NCVS e-bulletin - Thursday 1 May 2025

Welcome to this edition of the NCVS e-bulletin — your perfect excuse to put the kettle on and skip that email you've been putting off!

In this e-bulletin, you'll find:

• Our message of support and trans-inclusive solidarity following the UK Supreme Court ruling
• Chance to take part in our Birthday Bimble
• Training opportunities
• The latest from our GreenSpace and PDU teams
• Reason to get your LoVN on with fellow Leaders of Volunteers
• Lots of new support for your funding and fundraising needs

And so much more. Happy reading!

The latest VCSE Barometer survey is live until Wednesday 21 May 2025—and this time, it’s all about wellbeing at work.

Why take part?

• It’s quick and easy: The survey is designed to be a simple ‘temperature check’—no jargon, no fuss. Just a few minutes of your time to share how things are going.
  
  
• Your voice matters: This is the largest survey of its kind in the UK, focused on the real challenges VCSE groups are facing right now. The more people who take part, the stronger our collective voice.
  
  
• Get something back: Everyone who takes part gets free access to useful reports, online seminars, and a user-friendly dashboard packed with insights you can use to inform your work.
  
  
• Help shape the bigger picture: Your feedback isn’t just collected—it’s shared with the people who make decisions about funding, policy, and support for our sector.

Next week is Trans+ History Week which runs from 5 to 11 May 2025.

Trans+ History Week is dedicated to celebrating the rich history of transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, and intersex individuals through stories, events and lesson books for the whole world to use.

At Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS), we believe that education and awareness around trans+ identities is more vital than ever.

NCVS is committed to inclusion and believes everyone deserves dignity, respect and safety. We do not tolerate discrimination or prejudice in any form and we will always promote trans-inclusive spaces.

We know the April 2025 UK Supreme Court ruling that the Equality Act's definition of a woman excludes trans women has created huge distress and anxiety for trans, non-binary, intersex and gender non-conforming people, and for all allies.

Like many others, we are concerned that the ruling has led to confusion and uncertainty. It has also been widely misrepresented. Some reactions risk overreaching the actual legal implications and are instead perpetuating a climate of fear, hostility and exclusion.

The Equality Act 2010 continues to protect trans people's rights.

Nothing has changed in law. There is currently no legal obligation for any organisation to change or roll back any of their trans-inclusive policies. Trans and non-binary people continue to be protected from discrimination, harassment and victimisation under equality legislation.

While the ruling may inform future legal arguments, it does not require immediate or exclusionary action by employers, businesses or service providers.

The immediate action we encourage you to take is to challenge anti-trans rhetoric and stand in solidarity with trans+ communities.

On our website, we have collated links and resources to local and national organisations which can offer support, and to actions you can take to show your solidarity with trans+ communities.

Welcome to the new Team Talk centre, your one-stop shop for all things tips, tricks, and resources. Here you'll find the latest from the team at NCVS.

There are plenty more blogs, think pieces and helpful resources on our website. 

The deadline for applications is Tuesday 10 June 2025

Nottingham City Council has launched the Community Cohesion and Hate Crime £100,000 Grant application process, offering a major opportunity for local organisations to help strengthen community ties and tackle hate across Nottingham.

This is a one-off grant of up to £100,000 for two years to support one Voluntary and Community Sector organisation or a partnership of organisations to deliver activities that promote cohesion and challenge hate across Nottingham city.

This funding, to rebuild social trust and promote cohesion between communities has been allocated to Nottingham City by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It is in response to the significant and widespread disorder which led to negative behaviours such as racism and islamophobia within local communities in England in July and August 2024.

The deadline for applications is Sunday 18 May 2025

Victims of hate, particularly those from minority backgrounds, may sometimes be unwilling to report incidents to the police. This grant will support the work of an organisation or a consortium of organisations who wish to map a more accurate record of hate incidents affecting Muslims across England.

The reporting system should allow for, and encourage, the recording of hate crimes and hate incidents that occur online or in the real world.

Grant recipients will be expected to analyse reports received to identify the trends and drivers behind such occurrences and facilitate appropriate support for victims.

The deadline for applications is Monday 2 June 2025

Funding of up to £20,000 for charities that have the majority of their work in England. The fund is for youth-led* organisations that are fighting for climate justice** in England. The Roots & Routes Fund combines the funds, expertise and networks of Blagrave Trust, Co-op Foundation, the Energy Saving Trust Foundation, OVO Foundation, and Impatience Earth.

There is no set deadline for applications

Funds of up to £7,000 are available for voluntary organisations supporting older people, specifically preventative and early intervention programmes being delivered at the community level which allow older people to stay in their own homes and remain independent. They are interested in programmes that can demonstrate their effectiveness in improving the quality of life of older people. They favour projects that offer a consistent and sustained benefit rather than one-off events or short-lived activities.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Thursday 19 June 2025

There is an opportunity for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations based in England to apply for funding of £5,000 if your organisation already receives a grant to deliver public health services or is currently commissioned to deliver public health services.

The vision for the Public Health Grassroots Awards is to foster a culture of research within public health at the grassroots level, empowering more individuals to contribute to innovative and informed practices that improve public health and reduce inequalities.

There is a webinar to support applications on Tuesday 13 May 2025 at 2pm.
Register to attend via Eventbrite.

Funding is available from 1 July 2025, and activities must commence no later than 30 September 2025.

We're regularly updating the funding news on our website, so click the button below and find the fund for you!

Wednesday 4 June 2025, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

An online networking meeting for anyone with an interest in managing, supporting or leading volunteers.

Share your experience, give and receive advice, and network with people who understand volunteers and volunteering.

If you have any questions about the LoVN or this meeting, please contact Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at Nottingham CVS, by emailing davet@nottinghamcvs.co.uk.

Green social prescribing is a way of connecting people to nature-based activities and green groups, projects and schemes in their local community for support with health and wellbeing. Often this will be through a referral from a Link Worker based at a GP practice or another primary care professional.

Our scheme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called GreenSpace, was one of seven government Green Social Prescribing Test and Learn sites.

While the National Test and Learn may have ended, NCVS continues to embed green social prescribing into health systems to make nature-based/outdoor activities an intervention of choice to support people to improve and maintain their mental and physical health and wellbeing.

The latest GreenSpace bulletin is available to read.

You can view it in your web browser now. If you would like to receive future issues directly to your inbox, please email greenspace@nottinghamcvs.co.uk with a request to be added to the mailing list.

If you wish to share any events or stories happening in your organisation, or relating to green social prescribing or nature-based activities, please get in touch with the GreenSpace team. The deadline for submissions for the next bulletin is Thursday 22 May 2025.

The Practice Development Unit (PDU) aims to promote and facilitate collaborative learning and the sharing of good practice among professionals and volunteers from all sectors, in Nottingham and neighbouring areas, who work with people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD). This is understood as a combination of mental ill-health, substance misuse, homelessness, offending and domestic abuse, among other issues.

Contact our PDU Team if you need more information: pdu@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

Wednesday 14 May 2025, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

An online forum for professionals, volunteers and people with lived experience who are passionate or curious about co-production to come together to learn and share expertise.

The theme for this session is 'Tools for co-production'.

Delivered by the ICB Co-production Team, in this session we will look at the definition of co-production and how co-production can be done beyond traditional means. How can we be creative in our approach and think outside the box?

Tuesday 20 May 2025, 1pm to 2.30pm
Online via Microsoft Teams

Part of a new Practice Development Unit (PDU) online learning series where practitioners can develop their understanding of neurodivergence in the context of severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD). Our seventh session in this series will be led by Nada Kankova, a social worker from the Street Outreach Team within Framework.

We will talk about rough sleeping, attending council housing services, using Temporary accommodation in hotels and maintaining hostel accommodation. All of these can present specific challenges for neurodivergent individuals.

This session will also provide some advice around what steps workers and services can take to help individuals.

Our full Training and Development programme is available to view on our website. All courses take place online via Zoom.

We have new sessions and new dates for 2025/2026. Book now.

Here’s what’s on offer:

• Core training – Now free*!
  Expert-led sessions covering essential skills for your organisation. You've said, we've listened, introducing brand new training to support your funding needs.
  
  
• Meet the... Series
  Join us for this new series where sector leaders share insights on the topics that matter most to Nottingham’s voluntary sector.
  
  
• PDU Training
  Supporting those working with people experiencing Severe and Multiple Disadvantage (SMD) with specialist insights and practical approaches.
  
  
• Social Enterprise Accelerator Programme (with NTU)
  Providing hands-on support for those starting or growing a social enterprise.

Check out upcoming sessions and book your place today!

* Please be aware of our Terms and Conditions and Cancellation Policy.

Thursday 8 May 2025, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

Although the law has little to say about volunteers and volunteering, what it does say is important. This online training will help you develop an understanding of some of the legal requirements that relate to your volunteering programme.

Wednesday 14 May 2025, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

Covering the basic information that all trustees should know, so if you’re new to your role as a trustee (or board member/committee member) for a registered charity, this training is for you. It’ll also be beneficial if you already have some experience of being a trustee but haven’t attended similar introductory training before.

Monday 19 May 2025, 6pm to 8pm
Online via Zoom

This online training will refresh your knowledge as a trustee, update you on current issues, improve your personal skill set and help you develop your role for the benefit of your organisation.

Wednesday 28 May 2025, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

This online training, previously called “How to be a Better Leader of Volunteers”, takes you beyond the basics of managing and supporting volunteers and will explore some of the real-life issues that you’re facing as a Leader of Volunteers.

Tuesday 3 June 2025, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

Learn the basics of taking effective minutes in this online training – and make note taking easy.

Tuesday 10 June 2025, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

This online training, previously called “How to be a Better Leader of Volunteers”, takes you beyond the basics of managing and supporting volunteers and will explore some of the real-life issues that you’re facing as a Leader of Volunteers.

If you are a VCSE organisation in Nottingham City or a VCSE organisation recruiting to a job role which covers the Nottingham City area, you can submit a job advert for our website. Adverts remain on our website until the closing date. We feature new adverts once in the e-bulletin, where possible, depending on the volume of new adverts received.

There are lots more job listings on our website. You can view all the job vacancies available by clicking on the 'More Vacancies' button at the bottom of this section.

Sunday 11 May 2025, 2pm to 8pm
Rough Trade, 5 Broad Street, Nottingham NG1 3AJ
Free event - no ticket needed, just turn up

This event has been made possible with support from Arts Council England. There will be a DJ from London playing old school Punk and Reggae from the original RAR era, and three brilliant bands. Plus a free Caribbean buffet. 

Tuesday 13 May 2025, 11am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom, free to attend

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May 2025), Helplines Partnership is inviting helpline professionals from across the sector to join them for a special virtual networking event.

This event is open to all organisations. Members and non-members are welcome to join in. Promote your helpline, network with others in the sector, and celebrate the helplines community.

Wednesday 3 September 2025, 10am to 3pm
Online (costs attached)

Harmless is hosting its sixth annual online Suicide Bereavement Conference. To mark World Suicide Prevention Day the following week, they will be presenting a series of live webinars examining practical applications for working in suicide bereavement. The theme for this year's event is Beyond Beginnings: Achieving Postvention Excellence.

The event is completely CPD-accredited, and if you are unable to attend for the whole day, don’t worry – the conference will be recorded.

This year's event will include sessions led by Michelle Stebbings (Support After Suicide Partnership) and representatives from The Tomorrow Project.

This conference is designed to help those of us working with anyone impacted by suicide. Delegates can expect to take away a range of knowledge, inspiration and skills for practical implementation in real-life situations. Learning from some of the leaders in the field, delegates will experience interactive sessions that can help to drive change.

More event listings on our website

Head over to the dedicated 'External Events and Training' page on our website to view more events and training opportunities from Nottingham's Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.

If you would like to submit an event to feature on this page, please fill in our online event submission form. Events will be approved for publication on the NCVS website at our discretion, taking into account our aims and mission.

Harmless currently has a range of training courses to help you on your support journey and provide some great CPD opportunities!

Courses on offer include:

• Suicide Bereavement
• Mental Health Awareness 
• Suicide Prevention / Intervention
• Self-Harm Awareness
• LLR Self Bereavement

 For a full list of course dates and to register, click the button below.

General VCSE sector resources

• The road ahead 2025 - Read NCVO's newest report on how the voluntary sector is looking for 2025. The report covers shifting political sands, shifting dynamics and facing the 'big squeeze'.
  
  
• Guidance for charitable institutions using child sponsorship - If your organisation involves child sponsorship fundraising, in any capacity, check out the Fundraising Regulator's new helpful guidance.
  
  
• Trusteeship - a positive opportunity: Understanding skills, experience and demographics in England and Wales - this report from the Charity Commission and Pro Bono Economics is based on the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of trustee motivations and skills, conducted between July and August last year.

The Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS) e-bulletin will be back in a fortnight. The deadline for contributions and comments is Monday 12 May 2025. Email communications@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Did you know we keep an archive of past NCVS e-bulletins? View the archive here.

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