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. Example 3: A medium sized manufacturing business A medium sized manufacturer uses 1,600 MWh of gas and 200 MWh of electricity each month. Under the new ETII scheme, it could receive a reduction of up to £687,120 on energy bills from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. For more detail, see the Energy Bills Discount Scheme. Analysis provided by National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA)*: This scheme will help organisations with contracts signed at higher rates [before recent falls in the wholesale price] and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again. However, this represents a potential significant increase in energy costs for the VCSE sector from levels supported by the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme. For comparison purposes under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which ends on 31 March 2023, prices were capped at £211 MWh for electricity and £75 MWh for gas. The new scheme lifts the bar for Government intervention to a much higher level with a much lower level of price support. Wholesale prices for gas and electricity are currently reducing from their peak in the summer. As of the beginning of January 2023 electricity is at or around £200 per MWh. A contract signed at this sort of price today would not attract any additional support from the EBDS. For gas the current wholesale price is around £150 per MWh which therefore would attract a further discount of up to £6.97 per MWh reducing the wholesale price to around £143. Whilst this assistance is welcome, more is needed to support the VCSE sector which is already facing very much significantly higher energy costs compared to 2021 prices. This will now leave frontline VCSE organisations that do not have the ability to pass on increased costs, with potentially unmanageable bills. The safety net for communities in the cost of living crisis that VCSE organisations are currently providing, is at risk if a solution is not found. VCSE organisations must have a sustainable future in order to meet the increasing demand of those most in need. More details about the government's Energy Bills Discount scheme can be found by clicking here. *NAVCA is a national membership body (of which 3SG are members) specifically for local sector support and development organisations (also known as local infrastructure) in England.

Eleven neighbourhood projects in Bath will share more than £420,000 in community funding following a public consultation to help choose the recipients. The twelfth round of the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for Bath will support projects including a new food pantry, parks improvements and better community facilities for carers. Bath & North East Somerset Council has announced the winning projects which were chosen following feedback from the public consultation held in July this year. The 11 projects that have secured funding are: £20,000 for Mercy in Action to set up a new food pantry community facility in Twerton £37,000 to reinstate the pump track and install new outdoor gym equipment at Pennyquick Park in Twerton £80,714 for Your Park Bristol and Bath to support the delivery of the Bath Parks Activator Programme to enhance 18 parks across Bath to create and maintain natural habitats £25,000 for BANES Carers Centre in Bath to improve community facilities for carers in Twerton £28,050 for the Percy Centre to provide youth services in Kingsmead £35,000 for the Canal and River Trust towards improving Bathwick Towpath £45,000 towards improvements to Broad Street Place Community Garden in Kingsmead £67,443 for More Trees BANES towards 10 new community-based tree nurseries in Bath £9,645 for Bath City Farm towards a new workshop for older volunteers to use, in partnership with the Bath Shed Group £47,596 for Bath Mind towards community allotment facilities at Monksdale Road in Moorlands £26,122 for Julian House to improve community facilities for homeless people in Kingsmead Councillor Kevin Guy, council Leader, said: “This funding is great news for these excellent projects that add real value to our communities and provide fantastic new facilities. Each one will serve residents well for years to come. Thank you to everyone who responded to our consultation – your feedback has helped to make a positive difference in your community.” Further rounds of CIL funding for Bath will be consulted on in due course. The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge, introduced by the Planning Act 2008 as a tool for local authorities in England and Wales to help deliver infrastructure to support the development of their area. Since its introduction The Neighbourhood Portion of CIL for Bath has allocated nearly £1.7 million to 51 projects. Our Community Funding Projects Map shows where these projects are across the city.

Bath Spa University are delighted to announce the relaunch of their internship scheme, specifically designed for third sector organisations. After a brilliant first round of internships, they are back again for another intake of Bath Spa Works: Third Sector Internships to help support the growth of charities, social enterprise or a CIC. These opportunities provide invaluable experiences to Bath Spa students allowing them to enhance their key employability skills, which will set them apart in the ever competitive Graduate labour market. The Offer: All employers have such varying recruitment needs, and the programme is designed to be as flexible as possible to suit your organisation. This year, Bath Spa Works will once again be offering you the opportunity to advertise an internship, between 80-120 hours to help support your organisation. This internship could be supporting your organisation's growth or you may have a specific project in mind. Although these internships are not required to be paid at national minimum wage, they are able to offer the successful student an Employability Award of £1,000 to go towards their work with you. This Award will be paid in 2 payments and will be made directly to the student. Interested? Here’s how to get involved: Step 1: Complete this Employer Proposal form (click here for form) with an outline of your internship details. You must submit a proposal form otherwise you will not be eligible to receive the funding as part of Bath Spa Works: Internships. Step 2: Your form will be submitted to the Placements Team to review and approve if deemed appropriate ((so please be as clear as possible in your description of the role). It can take up to 5 working days for forms to be reviewed. Step 3: Once your Proposal Form has been reviewed by the Placements Team, you will be contacted with the outcome and next steps. If/when your proposal has been approved, you will receive confirmation from the Placements Team. This confirmation will be sent via email. Step 4: Upload your opportunity! If approved, you will receive further details on how to do this. NB: Please note, this project has limited funding so won't be able to accept all proposals. Decisions will be based on the quality of the opportunity for students and the organisation's need. This intake of proposals will be open from 9th January 2023 - 19th March 2023. However, proposal closure will be subject to change (early or extended closure) as determined by funding available. There will be one final intake of proposals opening in April. Please take the time to read over the Bath Spa Works: Third Setcor Internships: Terms & Conditions (click here) and for any internships that involve remote working, we also encourage you to take the time to read over this "Guide to working from home for students" from ACAS. Get in touch at placements@bathspa.ac.uk if you have any questions.

"A very Happy New Year to all of our 3SG members. I hope you managed to have a restorative festive break. Many of us needed a well deserved rest, but unfortunately it seems quite a few succumbed to flu and Covid instead. Not really what we had planned! Whatever your Christmas and New Year looked like, I hope you are easing back into January and all that it brings. For many, it may feel like going from zero to a thousand in just a few days. Now more than ever, it is important that we take care of ourselves so that organisations can support those in need, for as we know, demand is rising and services are stretched. We are all battling through what can often feel like a bleak, wet, illness-ridden January - at the best of times! I’ve just finished reading the NAVCA annual survey findings and comparing the national picture as we start to analyse the 3SG Annual Third Sector Survey which was completed at the end of last year. We aim to release the results towards the end of this month. As you would expect, the top three issues align with concern over long term funding, staff recruitment and wellbeing and increased demand for services. But locally, there is hope - with 3SG members reporting that morale is still high and collaboration is key. Between Christmas and New Year the 3SG team met to plan for 2023. Our focus, of course, is to support members fully as we navigate the pressures together and as a charity ourselves, we share concerns about long term funding. Amongst our plans are regular socials and more face to face events, following some really informative and heart-warming get togethers towards the end of last year. When times are hard, coming together is key, and whilst we know capacity challenges can make attending events difficult, we really believe that it is worth it, so please support these if you can. Following our successful SSE workshops and events last year, we’ll be looking for funding to put on some more of these throughout 2023, plus handy sessions, such as our Canva workshops and of course, 1:1 support where needed. Our jobs page is growing and producing good results for those advertising and we’ll be looking to shine more of a spotlight on member organisations, since welcoming Emma Huggill to the team full time as our Operations and Content Coordinator. We will be launching an Ageing Well Network this year for organisations working with older people and there will be more information coming through on the Integrated Care System as well as this begins to settle. And finally, we ended last year on a high as we reached 200 members! As I write this, we are celebrating 208 organisations joining us. Welcome! I’d like to mention Miles and Emma here, as their hard work and dedication to 3SG has been instrumental in this growth. They are a wonderful team. Whilst 2023 will yet again be another challenging year, we cannot wait to get started - moving forward in the spirit of positivity, hope and collaboration. We are here for you - so please get in touch if you have any ideas or ways in which we might be able to support you. Happy New Year!" Rebecca Brooks, 3SG Director