Calls for new ethical approach to framing service users in fundraising

Recent research from the University of East Anglia, University of the Arts London and Amref Health Africa, found that fundraising appeals that are co-created or led by service users can actually raise more money and be more effective than those created solely by the charity.

Building on this research, a new paper by Ian MacQuillin, Director of Rogare; Jess Crombie, London College of Communication; and Ruth Smyth, from Boldlight, argues that charities should develop and implement ethical policies for how they collect and portray the stories of service users in their fundraising activities.

Jess Crombie, one of the paper's co-authors, said:

The full paper - ‘“The sweetest songs” – Ethical framing in fundraising through the agency of service users/contributors to tell their own stories’ – is available through open access on the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing website.

Other papers, videos and resources on the subject of ethics in fundraising and the framing of service users can be found on the Rogare website.

A longer version of this news story can also be read on the UK Fundraising website.

Shropshire Council steps in to fund local bus services 

Shropshire Council is stepping in to fund a number of local bus services following the recent announcement by Arriva and other operators of changes and reductions to some of the current routes they operate. 

It has been a difficult couple of years for the transport sector and there are many new challenges as the country recovers from the effects of the pandemic, higher fuel rates and driver shortages. Sadly, many local bus operators nationally are having to take immediate action to ensure their businesses are viable in the future.  

In Shropshire, some services that have been in the past commercially operated by Arriva have had to be reviewed as well as some subsidised services that receive funding from Shropshire Council. 

Where the council can step in with the funding it currently has available, it has done so and provided support for these services until early September 2022. 

When support runs out for these services in September 2022 it does not necessarily mean that the routes will cease, it simply allows the council a period of time to reflect and identify any alternative solutions to encourage new passengers as it looks to Shropshire’s future in terms of public transport.  

The services that are to be funded by the council include: 

• 558 – Worthen 
• 553 – Plox Green 
• 20 – Radbrook Green 
• 9 – Wolverhampton to Bridgnorth 
• 21 – Reabrook 
• 64 – Market Drayton to Shrewsbury 
• 738/740 – Ludlow to Knighton 
• 544/546 – Little Lyth and Pulverbatch  

This interim subsidy is significant and not affordable for the council past September 2022 and solutions are being sought to combine this with other services in the area to provide a longer-term sustainable solution. News on this will be publicised on the Council's newsroom in the coming weeks. 

The revised timetables for bus services will be publicised on the Arriva website and Shropshire Council’s Newsroom in due course.   

Sustainability community and summit for organisations

Is your organisation interested in becoming a member of a growing sustainability community? Then you might want to check out the SUSTx annual sustainability summit. The next summit will be held in January 2023.

SUSTx is a sustainability community for UK business and sustainability leaders. 

In addition to their annual sustainability summit, SUSTx have a number of resources available to members, including a portfolio of conferences, training courses and webinars that run throughout the year, to help organisations become more sustainable and achieve their net-zero goals.

Membership is free, and includes invitations to a number of events, on-demand content, articles and webinars, and invitations to training courses. 

Additionally, every month, SUSTx send out a newsletter to their subscriber base, which includes the latest in sustainability insights as well as exclusive offers to their events and courses.

To join, visit the SUSTx website.

SaTH team to scale Scafell Pike to raise funds

Don't miss your chance to provide input on the National Lottery Community Fund strategic review

Thanks to National Lottery players, the National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF) have been able to make a significant difference to communities, including through the pandemic.

Now, as the UK begins to emerge from COVID-19, TNLCF has a critical role to play in supporting communities to unleash their energy and potential so they can get to where they want to be. Communities across the UK are facing fresh challenges and opportunities and have new hopes and aspirations. This is an exciting and inspiring time, and they want to hear from you to help them understand how they continue to effectively support communities across the UK.

You can read more about it here and watch the launch video here but more importantly, please provide your views by responding to the survey, which closes May 20th.

Two Days Left!

Register Now for the VCSA Annual Assembly

Don't forget to book your place for the 2022 VCSA Annual Assembly Meeting. VCSA members and partners are all welcome to this free event. This is a great opportunity to learn about what's happening in the sector, to have your voice heard on important priorities, and to get in some much-missed networking time!

Full event details can be found on our website, or on the Eventbrite booking page.

Members can feel free to bring flyers/information to put out on tables.

Refreshments will be served.

If you need a lift from the Shrewsbury bus station or train station, email Sarah Hampson, as we will be arranging a shuttle to take people from public transport to the Football Club.

SYST Looking for Groups to Join "Charity Drop-In" Event for Young People in Telford 

Does your charity, voluntary group or social enterprise work with young people in Telford & Wrekin?

the Shropshire Youth Support Trust (SYST) is looking to get your organisation involved in its "Charity Drop-In" event for young people ages 19-24 in Telford & Wrekin.

The event will be held May 27th 2022, and will be hybrid, so your organisation can either attend in person or online, and there is no fee to book a slot. If you can't spare anyone to be present at the event, you can also just send materials to be put out.

Supported by the Telford & Wrekin Council Safer and Stronger Communities Project, the event is aimed at showcasing the support and volunteer opportunities available to young people in Telford & Wrekin, with a particular aim at those young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Please download the flyer or email Sadie Edwards at SYST for more information and to book your organisation's slot.

In The Café:

Get-togethers with a theme 

For older members of the LGBT+ community, SAND is hosting a new series of themed conversational get-togethers.

Palmers Café Palmer’s Cafe, Claremont St, Shrewsbury SY1 1QG on the 4th Wednesday afternoon of the month 2 – 4pm.

It’s a chance to chat, share information and talk about things that affect LGBT+ people as we age. Come along for a warm welcome and interesting conversations. Joining them In The Café is one of the many ways that SAND would welcome your involvement. Be part of creating a better experience for LGBT+ people as we age. As you arrive, come through to the room behind the coffee bar where you’ll be met and your drinks order taken, as your first drink’s on us. Pick a table and settle in.

The next meeting is April 27th and the theme is Spend it or Save for my Old Age? Meet the specialists with all the latest information on benefits. Find out about the rules on income and savings that could help you manage your money. 

For more information about previous and upcoming meetings and themes, visit SAND's In the Cafe web page. You can also download April event flyer here for distribution.

Healthier Minds Festival

The NHS in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin is inviting people from different ethnic communities living locally to come together to find out what services, community groups and activities are available to them in the area to encourage and enable healthier minds.

The event will take place Thursday, May 5th at the Telford Cultural Centre.

Community leaders, NHS teams and stallholders from a wide range of voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations and groups will be on-hand to meet the communities they serve. They will also discuss with community members what is working well and also find out reasons why community members might not be coming forward and making contact with services.

The ICS want to find out:

• Whether communities know what services and support is out there locally for them and where they can go for help relating to their emotional wellbeing.
• How we can improve the support that is currently available.

For those who attend, this is a chance to shape and improve local services for the future.

This event will be run as an informal, market stall style event to encourage lots of discussion, networking and a chance to forge supportive, local connections.

As part of the day, there will be:

• A free, vegetarian lunch served for those who attend.
• Representatives from a range of organisations from the voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector
• NHS teams including colleagues from Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides physical and mental health, learning disability and adult social care services locally.
• A variety of demonstrations

Please note – the Healthier Minds Festival will form the beginning of a roadshow set of events, where following on from this the ICS will be asking community groups to get in contact with them, so that they can visit people in their familiar and trusted community spaces.

More information about the event can be found via the ICS website, and a flyer for display/distribution can be downloaded here.

Telford Autism Hub Team Assistant

(Children 0 – 16 years)

Telford and Wrekin CVS are looking to appoint an enthusiastic and motivated person to join their Children’s Autism Hub. If you are passionate about supporting children and young people with autism, and their parents / carers, then this exciting opportunity could be for you.

Salary: £9,170 per annum, 18 hours per week: Temporary contract until 31 March 2024

This role is to:

• Support children and young people with autism and their parents.
• Facilitate and develop links to statutory and voluntary agencies for the benefit of children, young people, their parents and our service.
• Support and deliver the day-to-day creative sessions for peer support for families.
• Staff and manage the referral line; acting as the initial point of contact which includes:
  • Obtaining client details and brief outline of concerns.
  • Forwarding of referral information and related messages to the team.
  • Inputting of referral information onto the database.
• Production, including the printing of leaflets, posters, flyers, agendas, letters, questionnaires and forms.

Download now: the full job advert, job description, and application form. Closing date for applications is Friday, 13th May at 3pm.

For an informal discussion email Julie Collins (Children’s Service Manager) or phone on 01952
457439 or by email 

Lingen Davies: Cancer Champions

Lingen Davies are hiring for two positions:

A Shropshire Cancer Champions Project Officer (0.6 wte, 22.5 hours employed by Qube, Oswestry)

A Telford Cancer Champions Project Officer (0.6 wte, 22.5 hours employed by Lingen Davies Cancer Fund)

Consideration for a full time 37.5 hour post may be given to a successful candidate willing to undertake the role for both Shropshire and Telford.

The successful candidate will be responsible for building a body of enthusiastic, engaged and trained volunteer Cancer Champions who work within their own community and other settings, targeting population groups with the highest cancer burden.

To be successful, you will need exceptional organisational skills and have the initiative to manage your workload.

They welcome applications from people with lived experience and those from minority communities.

These roles are funded by the Shropshire and Telford CCG to deliver their CORE20 Plus Community Connectors NHS-funded project. This is a 12-month fixed-term contract in the first instance, with the possibility of extension depending on funding and outcomes.

Please see below for the full details of the post and application form:

JOB DESCRIPTION CCC Final

CCC PERSON SPEC Final

CCC Application Form Final

Closing date for applications: Monday 2nd May, 8pm

Interviews will be held Wednesday 11th May.

For an informal discussion about these roles please email Miranda Ashwell or telephone on 01743 492396.

Completed applications should be emailed to recruitment@lingendavies.co.uk Paper applications will not be accepted.

Invitation to Quote:

Artist/Wood Carver/Play Consultant

Shropshire Council Outdoor Partnerships Team, who manage Stanmore Country Park, are putting together a large grant application to improve the park. As part of the application, the Team are seeking a consultant to create a series of low-key wooden play features/carvings that tell the story of the park. Themes that could be explored include;

• History as a former RAF base
• Wildlife value of the park
• The connection that visitors have with the space, both real and imagined

The pieces will be located along the easy access nature trail and the aim is that they will encourage children to explore the park by offering opportunities for natural play as they enjoy a family walk. The play features will focus on simple activities like climbing, balance and stimulating children’s imaginative play, in order to keep the features relatively simple to maintain. An obvious example could be a wooden plane that incorporates some of these elements of play or carving a series of fairy doors into a tree to explore the imagined side of our connection with the outdoors

The artwork must sit lightly in the natural and historic landscape and be made from sustainably sourced UK timber. This could include carvings/willow sculptures and possibly materials from around the park (if deemed suitable)

If successful, the start date for the project will be September 2022. The play features will need to be installed by September 2023.

Full details on the invitation to quote, Stanmore Country Park, and the proposed project, can be downloaded here.

Consultants wishing to apply should submit a proposal detailing how they will respond to the brief and explaining:

• Their relevant experience
• An itemised quotation
• References and/ or testimonials of their work

The proposal should be sent to Edward Andrews, Parks and Countryside Sites Officer, Shropshire Council by 5pm on 3rd May 2022. To discuss the project, please call 01746 781192

Invitation to Quote:

Early Help Workforce Development Phase 1

The Strengthening Families plan identifies the need to provide the right level of training to all practitioners, including staff from Targeted Early Help Services, health, housing and domestic abuse services, pastoral care teams in schools and voluntary sector partners.  The aim is to have a confident, knowledgeable workforce, who can respond to the local need in an appropriate and timely way.

The workforce development programme will provide partners with the opportunity to upskill staff to

• deliver practical support to a range of clients
• remain outcome focused 
• understand underlying issues to support
• will benefit families, agencies and provide cost effective interventions. 

The current workforce development strategy aims to achieve:

• a more effective and reenergised workforce, especially after the pandemic
• a supportive and open-minded workforce with the ability and energy to bring about change
• more effective case working: less time with cases being stuck/blocked
• a more resilient workforce: able to manage their role and support others
• an ability to meet targets
• improved outcomes for families
• a reduction in families meeting the threshold for level 4 interventions.

Quotes should be submitted by NOON (midday) on 2nd May 2022.

Full details and proposal form can be downloaded here, or found on the Shropshire Council website.

Tender Opportunity:

Provision of Residential Care for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Tenders are invited from providers for the Provision of Residential Care for Adults with Learning Disabilities.

The home is located in Market Drayton in North Shropshire and is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide services to 4 individuals. There are currently 3 individuals living in the home.

The contract will be let for a period of five years commencing on 1st October 2022 with an option to extend for up to a further five years.

Submission deadline 11th May 2022. Read more information on the Shropshire Council website.

Ideas Made Real

Ideas Made Real is an exciting and unique opportunity for young people 16-24 to turn their awesome ideas into a reality with an Ideas Made Real Award powered by Gen22 and The Birmingham2022 Commonwealth Games.

Gen22 are looking for ideas and projects in local communities across the West Midlands, that young people think will make a huge difference.

Supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, Gen22 will pick 22 ideas and make them real! Giving young people the freedom to tell them what they'd like to see done differently or added to, and they'll support to make it happen.

Shortlisted projects will get to pitch their idea to a panel of young people, and community leaders at a Power Plan weekend, at which point Gen22 will decide the winning ideas. Each successful project will also have direct support from a Gen22 Social Action Activator to help them through the process – from design to launch!

Young people will also be linked with a local community-based organisation who will help them to create their project.

Application deadline is 29th April 2022. Application form and full details are available on the Ideas Made Real website.