Information about the fund itself is on the DWP website http://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/futurejobsfund

Our local bid (led by Humber Economic Partnership) is listed here – http://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/futurejobsfund/fjf-awards-july2009.pdf

Press Statement

“The Hull and Humber Ports City Region Future Jobs Fund project was submitted by the Humber Economic Partnership on behalf of a pan-Humber consortium of local authorities covering East Riding of Yorkshire, the City of Hull, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire and a range of voluntary and community sector partners. The project has the endorsement of the City Region’s Employment, Enterprise and Skills Board comprising major public and private sector leaders in the area, who will monitor the delivery of the project.

The project will create 350 jobs for young people aged 18-25 years, and people in hotspot areas across the city region, who have been out or work for more than a year or are in danger of becoming long term unemployed. The jobs will last for a minimum of 6 months and be in community settings or social enterprises providing community benefit or be jobs in new or emerging sectors. Where available at the local level, this will include a tailored package of support drawing on existing expertise and services”

Latest information

A presentation from DWP about Future Jobs Fund was delivered on 9th September and has been circulated. Download the presentation (Powerpoint) here.

Presentation

The Powerpoint presentation at the event contained a number of names and useful links. You can view the presentation online here (without the need for Powerpoint software). (This is powered through Slideshare.)

What we covered…

We spoke about…

Working Neighbourhoods Fund – current status
CommunityBuilders Fund – new fund
Fundraising Plus initiative – introducing Helen Howard
Moneymatters Plus initiative – introduced Ian & Brian from CERT
GRANTnet – tool for finding grants
Grassroots Grants – at update from VANEL
Targeted Support Fund – closed now but an update
Hardship Fund – open now
Ward Concilor Funding
FairShare Youth Fund Grant
Awards for All
the LEADER programme

We then concluded with a short development session tackling funding by looking at how organisations could/should work in partnership to develop funding opportunities properly.

Click on the items above to find out more about each option.

Who was involved?

Karl Elliott, Third Sector Hub Manager, VANEL
Richard Wendel-Jones, Third Sector Contracts Manager, VANEL
Helen Howard, Funding Advice Development Worker at VANEL
Ian Oxley and Brian Howell from CERT – Moneymatters Plus project
Helen Atkinson, Grimsby Central Hall, spoke about her Awards for All application
Paul Crompton, the Northern Lincolnshire LEADER Programme

Thanks too to Paul Taylor and the team at Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre for hosting us.

Useful links

The Third Sector Hub is www.thirdsectorhub.org.uk
The Sustainable Finance workstream from the Hub is at www.thirdsectorhub.org.uk/finance
VANEL is at www.vanel.org.uk
HANA (leading on Fundraising Plus) is www.hanaonline.org.uk
GRANTnet is provided through the Third Sector Hub at www.thirdsectorhub.org.uk/grantnet or go direct here.

Where next?

Start reading through articles related to Sustainabe Finance here.
GRANTnet training is on 13th October – call Charlotte on 01472 231123 to book your place
similarly, “First Steps to Sustainability” is on 13th October (am) – more details soon or contact Charlotte

What is Awards for All?

Awards for All England is a simple small grants scheme making awards of between £300 and £10,000.

The Awards for All programme aims to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need.

To do this we want to fund projects that meet one or more of the following outcomes:
• People have better chances in life – with better access to training and development to improve their life skills.
• Stronger communities – with more active citizens working together to tackle their problems.
• Improved rural and urban environments – which communities are better able to access and enjoy.
• Healthier and more active people and communities.

The application form is short and simple. Email us the completed form.

You will find out if you are successful within six weeks.

Can I apply?

You may be eligible to apply for an Awards for All grant if you can meet one of the criteria mentioned above, and:
• you are a not-for-profit group (including social enterprises), or you are a parish or town council, school or health body.
• you have a bank account that requires at least two unrelated people to sign each cheque or withdrawal.
• you have a governing body with at least three unrelated members
• you can spend the grant within one year.

What to do next

• If you think you are eligible to apply, look at our apply page and download the guidance notes and application form.
• Not eligible for an Awards for All grant? Look at the other small grants available from the other distributors.

Contact

• Call our team for advice on 0845 4 10 20 30.
• Email us at general.enquiries@awardsforall.org.uk.
• Call our Lottery Funding Helpline on 0845 275 00 00 or go to www.lotteryfunding.org.uk for details of all the lottery funding available.

CERT has just launched the Money Matters Plus project – an important initiative that could benefit many Voluntary and Community Organisations (VCOs) in the Humber region. There are two aims to the project:
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SERVICE: To raise the level of financial awareness and the standard of record keeping and accounts preparation in the voluntary sector.
CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT: To engage with and encourage corporate sector organisations to provide financial accounting expertise to VCOs, bringing tangible benefits to both sectors.

Research has shown that many voluntary organisations see better management of their finances as an important element of improving the well-being and efficiency of their organisation as well as removing fears and uncertainties. Proper management of money matters will also ease the burden of preparing accounts for the Charities Commission and, should the need arise, the completion of statutory returns for items such as tax, VAT and PAYE. Applications for funding are also increasingly likely to rely on sound financial systems.

The Financial Assistance Service can help VCOs in a number of ways:
•Assessing the type of systems required to manage their finances.
•Devising the acceptable minimum level of money management necessary.
•Utilising the skills and resources already available in the organisation.
•Providing training to fill any gaps in knowledge.
•Linking them with other organisations that can provide practical help and advice.
•Providing general advice, information, and pointers to other useful resources.

The service is free: we do not sell hardware, software, or services through the Money Matters Plus project.

For more information on the Financial Assistance Service, or to register interest as a VCO, please contact:
Ian Oxley
Financial Assistance Manager
ian@cert-ltd.co.uk
01469 572313 Ext 21

The Corporate Engagement Programme will operate in tandem with the Financial Assistance Service and will actively be identifying companies (of all sizes), and other corporate organisations, that are willing to support VCOs through the provision of finance & accounting expertise. This is very much seen as not only a way of helping VCOs, but also of facilitating corporate social responsibility, improving business’s connections to the local community, and enhancing staff and organisational performance.

For more information on the Corporate Engagement Programme, or to register interest as an organisation potentially wishing to support the Programme, please contact:

Brian Howell
Corporate Engagement Manager
brian@cert-ltd.co.uk
01469 572313 Ext 22

The purchaser may be in the voluntary or private sectors but is very often from the public sector.

Contracts may be awarded or commissioned through various methods including tendering, bidding or procurement routes. Drawing down finance through contracts will involve specific ways of operating.

Support

“Doing Business with the VCS” is a support scheme delivered by CERT in Immingham to help third sector organisations prepare for the step to procurement and commissioning. More information here very soon.

Finding contracts

SCMS Procurement System
Supplier and Contract Management System (SCMS) (Yorkshire & Humber)

To register for information on and apply for current available tenders in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Business Link Yorkshire

Bidding for public sector contracts – find out how to bid for the latest government contract opportunities.

Supply2.gov.uk

Organisations can now get free access to procurement opportunities through the government supply2.gov.uk website. Read the Aug 09 press release here and visit the website here.

It’s not about securing the next piece of income (grant or contracts), but is about exploring all the finance and funding options to select the mix that is appropriate and sustainable.

Much of sustainability is not just about money either. It is about looking at many aspects of the organisation to ensure that funding is part of a full strategic direction.

If an organisation is unable to clearly communicate the proof of how its critical services are delivered and make an impact, then it is unlikely a grant funder will see the ultimate benefits their grant might deliver and may be unwilling to support the organisation. Everyone loses out. So being able, as an organisation, to monitor, report and communicate effectively might be critical skills to address as part of financial sustainability.

Equally, a commissioning or procurement route may require new skills of bid writing or working in a consortium. These skills may need to be built up if the organisation is to be able to bring in contracts.

The Sustainable Finance workstream for the Third Sector Hub aims to help local third setor organisations to build theirfinancial stability through looking at many aspects of their organisation.

income spectrumIncome can be seen as coming from a ‘spectrum’ of sources, starting with donations and gift giving, through grant financing onto earning income through service contract work and earning through trading. Resources and support available to local third sector organisations is structured here around this ‘spectrum’ of income sources. Use the menu to navigate around.

This ‘spectrum’ model is material borrowed from the NCVO Sustainable Funding Project (www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sfp). Visit their website for lots more information and resources.

The North East Lincolnshire Third Sector Hub subscribes to GRANTnet, a user-friendly free to use service which has been devised to assist community and voluntary groups, sports and other clubs, schools, social enterprises and small businesses in identifying funding sources available for specific projects.

Once you have registered with GRANTnet, you will be e-mailed a password which will allow you to gain access. Having logged into the system, you must answer a few simple questions about your organisation and the project which you wish to undertake; GRANTnet will then provide an overview of all the schemes available.

Visit GrantNet here.

For further support or assistance accessing GRANTnet please contact us or phone on 01472 231123.