Corporate partnerships: Reality HR event raises £700 for Gynaecological Cancer Fund

Plus: Quiz brings in nearly £2,000 for Book Aid International; quarry is greened up thanks to Cemex and the RSPB; and Bayer links up with Brook

The Basingstoke-based HR consultancy Reality HR raised more than £700 for the Gynaecological Cancer Fund at a beauty and style event. The event included a talk from beauty companies and image consultants and a raffle, with prizes donated by Reality HR’s staff and clients. The company chose GCF as its charity of the year for 2017 after one of its employees was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer last year. It has committed to raising £2,000 through a number of events throughout the year.

Teams of employees from across the book industry went head-to-head earlier this month in a book quiz that raised £1,963 for Book Aid International. As a result of the quiz, BAI will be able to send 981 books to places where people have limited access to them. Staff members from Bloomsbury, Hodder Education, Little Brown, Macmillan, Quercus, Schofield & Simms and United Agents, and from the library service in London’s Tower Hamlets, made up the 16 teams that took part in the quiz.

A disused quarry in Staffordshire is being restored to create a home for wildlife as part of a partnership between the building materials company Cemex and the RSPB. The restoration of Hopwas Quarry near Tamworth will mark the completion of a project the two organisations began in 2010 to create 1,000 hectares of land for wildlife in former quarry sites. The restoration has included 50 sites across England, Scotland and Wales, and has provided homes for 46 threatened species of bird, as well as other rare species including otters, red squirrels and water voles, plants and amphibians. The restored sites have also attracted more than 750,000 visitors to different sites.

The global pharmaceutical company Bayer has formed a strategic partnership with the sexual health charity Brook, which the charity hopes will support its work through a planned £30m reduction in public health funding in 2017/18. The partnership will have a particular focus on long-acting, reversible contraception.

A Sainsbury’s superstore in Farnham, Surrey, has presented its charity of the year, the local Phyllis Tuckwell hospice, with a cheque for £7,398. The money was raised through bucket collections, shop till collection tins, 5p carrier bag charges and fees from community groups whose members use the Sainsbury’s car park.

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Big Lottery Fund offers £4.5m funding to support local social action

Under the Place Based Social Action programme, organisations can apply for an initial £5,000, which could become as much as £500,000

The Big Lottery Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport are offering £4.5m of funding to projects that will support social action in local communities.

The Place Based Social Action programme, which has opened to expressions of interest, is offering up to £500,000 of funding to partnerships that will help people improve their local areas.

Guidance on the scheme provided by the BLF, which will provide funding until December 2024, says this could include activity such as helping people and organisations to take action on issues that matter to them or encouraging new ways of working so that local people have more influence over and ownership of local services.

The guidance says that applications should come from local partnerships, which could involve community members, local charities or business, or representatives from the local authority.

Each application must be endorsed by the relevant local authority and only one application can be made per local authority area.

Up to 20 applications will be selected for initial funding of £5,000 to create plans setting out how social action can help respond to local priorities.

From those successful applications, 10 will be chosen to apply for phase two, when funding of up to £240,000 will be available for each scheme.

Five of those will later be selected to apply for phase three, when an additional £255,000 will be available to each project.

Tracey Crouch, the Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said: “People know what are the most important matters in their local areas, and this joint funding will help communities come together and drive the change they want to see. I am looking forward to seeing the positive impact this investment will have.”

Expressions of interest can be made until 28 November.

For more information, click here.

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Big Lottery Fund defends itself from criticism by Tory MPs

Nadine Dorries, Andrew Bridgen and Peter Bone have slammed the BLF after press stories revealed that it gave out more per head of population in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland than in England

The Big Lottery Fund has defended its grant-making policies after Conservative MPs questioned the way it allocated spending in different parts of the UK.

The Tory MPs Nadine Dorries, Andrew Bridgen and Peter Bone criticised the grant-making body, whose annual report showed that it spent more per person in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland than in England, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail newspapers.

But the BLF said it allocated funding according to need, not just population size, although it did take that into account.

According to the BLF annual report for the year to 31 March 2017, it spent £509.6m on grants in England last year, which works out at £9.32 per capita, whereas Scotland received £76m, or £14.04 a head, Wales received £44.3m, or £14.29 a head, and Northern Ireland’s £27m broke down to £14.21 a head. The annual report showed that an additional £56m was set aside for UK-wide projects.

The newspaper reports did not mention that, according to the annual report, England received the vast majority of the country-specific funding, on 78 per cent, while Scotland received 11 per cent, Wales received 6.35 per cent and Northern Ireland 4.65 per cent.

Bone, the MP for Wellingborough, said: “The Big Lottery Fund needs to look more carefully at how it distributes money.

“The Scottish already get far more in public money per head of population than the English, so you’d think in that case they’d be getting less lottery money.”

He said he believed this would annoy those in his constituency who were struggling to get by and there were a number of good causes there that deserved the funding.

Dorries, the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, called for a review of how the BLF allocated funding, and Bridgen, who represents the North West Leicestershire constituency, said people would be shocked by the figures, according to the Daily Mail.

But a BLF spokeswoman said: “Population is one key factor we take into consideration when determining our funding, but we do so alongside other social and economic factors.

“We continually review the allocation of our funding to ensure people across the UK can access it, and that it makes the biggest possible difference to people and communities.”

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Big Lottery Fund renews social entrepreneurs funding with £2.6m grant

The Big Lottery Fund has given the School for Social Entrepreneurs a grant of £2.6m, renewing its funding for social entrepreneurs.

The grant will support 1,300 social entrepreneurs over the next five years with grants of up to £10,000, building on the 1,300 already supported through BLF’s work with the Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme, in partnership with SSE, since the programme was launched in 2012.

Students also attend a year-long SSE learning programme to help them start up, grow or scale their organisation, and receive mentoring from Lloyds Banking Group.

James Harcourt, grant making director for England at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “Collaborations like this allow us to maximise the impact of our funding, and the entrepreneurial aspect of the programme aligns with our commitment to putting people in the lead and having a positive impact in communities across England.”

The sixth cohort of the programme will begin in October 2017. People interested in applying can register their interest at https://www.the-sse.org/lbsep

The local charities support organisation Localgiving is to host a series of webinars in the build-up to the launch of this year’s match-funding Grow your Tenner campaign.

The campaign begins on 17 October and runs until the match funding runs out or on 16 November, whichever is sooner. The focus of the 2017 campaign is monthly giving with Localgiving aiming to help charities and community groups attract long-term supporters.

Donors will be able to support a Localgiving charity or community group by either making a one-time donation which will be matched up to £10 or setting up a monthly donation. After a donor’s first six donations, the following six will be matched up to £10.

Localgiving said it will run four webinars for its member charities: Grow your tenner 2017 – an introduction; Reaching new audiences online; How to make the most of a match fund campaign, and; How to attract regular donors online between 21 September and 12 October.

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Contact the Elderly grant will help fund tea parties for older people

Posted: 10th August 2017

Isolated and lonely elderly people across Kent and the rest of the UK are being invited to a series of monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties with Contact the Elderly, thanks to our recent £75,000 grant.

Contact the Elderly is dedicated to tackling loneliness and social isolation among older people. Supported by a network of volunteers, the charity organises monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for small groups of older people, aged 75 and over, who live alone.

Each older guest is collected from their home by a volunteer driver and is taken to a volunteer host’s home, where they join a small group for tea and companionship. The tea parties bring people of all ages together, develop fulfilling friendships and support networks, and give everyone involved something to look forward to each month.

This grant will play an essential role in long-term funding for Contact the Elderly’s National Support Officer, who helps run 55 of the charity’s tea parties benefitting around 450 older guests, as well as coordinating over 700 of the charity’s 10,000 volunteers who help make the tea parties happen every month.

The need for action to help isolated elderly people is clear from recent statistics showing that a million older people have not spoken to anyone in the last month. There is also mounting evidence about the effect of loneliness on mental and physical health and wellbeing, with lonely people having a 64 per cent increased risk of developing dementia.

Cliff Rich, Acting CEO at Contact the Elderly, said:

“We are incredibly grateful to West Kent Freemasons for their generous grant which will continue to help us to reach more lonely and isolated elderly people. The act of attending a tea party is simple but profound and can make an enormous difference to someone who might not have spoken to anyone for weeks.”

West Kent Freemason, Mark Estaugh, visited the charity to find out more:

“We are very pleased to be able to support Contact the Elderly with their wonderful work helping some of the most vulnerable people in our community. The isolation of elderly people is a very serious problem that’s set to get much worse as our whole population ages.”

Get in touch with Contact the Elderly

Local residents interested in attending Contact the Elderly’s tea parties as an older guest, referring potential guests, or volunteering to help, can contact the charity’s National Office on Freephone 0800 716543




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Big Lottery Fund income down by £60m last year

The figure, shown in its accounts for the year to 31 March, reflects a cut of £120m in the amount received from the National Lottery

The Big Lottery Fund’s overall income fell by about £60m last year after a £120m decrease in the amount of money it received from the National Lottery, its latest accounts show.

According to the BLF’s annual report and accounts for the year to 31 March 2017, published yesterday, overall income fell from £820.2m the previous year to £762.1m.

This came after a near £120m fall in proceeds from the National Lottery, which declined from £769.3m in 2015/16 to less than £652m last year.

But the BLF also received £94.5m in dormant bank account money from the Reclaim Fund, a significant increase on the £37.2m it received the year before, the accounts show.

Last month, figures from the Gambling Commission showed that the total amount of money given to the National Lottery Distribution Fund in the 2016/17 financial year was £1.63bn, a fall of 15 per cent on the £1.93bn handed over in 2015/16.

A statement at the time by Camelot, the company that runs the National Lottery, said the value of ticket sales in 2016/17 had fallen from a record of £7.6bn to £6.9bn.

Camelot said it had launched a strategic review to work out how to boost player interest.

The BLF accounts also show that its grant expenditure increased from £593.4m to £717.4m, with total expenditure increasing from £715.5m to £876.3m.

This means there is a £114.3m gap between the BLF’s income and expenditure for the 2016/17 financial year.

In a statement, a BLF spokeswoman said: “Last year, we awarded £712.7m and supported 13,814 projects in communities across the UK. In the past decade we have seen fluctuations in income and yet have awarded more than £8.5bn to people who have great ideas to support their communities and help them to thrive. 

“In addition to National Lottery revenue, our income includes funding we distribute on behalf of third parties and dormant accounts. These can vary and we anticipate awarding more than half a billion pounds to support people and communities across the UK next year.”

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Association of Chairs receives £463,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund

The three-year grant will enable the membership body to work with chairs to build their skills, knowledge and confidence, and to reduce their sense of isolation

The Association of Chairs has received a grant of £463,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to a support and development programme for chairs and vice-chairs of small charities in England

The association said that the three-year grant would enable it to work with chairs to build their skills, knowledge and confidence, and to reduce their sense of isolation and help them be more effective. 

The association said that under the programme it would consult with chairs and vice-chairs of charities with annual incomes of under £1m about the support they need. It would also run a series of workshops throughout England, offer webinars and online surgeries and open an online discussion forum.

The association said that it hoped to reach about 6,000 chairs and vice-chairs through the programme.

The association already receives funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation to support its work with medium-sized charities and said the latest grant would help it to reach many more charity chairs.

Ros Oakley, executive director at the AoC, said in a statement: “We are delighted that the Big Lottery Fund has not only recognised the key role of the chair and the need to support chairs to undertake the role effectively, but is also making a real investment in making it happen. From what we have learned in our three and half years working with chairs, we know we can make a difference to their confidence and approach to governance. This is a real endorsement of our progress to date.”

The association was founded in 2013 to help address the relatively little support chairs of charities receive.

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CHICKS receives £43,000 to fund holidays for disadvantaged children

Posted: 5th June 2017

CHICKS children’s charity has been awarded a grant of £43,296 to help fund its respite breaks for disadvantaged children.

CHICKS provides five-day respite breaks to disadvantaged children from across the UK, at its retreats in Cornwall, Devon and Derbyshire. Over the next three years, this grant will pay for three holidays, allowing 48 children to benefit from CHICKS’ services. The first installment of this grant recently funded a  holiday in Tywardreath, Cornwall for sixteen children.

Helping children create happy memories

The children CHICKS supports come from a range of backgrounds; many are young carers or are living in poverty, while others are victims of bullying or abuse. The one thing they all have in common is the need for a break away from their circumstances. At CHICKS, they can try new activities and make happy childhood memories.

Annie Ashford-Barnden, trusts fundraising manager at CHICKS, said:

We’re incredibly grateful to the Freemasons of Cornwall for their generous support. We know that our breaks have a real impact on children’s lives, improving self-esteem, building confidence and encouraging better relationships with their peers.

Stephen Pearn, The Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Cornwall, said:

Our visit to CHICKS led us to understand the excellent work they do helping children who have not enjoyed the same opportunities as many others and for whom a welcome break like this can be such a magical and memorable experience. The Cornish Freemasons look forward to working together with this wonderful organisation in the future to support these special children.

About CHICKS

CHICKS aims to provide disadvantaged children from across the UK with free respite breaks. There are three retreats: one on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon; one on the south coast of Cornwall; and one near the Peak District in Derbyshire.

Many of the children cared for live in poverty, are victims of abuse or have been bereaved. Others live in care or are young carers, and are responsible for caring for sick or disabled relatives.

 




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Награды сообщества MCF – Tercentenary Fund

300 благотворительных организаций, 3 миллиона фунтов стерлингов, 300 лет масонства

Награды MCF Community предоставляют шанс благотворителям из местных общин получить 3 миллиона фунтов стерлингов, щедро пожертвованных масонами и их семьями.

Чтобы отметить 300-летие Объединенной Великой Ложи Англии, Масоны назначили 300 благотворительных организаций в Англии и Уэльсе, чтобы получить грант от Фонда. Каждая благотворительная организация, которая была назначена, имеет шанс получить грант в размере до 25 000 фунтов стерлингов.

В зависимости от размера каждой региональной области; Четыре, шесть или восемь благотворительных организаций, работающих на местах, получат грант в размере от 4000 до 25 000 фунтов стерлингов. Ваш голос решит, сколько мы даем каждой благотворительности.

Голосуйте за любимую благотворительность

Голосование открыто для всех масонов, членов их семей и представителей общественности; Каждый может участвовать и голосовать за благотворительность по своему выбору.

Вы можете голосовать только один раз, но вы можете поделиться тем, за кого проголосовали за свою семью и друзей, чтобы помочь любимой благотворительности получить больше голосов.

Голосование будет проходить с 12 июня по 31 июля

Голосование состоится в июне и июле, и результаты будут объявлены в августе 2017 года.

Вы можете узнать больше о назначенных благотворительных организациях после того, как начнется голосование.

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