FREE TRAINING - Energy auditing for your community building
A one day course at Areley Kings Village Hall, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire Date: Wednesday 17 March 2010 Time - 9:45am (for a 10:00am start) to 4:30pm If you ...

Millions of pounds to be saved by Local Authorities in Herefordshire and Worcestershire
Millions of pounds to be saved by Local Authorities in Herefordshire and Worcestershire providing real challenges and opportunities for the third sector. Live on BBC Hereford and W...

Changing LiveSE Conference March 2010
Did you know that there are over 100 social enterprises already changing lives in Herefordshire? Partners for Social Enterprise are hosting a conference that will showcase and d...

Feckenham Village Shop Wins Award
A Grassroots Grant of £5,000 was awarded to Feckenham Community Shop to assist in the setting up of this much needed community enterprise enabling the transformation of a dil...

SFP Only Connect visit scheme
The Only Connect visit scheme allows organisations to learn from colleagues in the sector about new income generation ideas. If you are new to income generation we believe you c...

Quick 4 Question Survey.
To gain your feedback we would like to ask you the following questions, you can answer via an online survey using the link below. It will only take a few minutes, so please share y...

Jestaminute Theatre Company
Does your village have young people looking for a bit of ‘drama’ in their lives? Do they have to travel miles to join a drama group? We are Jestaminute Theatre ...

Winter Training Programme
Community First has announced the first details of our Winter Training Programme. More information will be added as soon as possible, but for the course titles and dates please cli...

Community First joins Twitter.
Community First have joined the social networking site Twitter. This micro blogging facility will allow us to keep our ‘followers’ up to date with all the latest news, ...

Capacitybuilders announce £2m additional capital investment
Frontline third sector organisations are set to benefit from improved facilities at local resource centres across England thanks to an additional £2m of capital investment fr...

Community First IT conference is a big success
This years conference took place at Colwall Park Hotel in and was fully attended by delegates from a variety of voluntary and community groups. Now that the conference is over...

Important changes for management committees of community buildings
ACRE and the Rural Community Action Network welcomes the changes to the Licensing Act 2003 announced by the Department for Culture Media and Sport that will take effect from 03/08/...

Calor village of the year: competition suspended.
Calor have decided to suspend their 2010 Calor Village of the Year competition across the UK and will instead be delivering an energy advisory programme aimed specifically at rural...

Funding available
Looking for funding to support people into employment, improve skills, create or a safeguard a post, support or create a business? Nexus funding could be the answer. Through the Ne...

Calor village of the year
Community First is pleased to announce that the winner of the Calor Herefordshire & Worcestershire Village of the Year Competition 2009 is.......... Click here to find out ...

Funding Central: Online Funding Search
Funding Central is a free smart website for the whole voluntary and community sector, including social enterprise, providing access to thousands of funding and finance opportunitie...

Sustainable Funding Project Workshop
Is your organisation dependent on short-term, one-off grants? Do you spend more time chasing funding than actually delivering services to your clients and beneficiaries? Might th...

Worcestershire County Council Choice and Control Provider Surgeries
Worcestershire County Council Adult and Community Services is inviting service providers to one of a series of Choice and Control Provider Surgeries.  The aim is to help servi...

The Economic downturn: 15 questions trustees need to ask
The Charity Commission has published a new checklist  for trustees to use as a tool to help them review how their charity is managing as a result of and in response to the eco...

Thinking the unthinkable? How mergers can work for charities.
Following the Charity Commission's recent survey, which showed that while 64% of UK charities with an annual income of over £1m are concerned about the economic downturn, onl...

Modernisation Fund Grants Programme
Online application now open for £1,000 bursaries From 1 June to 17 July, frontline organisations with an annual turnover of between £150,000 and £750,000 are inv...

Village SOS News Flash
On the One Programme (Monday 1st June BBC1 7pm) the Village SOS Programme was launched. This is about £3m of funding from the BIG Lottery Fund to support the development o...

Energy cost savings for Community First customers
Community First has teamed up with Make It Cheaper to help its customers benefit from the best available energy prices on the market. Click this link for more information ...

Short courses at Fircroft College
Fircroft College of Adult Education in Selly Oak, Birmingham runs a number of short courses throughout the year, focused on some of the most important aspects of working in the vol...

How resilient is your organisation?
The Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Cass Business School has developed an online self-assessment tool to help you check whether your organisation has the basic capacity for res...

Board Matters: a review of charity trusteeship in the UK
95% of people in the UK are unaware that they can support a charity by becoming a trustee. Looking at this figure, it seems no surprise then that nearly half of charities have vaca...

National Survey of Third Sector Organisations
The National Survey of Third Sector Organisations, in which nearly 50,000 charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations took part, has now been published. The main foc...

Short courses at Fircroft College
Short Courses, prices start from £70 per person Fircroft College of Adult Education in Selly Oak, Birmingham are running a number of three day residential short courses. ...

Funding Fair
A funding fair at the Bradbury Centre Worcester, is to take place on Friday 15th May from 11-2. For more information please contact Sally Ellison on 01905 24741.

Small organisations are struggling for funding
More than 70 per cent of CVSs are planning increased collaboration. More than 80 per cent of councils for voluntary service think the funding environment for small and medium-si...

£20m Hardship Fund for charities announced in Budget
Darling pledges support for charities helping people worst hit by recession and funding to create 'socially useful' jobs A £20m Hardship Fund for charities delivering serv...

Rush to beat ‘In It To Win It’ deadline for ITV Central People's Millions
Community groups in the ITV Central region have less than a month to beat the deadline and enter The People’s Millions TV contest to secure the chance to win a Lottery award ...

The impact of the economic downturn on the voluntary sector
Is your organisation feeling the impact of the recession?  Are you having to make difficult decisions as a result of a reduction in funding and/or an increase in demand for yo...

Calor village of the year: Last chance to enter!
The 2009 Calor Village of the Year Competition is now open for applications. The Calor Village of the Year competition gives the UK’s smaller communities the chance to put t...

Heroes Return 2; New Funding Programme
Second World War veterans across the country are today signing up for a new multi million pound commemoration scheme that will provide financial support to make anniversary trips a...

Awards for All: major changes to funding from 1 April 2009
Awards for All has been run by the Big Lottery Fund, with the other main National Lottery distributors (Sport England, Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund) putting a...

Worcestershire County Council launches Round 3 of its grants for the voluntary and community sector.
Round 3 Community Grants, for one year or one-off activity, were launched on Monday 30th March and the closing date is Friday 15th May at 4pm. First Base Community Arts grants a...

New VCS Funding Round W.C.C
In Round 3 W.C.C are offering Community Grants for one year or one off activity. First Base Community Arts To show how the arts can have a positive impact by bringing com...

Grants on offer for community groups
Charities and organisations in Malvern and Ledbury are again being offered up to £5000 courtesy of Gannett Foundation grants. The foundation, the charity arm of the Garnette ...

Recession support for the third sector
The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) has launched a new microsite to provide information, advice and support to third sector organisations facing ...

Women in Social Enterprise Launch
WISE (Women in Social Enterprise) is a newly formed group to support women in social enterprise, including voluntary and community organisations, community interest companies and c...

Free Sustainability Workshop
Following the success of the first 3 workshops held on sustainability, Midwest Rural Enterprise has been asked to run one further free workshop - Sustainability - including income ...

Local Businesses Event
Worcestershire County Council - in partnership with Business Link, the six District Councils, and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service - is hosting a special event aime...

Changes to Grassroots
Due to the current economic climate, the Minister for the Third Sector has announced two key changes to the £130m Grassroots Grants programme. The programme which provides gr...

People's Millions
Bentley Village Hall will be on Central News TV Wednesday 26th 6 -6.30pm with a chance to win People's Millions funding. They are trying to get funding for a new heating syste...

Global slowdown: Local actions
Worcestershire County Council is hosting a special event for the county's businesses and organisations to work with the county and district councils to identify actions to alleviat...

Worcestershire Infrastructure Consortium Autumn Training Programme 2008
Worcestershire Infrastructure Consortium is pleased to announce its Autumn Training Programme. The programme has been developed as a result of requests from organisations and feedb...

Herefordshire Infrastructure Consortium Autumn Training Programme 2008
Herefordshire Infrastructure Consortium is pleased to announce its Autumn Training Programme. The programme has been developed as a result of requests from organisations and feedba...

Does your charity make the best of Gift Aid?
A new Gift Aid toolkit has been produced for charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) to help them make the best of Gift Aid and maximise their income from donations.&n...

Developing Social Enterprises in Social Care
Worcestershire County Council is hosting a conference as part of its "Choice and Control" programme.  The conference will be held on Thursday 13th November 2008 from...

New register of charities launched on 1st October 2008
The Charity Commission has launched its new-look register of charities, which provides more information on charities and in a clear, colourful and accessible way.  The Commiss...

Trustee Recruitment
Community First is looking to recruit new members to join our governing body, the board of trustees. We need people who can help direct Community First towards achieving its missio...

Worcestershire's Learning Disability Development Fund 2009/10 opens for applications
Applications from organisations supporting people in Worcestershire with a learning disability are now invited.  The Learning Disability Development Fund 2009/10 is likely to ...

New round of grants from Worcestershire County Council
The second round of grants available to the voluntary and community sector in Worcestershire is now open for applications.  Three-year strategic grants for Community Transport...

Make a Difference Day
This autumn, people across the country will be organising activities for CSV Make a Difference Day, the largest single day of volunteering in the UK! Activities can be anything fro...

The future of the Compact – your chance to say what you think
The Commissioner for the Compact has been asked to consider options for the future of the Compact. This includes discussions with the VCS until the end of October. If it is pro...

University of Worcester seeks mentor volunteers
The Centre for Inclusive Learning Support at the University of Worcester is recruiting mentors to an exciting and prestigious European project, Validating Mentoring (VM2). The pr...

Risk Assessment guide for charities
One of a series of "Made Simple" guides, "Risk assessment made simple" can be downloaded free from Sayer Vincent's website at www.sayervincent.co.uk

Worcestershire County Council announces grants to voluntary and community sector organisations
Worcestershire County Council has released details of the successful applicants to Round 1 of its community grants and strategic grants programmes for the voluntary and community s...

How does your charity measure up?
The Charity Commission has today published an updated version of The Hallmarks of an Effective Charity.  The six hallmarks are: 1. Clear about purposes and direction; using...

New from the Charity Commission
The Charity Commission has recently published new guidance for people wishing to make complaints about charities.  CC47, Complaints about charities, is available to download f...

PQASSO gets award!
Martin Punaks is celebrating a fantastic achievement by Charities Evaluation Services. He writes: "Charities Evaluation Services have received the Effectiveness Award a...

New PQASSO 3rd Edition
On 25th June 2008 Charities Evaluation Services launched their 3rd Edition of PQASSO (Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations).  PQASSO is the most used qua...

Top class employment training
ACAS are running a range of courses on human resource issues.  Many organisations in both the third sector and independent sector are having to handle increasingly complex sit...

Don't miss out on essential training on collaborative and partnership working on 20th May
For further information on another opportunity to learn all about Collaborative and Partnership Working from legal structures expert Charlie Cattell, see the Worcestershire Infrast...

Survey
Herefordshire Infrastructure Consortia are very keen to understand what difference the advice and support has meant for you as a voluntary or community group and the kinds of servi...

Positive Activities Grants in Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Councillors will be able to continue to help voluntary groups, community groups and charities on their own patch. Following the success of last year’...

Revised Charity Commission publications
A number of key Charity Commission publications have been revised recently.  These include CC3 The Essential Trustee:  what you need to know; CC9 Speaking Out - Campaigni...

Classes Lost in Adult Learning
1,400,000 adults in England have lost their classes in the last two years according to NIACE, the national voice for adult learners. Are you one of them? NIACE wants to hear your s...

Briefings on successful procurement and negotiation published
Acevo has published four online briefings covering all aspects of ‘Successful Procurement and Negotiation’ after a six month research project in partnership with the De...

People's Millions re-launched
The Big Lottery Fund has announced a new funding round under its People's Millions Initiative. Through the People’s Million's, BIG wants to fund projects that transform the...

New Awards for Delivering Learning to Adults
The first course for 12 practitioners to take the introductory award is underway in Worcester.  The participants have now completed 4 days and delivered a micro teaching sessi...

What's New in Mental Health!
If you haven't already checked out the new Mental Health Link Network website - what are you waiting for! It has details of new mental health projects, national policy reports and ...

Community First Welcomes New Business Advisor!
Amanda Wright will be joining Community First at the end of March as our new Wellness Works Business Advisor. Wellness Works is a programme of support, training and advice  fo...

CICs and discretionary rate relief
Whereas charities pay no more than 20% of normal business rates on the buildings which they use and occupy to further their charitable purposes, Community Interest Companies do n...

Community First undergoes Peer Review
Community First is putting itself through its paces again this month with a peer review on its quality standards.  Our ACRE Quality Standards are designed specifically for...

Individual Services in Health, Housing and Social Care Conference
Monday March 3 and Tuesday March 4 2008 Inmarsat Conference Centre, London EC1 Managing New Realities Managing New Realities brings together the worlds of health, social care ...

Support Sessions for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People
Deaf Direct in Herefordshire and Worcestershire are running a series of Employment Skills Workshops and a Lip Reading course.  See below for further details.

Prioritising your organisation's needs - an interactive quiz
The Performance Hub has just relaunched its website with a new look.  On the site you can take part in an interactive quiz to understand how to prioritise your organisation's ...

PQASSO 3rd Edition
CES are very proud to be releasing PQASSO 3rd edition - it will reflect all the changes that have taken place in the sector since 2000, and will be even more user friendly. It wil...

WIC Consultation on Draft Policy and Processes for Engagement & Representation

Report assesses true value of voluntary sector
Published in early 2007, the report Valuing the Voluntary and Community Sector in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, looks at a range of issues affecting the sector.  The resea...

Talk Groups Web Forum
Community First have recently launched an online web forum for community groups and management committees www.talkgroups.org.uk . The purpose of the forum is to provide an opportun...

Community First Malvern has moved!
Community First’s registered office has now moved  to its new location, 3 miles outside Malvern. The office is situated close to the Three Counties Showground at Willow ...

Help make a great newsletter even better - and maybe win a camera!
Readers of Newsline, Community First's newsletter, are being asked to participate in an online survey - and in return are being offered the chance to win a digital camera! Read ...

Calor Village of the Year
The search has begun for the top villages in Herefordshire & Worcestershire with the launch of the 2007 Calor Village of the Year competition in each county. Competition organi...

Don't Miss IT! IT Conference on 1st March
An ICT (Information and Communications Technology) conference aimed at small voluntary and community groups is coming up. The theme of the day is 'Making the most of ICT' and is a ...

Politics, Policies and Rural Life
At Community First's well attended AGM on 30th October guest speaker Nick Read addressed the topic of Politics, Policies and Rural Life. His overhead transparencies are available b...

Strategic and Operational Plan 2006 - 2009
Community First's Strategic and Operational Plan for 2006 - 2009 has now been published. Download it, read it - and then tell us whether you think we have got it right by taking pa...

Calor Village of the Year Winners
Winners of the Calor Village of the Year competition received their awards and certificates at a celebration evening in Tarrington on 28th September. Those receiving prizes in t...

Community Buildings and Play Areas
Community Services come in all shapes and sizes, indoors and outdoors Whether its village halls, parish halls, community centres, playgrounds or playing fields you want help with...

National Hubs spring into Action
The six national hubs of expertise aimed at building the capacity of the voluntary sector are now in full swing. The six key themes are: Governance, Workforce Development, Performa...

Nexus Grants Programme Launched
New grants programme focused on improving access to service provision for communties in the rural regeneration zone (mainly Herefordshire, Shropshire and parts of Worcestershire). ...

Infrastructure consortia launch new websites
Herefordshire and Worcestershire infrastructure consortia have launched their new web sites. Funded through the ChangeUp programme the sites provide an overview of the work of the ...