New Big Lottery Funding

The Big Lottery Fund has announced a new funding programme designed to support women and girls, as it recognises that they have been disproportionately affected by recent public sector spending cuts. The overarching aim is that the funding will empower women and girls to take control of their lives. It should be your organisation's primary purpose to provide services to women and girls either on a specific issue (for example, domestic violence or mental health) or in a community setting e.g. a women's centre or youth group.

The four main funding outcomes are:

1. Increased provision of holistic, integrated,  person-centred approaches for women and girls at risk
2. Increased involvement of women and girls in the design and delivery of the services they use.
3. A greater number of women and girls are supported through the provision of improved specialist support
4. Better quality of evidence for what works in empowering women and girls.

and your project should be able to meet all of these.

Funding of up to £750,000 can be requested for up to 5 years, so this is certainly a pot that may be worth considering. Initial expressions of interest should be submitted by 16th July.

For more information, visit the Big Lottery website

Spotlight On... Hope for Justice

Hope for Justice is an anti-human trafficking charity with their Head Office here in Manchester. Their specialist investigators identify victims of trafficking for forced labour, sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. They've removed 62 survivors from trafficking situations in the UK in the first five months of this year; they work with the police where appropriate but act as an independent third party for victims who may be too afraid (for a variety of reasons) to approach the authorities.

Hope for Justice also provide advocacy for survivors, once they have been taken out of their situation of exploitation by our team or by the police, and help them to secure housing, welfare entitlements, job training, civil claims and criminal injuries compensation.

Have you come across individuals who’ve had their passports taken, who haven't been paid for the work they’re doing or who were recruited on the promise of a job but found that no such work existed? Do they show signs of being controlled by someone else, are they picked up and dropped off for work or are they working extremely long hours? Have they been taken to open bank accounts but have had the card taken away from them, do they have no private area to sleep or are they offered alcohol and tobacco in place of wages? These are a few of the indicators of human trafficking.

Hope for Justice offers free training to NGOs to help frontline staff like you to identify potential victims who may be engaging with your service. You can then refer their trafficking case to our team. To enquire about free training for your team contact Sue Swidrak - sue.swidrak@hopeforjustice.org

 

If you'd like to see your organistion featured in 'Spotlight On...', send us an overview of the services you offer today!

New Citizens Advice Trainee Post

There's a new post opening up at Manchester Citizens Advice for a Trainee Fuel Poverty Adviser; see below for details:

Post 1:           Fuel Poverty Adviser (Trainee)

Salary:           Starting at £20,253 per annum (Rising to £22,937 on successful completion of development programme)

Hours:           Full Time 35 hours per week (Initially 12 months fixed term) 

This is a potential development opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated individual with the minimum required advice experience to join our specialist Energy Advice Service.  Our team of specialist advisers are tackling fuel poverty using a range of preventative measures. We work in a holistic manner to achieve long term benefits for our clients.

The service is targeted at the most vulnerable and financially excluded families.

You will provide a flexible menu of services including debt and welfare benefits advice, income maximisation, financial capability workshops and energy efficiency advice. The adviser will deliver the service via a range of outreach venues.

We value our employees and can offer the following benefits:
•           Generous salary
•           26 days annual leave plus bank holidays
•           Health plan with integrated Employee Assistance Programme
•           Flexi Time working

Application packs can be downloaded from our website: www.manchestercab.org

or by emailing hr@manchestercab.org   

The closing date for application is Thursday 2^nd July 2015. 

Interviews will be held during the week commencing 6^th July 2015.

Keep Volunteering Voluntary Event

If you haven't yet heard of it, Keep Volunteering Voluntary is a campaign against the Help to Work Programme and mandatory work placements - they want to address the major concerns that the sector has about this scheme and how it affects individuals and the organisations which support them.

On July 14th, they'll be holding an event at MMU from 1-4pm; this will:

• Spread information about the Help to Work Programme and the ways in which it is being rolled out by the DWP, prime contractors and their subcontractors (including testimony from claimants who have been affected);
• Share information and experiences between participants who have had contact with the Programme;
• Gain greater understanding and awareness about the effects of workfare and benefits sanctions;
• Help to decide what further action can be taken.

You can book onto the event by clicking here. In addition, they're looking for a couple of people to speak about their experiences of workfare - either as an organisation who have lost genuine volunteers to the scheme or perhaps been offered volunteers as a part of it, or from individuals who have been forced to participate. If you would like to speak, or have a client who you think would like to take part, please email Rosi as soon as possible.

For more info on the event, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1aWoCJw0ptPZkt3cW1vR2EtSG8/view?usp=sharing

New Funding Opportunity!

Have you heard of the DM Thomas Foundation for Young People? They used to be known as the Hilton in the Community Fund and they provide funding for organisations who work with children and young people of up to £30,000 on projects up to 2 years. They focus on organisations providing support to one or more of their four targeted groups of children & young people:

• those with disabilities
• those who are sick in hospital
• those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
• those who are life limited (requiring palliative care)

They like grants to focus on providing equipment and capital costs, but can support some staff/operational costs if they are not the majority of the funding.

The Foundation have four funding rounds a year, and the deadline for the next round is 28th July 2015.

For more information, visit their website: https://dmthomasfoundation.org/what-we-do/grants/dmtf-central-grants/

Can you help Stroke Association?

For the past 7 years, Stroke Association have been successfully running an 8 week health and education programme for stroke survivors and their carers. Unfortunately, due to funding cuts the fantastic adviser they had from Age UK is no longer available to deliver these sessions, meaning that they're now looking for someone else to help them out and deliver them.

 

 

 

The talk should last for an hour, will be held 4 times a year and they like it to be informal but informative, as well as being able to adapt to people's needs / disability when answering questions. Is this something you could offer? If so, please contact Chantelle Brady on:

0161 621 3708 / 07860 186 849 / chantelle.brady@stroke.org.uk

 

 

 

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Grants

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust is looking to fund programmes of work which remove people's problems through radical action, using innovative and inventive methods. They have 5 priority areas, although only 4 will be applicable to Alliance members:

• Peace and Security to support a transition towards:
• The use of 'soft', rather than 'hard' power as a first line of response to conflict within society and around the world.
• The de-legitimisation of violence as a tool for responding to conflict, securing interests or projecting power.
• A culture of human rights and non-violent problem-solving, promoted at all levels of society.
• Power and Accountability - to support people to create a world in which power is more equally shared, and in which powerful institutions are responsive and accountable to wider society and aligned with the long-term public interest.
• Rights and Justice - to promote racial justice and equality of opportunity as a basis for a harmonious multi-racial, multi-ethnic society in the UK.
• Sustainable Future - to develop and promote sustainable, low-carbon alternatives to the current consumerist and growth-based paradigm.

Work does need to undertaken at a national level, so should be looking to make positive change either across Britain as a whole or at least across England.

For more information, check out their website Applications are due by 1st September, 2015

Your Next Forum Meeting!

Ladies and gents, it's time for the next forum! We're hoping to have some Work Club representatives answering your questions, as this is what you told us you want; we've also got someone from Manchester CAB's new PensionWise service coming to tell you all about what they do, and we'll be looking ahead to what happens to the network in the future - we really want you to have an active input into what this looks like, so please come along and have your say!

We're at a new venue this time - Kings House is just off Oxford Road - follow Sidney Street round and it's on your right. There will be lunch provided, with the meeting starting promptly at 2pm - if you have special dietary requirements or you don't plan on having lunch, please let me know so I can adjust catering numbers accordingly.

I'll look forward to seeing you all there!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/maa-june-forum-tickets-17149968016