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Charity and Voluntary Sector
BIG: Viewers of Channel 4’s hit show The Secret Millionaire will now be able to play a part in helping local community groups secure much-needed funding through the Big Lottery Fund’s new Secret Millionaire Fund. Big Lottery Fund and The Secret Millionaire have teamed up to give viewers of the programme a chance to act on the charitable inspiration fuelled by the show.
Lottery funding worth £1m has been lined up to give away in grants across the UK of up to £10,000 from the Fund. People can visit the website to find out if their community group is eligible to apply, or they can even nominate a local good cause who could benefit from the funding. Groups can then download a straightforward application form and apply to BIG’s Secret Millionaire Fund.
Successful applicants may then be selected for filming by Channel 4 and appear on the website or TV programme. Visitors to the website can also showcase their favourite local cause on an interactive map of the UK and get involved by donating time or money.
Cabinet Office: Businesses with a social mission (that provide social value), like Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, are to benefit from a wide package of new measures to designed to boost social enterprises in creating new jobs, new businesses and delivering public services, announced this week. The Minister for the Cabinet Office has set out three new ways in which Government will back social enterprises seeking to deliver public services:
* A new Ministerial Working Group
* A new Guide to Social Return
* The new Futurebuilders Investment Plan
Press release ~ SROI Network ~ SRORI Guide ~ Futurebuilders ~ Office of the Third Sector (OTS) ~ Measuring Social Value project ~ New Philanthropy Capital ~ New Economics Foundation ~ Charities Evaluation Service ~ National Council of Voluntary Organisations ~ Fifteen
DCMS: A new strategy to engage with & support the voluntary and community sector - the 'third sector' – has been unveiled by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The strategy has taken into account information gathered through sources such as DCMS' rolling survey, 'Taking Part', as well as specific reports such as 'Helping out: a national survey of volunteering and charitable giving', published by the Office of the Third Sector in 2008.
Actions contained in the report include:
* strengthening the foundations of the third sector
* forging closer partnerships between DCMS, its NDPBs and the third sector
* supporting voluntary participation in both public & third sectors
Press release ~ DCMS Third Sector Strategy ~ Taking Part ~ Helping out: a national survey of volunteering and charitable giving
BIG: A brand new project helping disabled young people in York is soon to get off the ground after being awarded £283,076 from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG). The 3-year grant from BIG’s Reaching Communities Programme is supporting The Children's Society’s new ‘Reaching Out’ initiative run by the PACT project.
The new scheme will help young disabled people, including those with autism & profound disabilities, to take part in a range of volunteering opportunities, increasing their skills & confidence and preparing them for adulthood & employment.
A team of volunteers will be recruited & trained to support & mentor disabled people to recognise their own skills & talents. Individually tailored programmes will prepare each young person with the confidence, self-esteem & guidance to volunteer in local community projects such as elderly people's shopping schemes, Brownies, charity shops and museums.
