Rob Bryant’s Post

🆕New message from Councillor Adrian Moss, Leader of Chichester District Council: We are very proud that Chichester District has such an active community that is dedicated to helping us make this area an even better place to live. Every year, we set aside an amount of money to help support environmental projects, community groups, sporting activities and businesses to achieve their goals. So far this year, we have awarded £79,380 across our district through our Grants and Concessions programme. This money aims to support important projects across the district that will benefit our residents and businesses. Over the last year recipients have included: Westbourne Community Land Trust; Rocking Horse Children’s Charity, Chichester; West Wittering Parish Council; Young Wilders, Plaistow; and Home-Start, which is district wide. If you run a community group or organisation and would like to find out about how the scheme could help you, then please get in touch. We can offer fast track applications for amounts under £1,000 which groups can apply for at any time. For amounts over £1,000, applications will be considered by our Grants and Concessions panel every three months. The grants programme supports three key priorities: the economy; improving places and spaces; and target projects which will benefit residents most in need. Applications need to meet certain conditions and we ask for details of how the project will benefit the local community, for example creating jobs and working with others. You can find out more at: https://lnkd.in/ew27Gji7 I’m also pleased to tell you that we will be shortly inviting applications for UK Shared Prosperity Funding. Last year, the council was allocated £1 million to spend on a variety of projects across the district. The funding was awarded to the council to help encourage economic growth and improve the quality of life for people across our area. The money has already started to be spent on a number of projects to improve public areas, including the removal of graffiti, the introduction of new signage and to deliver events. We will soon be encouraging community groups to apply for the second round of grant funding for community projects and improvements. There is also a pot of money to support businesses. The funding priorities are communities and place; support for local businesses; and people and skills. We also have funding from the Rural England Prosperity Fund, which is to be used to support activities that address the particular challenges faced by rural areas. To find out more about both funds and to apply, please visit: https://lnkd.in/e7w2BBvJ Read the full message here: https://lnkd.in/erHTsxAA Best Wishes Cllr Adrian Moss Leader of Chichester District Council

Co-op’s Community Fund now open for local organisations https://ift.tt/i1rOXcW Organisations from Gwent and across the UK are invited to contest for a slice of the £5m funding. First launched in 2016, the fund has facilitated almost 40,000 distinctive community projects with an impressive £100m-plus in funding. The Community Fund is open to charities, voluntary organisations and community groups. Co-op is keen on initiatives that foster sustainable futures for not only individuals but also the environment. In this context, community schemes that focus on empowering young people, promoting mental wellness, helping older residents feel part of the community, combating climate change, reducing waste and resource use, and nature conservation are all encouraged. Groups that celebrate diversity and inclusion are particularly welcomed. Rebecca Birkbeck, director of community and member participation at Co-op, illustrated the cooperative's drive behind the fund. She said: "As a co-operative, our focus is to deliver increased value for our member-owners and their communities and we know that members really care about supporting local, grassroots projects. "Through our Local Community Fund, we’re able to support local projects and initiatives that make a real difference to people and our planet in communities across the country." Benefits of the funding stretch beyond financial support. A remarkable 95 per cent of causes revealed feeling a deeper connection with their communities as a result of participating in Co-op’s Local Community Fund. Applications will remain open until July 7. Interested groups can get more information at the Co-op website. Each successful cause will be awarded a minimum of £1,000. Wales sources via Penarth Times | News https://ift.tt/WgSQx20 June 18, 2024 at 07:51AM

Key stats and links within - worth exploring. I especially found this article a great summary of what nonprofits are experiencing workforce challenges faced by the nonprofit sector in our latest Issue Brief: https://lnkd.in/gpfitRxB [Quick Read: 5 mins]

BLOG | ⭐ The Changing Landscape of Civil Society and the launch of the Inclusive Communities Fund. Our Chief Executive Tina Costello shares key takeaways from the Civil Society Almanac and what this means for the launch of the Inclusive Communities Fund! Read more here ⤵

Great piece in Third Sector this week: "Why participatory grant-making is the future of funding" "People who are affected by spending decisions should have a say in how money is spent in their community, and to be truly inclusive those people need to be paid for their time." This is exactly our approach at Bristol Local Food Fund. In partnership with Quartet Community Foundation and Feeding Bristol we recruit and facilitate a Citizens Panel to making decisions about which community food projects receive funding. It's about shifting the power, and about making better funding decisions to help communities tackle food insecurity. People who are affected by spending decisions should have a say in how money is spent in their community, and to be truly inclusive those people need to be paid for their time. https://lnkd.in/gyWJdMhx #participatorygrantmaking #community #foodinsecurity

A Scottish Government funding programme is now open in Dumfries and Galloway to support community facilities and mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. The Community Led Local Development (CLLD) programme will make more than £566,000 in funding available this year for revenue and capital projects. Dumfries and Galloway-based charities, constituted community groups, co-operatives, public sector organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises, community interest companies, and community benefit societies can all apply. A Local Action Group made up of representatives from the third, public, and private sectors will decide what applications are successful. There are four priorities within Dumfries and Galloway: • Enabling community facilities / assets to make changes in pursuit of becoming carbon neutral. • Supporting activities that enable small communities to avoid further loss of amenities, such as community transport, meeting places, and leisure and sport facilities. • Enabling service providers to deliver support to the most vulnerable and in need families across the region to help address the cost-of-living crisis and eradicate poverty. • Supporting activities that identify and assess community needs in advance of the place planning production, such as consultation and engagement work. Full information on the CLLD and how to apply can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ejDmysYP The grant funding has been split into a Small Revenue Grants Programme, worth a total of £60,000 and open to applications up to £3,000, and a Main Revenue and Capital Grants Programme, with £450,531 revenue funding and £56,000 capital funding available and open to applications from £3,001 up to £60,000. The deadline for applications is 12pm on Monday September 25. Projects must have spent their grant and completed their activity by Sunday March 31 next year. Applications are encouraged from rural Dumfries and Galloway, though applications will be considered from organisations based in Dumfries and Stranraer, if the majority of beneficiaries are based outside the boundaries of the particular town. The current membership of the LAG is: Chair Harry Harbottle (third sector), Vice-Chair Karen Ward Boyd (third sector) Susan Garnsworthy (third sector), Helen Keron (third sector), Rose Murdoch (third sector), Lara Porter (third sector), Charlotte Gibson (third sector), Lewis Shaw (third sector), James Galloway (third sector), Councillor Archie Dryburgh (public sector), Economic Development representative from Dumfries and Galloway Council (public sector), Professor Nick Sparks, (public sector), Sharon Ogilvie (public sector), Will Marshall (private sector). Further representatives will come from Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Commerce (private sector), National Farmers Union, Scotland (private sector), Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere (third sector), and two youth representatives. The LAG will be supported by Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway.

Well worth 5 minutes of your time to read this.

AARP has opened its Community Challenge grant program for the 8th year. This program funds quick-action projects to make communities more livable and jump-start long-term change. Applications are being accepted now through March 6 at 5 PM and must be submitted through https://lnkd.in/eX-n_5JU. Projects must be completed by December 15, 2024. The program is open to 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(6) nonprofits and government entities. In 2024, the AARP Community Challenge is accepting applications for projects that benefit residents (especially those age 50 and older) across three different grant opportunities: Flagship Grants: This is AARP’s flagship Community Challenge grant program where grants have ranged from several hundred dollars for smaller, short-term activities to tens of thousands of dollars for larger projects. These grants will support projects that improve public places; transportation; housing; digital connections; community resilience; and community health and economic empowerment. Capacity-Building Microgrants: These $2,500 grants are combined with additional valuable resources, such as webinars, cohort learning opportunities, up to two hours of one-on-one coaching, and AARP publications. This grant opportunity will accept applications for projects that support Walk Audits, Bike Audits and HomeFit® Modifications. Demonstration Grants: Supporting demonstration efforts that encourage replication of promising local efforts, this grant opportunity will accept applications for digital connectivity to prepare for and respond to disaster; equitable engagement to reconnect communities; and housing choice design competitions. Since 2017, AARP has invested $16.4 million through 1,370 grants to organizations in all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Past projects have demonstrated an ability to help grantees garner additional funds or support from public and private funders, encourage replication and overcome local policy barriers and receive greater overall awareness and engagement. Learn more about the program on Wednesday, January 31, 2 PM in the Community Challenge Public Q&A Webinar. Register now at https://lnkd.in/eMuXCCZa Please visit https://lnkd.in/ecaKdasV for more information and to see some of the past grantees in action – helping to revitalize alleyways, create vibrant public spaces, design safer crosswalks and much more! Feel free to ask me any questions, or you can email communitychallenge@aarp.org.  

AARP has opened its Community Challenge grant program for the 8th year. This program funds quick-action projects to make communities more livable and jump-start long-term change. Applications are being accepted now through March 6 at 5 PM and must be submitted through https://lnkd.in/eUTTrXg. Projects must be completed by December 15, 2024. The program is open to 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(6) nonprofits and government entities. In 2024, the AARP Community Challenge is accepting applications for projects that benefit residents (especially those age 50 and older) across three different grant opportunities: Flagship Grants: This is AARP’s flagship Community Challenge grant program where grants have ranged from several hundred dollars for smaller, short-term activities to tens of thousands of dollars for larger projects. These grants will support projects that improve public places; transportation; housing; digital connections; community resilience; and community health and economic empowerment. Capacity-Building Microgrants: These $2,500 grants are combined with additional valuable resources, such as webinars, cohort learning opportunities, up to two hours of one-on-one coaching, and AARP publications. This grant opportunity will accept applications for projects that support Walk Audits, Bike Audits and HomeFit® Modifications. Demonstration Grants: Supporting demonstration efforts that encourage replication of promising local efforts, this grant opportunity will accept applications for digital connectivity to prepare for and respond to disaster; equitable engagement to reconnect communities; and housing choice design competitions. Since 2017, AARP has invested $16.4 million through 1,370 grants to organizations in all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Past projects have demonstrated an ability to help grantees garner additional funds or support from public and private funders, encourage replication and overcome local policy barriers and receive greater overall awareness and engagement. Learn more about the program on Wednesday, January 31, 2 PM in the Community Challenge Public Q&A Webinar. Register now at https://lnkd.in/eX8MgWUZ Please visit https://lnkd.in/e8etJkiH for more information and to see some of the past grantees in action – helping to revitalize alleyways, create vibrant public spaces, design safer crosswalks and much more! Feel free to ask me any questions, or you can email communitychallenge@aarp.org.

Aotearoa New Zealand has been ranked number ten out of 142 countries in the just released 2023 Global Giving Index. It sounds good but it’s the lowest ranking we’ve had since the annual index started in 2010. It defines giving as helping strangers; volunteering; and donating money. These activities are way too critical for community wellbeing for us to tolerate going backwards. So while number ten sounds good, it’s also a red flag. We need to value and measure donating, helping and volunteering more than we currently do. Organisations like Volunteering New Zealand | Tūao Aotearoa New Zealand and Philanthropy New Zealand focus on supporting donating and volunteering at the system level. Meanwhile there’s many charities and generosity schemes that make it really easy for New Zealanders to give of their resources (time, skills and money). The 2023 index shows that 65 per cent of the 1000 New Zealanders surveyed had helped a stranger in the previous months; 58 per cent had donated; and 35 per cent volunteered. While society as a whole needs to embrace generosity; the Government has a pivotal role to play to get the settings right to encourage generosity. It makes sense that the Government invests in philanthropy and volunteering - it’s small change compared to the return in terms of societal and environmental outcomes. Check out the blog below which gives more detail on the index’s findings and my thoughts on what we need to do to stay generous. I also list some schemes that help people give, in case anyone is looking for new ways to connect to causes they care about. Mentions in the blog: Community Foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand, The Gift Trust, Givealittle, The Good Registry - gifting goodness, Community Comms Collective, One Percent Collective, JBWere New Zealand (John Morrow, Craig Patrick).