Welcome
Happy New Year and welcome to the January edition of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) newsletter, with the latest funding news, events and opportunities for the sector.
The Mayor’s Small Grants Programme is still open for applications.
What is the Mayor’s Small Grants Programme?
The Council’s vision is to support and invest in a thriving and diverse voluntary and community sector to enable it to improve the lives of residents.
This programme will provide £800,000 of annual grant funding to small sized VCS organisations in the borough with a maximum annual income of £150,000.
What are the themes and priorities of the fund?
The Mayors’ Small Grants Programme was developed in partnership with residents and partners and consists of five themes:
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Mayor’s & Young Mayor’s - Youth Empowerment Fund – Support young people to design, bid and deliver projects for their peers
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Mayor’s Positive Activities for Young People – Support activities during school holidays
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Community events – Support events that brings communities together, celebrate our diversity, national and regional celebrations
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Mayor’s Capacity Building Programme – Support organisational development which strengthens local organisations’ ability to deliver services
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Community chest - Very small grants to support community events and activities
How can organisations apply?
- The first round opened for applications on 11th December 2023.
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Deadline for applications is 2nd February 2024.
- All the information on how to apply is provided on the Council’s website, available on the link below.
- Organisations are required to apply using the Blackbaud Grant Management online portal which can be accessed through the website on the link below.
If you have a question or need support, then you can get in touch with the Grants Team by emailing vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk if your query relates to Community Events, Capacity Building, or Community Chest.
If your query relates to the Youth Empowerment Fund or Positive Activities for Young People email Young Tower Hamlets at ythlondon@towerhamlets.gov.uk
What support is available?
The Council is providing support on how to apply for the grants through online and in-person information events. Please use the links below to book onto the sessions.
Date: 18 January
Time: 5.30 to 7.00 pm
Venue: The Reach Community Hub, 11 Oliphant St, London, E14 0GB
Date: 24 January
Time: 10.00 to 11.30 am
Venue: Council Chamber, Tower Hamlets Town Hall, 160 Whitechapel Road London E1 1BJ
Inspiring Inclusion International Women's Day 2024
"It's time to recognise the extraordinary women in our borough! Nominations for the International Women's Day Awards are now open!"
Tower Hamlets Council is thrilled to commemorate International Women's Day with the residents of the borough. This year's theme is 'Inspiring Inclusion', which gives the Council a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the triumphs, accomplishments, and achievements of women in Tower Hamlets.
Do you know a woman who deserves to be recognised?
Nominations are now open in six categories;
- Women Business Leader of the Year
- Young women of the year
- Unsung Hero
- Women Volunteer of the Year
- Women’s Community Group of the Year
- Women Carer of the year.
The awards ceremony isn't just a celebration – it's a catalyst for change. Witnessing their accomplishments will spark inspiration in a new generation of young girls, showing them that anything is possible. Every nomination strengthens the fabric of our community and paves the way for a future where female leadership thrives
The deadline for nominations is Friday 19th January 2024
For further information on the categories and how to vote, please use the link below.
News
Council holds its first VCS summit
 On Monday 11th December 2023, the council held its first VCS summit at the Tower Hamlets Town Hall. The event was attended by 170 people representing many of the borough’s community groups and organisations.
The event provided an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the VCS, share information and give attendees the opportunity to network with one another. Steve Halsey, CEO of Tower Hamlets Council opened the event by welcoming attendees and thanking VCS organisations for their work on improving the lives of residents.
Sarah Vibert, the CEO of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, then spoke about the importance of VCS organisations in our communities and some of the challenges the sector is facing, such as the pandemic, and inflationary climate leading to smaller donations to charities.
We then had three presentations from:
- Organisations funded by the Mayor’s Community Grant Fund and how they will be improving the lives of residents. Read more on the organisations that have been funded under the Mayor's Community Grant Programme.
- Council staff provided an update on plans to refresh the voluntary and community sector partnership sector strategy.
- Zaynah Alom, Chair of the Youth Council delivered a speech on the Mayor's Positive Activities for Young People and Mayor's & Young Mayors Youth Empowerment Fund and how it will benefit the community.
To wrap up, Cllr Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living, whose remit includes the VCS, launched the Mayor’s Small Grants Programme and refreshed Emergency Fund.
Martyn Holland from Bromley By Bow Community Centre said, “Fabulous opportunity for the sector to get together and hear about the success and challenges the sector faces.”
Government Minister marks launch of £10m pilot scheme in Tower Hamlets
On Thursday 23rd November John Smith Family Hub welcomed a Government Minister to mark the launch of a new £10million Start for Life Workforce Development Scheme.
Dame Andrea Leadsom, Minister for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, visited to discuss Tower Hamlets Council’s involvement in the Government’s Start for Life Workforce Development pilot.
The Start for Life Workforce Development programme, funded by the Department for Health and Social Care, offers five local authorities a share of £10million over two years to test ideas on how best to support the workforce to give babies the best start in life.
Tower Hamlets is one of the pilot boroughs for the scheme, as well as being one of the first 75 local authorities to roll out the Family Hubs Programme.
Dame Leadsom was welcomed by Cllr Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, council representatives and families who use the Family Hubs.
The Family Hubs programme has now been launched officially in one of four localities in the borough, with the network in the South East of the borough due to launch on Thursday 15 February 2024 at Isle of Dogs Family Hub.
For further information on the Tower Hamlets Family Hubs please use the link below.
 Featured in photo from left to right:
Susannah Beasley-Murray - Director Supporting Families
Zainab Arian - Chief Executive Officer at Tower Hamlets GP Care Group
Mohammed Maium Talukdar – Deputy Mayor, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Andrea Leadsom - Dame Andrea Leadsom DBE MP
Lisa Fraser - Corporate Director of Children and Culture
Mohammed Abdul-Jolil – Head of Early Help & Children and Families Service
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The Governance App |
VCS organisations can find it challenging keeping up to date with ever evolving landscape of regulations and best practice in the nonprofit sector.
The Directory of Social Change is the lead organisation for the Governance App. This is a new, free and easy way for board of trustees to review and improve its governance, together. Other features include;
- Gather responses from your whole board
- Get a performance score out of ten in seven different areas
- Highlight where board members have different views on performance
- Have targeted discussions about what’s going well and where to focus on improving
For further information on how to use and download the Governance App, please use the link below.
The Directory of Social Change
Free Training on Using the Governance App
Wednesday 17th January 2024, 10.30 am - 11.00 am
The session will help you to make the most of the Governance App. It will cover everything from registering your organisation and completing the surveys, to using your results and planning your next steps.
Please use the link below for booking and further information.
Job Vacancy
 Outreach & Engagement Lead
Role summary
Join the Globe Community Project (GCP), a dynamic and growing charity located in the heart of East London. You will use your excellent people skills to provide support for regular well-being courses and weekly follow-on sessions for older people who are isolated. Your responsibilities will include identifying suitable partners and venues, liaising with them, advertising courses, working with referrers and other channels to identify and reach participants, identifying access and transport needs, addressing any barriers, and supporting participants to attend the sessions.
If you are fluent in both English and a Bangla dialect, your language skills can help you communicate with individuals who face language barriers. You will be responsible for collecting accurate data before and after interventions, which will support the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the program. Although you will primarily work with lonely older people, you will also provide assistance across GCP's projects by identifying and establishing relationships and partnerships, as well as assisting the Director with operations.
Contract: Employed, one-year fixed-term contract, with potential to extend.
Salary: £31,339 per annum, pro rata.
Hours: 24 hours per week, with a paid lunch break.
Deadline for applications: Tuesday 30th January 2024 at 09:00
If you’re thinking of applying but unsure, perhaps because you don’t meet all the essential
criteria, do get in touch to discuss this further. If you’re excited by this vacancy then don’t
rule yourself out - it might still be worth applying.
Email: gcp@globecommunityproject.org or Call: 07419 586150 to arrange a chat.
Use the link below to visit the organisations website.
Tower Hamlets Scrutiny Sub-Committees
 This is a public meeting which residents can attend.
To view the meeting online: please use this link http://tinyurl.com/OSC-Meeting
To attend meetings go to:Tower Hamlets Town Hall, 160 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1BJ
For full information on upcoming meetings please visit the Council's Calendar of Meetings webpage using the link below.
 Join The METs – Minority Ethnic Trustees Programme
Does your charity want to strengthen the diversity of your Trustee Board?
Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets (VCTH) is delighted to announce the launch of its newest service - the Minority Ethnic Trustees (METs) programme. METs recruits and trains Tower Hamlets residents from minority ethnic communities, skilling and empowering them to become great trustees. We then introduce trainees to local registered charities, creating lasting matches that will have impact.
METs will help your charity strengthen the diversity of your trustee board. In turn this will enable you to:
- Add new skills, abilities, perspectives and experiences at board level, helping better, more inclusive decision-making
- Increase involvement from Tower Hamlets residents, giving local communities greater voice
- Demonstrate your anti racist commitment to addressing inequality by increasing involvement of minority ethnic residents in leadership and governance roles.
For more information please email Cath Bavage at cath@vcth.org.uk
NHS PRIMARY CARE ENTRY LEVEL PROGRAMME
Kick Start your Career in Health Care
This introductory programme is designed to support residents across North East London Boroughs, enabling them to gain essential employability skills in the NHS, and in particular General Practice Primary Care.
Learners will embark on a three week journey where you will learn key skills on becoming a receptionist/administrator in a GP Surgery.
You will attend a 5 day classroom based training programme followed by a 2 week work placement in a Health Care setting.
What will you learn:
- Customer service skills
- How to deal with Patients
- How to use the Clinical Systems
- Document Management
- Conflict Resolution and much more
Deadline for applications is 29th January 2024
Training will commence on the 19th February 2024.
For more information please contact the programme lead, farduse.islam@nhs.net
Use the link below to register your interest.
Tower Hamlets Emergency Fund
The Council has a vision to support and invest in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to help it improve the lives of residents.
To support this vision the Council provides funding to local Voluntary and Community Sector organisations who are facing an emergency.
The Emergency Fund has an annual budget of £100,000 per year and organisations can apply for a one-off grant of up to £10,000.
What organisations will we fund?
To be considered for funding, organisations must:
- be a voluntary and community sector organisation
- have a Constitution, Memorandum and Articles of Association or other recognised governance document
- have been in receipt of Council funding in the past two years
- be able to show long-term financial viability
- be in danger of closing or unable to continue to provide funded services
- have already taken measures to address the emergency
- not owe the Council a debt of over £1,000
- be registered in Tower Hamlets, have a base in Tower Hamlets or be able to demonstrate a track record of successful service delivery within the borough.
What type of support will we fund?
The Emergency Grant will fund:
- building repairs for essential emergency work or health and safety requirements
- legal costs
- redundancy costs
- staff salaries/wages (to cover unforeseen medium/long term absences)
- recovery from damage or accidents
This is not a complete list. If you are unsure whether the issue you are seeking funding for is an emergency, contact the Voluntary and Community Sector team at vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk.
For further information please visit the Councils emergency funding webpage on the link below.
Social Value Scheme
Boost Your Impact and Unlock the Potential of Social Value Resources
The Council has a requirement for the organisations to which it awards contracts exceeding £100,000 to provide resources that can help VCS organisations improve the lives of residents. These resources have included various items in the past, such as computers, membership fees, training, and development.
A range of Social Value benefits is available for VCS organisations to apply for. For a comprehensive list of these resources and the application process, you can visit the Council's webpage on Social Value through the link provided below.
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FREE Bid Writing Support |
A significant number of employee volunteers from various member companies of East London Business Alliance (ELBA) have generously offered their time to help charities complete funding applications. These organisations can get support in writing grant applications or reviewing completed ones. In some cases, the volunteers may even write grant applications on behalf of the charities.
To request support, please sign up using the link below, and a representative from Team Connect ELBA will be in touch with you soon.
Bernard Sunley Foundation - Capital Projects Funding
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to charities, specialist schools, Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIOs), and other not-for-profit organisations including scout and guide groups, and housing associations, that are working to raise the quality of life for people in England and Wales.
The Bernard Sunley Foundation aims to provide greater opportunities for the young, elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged by supporting capital projects in the areas of:
- Community
- Education
- Health
- Social welfare
The types of projects that could be supported include:
- improvements to village halls
- supporting children and adults with special educational and learning needs
- improvements to hospices and treatment clinics
- supporting day centres for the elderly
Medium grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 and large grants of £20,000 and above are also available.
Applications can be made at any time
 Funding to Tackle Loneliness & Isolation Among Blind & Partially Sighted People
Grants of Up to £30,000 is available to sight loss organisations and other specialist organisations supporting blind and partially sighted people through the latest round of the Vision Foundation's Vision Fund.
This funding round focuses on projects designed to reduce levels of loneliness and /Or isolation experienced by blind and partially sighted people.
Priorities of the fund
- Reduce loneliness and isolation for people living in rural areas
- Increase people’s confidence in engaging in activities that reduce loneliness and isolation and improve well-being, e.g. cultural, physical and work related activities
- Equip people with practical and sustainable tools and skills that reduce anxiety about interacting in person or online, e.g. digital or interpersonal skills
- Support people to build and maintain healthy personal relationships that reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation
- Address specific challenges faced by under served groups, e.g. the queer community, black or Asian communities and people with multiple disabilities or learning differences
- Focus on the ways that challenging life events can increase loneliness and isolation for blind and partially sighted people, e.g. relationship breakdown, bereavement or experiencing domestic violence and abuse.
How to apply
To apply, you must submit an online application form, in addition to providing a project proposal of up to 1200 words in Microsoft Word format.
For further information and guidance on the application process please use the link below.
The deadline for applications is 22 January 2024, 11:59 pm.
 Grants to Improve the Quality of Life for Disadvantaged & Vulnerable People
Registered charities that are helping to improve the quality of life for people that are vulnerable or disadvantaged can apply for grants up to £5,000.
Criteria of the fund
- You are a small- to mid-size UK registered charity
- Your application is not for building construction, general running costs, transport, financial deficits or overseas projects
- Your application is not on behalf of a church, museum or an individual
- You have not received a previous grant from The Foundation within the last 2 years (or submitted an application which was unsuccessful within the last 12 months)
Application dates
The Trustees meet four times per year to review grant applications. These should be received in good time before each meeting and at least 6 weeks before the meeting date. The forthcoming meetings are as follows:
- 24 January 2024
- 24 April 2024
For further information on the guidelines and application process of this fund please use the link below.
Premises
Community Benefit Rent Reduction
VCS Organisations occupying Council Premises can get 80% reduction on their rent.
The Council has a scheme to give rent reduction of up to 80 per cent to organisations that meet its requirements. Organisations that do not meet all the requirements may still get 40 or 20 per cent rent reduction. The scheme is called Community Benefit Rent Reduction (CBRR).
To be eligible for CBRR, an organisation must:
- Occupy premises listed in the Council’s ‘Community Premises Portfolio’ with a lease of three to five years
- Be community led
- Show good governance
- Embrace diversity, work to improve community cohesion and reduce inequality
- Be capable of managing a building
- Be willing to share space, and
- Show how their activities contribute to the Tower Hamlets Plan outcomes.
Full details of the CBRR scheme are set out in the Council's VCS premises policy.
The value of the CBRR may exceed £20,000 per annum. Where this happens, the Council’s assessment includes a Social Value Self-Assessment Tool. You can find the guidance here Social Value UK Self Assessment Tools.
Please email vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk for an application form, advice and further information.
Useful links
For information on infrastructure support to VCS organisations in Tower Hamlets, please visit Tower Hamlets Council for Voluntary Service.
For information on volunteering opportunities in Tower Hamlets, please visit Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets.
They are offering VCS organisations high-quality training, workshops, courses and events to help organisations grow stronger and more resilient.
Thank you for reading
We hope you found this bulletin useful. Contact us for any feedback or if you would like anything to be considered for inclusion in future newsletters.
Please note, the next issue of this bulletin will be published in early November.
Please contact us if you wish to unsubscribe from the Tower Hamlets VCS newsletter.
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