A very warm welcome to our April Members' Bulletin! For those of you who are keeping track, don’t worry, we didn’t forget March, but as most content is for the month ahead, we've decided reflect this in the title. It must be that fresh spring air that has made us see sense. The beginning of the new season also brings exciting news that we have now reached a membership of over 6,000, arranged over 230 skills matches and we’ve reached the 1 year milestone of being a merged organisation! We have a lot to share with you this month so enough intro, enjoy the read and as ever, let us know your thoughts on it.
Things from us
1. Link up and Learn comes to Liverpool and Newcastle
2. New resource area on website
3. Skills Sharing and Mentoring service
4. Join us at Charityfair on 28 & 29 June
Things from elsewhere
Guides
1.Impact reporting guide
2. Protecting your data
3. A wiki for the charity sector
4. Two useful social media guides
5. New guidance on Gift Aid declarations
Events
1. Impact measurement seminar
2. Using social media for fundraising
3. Overseas fund transfers- a legal seminar
4. Employment law- a legal seminar
5. Five free places to Knowledge Peers event
6. Free social enterprise webinar
Opportunities
1. Leaders Together mentoring programme
2. Technology4Good Awards - now open!
3. Free Social Media training for London Women’s groups
4. Bursary scheme for patient group charities
5. Big Lottery Refund Campaign
Specific support for trustees
1. Trustee Speed-Recruiting
2. Young Charity Trustees website launch
3. A free NPC guide to help recruit trustees
Things from us
1. Link up and Learn comes to Liverpool and Newcastle
Following the success of last year’s events and the continued support of the Santander Foundation, we are delighted to announce the return of our Link Up & Learn events, this time coming to Liverpool and Newcastle. As existing members you are the first to hear about it, so we do urge you to book sooner rather than later as we'll soon be opening up bookings to the wider sector.
Link Up & Learn LIVERPOOL | Tuesday 22 May 2012
Link Up & Learn NEWCASTLE | Tuesday 12 June 2012
These events are intended to be practical and interactive. You’ll learn from workshop leaders but also from each other and go away with deeper knowledge and feeling better equipped and more confident in your work. Read more about the Link Up & Learn events and book your place by following the link below.
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2. Our new resources listing
It’s taken us a while but they’re finally here, our Small Charity Resources are now live on our website (link below). We’ve added links and descriptions of as many free or discounted services, guides and tools as we could think of, to help your charities achieve their goals. So if you’re looking for help with your property matters or want to find out more about free IT services these pages are for you! Suggestions and feedback are of course more than welcome so do get in touch with if you have something to share.
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3. Our free Skills Sharing and Mentoring Service
Having completed over 160 successful matches we know how valuable this service can be. We match small charities with skilled volunteers to get you free access to the skills and training you need to run your charities effectively. Have a read through the services section on our the website to find out more and to sign up.
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4. Join us at Charityfair on 28 & 29 June
We're partners on this years' Charityfair helping to bring you focused and intensive practical workshops covering topics such as fundraising, finance and law, communications and leadership.
Organised by the Directory of Social Change and supported by In Kind Direct along with several other partners the day features high quality training for as little as £25 per session, depending on how many sessions you book. There will also be a free Resource Area which will include coaching sessions, fundraising and HR surgeries and a dedicated chief executive area. We look forward to seeing you there. For more information, follow the link below.
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Things from elsewhere - Guides
1. Impact reporting guide
This free NCVO guide outlines the principles of how and what organisations should communicate with regards to their impact. To download the guide cick on the link below.
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2. Protecting your data
CFG and Sayer Vincent, the law company have produced a good document on security management, especially important if you hold sensitive information on beneficaries. You may have heard of a few mishhaps of late with charities being caught not having encrytped data and this does constitute a breach of the Data Protection Act so it’s well worth checking you’re above board on this. The guide claims to be ‘jargon-free’ and tries to give pratical and applicable advice.
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3. A wiki for the charity sector
NCVO's KnowHow NonProfit project has taken the first steps to create a wiki version of their information site, called iKnowHow. This will allow anyone (after a short registration process) to add to or edit any of their online advice and support materials, starting with three sections: collaborative working, setting up a charity, public service delivery. Have a look at the site and make your own contribution by following the link below.
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4. Two useful social media guides
Whether you’re an old hand with social media or not, there are undoubtedly some fantastic benefits to maintaining a social media presence. Here are a couple of step-by-step guides from Nonprofit Tech 2.0 to help you along the way:
Google + a guide for nonprofits
Facebook – an introduction to timeline
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5. New guidance on Gift Aid declarations
In case you missed it, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Charities published updated guidance on Gift Aid declarations and provided new model declarations on 24 February 2012. Use this guidance to help your charity give a full and correct explanation of the law to donors before they make the Gift Aid declaration. Read the guidance by following the link below.
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Things from elsewhere - Events
1. Impact measurement seminar
In case you didn’t spot this in last months’ bulletin, this seminar, especially for small charities, on how to demonstrate the impact of your organisation, is coming up soon.
Keeping it in proportion: Impact measurement and reporting for small charities, 19 April 8.30 - 10.30am, London, £35.
Organised by New Philantrophy Capital and CFG and chaired by our CEO Cath Lee, the aim of the day is to highlight the steps small charities can make to assess and report on their impact in a way that is proportionate to their size and resources.
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2. Using social media for fundraising
If you want to know more about Social Media and how to use it in relation to corporate partnerships have a look at this specially tailored afternoon event.
Using Social Media in Corporate Partnerships, 19 April, 1.30 – 5.00pm, organised by IoF, London, £20.
The day will focus on how you can use all the online tools available, no matter what the size of your charity. Confirmed speakers so far are the Good Agency sharing their case studies, Save the Children and Aviva talking about their social media partnership, and "how to" tips from the PR agency GolinHarris. For more information follow the link below.
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3. Overseas fund transfers- a legal seminar
Law firm Sayer and Vincent have a free morning seminar on this topic which has been in the limelight recently. The seminar will cover the legal requirements invovled in the transfer, the risks and how to mitigate against them. Useful for all charities operating internationally.
Transferring Funds overseas – managing the risks, 26 April, 9.30 -1.00, NCVO London Free.
Follow the link below to book your place.
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4. Employment law - a legal seminar
Another legal organisation, Russell Cooke have a different free seminar, this one on employment law for non HR professionals.
Employment Law for Non HR Professionals, 17 April, 4.45 - 6.30, 27 Bedford Row, London, Free.
To find out more email or follow the link below.
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5. Five free places to Knowledge Peers event
Knowledge peers have another offer for five free places to their upcoming event on maintaining good relations with stakeholders. The way to apply for these places, is submit a question to the Knowledge Peers panel who will select the best 5 and allocate the free places to them. Send the questions via email to and see the link below for more information.
In Stormy Seas – Keep your Stake Holders on Board, 26 April, 6.00- 8.30pm, Getty images gallery, London, 5 free places.
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6. Free social entperprise webinar
ICAEW have organised a social enterprise webinar on 17 April, 12.30 - 13.30. The webinar will provide an overview of the different characteristics and legal structures of social enterprises from John Maddocks, CIPFA, and share some of the challenges in changing from a Primary Care Trust to a Community Interest Company from Robert Flack, Locala. Follow the link below for more information about the webinar and to sign up.
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Things from elsewhere - Opportunities
1. Leaders Together free mentoring programme
Long-standing members of ours may remember us mentioning this free skilled mentoring programme for charities under £100,000 a year or so back. Even if you do, with so much expected of charities at the moment, we thought another mention of the support was worthwhile. It works in a very similar way to our own skills sharing and mentoring service, matching skilled professionals with small organisations, but Leaders Together also support small CICs and Social Enterprises. They’ve recently developed and updated some case studies of their work so to get a real flavour for it, have a read on this link: To get all the information you need and to sign up for the service, follow the link below.
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2. Technology4Good Awards - now open!
If your organisation is using its technology in innovative and effective ways to meet the needs of others, you have a chance of winning a Technology4Good Award. Celebrating the ways that technology contributes to the greater good the awards are offered in several categories such as innovation and community impact, volunteering and fundraising. The awards are free to enter and the deadline for submission is 18th May 2012. Click on the link below for more information.
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3. Free Social Media training for London Women’s groups
This is a great offer for women’s groups, a programme of free training in social media and influencing policy run by the Women’s Resource Centre. The training ranges from support for absolute beginners through to advanced although basic understanding of social media is required. The sessions will address the topic of infleuencing policy in the morning and go into social media in the afternoon. The training days start May-July with 3 beginner groups and then advanced groups commence from Sept-December. To apply, groups must work in London and either be women’s groups or have women specific projects. For more information and contact information, follow the link below.
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4. Bursary scheme for patient group charities
For UK patient group charities applications are open for the 2012 Sanofi Patient Group Bursary Scheme. The bursaries highlight the role patient groups play in championing the needs of individual patients and driving up the quality of their care. Applicants must demonstrate how their programme delivers improvements in patient empowerment and information. Three grants are available to the value of £25,000, £15,000 and £10,000.
Applications are open until 27 April 2012. Find out more information on the awards, how to apply selection process on the Sanofi website by following the link below.
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5. Big Lottery Refund Campaign
The Directory of Social Change has launched a campaign to pressure government to refund Olympic money to the Lottery fund. In 2007 promises were made by government to this effect, but with the memorandum being currently updated, now is the time to put the pressure on to make sure the goverment delivers. Find out more and support the campaign by clicking on the link below.
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Specific support for trustees
1. Trustee Speed-Recruiting
Following our successful pilots last year we’ve got some more trustee speed-recruiting events coming up this June. These upcoming events will have a particular focus on treasurers so if your charity is looking to recruit in this area do have a look at this service and sign up on our website to express your interest. Once the details are finalised we’ll be in touch to see which event you might be able to attend. Any questions please email
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2. Young Charity Trustees website launch
Young Charity Trustees (YCT) is an organisation that seeks to support and encourage young trustees. With large numbers of charities struggling to fill vacancies on their boards, YCT raises awareness about the capacities of young people and what they can bring to governance boards. The organisation which has had a growing profile on LinkedIn for the past year, has now launched a website with useful information for potential trustees and for charities.
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3. A free NPC guide to help recruit trustees
If you’re struggling to recruit trustees, this guide from New Philantrophy Capital (NPC) on the benefits of being a trustee may prove a useful tool. The guide highlights the contribution a trustee can make and how to do so. It also gives personalised perspectives from individuals, employers and professional bodies. Well worth a look, and a useful tool to share with potential trustees. To read the guide click on the link below, you will have to register for free with NPC.
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That's all from us this month. We're looking forward to meeting some of you at our Link Up and Learn events and hope you find the tools and opportunities helpful. Please do take a moment to feedback your comments so we can make this bulletin as useful as possible for you.
Remember you can get in touch with us anytime, and keep up to date with what's going on in the small charity world via Twitter our Facebook account, or email