Minutes:
Miranda introduced herself as the Chair of the VCSE Assembly and was based in South Northants. The purpose of the assembly was to get all the community groups the opportunity to speak with one voice. This had been tried before and failed but it was felt now, with the new Unitary Council it was a good opportunity to work as equal partners. The model adopted had been used successfully in Shropshire. There were 12 themes with all the groups now up and running. It had been a really difficult time for the voluntary sector not helped by the fact that everyone was fighting for the same pots of money. Laura and Miranda to have a conversation outside the meeting.
Laura stated that she hoped to attend meetings on a regular basis and would try and bring stats relevant to each meeting’s discussions. Their key aim was to ensure people claimed whatever they were entitled to and was happy for forum members to contact her direction on laura.boatwright@dwp.gov.uk. She would be attending the January meeting to speak about a new project supporting women at risk of exploitation. They were doing more outreach work than ever and she was especially keen to link in with the BAME sub group to see what support could be offered. Action: Debbie to put Mavis and Laura in touch. Miranda asked if there were any particular themes coming out due to Covid. Laura stated that there were more job vacancies than ever with employers desperate for staff but their clients were reluctant to engage due to anxiety brought on from the pandemic. Face to face support had not been possible which had had a negative effect. In March 2020 they had received the same amount of claims in one day as they usually get in a month. The focus had been totally on money with a lot of safeguarding issues coming up. This included a lot of self-employed people who had never claimed before. This had been very stressful and busy. As a result the team had been increased and they were in the process of opening a new job centre on Bedford Road. Face to face had now recommenced but the world had moved on while people hadn’t.
Mavis stated that they were running a climate project and would appreciate speaking to Miranda outside the meeting. They also now had an allotment – Pauline offered the gardeners at Belling Community House for advice on growing.
Sally was an enterprise advisor at Northampton International Academy ensuring young people had access to people in different careers and would be running a Dragon Dens type event on 6 December with them. The intention was to help dismiss stereotypes and she would look at how it could tie into the work the Forum was doing.
Alex – current funding opportunities:-
Winter Well-being Fund
This fund aims to tackle winter fuel poverty and social isolation by supporting older, and vulnerable people in our county.
We welcome applications from all groups including: constituted community groups, registered charities, community interest companies running activities to protect and help older and vulnerable people in supported environments during the winter months.
A Winter Well-being grant is for a project activity between £250 and £5,000. The Winter Well-being Grants Panel meets on a bi-monthly basis to allow work to take place each winter.
Grants awarded by the Winter Well-being Fund will meet at least one of these five aims:
• Keep homes warm
• Dress for warmth
• Stay warm at night
• Eat well
• Keep active
Please note the closing date for applications is Friday 10 December - http://www.ncf.uk.com/grants/grant-finder/winterwellbeingfund
ENGIE's Regeneration Fund for Enterprise
ENGIE has set up a fund with Northamptonshire Community Foundation to support groups delivering education, training and social enterprise activities in Northampton.
For the next twelve months, Engie will be supporting the communities of Overstone Lodge, Bellinge, Headlands, Cherry Orchard, Cottarville, Weston Favell, Standens Barn, Little Billing, Great Billing, Ecton Brook, Rectory Farm and Woodfield via their regeneration programme in partnership with Northampton Partnership Homes.
As part of their commitment to building stronger communities, Engie would like to invite groups to apply for up to £5,000 to support education, training and social enterprise activities.
The fund is open to charities, community groups and social enterprise businesses working in these specific areas.
As part of the application process, applicants will be invited to attend the panel to discuss their application in more detail. Details of the date and time of the panel will be given once the written application has been assessed.
Example projects include:
• Local job clubs
• Small scale training, rental and staffing costs
• Apprenticeships and volunteering programmes
• Small and large pieces of equipment to enable an activity to take place
• Social enterprise initiatives e.g. co-operatives
Please note the closing date for applications is Friday 28 January 2022 - http://www.ncf.uk.com/grants/grant-finder/engie-fund
Miranda thanked Alex and the rest of VIN for all the work they had been doing over the pandemic.