Latest News

Please download the August edition of the RVA E Bulletin below.

Are you already running a social enterprise in East Sussex? Are you thinking of starting a social enterprise? Are you a voluntary/community organisation looking for new ways to bring in income, through trade or bidding for contracts? Are you a charity that’s trading and needs to increase your income? A social enterprise is an organisation that :

• trades goods and services for a social purpose
• makes a profit
• uses the majority of their profits for social and environmental goals

If the answer’s yes to any of these then joining the SE2 East Sussex Social Enterprise Peer to Peer Learning Network could be for you.

To find out more details, or to join the local group, which will begin meeting in Eastbourne in September or to apply for one of the 15 funded places, please contact Susan Heath at sue@decoda.org or call her on 07890389373

More info below.

Colleagues at HVA Have produced an excellent briefing paper outlining the key aspects of the Health White Paper released on July 12th

click here to access the briefing :

http://www.hastingsvoluntaryaction.org/index.php?q=node/433

Access to Finance is a FREE morning briefing for VCS groups and social enterprises in East Sussex on 28th July in Bexhill.

This event would appeal to any social enterprise or community group considering trading, delivering contracts and services as well as community enterprises like shops and village halls. The event is FREE to any not-for-personal-profit organisation.  For full details and to book your place please download the booking form and return to RVA.

Budgetary cuts affecting local government and central government are clearly beginning to impact the community and voluntary sector locally. We will keep a watching brief on developments and as and when they happen we will pass on releavnt information

RVA's position on cuts is that:

1. Any cut simply due to budgetary pressure is regrettable and possibly avoidable if discussions can take place beforehand to look at how savings can be achieved

2. Not all cuts are avoidable and therefore must be managed.

3. Affected organisations should at the earliest chance talk to the fund/budget holders about way of mitigating the impact of any cut 

RVA can help groups affected by cuts in a number of ways:

• help facilitate discssions with fund holder to look at the impact, and look at alternatives
• work with organisations to try and identify alternative funding
• work with organisations to create new collaborative and cost saving ways of working 
• help with financial and cash flow forecasting
• if necessary provide assistance on downsizing or closure procedures 

Early intervention is key and so please feel free to contact us as soon as you can. 

Click on the links below for latest briefings. We will update the page as more information is available:

HVA Briefing  http://www.hastingsvoluntaryaction.org/index.php?q=node/414

A quick round up of some funding opportunities you may have missed  

MORE FUNDS TO ENCOURAGE VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT
Volunteering England is to receive money from Sport England to drive up volunteering in sport. It will be used to help Volunteer Centres in every region work more closely with local sports clubs, to develop more opportunities and match the right people to the right roles, and to promote sports volunteering opportunities locally. News release at http://www.sportengland.org/media_centre/press_releases/volunteers_week.aspx

COMMUNITY WILDLIFE PROGRAMME
The Big Lottery Fund has just launched its new Community Wildlife programme. It is for projects that bring local people together to discover, enjoy and protect wildlife in their local area. Voluntary and community organisations, schools, town and parish councils and statutory health authorities can all apply for grants of between £300 and £10,000. Deadlines: 21 July, 22 September and 24 November. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/communitywildlife

ERNEST KLEINWORT CHARITABLE TRUST
This Trust supports charities working in the fields of wildlife and environmental conservation, charities operating in the county of Sussex and charities working in the field of Family Planning. A range of grants, typically up to £10,000 are available to support projects that make a real difference rather than very small and narrowly specialized activities. Grants made on a one off basis will be approved approximately every four months, and can be for start up costs, core costs or for a specific project. This could include a contribution towards a building/refurbishment project, purchase of equipment or assistance with running costs.
Full application guidelines and criteria can be found on the website – www.ekct.org.uk or by contacting the Trust Administrator on 020 3207 7113

CASH 4 CLUBS
Cash 4 Clubs is a sports grants scheme which offers grants ranging from £250 to £1000, whether to improve facilities, purchase new equipment, gain coaching qualifications, or generally improve the effectiveness and sustainability of their club.
The Cash 4 Clubs scheme is funded through a partnership of Betfair and Sports Aid aimed at highlighting the benefits of community sport in promoting an active lifestyle and stimulating local pride.
There are 3 tiers of grants at £250, £500 and £1,000 which are open to any sports club as long as they are registered with their sport’s National Governing Body or local authority.
Clubs can apply for a Cash 4 Clubs Sports Grant by filling out the online application form at anytime, available at http://www.cash-4-clubs.com/apply-for-a-grant/

FUNDING CENTRAL
Funding Central is a free website helping charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises to search for thousands of funding and finance opportunities – from both the public sector and charitable trusts and foundations. Funding Central also provides a wealth of tools and resources to support you in becoming more financially sustainable. There is no registration fee and no charge for using its resources – sign-up now to search across thousands of funding opportunities. www.fundingcentral.org.uk

RVA is aware that many of our groups have been concerned to understand the changes in checks for people working with children and vulnerable adults.

Registration with the vetting and barring scheme due to start on 26th July has been halted to allow the government to review it and remodel it back to proportionate, common sense levels.

The Home Secretary says that a review of the scheme for people who have frequent contact with children or vulnerable adults will ensure a measured approach to protecting vulnerable people. Meanwhile the existing arrangements under the Scheme which will continue include the following:

• since January 2009, the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has been making independent barring decisions. It will continue to maintain two constantly updated lists, one for those barred from working with children, the other for those barred from working with vulnerable adults
• existing requirements concerning Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Access Northern Ireland checks will remain in place, and those entitled to such checks can continue to apply for them
• employers are still legally obliged to refer information to the ISA if they have moved or removed an individual because they have harmed or there is a risk of harm to a member of a vulnerable group.

The scope of the remodeling process – to be co-coordinated by the Home Office in partnership with DDepartment for Education – is currently being finalised and will be announced shortly.
More than 66,000 employers, charities and voluntary groups are now being informed directly of the change. Up-to-date information is also available to businesses, other organisations and individuals on the DirectGov Website

Please download the July 2010 E Bulletin below

Download below a copy of the 2010 voluntary and community groups directory. If you would like your group to be included in the 2011 directory contact us on 01797 229750 or info@rothervoluntaryaction.org.uk. Listing is FREE to groups operating or based in the Hastings and Rother area

RVA together with Hastings Voluntary Action and 3VA are keen to capture the value of the sector to demonstrate the importance of the voluntary sector in what we all know will be difficult financial times to come. To help us we have produced a survey which will be used to estimate the size of the voluntary sector in East Sussex – the first time this has been attempted. Here at RVA we all appreciate that these surveys are time consuming but we really would appreciate it if you could help us by taking a few minutes to complete and return to us.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us at 01424 217259 or 01797 229750 and we will be more then happy to help.

Please download the survey below