Governance Surgery – Free advice for trustees

06/10/2015

Community Works has organised a Governance Surgery on Wednesday 4 November, 6-8pm at the BMECP Centre for trustees, management committee members or anyone in charge of the governance of their organisation. Drop in anytime to speak to one of a range of experts and network with fellow trustees and management committee members.

The aim of the event is to bring together all of the expertise, information and advice you could need if you are a trustee or are considering becoming one, to answer those questions you might be afraid to ask or don’t know who to ask.

To find out more, including how to book your place, visit: http://bhcommunityworks.org.uk/governance-surgeries-2015/

The event is free. It is taking place as part of national event ‘Trustees Week’  http://trusteesweek.blogspot.co.uk/

Community Health Fund: deadline 15th January 2016

02/10/2015

Brighton and Hove Community Health Fund: a fund for ‘healthy’ community groups

  • Does your group help to address a health issue?
  • Do you have an idea for a healthy project or activity?
  • Are you a new group that would like help to develop?

This fund could provide the funds and support that you need.

  • one to one support to help set up a group or make an application
  • grants available (up to £1,500)
  • the chance to meet similar groups to yours

The fund particularly welcomes applications from groups supporting BME or LGBT communities or groups supporting older people/intergeneration projects. For more information contact Lisa Mytton:

Information Session: Thursday 3 December 6pm to 8pm at BMECP

Website: bhcommunityworks.org.uk/members/advice-support/community-health-fund/

The next deadline for applications is 5pm Friday 15th January 2016.

Mental Wellbeing Innovation Fund

01/10/2015

NHS Brighton & Hove (the CCG) and the public health team at the City Council are now inviting bids for the second round of the Mental Wellbeing Innovation Fund.  The theme for projects in 2016 is social connections and preventing loneliness, with priority for people living in deprived areas, in  poor quality housing or homeless, or living alone; also children who are carers or who are looked after. They are looking for innovation – in reaching those who may not normally access services, in the opportunities or activities offered to people, and in partnerships.

There is less funding available than last year: £55,000 in total, with a maximum of £5,000 per project.

The application form and details of the process are at:

https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/health/mental-health-and-wellbeing

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Monday 16 November 2015, and projects should be completed within the calendar year 2016.

Free Community Works course on analysing data and measuring impact

30/09/2015

Community Works are running a workshop for groups and organisations to help them gather better data and analyse it well. It is aimed at groups who are already experienced with monitoring and evaluation.

The workshop will explore monitoring, evaluation and impact through the practical learning of creating a Data Management Strategy. It will examine the benefits of having such a strategy, its concept and contents, and what it might bring to your group. There will also be space to share your experiences in this area with peers.

Confident data gathering can enable your group or organisation to:

  • Tell your story more effectively
  • Join your story up with others
  • Celebrate your successes
  • Develop safe and dignified ways of gathering quality data from service users
  • Capture the ‘real’ experience, essence and difference that your work makes
  • Influence others more effectively

As a participant you will:

  • Explore how organisational values can and should form part of your Data Management Strategy
  • Map your current data management practice against your organisational needs and objectives
  • Identify how you can develop your data management strategy through a range of different approaches including: service user involvement, identification of internal and external data sources, combining data to produce new insights into strategy and service user need, and use of IT within your organisation.

The course will run twice:

Monday 7th December 12.30 – 4.00pm: Venue to be confirmed

Thursday 17th December 12.30 – 4.00pm: Venue – Community Works

To book a place please get in touch with Community Works on training@bhcommunityworks.org.uk or call 01273 234023.

BrightonSoup call for charitable projects needing funding and musicians to perform

30/09/2015

BrightonSoup have just announced…

At our recent Hangleton event Tamsin from Wide Berth won the vote and £300.70 in ticket money and donations for her craft taster classes for socially isolated mothers. Although one project got the funding, all the projects benefited with skills pledges and offers of help. It’s a great opportunity to make connections and get support. If you know of anyone that may be interested in presenting we are now open to submissions for our next event at Community Base on Friday 20th November 2015.

Projects

Projects must be charitable and of benefit to the people in Brighton & Hove City. If interested please send a couple of paragraphs explaining your project and what you would do with the money to projects@brightonsoup.org.uk.

Musicians

We’re also looking for  musicians to play a short 20/25 min set at our events. So far we have had folk singer Georgia Lewis and guitar duo Dare To Be Charlie – both went down really well. If you or a musician you know is interested please get in touch. We cannot pay, but you get as much free (delicious) food as you can eat, and you get to vote on the projects. It’s a fun night.

Visit brightonsoup.org.uk for details.

Free training in Monitoring and Evaluation for small groups

30/09/2015

This training is organised by Community Works. There are two dates available:

  • Tuesday 17 November, 9:30-1pm
  • Thursday 10 March 2016, 9:30-1pm

The same course is running twice so please book on to the date that best suits you.

Fee: Free

Venue: Community Base Conference Room

Trainer: Paul Bramwell (training consultant) and Kate Gilchrist (Public Health)

This half-day course is a back to basics for anyone who is involved in or new to monitoring and evaluation, or who wants a refresher to improve the quality of their work. It will also include a demonstration of the Community Insight Tool, which allows you to find, explore and use a wide range of facts and figures at different geographic levels for Brighton and Hove. By the end of the course you will be able to:

  • Measure success against the aims and objectives of your organisation
  • Set a baseline against which to monitor and evaluate future work and use the Community Insight Tool to help you do this
  • Set and measure outputs, outcomes and milestones
  • Use different qualitative and quantitative monitoring techniques
  • Use the information you have gathered to critically evaluate your work
  • Begin to convince funders and commissioners of the added value of your work.

Techniques covered will include record keeping, questionnaires and evaluation forms, focus groups, interviewing and other participatory methods of collecting information about your activities or services. There will also be an opportunity to talk about building relationships with your funders.

Who is this course for?
This training is aimed specifically at groups:

  • With an annual income of under £35,000 who are delivering health and well-being activities
  • There is priority booking for those groups whose health and well-being activities support LGBT people, people from BME communities or older people (including intergenerational work)

To book on:

For more information and booking through Eventbrite please visit:

17 November 2015 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/getting-to-grips-with-monitoring-evaluation-the-community-insight-tool-tickets-18202386829

10 March 2016 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/getting-to-grips-with-monitoring-evaluation-the-community-insight-tool-tickets-18202689735

Trans Awareness training, 20 November

25/09/2015

Date: Friday 20 November, 2015

Time: 9.30am-1.00pm

Venue: Stanmer Room, Brighthelm Community Centre, North Road, Brighton, BN1 1YD.

This half day course with the Trans Alliance is aimed at anyone who wants to broaden their understanding of issues faced by transgender, transsexual and other gender-different people. The session is based around interactive exercises, encouraging participants to get involved in thinking through what Trans means and ways to achieve equality and inclusivity in practice. By the end of the session you will have:

  • An appreciation of how sex, gender and sexual orientation interact
  • Improved understanding of Trans identities, terms and language
  • A good grounding in the key laws relating to Trans people
  • Increased awareness of trans issues and ways to be trans inclusive
  • Increased confidence in working with trans colleagues/clients
  • Information about helpful resources.

Course fees:

Organisation’s Annual Income Under £250,000:

Members: £25

Non-members: £30

 

Organisation’s Annual Income Over £250,000:

Members: £40

Non-members: £45

 

‘Non-member’ means organisations who are not a member of Community Works, but are a charity or community group operating in Brighton and Hove

Please note, some bursary places are available to groups in Brighton and Hove with an income of less than £35,000 pa.

For more information or to book your place, please contact: training@bhcommunityworks.org.uk or call 01273 234023

How to have your say at the Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities Committee

23/09/2015

Brighton & Hove City Council has a new committee for Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities. Community groups are invited to contribute ideas and views to help the committee’s discussions.

There are several ways to do this:

 1. Keep an eye on the agenda and see if anything interesting is coming up

Committee agendas are usually published a week in advance of the meetings, on the council website. Here’s the page where you can see details of Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities committee meetings.

2. Go along to a meeting to observe

All council committee meetings are open to the public. The Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities Committee is meeting in community venues around the city. The next few meetings will be:

  • 5th October – Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, BN1
  • 23rd November – St. Richards Community Centre, Egmont Road, BN3
  • 25th January 2016 – South Portslade Community Centre, Church Road, BN41
  • 14th March 2016 – Valley Social Centre, Whitehawk Way, BN2

3. Send a message via the Community Works reps

Jo Martindale (Hangleton and Knoll Project) and Hanan Mansi (HOPE Sussex) sit on the committee as representatives of the community and voluntary sector. Jo and Hanan can take messages from the sector into meeting discussions and Community Works will be working with them to seek input from some of you on specific agenda items each time. Please contact Lorraine Prince at Community Works if you have specific concerns or issues you would like to raise with the reps.

4. Set up a petition

Anyone can start a petition on the council’s website. You can choose to send your petition to the full council or to a particular committee. If you get more than 1,250 signatures, the council will discuss your petition at a full council meeting and you will be given 3 minutes to present it.

5. Ask a public question or send a deputation

These are ways for members of the public to speak at Brighton & Hove Council committee meetings. There are regulations on the council’s website about how much notice you need to give for a question or deputation. If you want to do this, the best thing to do first is to contact the officer who looks after the committee. This is Penny Jennings – you can email her on penny.jennings@brighton-hove.gov.uk or phone her on 01273 291065.

6. Contact members of the committee directly

The council’s website has a list of members of the Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities Committee. Click on the name of a councillor to see their contact details.

Meet the lead Councillor for Communities: 20th October

15/09/2015

Councillor Emma Daniel (Brighton and Hove City Council lead member for neighbourhoods, communities and equalities) is running another voluntary and community sector surgery on 20th October.

Appointments are available from 12.15pm until the evening. To book your hour’s slot, please email Jennie Howard, Jennie.Howard@brighton-hove.gcsx.gov.uk.

Sports kit and equipment in return for collecting old Sky boxes

15/09/2015

Free sports kit scheme launched for Brighton & Hove schools, sports clubs and community groups

Schools and clubs in Brighton & Hove are being encouraged to get involved in a reward scheme offering schools free sports kit if they return old Sky TV boxes. Local people are being asked to give any unwanted old Sky boxes and broadband routers to their local club or school over the next few weeks.

Each box returned by a school or club to Sky will earn Sky Kit Reward points. These can be redeemed online for a huge selection of sports kit, from full playing strips to team wear, training wear, sets of balls, cones and bibs. Returning Sky boxes and routers could not be easier, with a free courier service arranged via the Sky Kit Rewards website.

All major sports are catered for. The more boxes your school or club sends back to Sky the more free sports equipment you qualify for. The scheme runs until the end of October 2015.

Schools and sports clubs can choose from a range of equipment / kit bundles. Examples include:

  • 10 boxes can provide a set of 14 Sky Sports branded football shirts
  • 25 boxes can provide a full set of bespoke rugby strips.

Schools and sports clubs and groups should visit www.skykitrewards.com to find out more and register themselves as a Sky box collection point.