Notice Board

Compact Concise Guide
As part of Compact Week 2008, the Commission for the Compact has published a handy guide to the main principles and issues addressed in the national Compact. It's designed to act as a reference tool and checklist to help both public sector and third sector organisations.
Link: Compact Commission news item
Link: Download the Compact Concise Guide (PDF)

Improving Safeguarding for Adults
A consultation on the review of No Secrets has been launched. How can the VCS contribute to the development of better tools to safeguard adults from abuse and improve our own processes and procedures?
Link: Safeguarding Adults

Parenting Fund - Round Three now open
Round 3 of the Parenting Fund is now open. Here are the headlines:

• The total grant fund is just over £16 million over a two-year period (£8 million per year)
• It can only be used in the 23 English local government areas listed below
• Grants can cover more than one area
• It is open to “not for profit” organisations but excludes statutory services
• The grants will be for 24 months and the first payments will be made in April 2009.
• The amount applied for must be at least £50,000 for the two-year period but there is no upper limit.
• Organisations can apply to work in more than one area
• Funded projects are expected to deliver learning and outcomes that can be picked up nationally.
• Threre remains a focus on promoting social inclusion and improving access to services and support for less well-served communities.
• The localities are: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Blackburn with Darwen, Liverpool, City of Manchester, Leeds, North East Lincolnshire, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Stoke on Trent, Birmingham, Peterborough, Norfolk, Croydon, Greenwich, Hackney, Southwark, Slough, Southampton, Cornwall, Bristol.
• Completed applications must be submitted by noon on Friday December 12th 2008.
• Assessment, decisions and award making will take place between December 2008 and January 2009.

What future for the Compact?
The future of the Compact is now being discussed. Are you representing a voluntary and community organisation? Any change may affect you and your relationship with government, including key issues such as funding and consultation. Jurgen Grotz is a researcher who has been asked by Compact Voice to collect views on the issues discussed in the Compact debate. If you would like to talk to him about your views on the Compact just email your name and number to j.grotz@roehampton.co.uk or call him on 07737 223 639 and he will call you to ask what you think about the Compact and what you would want it to look like. There’s also an online consultation at  where you can fill in the Compact Voice questionnaire.
Link: Compact Voice Online Survey

Charities and Banks
In the current state of the banking system, many charities are increasingly concerned about the security of any savings (such as reserves) they may have. While much of the press attention has naturally focused on personal savings and those of large businesses, small and medium sized voluntary and community sector groups have so far received little attention. Groups who have  managed to build up some savings over the years may be concerned about whether or not they are vulnerable.

If a bank or building society collapses, the Financial Services Compentation Scheme can pay 100% of the first £50,000 of a claim. FSCS protects private individuals and some small businesses - which includes the vast majority of charities. Whether a charity is covered will depend on how it is constituted and partly on its size as an organisation. As a guide, the FSCS website defines small companies as organisatinos which meet two of the following criteria:

- Turnover: not more than £6.5 million
- Balance sheet total: not more than £3.26 million
- Total number of employees: not more than 50

More information is available on the FSCS website:
Link: Financial Services Compensation Scheme updates

Be in the know...join the MACC mailing list!
Join our rapidly expanding mailing list to get the latest updates from MACC on your chosen areas of interest. You can choose from Health and Social Care, Children and Families, Health and Well-being,Older People, Voluntary Sector Development, Mental Health, Advocacy Services and Community Engagement. If you're not already on our list, it’s simple to join, just;
   1. Click on the link below,
   2. Print the form,
   3. Complete all sections and,
   4. Post to : MACC FREEPOST, NAT 4533,  PO Box 189, Manchester M30 3BR.
We will send you information via email and/or post as you wish on your chosen interests... and it's all for FREE.
Link: MACC Contact Database Form

Consultation on new legal form for charities
The Office of the Third Sector and the Charity Commission have released a proposal for a new legal structure for charities: the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). There is now a consultation on the details of the new form might look like and the rules it will have to follow. The next step in developing the CIO is to consult with the charity sector and those who will do business with these new organisations. The deadline for responses is 10th December. Follow the link below for more details.
Link: Charitable Incorporated Organisations - consultation

Government Guidance on minimum 3 year funding
The Government's Office of the Third Sector (part of the Cabinet Office ) has produced guidance which states that where appropriate, funding for the voluntary and community sector must be for a minimum of three years. This has been published jointly with the Treasury - which gives it much greater importance. The idea is that over the next 3 years, all Government departments will report to the Minister for the Third Sector on their progress in delivering 3 year funding agreements as standard. This will become part of the annual review of the national Compact.
Sadly, this doesn't currently apply to Local Authorities or Primary Care Trusts but it is a step in the right direction.
Link: Office of the Third Sector news item
Link: Office of the Third Sector Guidance (pdf)

Worforce Development Funding Guide
Skills for Care, Skills for Health and Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) have produced a workforce development funding guide aimed at employers in the social care and health sector. Click on the link below to download a copy.
Download: nw_hsc_funding_guide.doc

Every Organisation Matters
The National Council of Childcare Voluntary Organisations (NCCVO) and the National Countil of Voluntary Youth Services have published the results of a research they have been working on with the University of Hull into the size of the children and young people's voluntary sector in England. An important finding is that the children and young people's voluntary sector makes up about a third of the total voluntary sector workforce - MACC's own figures of the number of groups in Manchester would certainly agree that this is by far the biggest part of the local sector.

Link: NCCVO

Technology Innovation Awards
TalkTalk Innovation in the Community Awards invite charities and community groups to apply. 30 winners will receive cash grants of £2,000 for technology related projects as well as technology equipment. Applications are invited from 1 July to 30 September 2008. Winners will be notified by 25 October 2008. The awards ceremony at the House of Lords and one-to-one workshops with Martha Lane Fox (for five categrory winners only), will take place in November 2008. Categories are:

•     Work &Training
•     Play & Sport
•     Learning & Knowledge
•     Creativity & Culture
•     Body & Soul

Grassroots Fund
Community Foundation for Greater Manchester is launching a brand new pot of money called the Grassroots Fund. This was set up by the government’s Office for the Third Sector to support small voluntary and community groups across the country. Over the next 3 years the Office of the Third Sector has made £257,241.30 available to Manchester through the Community Foundation. To be eligible for a grant, groups must

• have been formed before 31st December 2006
• have an average income of less than £20,000 over the last 3 years
• be volunteer led

CRB Checks for Volunteers
In June, the Office of the Third Sector released guidance to make clear what groups using volunteers need to do about Criminal Records Bureau checks. This is intended as a reply to concerns that some volunteers are being put off by the CRB check process. Obviously, organisations do need to manage risks in people doing voluntary work with children or vulnerable adults and there are some legal requirements but this new guidance tries to explain where a formal CRB check fits with other steps such as interviewing, training and getting references.
Link: Guidance on CRB Checks for Volunteers (pdf)
Link: Criminal Records Bureau

Capacity Building Small Grants Programme in East Manchester
Voluntary and community sector groups based or working in the Beacons District of East Manchester (Beswick, Clayton and Openshaw) are eligible to apply to the Beacons Voluntary and Community Sector Community Capacity Building Small Grants Programme for a maximum of £500. Application packs can be downloaded from the 4CT website (see link below). Deadline for return of applications: 5pm Friday 26th September 2008. Applications should be returned to Sporting Edge Community Sports Centre. The panel will meet on 2nd October and applicants will be notified the following day. If you require support or advice with your application please do not hesitate to contact Jeff Burns on 0161 301 1412 or by e-mail: jeffburns.4ct@btconnect.com.
Link: 4CT website

City Council CASH grants
Manchester City Council is offering grants of up to £40,000 per ward to local activities which will make a real difference to the community. Residents and tenants groups, community groups, voluntary sector organisations and interest groups are eligible - and you do not have to be formally constituted. The application process is much simpler this year with just a one side of A4. Further information is available on the City Council website:
Link: Manchester City Council - CASH grants

Capacity Building Support to develop partnerships
Are you a voluntary and community sector organisation that works with children, young people or families? Would you like to improve your sustainability and increase your profile? Do you currently work collaboratively with other VCS organisations or would you like to develop closer working with other organisations? If you answered YES to all these questions then please read on....
MACC is offering practical, tailor-made capacity building support to voluntary and community organisations that wish to work together and develop their collaborative working.  We recognise that developing partnerships and making them work effectively can be challenging and time-consuming. We have a Business Improvement Budget, with which we can buy in expertise and practical support to help you to develop your partnership ideas.
We will be offering this service for the remainder of 2008-09. Due to the limits this places on our time and resources, we will only be able to offer this service to groups who have already identified potential or existing partners that they wish to develop their relationship with. For further details contact Alison Tansey at MACC for further information (alison@macc.org.uk or call 0161 834 9823).

What happens to the workforce
This report from the Improvement and Development Agency presents the findings of a study that explored "outsourcing" (i.e. services being provided by external agencies rather than local authorities) within adult social care. It examines how this is affecting the workforce in local government. As the personalisation agenda takes hold, more people using social care services are themselves becoming employers - so what will the care workforce of the future look like?
Link: IDeA website

Managing Funding Uncertainties: A guide for organisations in Manchester (Jan 08)

MACC has produced a guide aimed at managers and trustees of voluntary and community sector organisations in Manchester who find themselves facing an uncertain funding position. At this time of year, there are many organisations waiting to hear about funding from April onwards. This guide seeks to help you plan your way through the period and prevent it becoming a crisis.