Supporting Voluntary & Community Action December 2009 & January 2010 Inside Voscur’s Magazine Bumper Recession Support Edition Protection for your Organisation Freebies and Resources New Advice Services Available 10 New Year Resolutions for a Thriving Third Sector Green Pages Cycling City Changing Face of 14-19 Education Training and Learning Image: Creative Kids International
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Supporting Voluntary & Community Action December 2009 & January 2010
Inside Voscur’s Magazine
Bumper Recession Support Edition
Protection for your Organisation
Freebies and Resources
New Advice Services Available
10 New Year Resolutions for a Thriving Third Sector
Green Pages
Cycling City
Changing Face of 14-19 Education
Training and Learning
Imag
e: C
reat
ive
Kid
s In
tern
atio
nal
Charity no. 1018963
TACT is a well respected fostering and adoption agency. TACT will offer you excellent training with 24hr support and a break from caring when you need it.
TACT pay between £322 & £574 per week per child as well as additional allowances for birthdays, festivals and holidays.
Although fostering can be challenging it can also be very rewarding. If you believe you have the capacity and commitment to support vulnerable children and young people between 10-16 years old, then we would like to hear from you. To make a difference give us a ring now on: 0117 927 7725 or email [email protected]
www.tactcare.org.uk
Shape a life. Be a foster carer.
Charity no. 1018963
TACT is a well respected fostering and adoption agency. TACT will offer you excellent training with 24hr support and a break from caring when you need it.
TACT pay between £322 & £574 per week per child as well as additional allowances for birthdays, festivals and holidays.
Although fostering can be challenging it can also be very rewarding. If you believe you have the capacity and commitment to support vulnerable children and young people between 10-16 years old, then we would like to hear from you. To make a difference give us a ring now on: 0117 927 7725 or email [email protected]
www.tactcare.org.uk
Shape a life. Be a foster carer.
Welcome
Issue 8 December 2009 / January 2010 www.voscur.org 3
4 Editorial
5 VoscurAssembly
6-7 VoscurWinners
8 NewVoscurMembers
9 VoscurNewsVoscur staff changes
New Voscur board members
Help for Volunteer Managers
Catch up on the Funders’ Fair
10-11 MemberprofilesCreative Kids
Fareshare
12–13 SectorNewsAdvice services merger
CAB/Macmillan joint work
Community at Heart services on offer
Planning Watch
14–15 10NewYearResolutionsforaThrivingThirdSector
16 ThrivingThirdSectorStrategy
17-23 SafeguardingtheSectorVoscur’s Recession Support
Freebies
Protection for your organisation
Resources
24-25 PlaceSurvey
26–27 ComprehensiveAreaAssessmentUpdate
28 TheCompactWorking in a Compact Way
29 TheQueen’sAwardforVoluntaryService
30-34 GreenPagesGreen ICT
Cycling City
Peak Oil
35 VolunteeringBristolSupport for Volunteers and their Managers
36–37 ChildrenandYoungPeopleThe Changing Face of 14–19 Education
Disclaimer: some of the views expressed in this publication are those of individual contributors and do not necessarily represent those of Voscur. Publications, events and services mentioned in Thrive! are not necessarily endorsed by Voscur.
Cover photo: Banner made with ‘chitenge’ (Zambian fabric) at Lusaka International Community School, Zambia. See page 10 - Creative Kids, Voscur Member profile.
Editorial
www.voscur.org December 2009 / January 2010 Issue 84
ThepushforlocalpartnershipsincriminaljusticeHow can the local partnership between voluntary and community sector and statutory partners working within the criminal justice system in Greater Bristol be improved?
20 January 2010, 9.30am to 1.00 pm at
The Southville Centre, Beauley Road, Bristol BS3 1QG
For details and to book please visit: www.voscur.org/networks/assemblies
Voscur Winners
www.voscur.org December 2009 / January 2010 Issue 86
The 2009 Voscur Award Winners Announced
The Most Active Community Activist
Prize provided by GWE Business
West with particular thanks to
James Durie the Deputy Chief
Executive – a flight in a hot air
balloon.
This year’s award is dedicated to
the memory of Sue Njie, former
community development worker,
15 July 1951 – 15 July 2009
Winner: Musnilya Babatunji (St Pauls)
“Musnilya’s door is open to her
community day and night, all kinds
of people turn to her and she
does her best to help, whoever
they are. She is one of the
‘community mothers’ in St Pauls.”
Runners up
Denise Britt
Mohammed Elsharif
Tony Hicks
Simon Nelson
The Community Venue of the Year
Prize provide by Voscur – £100
voucher for Voscur training
Winner: Redcatch Community Centre (Knowle)
“By the hard work and unflagging
enthusiasm of volunteers but
with no paid staff, the community
centre which started as a derelict
unloved building, is now a thriving,
attractive and well maintained
venue for community use.”
Runners up
Easton Community Centre
Jubilee Hall (Wedmore Vale)
Southville Centre
Wellspring Healthy Living Centre
The Most Innovative / Engaging Project
Prize provided by Venue
Magazine – a year’s subscription
to Venue Magazine
Winner: Neighbourhood Shop (Barton Hill)
“The Shop is a lifeline to the many
residents living in the area who are
struggling to manage day-to-day.
Staff are on hand to help with
anything from filling in forms to
solving quite complex problems,
and provide an individual service
for each client.”
Runners up
Coexist (Hamilton House)
People’s Republic of Stokes Croft
Somali Development Group
Somali Resource Centre
The ‘I Will Survive’ Award
Prize provided by Tobacco
Factory Theatre – tickets to a
production at the theatre
Winner: Studio Upstairs
“The campaign was extremely
successful not only in securing
the future of Studio Upstairs but
also as an empowering experience
for vulnerable members who
were able to contribute directly
to the campaign with their artistic
talents.”
Runners up
Bristol Disability Equality Forum
CEED
Coexist (Hamilton House)
Trinity Community Arts
Wellspring Healthy Living Centre
Voscur was pleased to announce the winners of the second annual Voscur awards,
‘The Voscurs’ at our Annual Event on 21 October at St Pauls Sports Academy.
The winners of the six categories:
Thank youVoscur would like to thank
everyone who took the time to
nominate local voluntary and
community groups and partners
for this year’s awards. We
received over 50 nominations
making it very difficult to choose
the winners. Voscur would like to
thank those who supported the
awards and donated some great
prizes for the winners.
Voscur Winners
Issue 8 December 2009 / January 2010 www.voscur.org 7
For more details about
the Voscurs visit:
www.voscur.org/
node/5695
Left to right: Maxine Powell (presented Most Active Community Activist Award), Mubarig Bodleh and Mandy Wachon (Neighbourhood Shop), Cllr Barbara Janke, Oli Roberts and Julian Thomas (Parks Department), Lisa Blackwood (on behalf of Musnilya Babatunji and St Pauls Unlimited), Peggie Jennings (Redcatch Community Centre).
The ‘Thanks for Supporting The Sector’ Award
Prize provided by Fairbridge
South West – a meal prepared
by young people.
Winners: Oli Roberts and Julian Thomas, Bristol City Council Parks Department
“Julian goes far beyond the call
of duty in his role as park keeper
for Local Nature Reserves
Troopers Hill, Eastwood Farm
and Callington Road”
“Oli has worked with the St Pauls
Parks Sub Group to make sure
plans are developed and agreed
with local people. It hasn’t always
been an easy process and at times
we have disagreed but despite
this Oli continues to come to our
meetings and seeks our opinion
for which we are very grateful.”
Runner up
Graham Partridge,
Avon and Bristol Law Centre
The Partnership Award – New for 2009
Prize provided by The Bristol
Partnership – £100 book token
Winner: St Pauls Unlimited Community Partnership
“The relationship between local
people and service providers – city
council and police in particular,
has improved beyond measure.
There’s still work to be done but
we’ve got off to a great start.”
Runners up
Amana / Barnardos
Avon Fire and Rescue Service
Greater Bedminster Older People’s
Partnership
New Voscur members
www.voscur.org December 2009 / January 2010 Issue 88
Bristol Golden Agers ClubA luncheon Club with 90
members. They meet twice weekly
– Tuesday and Thursdays. They
run a variety of classes, organise
day trips, open days and lots of
general fundraising.
Details from the Voscur office:
0117 909 9949
St John AmbulanceThe key provider of an effective
and efficient charitable first aid
service to local communities.
Encourages personal development
for people of all ages, through
training and by voluntary
membership of the organisation.
To find out more visit:
www.avon.sja.org.uk
UnchosenRaises awareness of the tragic
and ongoing situation of 21st
Century Human Trafficking,
primarily through film. This year,
Unchosen has worked with a
range of statutory and voluntary
organisations.
To find out more visit:
www.unchosen.org.uk
The Little Co-opA second hand bookshop which
also sells organic food and eco
friendly cleaning products based
on Church Road, Redfield, BS5.
They are not-for-profit and receive
no wages. They aim to become an
official co op soon.
To find out more phone:
07726 164827
Positive Action Consortium (PAC) LtdProvides a range of learning
discussion on 15 December 2009 at the next Voscur Assembly.
For details visit: www.voscur.org/assemblydecember09
Issue 8 December 2009 / January 2010 www.voscur.org 21
Safeguarding the Sector
Free on-line Human Resources and Health and Safety legislation help for Voscur members
Voscur has taken up a new
service offered through NAVCA
partners, Tennyson Insurance.
Voscur is delighted to announce
the launch in December of
Charity Builder UK (CBUK).
CBUK is an interactive web-based
service that Voscur can provide
free of charge to our members.
Recognising that small and
medium-sized groups often
find it difficult to comply with
human resources and health
& safety legislation, CBUK has
been developed to help local
charities and community groups
carry out key administrative
tasks quickly and easily. It is an
online innovation so no additional
software is required:
• CBUK does not just signpost
advice but interacts with the
user to create tailor-made
documents such as staff
contracts, health & safety
policies and staff handbooks.
• CBUK helps to avoid the risk of
complicated employment
tribunals by driving compliance
by prompting the user with
checklists in human resources
and health and safety.
• CBUK is written and kept up to
date by lawyers so users are
always aware of changes in
legislation.
• 100,000 small businesses
currently use the business
version of this service; they pay
an annual subscription – Voscur
members will be offered this
service free of charge.
• CBUK will help funding
applications by helping groups
provide key policies when asked
to as part of the application.
This will help in today’s
competitive market.
Kevin Curley, Chief Executive
NAVCA, said “NAVCA believes this is
a service which will add real value
to the sector. CBUK is a new and
unique service.”
Three local infrastructure
organisations around the country
have already trialled the service
and incorporated it as a tool used
by Development Officers, with
very positive feedback:
“One of the best pieces of
corporate social responsibility
work that I’ve seen in many years,
with real benefits for grassroots
organisations.” Mark Richardson,
Chief Executive, Cornwall
Voluntary Sector Forum.
The service is now in its final
stages of completion before its
launch in December. If you would
like to register for CBUK please
complete the registration form
from the following link. You will
be contacted after validation with
Voscur of your membership status
and given a unique User ID and
password: www.charitybuilderuk.
com/register.php
In the meantime if you have any
questions about CBUK please
contact Rebecca McDougall at
Voscur, email: rebecca@voscur.
org or tel: 0117 909 9949.
www.voscur.org December 2009 / January 2010 Issue 822
Safeguarding the Sector
Recession support resources
Links to a range of support tools:
ACEVO’s recession support page
with links to books, magazines,
surveys, reports.
Visit: www.recessionsupport.
org.uk/resources/recession_
resources
Determine what stage your organisation is in:
The Non-profit Life Stage
Assessment is a tool for
determining what stage your
organisation is in. It helps you to
understand your organisation’s
strengths and weaknesses and will
help you plan for future needs. It
is particularly relevant:
• during times of high stress or
challenge for the organisation.
• when engaging an organisation
development consultant.
• prior to an executive search.
• as pre-work, discussion topics,
or action learning tool at a
board or staff retreat.
Visit: www.surveys.wilder.org/
fieldstone/lifestages
Making the most of volunteers in a recession
Volunteers are the lifeblood of
many charities. When there is an
increased demand for services
together with constrained or
reduced resources, it is often
difficult to find the time to
effectively support and engage
good skilled volunteers. However,
skilled volunteers can make a real
difference to your organisation,
providing you with a resource
which could improve your ability
to survive. The following link will
take you to an article which offers
advice to guide you and provide
you with some contact points for
finding out more.
Visit: www.reachskills.org.uk/
reach-article-sarah-king
www.bristolvolunteers.org.uk
SKiLD tools for Development workers
Supporting voluntary and
community groups can be hard
work. These tried and tested
practical tools offer a new set of
bite-sized exercises to support
work with groups. Current list of
tools includes Agreeing a Mission,
Attracting New people, Getting
ready for Paid Staff, Improving
Governance, Recruiting a Worker
and many more.
Visit: www.navca.org.uk/services/
learningopps/skild/tools/Home
Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NIVCA) Support Tools
Voluntary and community
organisations face not only the
same risks as others, but also
a set of risks more specific to
the sector. Therefore some
organisations are already planning
for reduced income and some
are making decisions to cut staff
and services. Planning for what
might lie ahead is vital if your
organisation is to come through a
recession and still be able to do its
job effectively.
Risk Management
In the current financial climate
it is more important than ever
for organisations to develop
risk management procedures.
Managing risk is a way of
safeguarding the organisation’s
assets and ensuring that the
organisation is effectively fulfilling
its objectives. Risk is not confined
simply to the financial affairs of
an organisation, or health and
safety, it applies to all areas of
the charity’s operations. Risk
identification should be built into
everything that the organisation
does. To ensure that the
organisation gets the most out
of the process it should have a
Issue 8 December 2009 / January 2010 www.voscur.org 23
Safeguarding the Sector
participative approach. Staff
and volunteers should be
involved in the process and all
the organisation’s activities
should be assessed.
Look out for Voscur’s Managing
Risk training in the new year.
Details yet to be confirmed. Visit
www.voscur.org/training
Download a copy of the
Managing in a Downturn report
by PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP (PwC), the Charity Finance
Directors’ Group (CFDG) and the
Institute of Fundraising (IOF).
Visit: www.nicva.org/index.cfm/
section/General/key/260309-
Recession-Toolkit
Visit the National Council for
Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
website for valuable
recession advice:
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-
support/recession-resources/
recession-proof
Download their publication
Support in Uncertain Times:
tinyurl.com/yd64epl
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/
uploadedFiles/NCVO/Press/
Press_Releases/Support_in_
Uncertain_Times_June%2709.pdf
Positive Local Leadership in a Recession – Support for Councils and Councillors
These are challenging times
nationally and internationally.
Yet there is an extremely
important local dimension to
the recession, both in terms of
its impact, shaping a response
to that impact and preparing
for the post-recession world.
If there has ever been a time
when effective local community
leadership is required, this is it.
Its time has come. The primary
task of this guide is to help local
councils to fulfil their community
leadership responsibilities in these
challenging circumstances.
www.idea.gov.uk/idk/
aio/9560735
It is important to have positive local leadership in times of recession Image by NotFromUtrecht
www.voscur.org December 2009 / January 2010 Issue 824
Place Survey
A quick guide to the Place Survey 2008
The Place Survey is a new
consultation that all local
authorities are required to carry
out on a two-yearly basis. The
Place Survey was devised by
central government and replaces
the Best Value Performance
Indicator Survey (BVPI). The Place
Survey has been developed as
part of a new focus on improving
outcomes for local people and
places – rather than on processes,
institutions and inputs.
The survey provides information
on people’s perceptions of their
local area and the local services
they receive.
MethodologyThe Place Survey is a statutory
requirement of all local authorities
in England and will be undertaken
every two years as a postal survey.
Its main purposes are:
• To help councils and their
partners to better understand
local views and needs.
• To enable local councils and
their partners to improve areas
where residents are dissatisfied.
• To form part of the Audit
Commission’s monitoring
of the performance of local
public services as part of
the Comprehensive Area
Assessment (CAA). See page 26.
Questions asked included:
• What are the most important
things that make your area a
good place to live?
• Which of these things most
need improving?
• How satisfied are you with your
area and the services provided
by local public organisations?
• How involved are you, or would
you like to be, in decisions that
affect your local area?
The survey collected information
on 18 National Indicators (NI)
for local government, used
to measure local government
performance for 152 county
councils, metropolitan district
councils, London boroughs and
unitary authorities. The England
indicators covered by the survey
include the following:
NI 1: % of people who agree
that their local area is a place
where people from different
backgrounds get on well together.
NI 2: % of people who feel
that they belong to their
neighbourhood.
NI 3: % who have been involved in
decisions that affect the local area
in the past twelve months.
NI 4: % of people who agree they
can influence decisions in their
local area.
NI 5: % of people who are
satisfied with their local area as a
place to live.
NI 6: % of people who have
participated in regular
volunteering.
The results of the first ever Place Survey have been released, summarising the headline
findings for England and the individual Government Office regions.
Issue 8 December 2009 / January 2010 www.voscur.org 25
Place Survey
Bristol Picture
NI 1: % of people who agree that their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together.
Respondents in Bristol gave the
city a score of 76%, the same
as the national average, but 4%
below the South West average
of 80%.
NI 2: % of people who feel they belong to their immediate neighbourhood.
Bristol is a high scorer at 63%
compared to the other core cities,
and higher than the England
average of 59%.
NI 3: % of people who have been involved in decisions that affect the local area in the past twelve months.
Bristol is higher than the England
average of 14% and all of the core
cities with a score of 18%.
NI 4: % of people who agree they can influence decisions in their local area.
The England average is 29%,
London has the highest score
with 35%, but Bristol is low with
only 25%.
NI 5: % of people who are satisfied with their local area as a place to live
Bristol is high at 78.6% compared
with the other core cities, but the
England average is 80% and the
South West is 85%.
NI 6: % of people who have participated in regular volunteering
Bristol is higher than the other
core cities at 24%, but lower than
the South West average of 28%.
The England average is 23%.
Jargon buster:
Core Cities
The Core Cities group is a network
of England’s major regional
cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds,
Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle,
Nottingham and Sheffield. They
form the economic and urban
cores of wider surrounding
territories, the city regions and
are the economic drivers of their
regions. The umbrella theme for
the joint activity of the Core Cities
Group is economic development.
This article is adapted from
the briefing produced by
South West Forum. Visit
www.southwestforum.org.uk
www.voscur.org December 2009 / January 2010 Issue 826
Comprehensive Area Assessment
A Quick Guide to the Comprehensive Area Assessment (Oneplace)*
What is the purpose of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA)It aims to give people a snapshot
of life in their local area each
year; help local service providers
improve the quality of life in their
area and help people understand
if they are getting value for
money from their local services.
The Comprehensive Area
Assessment (CAA) process looks at
how well local services are working
together to improve the quality
of life for local people. It will make
information available to people
about local services, helping
them make informed choices and
influence decisions.
For the first time, local public
services will be held collectively
to account for the way they work.
This means that the CAA will look
across councils, health bodies,
police forces, fire and rescue
services and others responsible
for local public services. These
bodies are increasingly expected
to work in partnership to tackle
the challenges facing their
communities.
CAA examines a whole area and
how well local bodies are working
in partnership to deliver agreed
priorities such as those set out in
Sustainable Community Strategies
and Local Area Agreements. The
CAA will contribute to knowing
whether an environment for a
thriving third sector is being built;
whether third sector expertise
feeds into decision-making and
whether the third sector is able
to play its full role in delivering
services for the whole community.
It provides a real opportunity for
the third sector in holding local
government to account.
There are two different
elements that make up the CAA:
1. Organisational AssessmentLocal public services are assessed
by different inspectorates
depending on the context. The
Audit Commission assesses value
for money through a Use of
Resources Judgement; this then
contributes to the organisational
assessment for local authorities,
PCT’s, Police and Fire and Rescue
authorities. The Use of Resources
Judgement covers how well the
organisation manages under three
different themes: finance, the
business and resources. These
three themes are then supported
by detailed questions called key
lines of enquiry based on three
main questions:
1. How effectively does the
organisation manage its finances
and deliver value for money?
2. How well does the
organisation govern itself and
commission services that provide
value for money and deliver
outcomes for local people?
In April 2009, the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) replaced the Comprehensive
Performance Assessment as the way local authorities will be measured on their work.
This quick guide outlines some of the differences.
Issue 8 December 2009 / January 2010 www.voscur.org 27
Comprehensive Area Assessment
3. How well does the
organisation manage its natural
resources, physical assets and
people to meet current and
future needs and deliver value
for money?
2. Area AssessmentThis will be a narrative report
looking at prospects for future
improvement against local
priorities. Two initial questions will
be used to provide underlying
evidence and support the
judgement on a third question:
Question 1
How well do local priorities
express local needs and
aspirations?
Question 2
How well are the outcomes
and improvements needed
being delivered?
Question 3
What are the prospects for
further improvement?
Question one is very much
voluntary, community and social
enterprise sector territory and
inspectors will be looking for
evidence of robust decision
making across local partners.
They will explore how well local
partnerships engage with, involve
and empower local people
including through the third sector.
What evidence will be gathered?
A ‘shared evidence file’ will be
kept locally and will include data
from the National Indicator Set,
information from local people,
third sector organisations
and local businesses. The
National Survey of Third Sector
Organisations which measures
performance against NI7 – a
Thriving Third Sector – and the
Place Survey which measure
performance against NI6 –
regular volunteering – (and other
indicators) will both provide data
which will be included in the
evidence file.
Voscur’s view
Voscur wasn’t contacted as part
of the stakeholder engagement in
April and May 2009 and has been
trying to meet with the local Audit
Commission lead to feed in a third
sector perspective before the
‘joint assessments’ are published
in December.
Find out:
This guide to CAA is
based on the CAA
briefing produced by South West
Forum – for more details visit:
www.southwestforum.org.uk
Find out more about CAA at:
www.audit-commission.gov.
uk/localgov/audit/caa/Pages/
default.aspx
*It has recently been announced that Comprehensive Area Assessments will be rebranded and sold to the public as Oneplace.
www.voscur.org December 2009 / January 2010 Issue 828
The Compact
Working in a Compact Way
Ian Popperwell, a Planning and
Commissioning Manager, told
Thrive! about improving practice
in Bristol City Council adult
social care:
“We’re working to shift and
improve our relationship with
the voluntary sector in line with
the Compact. The Compact
gives a lead and framework for
developing clearer appropriate
relationships. Like most statutory
authorities, we’ve had a long-
standing and somewhat traditional
relationship with the sector
and now we are moving from
yearly grants to rolling service
agreements we need to be
clear about the nature of the
relationship.
The most important shift has been
the move towards commissioning
of services. This brings a more
strategic approach to identifying
the level and type of local need,
how it might best be met, who
by and how services can be
constantly improved. Voluntary
sector organisations are now seen
as service providers, preventing
the old relationship of the local
authority being seen to have ties
over whole organisations.
Services will be commissioned
for outcomes. Why? Well
most importantly we want to
commission high quality services
and expect there to be something
positive that happens to people as
a result of using them. We want
services to be able to demonstrate
their value by measuring results,
where they are most effective and
areas they need to work on.
We’re moving towards issuing
three (rather than one) year
service agreements wherever
possible and appropriate. We
are also committed to moving
towards full cost recovery.
Organisations have often costed
services on the basis of the
amount of money that is available,
rather than on a full cost recovery
basis. In the short term, it’s not
possible to correct this; there
isn’t the money and it might
cause internal difficulties for
organisations to reduce services.
However all new services should
be funded that way.
Finally, as joint commissioners of
mental health services with NHS
Bristol, we are moving towards
lead funder-commissioner
arrangements across other
services/organisations that have
multiple funding.
With many new developments
in health and social care service
direction on the horizon, there are
great opportunities ahead for the
third sector.”
Compact compliance can be seen as quite daunting, but starting from including
the Compact in staff induction, through to moving towards three year funding
arrangements, public agencies can build up action plans that can help bring their work
in line with the Bristol Compact.
Get compliance
checklists at www.
voscur.org/compact
Queen’s Award
Issue 8 December 2009 / January 2010 www.voscur.org 29
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
The Queen’s Award for
Voluntary Service is the highest
award given to volunteer
groups across the UK for
outstanding work done in their
local communities.
Groups doing all kinds of voluntary
sector work are invited to make
nominations for the Queen’s
Award. In contrast to other
National Honours, we do not
expect nominations to be treated
in confidence. This is because
County Assessment Panels usually
wish to visit groups in order to
gain better understanding of
their work, and that groups must
have indicated that they are
willing to accept an Award if the
nomination is successful. However,
it is important that groups
understand that an Award will not
automatically follow a submission
of a nomination form. We also
require two letters of support
from others who have firsthand
knowledge of and can endorse the
nominated group’s contribution.
These must be attached to the
nomination form and the names
of the two supporters, and their
relationship with the group, must
be given on the nomination form.
If supporting letters are not
received, the nomination will be
deemed ineligible.
In common with the UK National
Honours, there are no deadlines
for the receipt of nomination
forms. Award nominations will
be considered at any point
within 3 years of the nomination.
Therefore, nominations should
not be made for a particular
year’s Award. If you would like
to nominate a voluntary sector
organisation or community
group and want to find out more
about the award, who decides
on the nominations, and when
the announcement of winners
is made, please contact Gunnar
Moran at Government Office for
the South West on:
0117 900 3517.
Charity specialist accountants and auditors based in Bristol. Passionate about the not-for-profit sector and experienced in delivering practical and professional accounting services to charities.
Company limited by Guarantee registered in England no. 3918210
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Voscur Diary — December 2009 / January 2010
December
Tuesday 1 December Volunteers and the Law (Full)The Federation of City Farms, The GreenHouse, Hereford Street, Bristol, BS3 4NA (9:30am-1pm)
Wednesday 9 December HSE Approved Emergency First Aid At Work (EFAW) (Full) Withywood Centre, Queens Road, Withywood, Bristol, BS13 8QA (9:30am-4pm)
Thursday 10 December How to deal with difficult issues in volunteer management (Full) The Park Centre, Daventry Road, Knowle, Bristol, BS4 1QD (9:30am-1pm)
Tuesday 15 December Voscur AssemblyKnowle West Media Centre, Leinster Avenue, Knowle West, Bristol, BS4 1NL (1pm-4pm)
January
Thursday 14 January Introduction to FundraisingWithywood Centre, Queens Road, Withywood, Bristol, BS13 8QA (9:30am-3:30pm)
Tuesday 19 January Joint CYP Network Meeting The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ (10am-1pm)
Wednesday 20 January Voscur AssemblySouthville Centre, Beauley Road Bristol, BS3 1QG (9:30am-1pm)
Thursday 28 January Neighbourhood Partnership Residents’ ForumThe Council House, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TR (6pm-8pm)