Welcome
Welcome to the September edition of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) newsletter, with the latest funding news, events and opportunities for the sector.
News
 Tower Hamlets VCS Premises Information Sessions
Find out what premises are available and how to lease or hire them
The Council has over 70 premises available exclusively for Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations to lease and over 80 halls and venues for hire.
As part of the recent VCS Strategy Consultation, we have heard that access to affordable premises is a key issue for the sector and that it’s not easy to know what is available and how to access them.
We are hosting 3 information sessions for VCS organisations. These sessions will tell you:
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What’s available to lease
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The process of leasing and of the rent reduction scheme
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Where to find more information
There will also be time to give feedback on your experiences of leasing or hiring council premises and to share your knowledge of accessing other non-Council buildings across Tower Hamlets.
There are 3 dates available- all sessions are the same. Please reserve your space using the links below.
 Launch event - New Business Support Projects
If you have a business idea but don’t know where to start - we’ve got you covered.
New Projects
For these first two projects, you must be a full time Tower Hamlets resident that hasn't previously owned a company or been registered as a sole trader:
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Lean Start Up Support for budding entrepreneurs to start your business without financial backing. Quite literally from bedroom to boardroom – details to follow soon!
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Supported Access to Finance for budding entrepreneurs to start your business, create a business plan and understand avenues to apply for and access funding to turn your business from dream to reality. A £2500 grant will be available for 100 people who complete this training and go on to start a business
For these first two projects, you must be a full time Tower Hamlets resident that hasn't previously owned a company or been registered as a sole trader:
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Lean Start Up Support for budding entrepreneurs to start your business without financial backing. Quite literally from bedroom to boardroom – details to follow soon!
-
Supported Access to Finance for budding entrepreneurs to start your business, create a business plan and understand avenues to apply for and access funding to turn your business from dream to reality. A £2500 grant will be available for 100 people who complete this training and go on to start a business.
For established businesses/ VCS organisations:
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Women Mean Business will support 50 small independent women led/owned businesses (operating at least 12 months) in Tower Hamlets to expand and grow.
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Social Enterprise Impact Project will support 50 Voluntary and Community sector organisations (operating at least 18 months) to develop their own social enterprise.
Date/ Time: Thursday 19 September 12 to 2pm
Venue: Council Chamber, Whitechapel Town Hall (opp. Whitechapel Station), 160 Whitechapel Road, E1 1BJ.
 Tower Hamlets Christmas HAF (Holiday activities and Food provision) Grant programme is open for applications.
School holidays can be pressure points for some families because of increased costs (such as food and childcare) and reduced incomes- more evidently with the current cost of living crisis.
Tower Hamlets want to commission a rich and diverse programme of Holiday activities offering food delivered by organisations form the private, voluntary, and public sector that respond to local need.
This winter, the Christmas Holiday Activity and Food Programme will run from Monday 23rd December 2024 - Sunday 4th January 2025. (no delivery will be taking place on 25th, 26th December 2024 or 1st January 2025).
Please use the link below for more information on the guidance and the application process.
 Foundation Funding Round 3 is open for applications.
Grants of up to £40,000 is available for non-profit organisations that run sport and physical activity programmes for children and young people.
Foundation aims to ensure fairer access to sport and physical activity and create positive outcomes for young people through sport.
This funding round aims to support children and young people from low-income families.
- Grants of up to £40,000 on offer for a maximum of two years
- Funding should support organisations to expand or adapt services, or to avoid a reduction in service delivery
- Funding can be used for project costs, core organisational costs, or both
- Funding is aimed at community groups and organisations trusted by underserved children and young Londoners
- Organisations with an income of less than £500k are eligible.
Use the link below for more information on the fund guidelines and application process.
For more funding opportunities visit our webpage using the link below.
Peer Learning Session: Involving Neurodivergent Volunteers
Monday 14th October 2024, 2 p.m – 4 p.m on Zoom
Everyone’s brain is different. For at least 20% of the UK’s adult population, these differences mean they are not seen as ‘neurotypical’ and may be diagnosed with neurological conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia.
Having a neurodiverse pool of volunteers that includes a fuller spectrum of brain differences can bring many benefits, including creativity, new ideas and fresh perspectives. Neurodivergent people often possess highly desirable skills and attributes, such as persistence, excellent memory, in-depth factual knowledge, attention to detail, strong technical abilities in their specialist areas and/or many others.
In this practical peer learning session, you will hear from two local Volunteer Managers, Alex Lyons from the Vagina Museum and Iona Ascherson from Bubble Club. They will share their experience of the benefits and challenges of involving neurodivergent volunteers and their learning from recruiting and supporting them.
There will also be discussions on actions that organisations can take to reduce barriers to volunteering, improve recruitment and onboarding.
Priority will be given to voluntary sector organisations with a base/office in Tower Hamlets, or that have services aimed at Tower Hamlets residents.
For more information on this training email evelyn@vcth.org.uk.
To book your place use the link below.
Is your charity looking for new trustees to diversify its board?
The MET's Programme is free to join.
Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets (VCTH) is delivering the METs programme and recruiting Tower Hamlets residents from global majority communities.
The goal is to train the volunteers in charity governance, empowering them to be potential trustees. The volunteers will then meet local charities to create matches that will have lasting impact at governance level.
The MET's program will help charities diversify their trustee boards. It will add new skills, perspectives, and experiences. It will also increase involvement from Tower Hamlets residents, giving local communities a greater voice in your work.
To be eligible your organisation must be registered with the Charity Commission, have at least one general trustee vacancy, be able to appoint any new trustee(s) between December 2024 and January 2025 and expect to be financially solvent for the next 12 months.
For further information on the programme please use the link below.
For more training opportunities visit our webpage using the link below.
Get Involved
Parking Enforcement Plan Consultation
 What is the Parking Enforcement Plan?
The Tower Hamlets Parking Enforcement Plan (PEP) brings together all existing parking and mobility management policies into one single document. Together, these policies are used to plan and enforce parking across the borough.
The existing PEP was written 16 years ago. Since then, technology has advanced, and the need to address poor air quality and traffic emissions in the borough has become more important than ever. Therefore, updating and modernising our PEP is necessary to reflect these changes and deliver a fair, transparent, and high-quality parking service across the borough.
Local people know their neighbourhood best and we want everyone in the community to feedback on current policies and parking arrangements across Tower Hamlets.
The new PEP will deliver the parking our residents and businesses need, increase compliance, and ensure we have robust processes to tackle fraud. The PEP will be aligned with national, regional, and council priorities.
The survey will be open until 04/11/2024, please use the link below to get involved and have your say.
Events
 Tower Hamlets Celebrating 30 years of Fairtrade
As part of Fairtrade Fortnight Anniversary, this celebration event will be marking 30 years of Fairtrade and showcasing the council’s continued commitment towards its Fairtrade Borough Status.
Date: Friday 20th September 2024
Time: 4 - 5.30 p.m
Location: Grocers Wing, Whitechapel Town Hall
For more information on the event please email fairtrade@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.
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