Welcome
Welcome to the July edition of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) newsletter, with the latest funding news, events and opportunities for the sector.
News
Have your say on our Voluntary & Community Sector Strategy
The council is developing a new strategy for our work with the VCS and we need your help to develop it!
In April and May we engaged with the VCS and other partners to find out what the vision and objectives of the strategy should be.
We now want to get feedback from you on the draft vision objectives and hear your ideas on the actions we can take to achieve them.
How can you have your say?
To develop the strategy, we want to engage with VCS organisations and other partners from all sections of Tower Hamlets.
From 18th July to 19th September 2024, we will talk with our communities and partners. We will do so in the following ways:
Filling in our survey – our survey asks questions and will take around 10 minutes to fill in. To fill in the survey, visit the Let's Talk Tower Hamlet's using the link below.
Partner workshops – we are organising 4 workshops for partners from the voluntary and community sector, public sectors services, and local businesses. Two will be online and two in-person. If you want to attend, then sign-up using the links below.
Online workshops
Thursday 18th July
2:00 - 4:00 p.m
Sign up here
Tuesday 17th September
5:30 - 7.30 p.m
Sign up here
In-person workshops
Monday 9th September
10:30 a.m -12:30 p.m
Location - The Reach Community Hub, 11 Oliphant Street
Sign up here
Thursday 19th September
10:30 a.m -12:30 p.m
Location - Brady Arts & Community Centre, 192-196 Hanbury Street.
Sign up here
How will my involvement be used?
After the engagement process, we will go through the information collected from the survey and workshops to identify what people have said and use it to write a draft strategy.
After we’ve developed the draft strategy, we will contact the people who have taken part to get their feedback on the draft strategy.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or would like to talk to a member of the team, please contact vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation - Major Grants
Grants up to £100,000 available for Family Support Programs in Disadvantaged Communities
The foundation provides funding of between £10,000 and £100,000 for core costs, salaries, running and project costs to organisations that have a focus on Family Support, this may further include: Early intervention; Families coping with addiction; Prisoners' families.
Eligibility
Charitable organisations (including CICs, social enterprises, not-for-profit registered companies and voluntary organisations) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with an annual income of up to £1million.
The organisation’s postcode, or the area where activities are carried out, must be ranked within the most deprived 15% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for urban areas or if the organisation is located in a rural area, the postcode must be within the most deprived 50%.
For further information and details on how to apply please use the link below.
For more funding opportunities visit our webpage using the link below.
Measuring the Difference your Volunteering Programme Makes
Knowing your volunteer programme's impact is crucial. It helps in a competitive world. It makes a difference to volunteers, service users, and your organisation. It can help to secure funding, recruit more volunteers, and improve your services. Having strong data and examples will help your organisation to stand out from the crowd.
This FREE course will cover:
How to make an evaluation plan which will help demonstrate the impact of your volunteer programme.
Understanding what “making a difference” means (to whom and how).
Learn how to develop realistic, measurable outcomes for your volunteer programme.
Learn how to gather information effectively, exploring practical, user friendly tools including digital options for data collection.
Learn how to analyse and communicate the results of your impact assessment.
Date: Wednesday 17th July 2024.
Location: Online, ZOOM
For more information please contact evelyn@vcth.org.uk
Register your interest by using the link below.
ELBA's Community Works Programme
Community Works brings together the public, private, and voluntary sectors. It creates new partnerships. It brings more opportunities. It drives regrowth and growth in east London communities.
ELBA’s Community Works teams have many programs. Deliveries occur between Connect and Team Challenges.
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Connect (skills based volunteering) – The task is to link business skills and time to charities and social enterprises. This connection allows for shared learning. It's facilitated through workshops, consultancy, and networking.
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Team Challenges (practical volunteering) – This involves hands-on volunteering for groups. They work to improve the community. This includes parks, gardens, schools, and community centres.
For more information contact community@elba-1.org.uk
For more training opportunities visit our webpage using the link below.
Get Involved
REAL DPO Seeks Input from Disabled Residents on Fire Safety Campaign
Home Fire Safety and Disability Survey
Real DPO is working on a campaign. It aims to boost fire safety and evacuation for disabled people in social housing. Currently, landlords don't have to help with evacuation plans. This campaign plans to change that.
The campaign focuses on the rights of disabled people. They should feel safe at home. Also, they should have a say in safety policies.
If you live or have lived in social housing, please join this survey. Your input, especially from disabled residents, is crucial.
If you would like more information please email amris.sahota@real.org.uk or call 07786 242275.
Use the link below to take part in the survey.
Events
 Tower Hamlets Launches The I Can Be Campaign
Tower Hamlets is launching the 'I can be...' campaign. Its aim is to help Black, Asian, and Multi-ethnic people become community leaders. The campaign comes from the borough's work on race inequality. It wants to inspire these groups to take on leadership roles.
The campaign launch will feature an opening address by the Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman, he will be joined by inspiring champions of the "I can be..." campaign.
Date: Tuesday 30th July 2024
Time: 12:30 p.m to 2:00 p.m
Location: Tower Hamlets Council, Council Chamber.
Lunch: Served at 1:00 p.m
If you wish to attend, please RSVP Filuck.Miah@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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 on the 5th March 2024.
Please contact us if you wish to unsubscribe from the Tower Hamlets VCS newsletter.
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