Recession resources
Information and links to helpful resources for organisations in the third sector to cope with the economic downturn:
Government initiatives and funding
Office of the Third Sector: Real Help for Communities: Volunteers, Charities and Social Enterprises – an action plan outlining £42.5 million support for the third sector in the difficult economic climate.
Includes details of following funding:
Free regional roadshows (April, May, June) aimed at small and medium size frontline third sector organisations to provide delegates with a practical understanding of the above funding in a regional context.
Extra £6.6 million to boost volunteering over next two years – new programmes include:
Volunteer Brokerage Scheme: the Government is providing a range of extra support to help Jobseeker’s Allowance customers move into employment. They are providing access to work-focused volunteering placements for up to 40,000 jobseekers in England, Scotland and Wales over the next two years. Jobseeker’s Allowance customers who have been claiming for six months will be eligible to take up this support. Email dwp-volunteering@btcv.org.uk
Includes details of following funding:
- Modernisation Fund - £16.5 million to help third sector organisations be more resilient. Focused on helping those organisations providing services to those worst hit by recession
- Targeted Support Fund - £15.5 million grant funding to small and medium providers in communities most at risk of increased deprivation due to the recession. 50 key areas are targeted and it is being administered by the Community Development Foundation
- Communitybuilders programme – £70 million investment fund to build more cohesive, empowered and active communities
Free regional roadshows (April, May, June) aimed at small and medium size frontline third sector organisations to provide delegates with a practical understanding of the above funding in a regional context.
Extra £6.6 million to boost volunteering over next two years – new programmes include:
- Access to Volunteering – £2 million pilot fund to reduce barriers to disabled people volunteering and explore the feasibility of a national Access to Volunteering fund
- Volunteer Managers training – £3 million programme that will provide support to volunteer managers to ensure that volunteers are well managed and that they get the best possible experience from volunteering. This programme will be taken forward by the organisation CapacityBuilders.
Volunteer Brokerage Scheme: the Government is providing a range of extra support to help Jobseeker’s Allowance customers move into employment. They are providing access to work-focused volunteering placements for up to 40,000 jobseekers in England, Scotland and Wales over the next two years. Jobseeker’s Allowance customers who have been claiming for six months will be eligible to take up this support. Email dwp-volunteering@btcv.org.uk
Advice, information and resources
The Mentoring and Befriending Foundation’s magazine (Issue 11, May 2009) includes an article Weathering the recession funding storm which hears from mentoring and befriending projects and how the economic downturn is affecting them. The article also includes a summary of MBF strategies of support.
NCVO has lots of comprehensive online advice on surviving the recession and dealing with a financial crisis, as well as useful background to the recession, government action to help the sector, and organisations' experience. Funding Central is a website funded by the Office of the Third Sector giving access to funding opportunities plus tools to help build sustainable income strategies (launched June 2009).
ACAS and CIPD offer advice on topics relating to smart working, communicating and managing change, employee well-being and redundancy planning. They have jointly published How to manage your workforce in a recession.
Acevo has sections on finance, managing your organisation, CEO development and sources of support.
Charities Aid Foundation has a free confidential financial crisis helpline, which provides a one-off confidential discussion with suggestions for survival. Tel: 0800 980 2000
The Charity Commission's Managing financial difficulties and insolvency in charities helps you to look objectively at your organisation's financial situation and prospects.
Early Warning Guide from Development Trusts Association is an easy to use tool designed to help you to spot the warning signs of potential problems in order to help you identify these challenges as early as possible.
The Institute of Fundraising and Think Consulting Solutions have produced a free fundraising healthcheck to help organisations assess the impact of the recession on their income and develop fundraising programmes and investment strategies. The healthcheck is online, the organisation does not have to give its name, no details are stored, and a report and recommendations can be printed out.
NAVCA's Responding to a funding cut provides a framework for developing a strategy to campaign against a funding cut.
Backing communities: local solutions - councils and voluntary and community organisations supporting people through the recession (a joint report from the Local Government Association and NCVO highlighting work that local authorities are doing with third sector partners).
If you have experienced changes as a result of the recession and have come up with innovative solutions to tackle them, we would be interested to hear about it. Please email your ideas and we will share them with other practitioners to jeanette.boyd@mandbf.org.uk
NCVO has lots of comprehensive online advice on surviving the recession and dealing with a financial crisis, as well as useful background to the recession, government action to help the sector, and organisations' experience. Funding Central is a website funded by the Office of the Third Sector giving access to funding opportunities plus tools to help build sustainable income strategies (launched June 2009).
ACAS and CIPD offer advice on topics relating to smart working, communicating and managing change, employee well-being and redundancy planning. They have jointly published How to manage your workforce in a recession.
Acevo has sections on finance, managing your organisation, CEO development and sources of support.
Charities Aid Foundation has a free confidential financial crisis helpline, which provides a one-off confidential discussion with suggestions for survival. Tel: 0800 980 2000
The Charity Commission's Managing financial difficulties and insolvency in charities helps you to look objectively at your organisation's financial situation and prospects.
Early Warning Guide from Development Trusts Association is an easy to use tool designed to help you to spot the warning signs of potential problems in order to help you identify these challenges as early as possible.
The Institute of Fundraising and Think Consulting Solutions have produced a free fundraising healthcheck to help organisations assess the impact of the recession on their income and develop fundraising programmes and investment strategies. The healthcheck is online, the organisation does not have to give its name, no details are stored, and a report and recommendations can be printed out.
NAVCA's Responding to a funding cut provides a framework for developing a strategy to campaign against a funding cut.
Backing communities: local solutions - councils and voluntary and community organisations supporting people through the recession (a joint report from the Local Government Association and NCVO highlighting work that local authorities are doing with third sector partners).
If you have experienced changes as a result of the recession and have come up with innovative solutions to tackle them, we would be interested to hear about it. Please email your ideas and we will share them with other practitioners to jeanette.boyd@mandbf.org.uk
