Issue 133

A word from Brian Horner

Welcome to issue number 133 ofVoluntary Norfolk News.

The first newsletter that this organisation produced, soon afterits foundation 44 years ago as Norwich Organisation for ActiveHelp, looked very different to thatwhich you see in front of you today.

It was an A4, single columnedsheet of typed paper that had beencopied on a banding machine. Itlooked very simple, but it did thejob.

As this organisation and the widersector beyond grew and changed, so the newsletter in turn grew andchanged to keep pace.

In time, the single sheet gave wayto multiple pages; desktop publishing pushed out the Remington; photocopying was replaced by hot metal printing; single colour made way for duotoneand was itself overtaken by fullcolour, as photographs were introduced and began to play a significant part in the design.

Despite these changes, from 1969to late 2013, one thing remainedconstant: whether photocopied orprinted, in black or white or incolour, Voluntary Norfolk News wasa physical, hard-copy, hold-in-your-hand publication.

Until today.

Contents

The burgeoning of internet accessand the growth of new media, together with the continuing popularity of our Members’ News Extra e-bulletin, means that a printed newsletter seems to haveless of a role to play than it didwhen the organisation was first established.

Many of our readers have told usthat, these days, they prefer to readsuch pieces online/in electronicform and, for the moment at least,that is how Voluntary Norfolk Newswill be distributed.

We will be monitoring responses tothe new format during the trial period and may decide to revise this, depending on the feedback we receive, but we feel that thesenew arrangements will be more inkeeping with what our readerswant; importantly, they will alsoallow us to reassign funds thatwould otherwise be spent on external designers, printing and postage to support our frontline activities.

I hope that you find this issue andall subsequent issues to be of interest.

If you have any comments aboutwhat you read here or the work ofVoluntary Norfolk, please do get intouch.

Brian HornerCEO, Voluntary Norfolk

Voluntary Norfolk’s opens its new Headquarters

Norfolk County Council budgetconsultation: the sector’s response

Norwich City Council budget consultation

Voluntary Norfolk’s Annual Review is now available

Coastshare: A new value-for-money service to helpnot-for-profit organisations

Charity BackRoom: NAVCA Essentials

Our new Meeting and Training Rooms

Norfolk’s BAME Groups gain specialist support to be Fit forFunding

A Day In The Life of a Development Worker

Volunteers enrich the lives ofcare home residents

On 29 November 2013, Voluntary Norfolk’s newNorwich offices were formally opened by Ministerfor Care and Support, Norman Lamb MP, assistedby the charity’s recently-appointed Chair, JohnArchibald, and outgoing Chair, Helen Johnson.

The official opening, and the Open Day that followed, marked the culmination of a processthat started many months before when, knowingthat its existing headquarters in Pottergate needed extensive rebuilding, Voluntary Norfolk startedlooking for new premises. In March, it found apromising candidate – St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, in the historic area of the city that is sometimes still known as Norwich Over the Water.

The chance to relocate to a building that offeredmore flexible accommodation and that would facilitate the creation of a larger and more usablevolunteer centre in a vibrant part of town (and onethat enjoys considerable footfall) was too good toignore. Voluntary Norfolk moved into St ClementsHouse on 10 October 2013.

After Voluntary Norfolk’s Chair, John Archibald,had welcomed guests to the opening ceremonyand thanked the many people whose efforts hadmade the move to Colegate possible, NormanLamb talked about the problem of loneliness andthe efforts that Voluntary Norfolk and other organisations were making to tackle what he described as “a hidden epidemic.”

Mr Lamb said that community collaboration with organisations like Voluntary Norfolk ensured thatthe system was sustainable and gave people structure. “Statutory services on their own can’tgive people a good life – it’s about the wider society,” said Mr Lamb, who noted that volunteershad an important part to play in ensuring that therewere “no gaps for people to fall through.”

He also stressed that councils should not thinkabout ending funding for voluntary organisations:“that is 180-degree wrong – they should do more,”he said.

A video clip of Norman Lamb’s full speech, talkingabout the efforts that Voluntary Norfolk and othergroups make to tackle the problem of loneliness, is available online

As well as the Norwich Volunteer Centre, the Colegate offices house a flexible suite of meetingand training rooms that can be hired by voluntarysector organisations and they are also the home of Charity BackRoom, Voluntary Norfolk’s social enterprise arm.

The accommodation on offer has the potential tobenefit some of the county’s other charities too, andseveral are thinking about joining Voluntary Norfolkat St Clements House to form what will effectivelybe a voluntary sector hub in that part of the city.Norfolk Community Law Service was the first charityto come on board and will move into St ClementsHouse on 19 December 2013.

Voluntary Norfolk’s opens its new Headquarters

Our Annual Review 2012-2013 provides detailsabout the many services Voluntary Norfolk provides and the diverse projects it manages but,more than that, it shows how our commitment tosupporting volunteers and voluntary organisationsmakes a real difference to people in Norfolk: a difference to the delegates who attend our training courses; to the voluntary groups we assist when they are making funding applicationsor looking for volunteers; to the volunteers themselves, who we recruit, train and deploy.

And, of course, our commitment makes a difference to the people our volunteers assist,whether in hospital wards or by visiting them in their homes, staving off falls, preventing loneliness and addressing the problems that arise from isolation. That is why people like Sheila, Edward and Maggie, whose stories arecontained in the Annual Review, make the case for what we do far more eloquently than bare project summaries and cold statistics ever could.

Voluntary Norfolk members should have receivedthe Annual Review by post, but if you would likean additional copy, do contact us.

Voluntary Norfolk’s Annual Review is now available

Norfolk County Council recently identified potential savings of £140 million and, via its Putting People First consultation, which closed on12 December, asked the people of Norfolk (including representatives from voluntary organisations) what the impact of those cuts werelikely to be should they be implemented.

Voluntary Norfolk encouraged the county’s voluntary and community groups to respond inseveral ways: to send in individual responses tothe Council; to write to Voluntary Norfolk to express their views or to attend one of the threeconsultation meetings that we held in Norwich,Great Yarmouth and Dereham. Voluntary Norfolkalso collected views as part of its day-to-day contact with groups on the front line.

We promised to collate the key points that weheard in response to the consultation and to submit them to the Council. This has now beendone and you can find our response to the Putting People First consultation on our website.

Norfolk County Council budgetconsultation: the sector’s response

Norwich City Council budget consultation

Norwich City Council is preparing its budget for2014-15 and is facing a number of challenges andchoices.

This is your chance to tell the council what youthink about these important issues.

In order to make sure your responses are keptconfidential and the reporting of results is fair, thecouncil has asked BMG Research, an independentmarket research agency, to carry out the surveyon its behalf.

This public consultation started on 21 October2013 and will end on 6 January 2014. Councillorswill then use this information to help them makedecisions about the budget and the council tax reduction scheme in the new year.

Not-for-profit organisations will be able to provideservices to each other at cost and free of VATthanks to Coastshare, a not-for-profit companynewly established by North Norfolk District Council (NNDC), Great Yarmouth Borough Council(GYBC) and Voluntary Norfolk in a pioneering newinnovation, the first of its kind in Britain.

Organisations that choose to become part ofCoastshare will be able to access a ‘menu’ ofservices though a website. Available services will include HR and employment, legal, payroll, accountancy, project management, heritage conservation and design, insurance, jobs and recruitment, procurement and health and safety,with more services expected to join the list in thefuture. Any member will be able to provide a service to another member and be reimbursed at cost for the delivery of that service. And membership will carry no risks as the costs of the not-for-profit company will be absorbed by the organisations underwriting the venture (anymember liability is limited to £1) and membersonly pay for what they use.

Trevor Ivory, NNDC Cabinet Member for Legal Services, Localism and the Big Society, said,“Right now, in the current economic climate, theneed for collaboration between local voluntary organisations has never been higher, with morethan 25% of organisations saying that they are uncertain about their survival.

“The ability for voluntary organisations to haveaccess to a range of back office and administrative services through Coastshare willincrease individual resilience and improve the capacity of the sector as a whole to deliver services that are more responsive to the needs of local communities.”

This approach is possible because of new Government legislation, which only came intoforce in February 2013, making the supply of services between not-for-profit bodies exemptfrom VAT, where those services are supplied atcost through a cost-sharing group.

Cllr Trevor Wainwright, the leader of Great YarmouthBorough Council, said: “The councils in GreatYarmouth and North Norfolk are the very first localauthorities to develop a cost-sharing group, so weare pioneering this innovative approach nationally.

“Coastshare has the potential to deliver vital savings for both councils and not-for-profit organisations at a time when both sectors are underincreasing financial pressure from the Governmentto do more with less money.

“By giving not-for-profit organisations access to araft of specialist advice and assistance at cost price,without VAT, this enables them to direct more moneytowards delivering frontline services where it ismost needed, rather than having to pay for expensive back-office services, which could forcesmaller organisations to close.

“This approach would deliver income back to thecouncils to help reduce the cost of back-office services to taxpayers and retain resilience and flexibility in the service, without reducing the levelof services or making redundancies.”

Brian Horner, Chief Executive of Voluntary Norfolksaid, “The launch of Coastshare is an exciting example of the voluntary sector and the public sector working together for the benefit of local communities. Voluntary Norfolk is delighted to bepart of this initiative. By enabling not-for-profit organisations in Norfolk to make cost savings webelieve it will produce real benefits and enable themto spend more of their resources on frontline services.”

Ultimately, if it is successful, Coastshare could provide a wider range of services to the not-for-profit sector and expand to create high quality jobsin both local authority areas.

Coastshare: A new value-for-money service to help not-for-profit organisations

It doesn’t help that you have a lot to do and little if any time to take note of new legislation andevolving case law - except when an employmenttribunal hits the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Happily, we can monitor these changes for you,help you down from the high wire, and let you geton with the things that really matter to you.

So don’t get bogged down searching the internetfor the answer when our skilled and qualified HRand Employment Law team is just a phone callaway.

Unlike many of our competitors, we put our resources into service delivery, not sales.

That means we always provide exactly what wepromise and frequently much more. It also meansthat you will be given a primary contact who willtake the time to understand your business andwho will work with you whenever you need them.

We don’t use call centre staff, so you needn’tworry that you will have to deal with poorlytrained advisers reading from a script. When youcall us, you will be put through to the samefriendly and knowledgeable contact you alwaysspeak with.

What’s more, we back up any advice given overthe telephone with a written version so you knowexactly how to go about achieving your aims in aneasy and straightforward manner.

We’re positive that we represent the best optionfor organisations in the not-for-profit sector andothers evidently feel the same about us.

Perhaps that’s why Charity BackRoom has beenthe selected commercial HR partner for the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA)

Charity BackRoom can make a real difference toyour organisation. To find out why we’re the talkof the sector contact us now for a free, no obligation conversation about what you wouldlike to achieve.

You’ll be pleased you did.

enquiries@charitybackroom.org.uk

Blame culture is rife in the modern worldand, especially when dealing with matters of HR and Employment Law, employers often feel that they are walking a tightrope.

How we can help you

Supplier to the programme

Is a lack of space and time causing youdifficulties with strategy and planning?

Are you looking for a venue for a staff ortrustee away day?

Do you need somewhere to host training?

Have you found somewhere that offers ITcourses that has its own IT equipment?

If you need fresh, new, bright and airy meeting and training rooms to inspire creativity and solidplanning then you need to come to Voluntary Norfolk.

Unlike many other venues, we won’t load the billwith lots of additional ‘extras’ that you have theright to expect as standard. That’s why our roomscome with the following free of charge.

LaptopWireless Wi-FiCeiling Mounted Data Projector with audioFlipchart with pad and pensWater Cooler

Our rooms offer easy Mobility Access in line withDDA Requirements with free onsite parking for disabled clients (subject to availability) and publicparking less than 100 yards away.

Want to see what you’ve been missing?

Call us now to book an appointment.

Alternatively, call us now to check availability; ourprofessionally equipped rooms book quickly; actnow before you miss out.

Call 01603 614474 to find out more, including details of our ‘unlimited refills’ of tea and coffee and our locally and ethically sourced catering options.

There’s a place for us...

A series of surgeries has been booked for January 2014 in Diss, Fakenham, Thetford and Norwich,

focussing on BAME groups with funding queries.

Additionally, a special Introduction to Funding course aimed at BAME groups is being held at

Voluntary Norfolk’s Colegate offices on 28 January 2014.

For further details about Fit for Funding, contact Matthew Jones on 01603 883832 or

matthew.jones@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk

Black and Ethnic Minority (BAME) groups are avital component of Norfolk’s voluntary and community sector and play a substantial role incommunity cohesion in the county at large.

Yet for a variety of reasons they have not alwaysfound it easy to access funding.

In the present economic climate every group isstruggling to secure adequate income but BAMEgroups often find that there are additional factorsthat put them at a disadvantage.

There may be language or cultural difficulties; perhaps the lack of a track record of managing finances can be a factor; sometimes it is simplythat they need help with navigating the systemand going through the application process.

Now, thanks to financial assistance from the Norfolk Community Foundation, Voluntary Norfolkhas launched ‘Fit for Funding,’ a special servicedesigned to help BAME groups to gain greater success with funding applications.

Fit for Funding provides:

-The services of an experienced developmentworker offering time and dedicated support -Four full day training events (tailored to BAMEgroups), handouts and materials-Regular advice surgeries throughout Norfolk-Internet research on behalf of organisations andthe use of written and on-line resources-Assisted ‘Find a funder’ software searches

The BAME groups that Voluntary Norfolk works withtell us that they want our help and that:

-Their top priority is securing funding -There are cultural differences between the sectorhere and elsewhere -English is not their first language so it can be difficult to explain their proposals-They feel funders are setting ‘lots of hoops to jumpthrough’ -They can struggle with written applications -They feel funders are not particularly supportive-They have experienced ‘knock backs’ with previousapplications to local funders

For their part, local funders say applications do notmeet the standard they require as:

-There is often no demonstrable ‘track record’ ofmanaging finances -Structures are sometimes inadequate -Projects often seem overly ambitious -Applications are rarely strong enough

Fit for Funding has been created to bridge this gapand to help BAME groups to thrive and the first successful applications, made with the help of Fit for Funding’s expertise, are now coming through.

In November and December, workshops were held at the Norwich Wellbeing Centre focussing on the basics of funding.

This scheme is open to groups across all the areasof the county where Voluntary Norfolk works andruns until March 2014.

Norfolk’s BAME Groups gain specialist support to be Fit for Funding

Staff in Norfolk’s private care homes have a greatdeal to do. While naturally concerned for the healthand wellbeing of residents, their duties mean thatthey don’t always have the time to engage in socialactivities or to enrich the lives of the people theycare for. They do what they can, but often that isn’tas much as they would like.

A new scheme being piloted by Voluntary Norfolkand funded by Norfolk County Council could providethe answer. If successful, it will not only help carehome residents to remain engaged and get more outof life, but it could assist the next generation of professional carers to come through, as well as inform a national research project.

Since October, Voluntary Norfolk has been recruitingVolunteer Activity Coordinators who will be placedin some of North Norfolk’s private care homes,where they will visit residents and help them to getinvolved with enjoyable and social activities. Thesevolunteers will be specifically recruited and trainedfor the role but they will not be there to replace paidstaff or do any of the duties that paid staff undertake; they will be there purely to engage with residents and to help enrich their lives.

Linda Rogers, Voluntary Norfolk’s Head of Operations said:

“While placing volunteers in private care homes is something of a new step, many of Voluntary Norfolk’s existing volunteers already help older people in the community with social and leisure activities, so to some extent the new scheme is anextension of something that we know works welland is greatly appreciated. The new scheme willbenefit the residents, the volunteers themselvesand, we hope, the caring profession in years tocome.”

Volunteers enrich the lives of care home residents

Norfolk County Council has funded this project because it sees that volunteering, and the trainingand experience that come with it, could offer youngpeople and those seeking to return to work or looking for a new direction the opportunity to see if care work is for them. They can use the experience they gain to go forward and secure employment. Meanwhile staff in care homes will be able to add to their own skills by undertakingVoluntary Norfolk training in Volunteer Management.

The scheme began in October when Voluntary Norfolk recruited Project Leader Amelia Worley tooversee it and to recruit the volunteers who willmake such a difference to the lives of care homeresidents

For more information contact: Amelia Worley on01263 519454.

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Matthew Jones is the Development and EngagementWorker for Norwich.

Basically I am here to help voluntary and community groups with any issues they may have.

These can be new/emerging groups or charities,or existing groups. I’m here to try and make theirlives easier.

I work alongside other statutory and voluntaryagencies to ensure that third sector groups notonly have a range of support and informationavailable to them, but, even more crucially, know how to access it.

I am based in our office in Colegate and my daywill generally start by checking e-mails and voice-mail and responding to queries.

Twice a week, the Voluntary Norfolk DevelopmentTeam operates a “Helpdesk”, whereby people whorequire help or advice can contact a specificphone number or e-mail address.

We take turns to staff this, so my day may involveregularly checking the helpdesk e-mail account(in addition to my own) or dealing with calls ormessages.

A large part of my role involves circulating information. Voluntary Norfolk, as the name suggests, covers most of the county.

Groups may not be aware of each other’s existence or activities. Where appropriate, I sharedetails of events and activities amongst my contacts and these can often lead to fruitful collaborations.

Many of the enquiries I receive concern funding.Money is always a huge issue for charities and voluntary sector organisations. My background is in external funding (domestic and European) and Ihave spent a lot of time helping groups with grantapplications.

External funding represents a real opportunity forgroups to expand and enhance their activities butthe process can seem daunting for first–time applicants. It is a learning process, so I am happy to act as a sounding board or to cast an eye overapplications, not only to help a funding bid succeed,but also to help groups develop their skills to submitfuture applications successfully.

SurgeriesMy role is a part-time one. Ideally I would love to beable to have one-to one visits with anyone whowishes to see me, but this is not always practical.

The Development workers hold regular surgerieswhere people can book slots of about 40 minutes to discuss any issues they may have.

Introduction to Funding/EU FundingTraining courses are an important part of the services offered by Voluntary Norfolk. I run regularcourses on applying for funding.

These half-day sessions give tips and advice onwhat funders will look for in an application, common issues that arise and things to considerwhen putting an application together. I have also, in conjunction with Norwich City Council and BridgePlus, run tailored courses for BAME groups in Norwich.

The courses are a useful method for dispensing information, but are equally crucial in allowinggroups to meet and share experiences (good andbad) of funding applications.

A Day In The Life of a Development Worker

Continued on back page

Write it RightVoluntary Norfolk also runs full-day practical workshops that focus on bid writing and grant applications. These events allow attendees to workthrough practical examples and share thoughts andexperiences of applying for funding.

Come and Meet UsThe Voluntary Sector in Norfolk is a constantlychanging environment. Groups emerge and evolve.Personnel changes, amendments to legislation, newfunding sources etc can all be disorientating both tonewcomers and longstanding members of the sector.

Our Come and Meet Us events are designed to bringpeople together, to learn about our services and alsofor us to gain as deep an insight as possible intowhat is happening (and needed) across Norfolk.

We invite guest speakers from funding bodies etc to meet groups and share advice and information.

Stands at EventsA day can involve helping out at events and activities. Voluntary Norfolk is often invited to attend or exhibit at events organised by other voluntary sector organisations. These are a veryuseful method of meeting sector organisations, both to see how we can help, but also to show theservices that we can offer.

Inter-departmental workVoluntary Norfolk is a small but effective organisation. Different departments work very effectively together. My work can involve liaisingwith the communications department, to ensure that my information on our website is accurate andup to date, and the volunteer centre, as many of myqueries concern recruitment and retention of volunteers.

A lot of enquiries concern matters such as insurance and DBS checks, so it is useful to haveCharity BackRoom just down the corridor too!

Contact Matthew Jones on 01603 883832

...Continued Become a Voluntary Norfolkmember and get the latest news,

funding and event information

Go online to join Voluntary Norfolk and get youre-bulletin delivered straight to your inbox.

Voluntary Norfolk on Twitter

Our work is diverse and because it encompassesvolunteering, help for voluntary organisations,

Voice, training (both in-house and under the Inspire to Change banner) and back office services

under the Charity BackRoom brand, we have fourdistinct Twitter accounts.

Voluntary Norfolk - @VoluntaryNfkVolunteering - @vol_Norfolk

Inspire to Change - @inspirenorfolkCharity BackRoom - @CharityBackRoom

Voluntary NorfolkSt Clements House,

2 - 16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ

01603 614474 admin@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk

www.voluntarynorfolk.org.uk

Voluntary Norfolk News was compiled by Voluntary Norfolk Staff and edited and designed

by David Cook and Laura Wycherley

Voluntary Norfolk offers grateful thanks to its funders and supporters:

Big Lottery Fund, Breckland Council, Broadland District Council,

Department of Health/Ecorys, Great Yarmouth Borough Council,

Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Fire Service, North Norfolk District Council,

Norwich City Council, Primary Care Trusts/NHSClinical Commissioning Groups in Norfolk,

and South Norfolk District Council