DeVA Newsletter April 15
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Transcript of DeVA Newsletter April 15
The essential newsletter for voluntary and community groups in Devon
promoting and providing technical and practical support
Issue 5, April 2015
MARKETING EDITION
DeVA Partners are
Regular Features:
DeVA Update, Voluntary Sector News, Funding Extra, Voluntary Voice Update,
Organisational Matters and Volunteering Extra
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We're building vibrant, healthy communities.
News and Update 2
Don’t forget we offer help, advice, training and support to the voluntary and community sector across Devon and support the engagement of the sector in having a powerful voice.
Any non-for-profit group based in, or delivering services in, Devon can access the services we provide so why not get in contact and see how we can help you!
Exciting New Contact for DeVA in partnership with Westbank
We are excited to announce DeVA as partner to the successful tender
for the Voluntary Sector Representation within the Community Health
and Social Care Teams (used to be called Complex Care Teams).
DeVA joined forces with Westbank Community Health and Care to bid
for the contract which was put out to tender by Devon County Council
in January 2015 and we are pleased to announce that the partnership,
led by Westbank, has been awarded the contract for delivery across
Devon with a start date of 1st April 2015.
The partnership's intention in delivery of this contract is to maintain the focus on frontline
engagement of the voluntary and community sector (VCS) representatives. Westbank will take
responsibility for contracting with local VCS representatives whilst DeVA's role, led by Teignbridge
CVS, will be to provide the co-ordination, training and development of representatives and to
provide opportunities for representatives to engage with the health and social care sector that they
work with.
Westbank have contacted all existing VCS representative organisations to continue with the delivery
of this role until the 30th April 2015. The month of April will see Westbank work with these groups
to set out the terms and conditions for representation longer term, establish robust monitoring
systems and performance criteria. For DeVA, April will provide us the opportunity to ensure robust
co-ordination is in place across the localities, establish our monitoring systems and further establish
working arrangements with Westbank.
For more information please email us at [email protected]
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Our conference last year was a big success and we are planning for this year to be even better!
More than 140 people attended last year with 91% saying the speakers and networking opportunities
were good or very good and 87% of delegates rating the workshops good or very good.
Watch this space for news on our fantastic annual conference
coming in the Autumn!
DeVA Business Development Strategy 2014-2017
DeVA’s core purpose is to build vibrant and healthy communities across Devon. We do this by
supporting voluntary and community groups in a wide range of ways specific to individual
organisational needs. Despite continued pressures on funding and rising demand for our services,
DeVA is proud that we and our CVS members continue to deliver high quality support.
By working together as DeVA; we have maintained (and enhanced) our services through more efficient
use of resources, but there is more we can do. We have therefore; developed a new Business
Development Strategy for 2014-2017. It has been produced to ensure we secure a sustainable future
for the invaluable support we provide to you, the voluntary sector, thus allowing you to continue to
make the biggest possible impact on your local communities.
It has four strategic aims:
Explore alternative and innovative sources of core funding
over the medium term.
£ £ £ £
Identify and implement further efficiency savings.
Diversify our income to work with partners to address
unmet needs in Devon communities.
Secure continued core funding to enable us to work for
the benefit of VCS groups and organisations in Devon
For more information on our Business Development Strategy including more details on our four
strategic aims please visit www.devonva.org/about_us
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Social Value Act 2013
In our last newsletter (January 2015), we
highlighted the scope of the Social Value Act
2013 which was designed to improve the
social and environmental impact of services.
Even though the Act is already changing the
public service landscape in the UK, the
Government has published the results of the
review undertaken in November 2014.
Lord Young of Graffham, who conducted the
review, said that although awareness of the
act is growing, incorporation of social value
across the whole public sector appears to be
“relatively low” and there is “inconsistent
practice” among public bodies about how
they apply the act.
Main points:
better measuring and quantifying of
social outcomes in needed
the Act should not be extended to
goods and works
it should not be made mandatory for
commissioners of public services to take
the Act into account
Cabinet Office needs to do more to
promote understanding, awareness and
take-up of social values across public
sector and business
The review also concluded that an amendment to
the act is needed to reflect the recent changes to
EU procurement law.
The changes to the EU procurement law has seen
the threshold for contracts raised from €134,000
(£99,000) to €750,00 (£556,000) for contracts
offered by central government and €207,000
(£153,00) for other public bodies. See Funding
Extra page X for more information.
The review states this had led to an “unwelcome
side effect” where the act will no longer apply to
the majority of public service contracts, and the
minister for the Cabinet Office has been asked to
enact an amendment to the act.
The full review can be downloaded at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/
social-value-act-review
See Funding Extra (page 11) for a voluntary sector
guide to social value and commissioning.
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Pre-Election Budget Highlights
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has delivered his
last budget (18 March 2015) before the general election which
included a number of measures aimed at the voluntary and
community sector. Here are some of the announcements which
will impact the sector:
Department for Communities and Local Government budget for local government will be cut
from £13.7 billion to £10.5 billion by 2015/16.
Cabinet Office’s budget to be reduced by a further £200 million - directly affecting the Office for
Civil Society.
Cap on gift aid claims under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme will rise from £5,000 to £8,000
from April 2016 (potentially generating an additional £15 million).
Finance Bill 2015 will make it easier for intermediaries to complete gift aid claims on behalf of
donors.
Finance Bill 2015 also ensures hospice charities, search and rescue, and air ambulance are
eligible for VAT refunds from April 2015. Blood bike charities will also now be included in the
VAT refunds scheme.
£40 million awarded to Listed Places of Worship - Roof Repair Fund 2015 to 2017.
£75 million from Libor fines (fines raised from banks) will go to charities for regiments which
fought in Afghanistan and to the Government contribution towards a permanent memorial for
those who died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
To view the full budget visit https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/budget-2015
Care Information and Advice Network for Devon
An Information and Advice network for Devon County
Council (DCC) administrative area of Devon is being
developed in co-production with key partners
including the Voluntary and Community Sector, public
sector providers and Clinical Commissioning Groups.
A key outcome is that people know how and where to go locally in Devon for information and
advice on care and support for adults and carers.
Under the Care Act, local authorities are responsible for ensuring all adults in their area, with a need
for information and advice about care and support are able to access the information they need. This
is a very broad group, extending much further than people with an immediate need for care or
support, e.g. carers. It will only be achieved through working in partnership with wider local
information and advice providers including the voluntary sector. The Information and Advice network
will ensure DCC and partners will remain in a good position and fit for purpose.
The Information and Advice network will be developed over the next 12 months. Watch this space for
more news as it develops or contact us at [email protected]
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Copyright and Volunteers
Did you know Volunteers keep the copyright on the material they produce
unless they assign it to the organisation?
This could include leaflets, designs, articles, photographs, artwork.
Ensure the volunteer signs over their material to your organisation. This is not the case with
employees as their work automatically belongs to the organisation.
Do you know there are many ways we can support you and your
organisation with volunteers?
Our team of specialist Development Workers and Volunteering
Support Coordinators have a wealth of knowledge and
experience and can tailor their support to meet your
organisational needs.
We also facilitate Volunteer Managers Forums around Devon which are designed to support those
involved in recruiting and supporting volunteers. They are also great networking opportunities so
why not contact us to see when your nearest one is?
Email us at [email protected] to see how we can help you.
We offer a brokerage service to help you find the right volunteers for your
organisation. We can help you create your volunteer opportunities to ensure
the role is right and advertise them for you.
Not sure where to start? Then try our information and guidance sheets on ‘Involving People in Your
Organisation’ and ‘Developing a Volunteer Handbook’ available to download from our website at
http://www.devonva.org/information_and_guidance
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How will you celebrate
your volunteers?
http://volunteersweek.org/
Involving Volunteers Under 18 – Checklist
Does your organisation have appropriate
safeguarding policies in place?
Do you have a code of practice/guidelines
regarding working with young volunteers
which assist adults working with children
to do so safely and responsibly and sets
clear expectations of behaviour? This could
be as basic as supervising young volunteers
at all times or having two adults present.
Is the person who will be instructing or
supervising the young volunteers DBS checked? Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary
to perform checks on the entire staff, or on anyone who is unlikely to end up in a regular one-
on-one or teaching situation (more than once a week or four times in a month) with a young
volunteer. It is also worthwhile remembering that recruitment, training and supervision can act
as more effective safeguarding tools than DBS disclosures.
Does your insurance cover volunteers of all ages?
Do you need a parental consent form (only if volunteers still live at home)?
Do you have a risk assessment for the role being carried out by somebody under 18?
Does the young person need a child work permit? This is the case for charity shops and
potentially for any setting, where money changes hands. Further information and permits can
be obtained from:
http://www.babcockeducation.co.uk/ldp/view_folder.asp?
folderid=3055&depth=4&rootid=2344&level1=&level1id=&level2=2886&level2id=&level3=3053&lev
el3id=&level4=3055&level4id=3055#5
Let us know how you are planning to say ‘Thank You’ to your volunteers at
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The Ethical Property Foundation has produced the results of its 2014 Charity Property Matters survey, highlighting the key issues facing the voluntary sector in relation to commercial and public sector property.
It found a small increase in charities considering their property as posing the greatest risk to long term survival - up to 45 per cent. Some forty per cent rely on informal property advice from friends and contacts.
To read the full report visit http://www.ethicalproperty.org.uk/content.aspx?CategoryID=543
Most registered charities in England and Wales can buy and sell land they own without needing to get approval from the Charity Commission as long as it is in the best interests of the charity, trustees get the best deal possible and they follow the requirements set out by the Charity Commission’s charity
land and property guidance.
The process can be more complex when requiring approval from the Charity Commission. This is where the Ethical Property Foundation (in conjunction with the Charity Commission) can help by offering free advice on charity land and property. You can sign up to access over 125 pages of free, regularly updated property guidance, checklists and templates.
They can also offer bespoke advice on complex issues from one of their property advisers.
http://www.ethicalproperty.org.uk/
Guide to Partnerships
for Voluntary Sector
The guide has been written by ACEVO and
Candour Collaborations, in partnership
with Clinks, and is a handy size at only four
pages.
It highlights:
Issues that could arise in developing partnerships
Benefits you should be looking to secure from partners
Need for transparency about roles and responsibilities in a partnership
Download the guide at:
http://www.clinks.org/resources-reports/making-partnerships-work-you-brief-guide-voluntary-sector
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For more information or support on any of these points , contact us at [email protected]
or call 0845 6099901.
Charities can now register online with HMRC
HM Revenue & Customs has launched a new
online service whereby charities can register
themselves for tax purposes, which was
previously only available by submitting a paper
form. Following a trial of the online
registration process last summer, charities can
now register online by providing various details
about their organisation and supporting
documentation.
Charities will no longer be able to register
using the paper form ChA1, however any forms
that have been submitted but yet to be
processed will still be considered by HMRC. To
register online with HMRC visit:
https://www.gov.uk/charity-recognition-hmrc
Any charity, no matter how small, can register
with HMRC for tax purposes and to help give
your charity further legitimacy. Registering
with HMRC is also particularly useful
when claiming Gift Aid, where you receive an
extra 25p for every £1 donated under Gift Aid.
For more information and a handy infographic
on why should consider gift aid click on:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/
system/uploads/attachment_data/
file/382094/Gift_Aid_FINAL.pdf
New questions on
charity annual return
With the release of the new 2015 Annual Return
form by the Charity Commission, registered
charities (in England and Wales) must answer
three new questions when they complete the
return online:
1. In the reporting period, how much income
did you receive from:
contracts from central or local government
to deliver services?
grants from central or local government?
2. Does your charity have a policy on paying its
staff?
3. Has your charity reviewed its financial
controls during the reporting period?
All registered charities with an income of more
than £10,000 and all Charitable Incorporated
Organisations who are reporting on their financial
years ending in 2015 must complete the online
form.
There is a ‘Guidance to help complete the annual
return for 2015′ which is a pdf document (250KB)
and can be downloaded at https://www.gov.uk/
prepare-a-charity-annual-return but please note
the link to the guidance is some way down the
web page.
You can access the annual return form via https://
www.gov.uk/send-charity-annual-return.
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10 New EU Regulations on Public Contracts
Sector think tank New Philanthropy Capital has produced a
briefing on the new Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These
regulations bring into effect a European Directive on public
procurement, from 26 February 2015. According to NPC, they
will help charities win government contracts but do not go far
enough. The new regulation changes to EU procurement laws have raised the threshold for contracts
to €750,000 (£556,000), from €134,000 (£99,000) for contracts offered by central government and
€207,000 (£153,000) for other public bodies.
The briefing ‘Reforming the Relationship’, written with input from Linklaters
solicitors, aims to help charities understand the changes to public services
contracts, and to illustrate to commissioners and procurement professionals how
certain provisions can be used to help them achieve their outcomes by working
effectively with charities.
The briefing can be downloaded from NPC web page:
http://www.thinknpc.org/publications/reforming-the-relationship/.
More details on the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 can be downloaded from:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/pdfs/uksi_20150102_en.pdf.
Starter guide to social investment for voluntary groups
NCVO has produced a guide on Social Investment for the Children’s Partnership, but it can be
implemented widely across the whole voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
Social investment is a repayable finance option - so not a grant or donation - provided to an
organisation by an investor who expects to see both their money paid back and tangible social
benefits.
The 12-page VCSE Social Investment Toolkit explains how using social investment can help fund an
organisation’s work when it is not easy to access grants, and may offer a cheaper and more flexible
option to mainstream banks. The guide also looks at the
common types of social investment available including
loans and bonds, crowd-funding and so-called ‘quasi-
equity’ investments. It has a number of checklists for a
good bid and outlines how an organisation can ready
itself for social investment.
Download the guide at:
http://thechildrenspartnership-knowledge.org.uk/media/1086/vcse-social-investment-toolkit-final-
amended-by-vm_logos.pdf
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Charity Finance Group membership
scheme changes With effect from April 2015, the Charity Finance Group (CFG)
has changed its membership scheme - moving from individual
members to organisational membership.
This means colleagues of current members will also be able to access CFG benefits such as specialist
helplines. The Charity Finance Group is an umbrella body for people working in the finance
department of charities, http://www.cfg.org.uk/
Simple Guide on Crowdfunding
from Funding Central
Funding Central has an easy-to-understand section dedicated to crowdfunding under Support and
Advice. It includes pages covering a general overview, steps to crowdfunding success, planning your
campaign, keeping momentum and how to measure success.
It’s a good place to look if you are new to
crowdfunding and want some more
information on it. For details visit:
http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/Page.aspx?
SP=6549
The National Council for Voluntary
Organisations has produced a clear
guide for the Children’s Partnership
on social value and commissioning
but it is a valid toolkit for all charities
and voluntary groups looking at this
issue.
The guide provides an overview of
current commissioning, explores common problems encountered by voluntary sector when bidding
for contracts, offers practical advice and case study examples to show how to evidence social value for
commissioners. Download the guide at:
http://thechildrenspartnership-knowledge.org.uk/media/1092/social-value-and-commissioning-
toolkit-final-with-ncb-logos.pdf
Social Value and Commissioning
Toolkit: A guide for charities
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12 Voluntary Voice
Voluntary Voice aims to develop the voice of the voluntary and community sector
(VCS) in decision making on local and countywide issues through mandated
representatives from the sector influencing strategic partnerships. There are
currently eight strategic partnerships with mandated sector representatives.
For more information about which partnerships participate, who the mandated representatives are
and full reports of the meetings, please visit http://www.devonva.org/voice_and_influence.
Latest reports available from the mandated sector representatives:
Devon Localism Meeting: January 2015
This is a task and finish group considering the practical ways in which the localism agenda can be
moved forward. At the meeting the sector was represented by Karen Nolan. The Devon Strategic
Partnership (DSP) Board remains supportive of the Devon Local Agenda.
There was an acknowledgement that a culture change is required to deliver Devon Local.
Locality Leads approach will continue whilst it was noted that a locality lead need not necessarily be
from Devon County Council. Voluntary Sector experience and knowledge of their own community
can be a major resource in developing the knowledge of locality leads. The sector needs to be
engaged at the beginning of the process.
Devon Children’s Alliance Executive Group Meeting: January 2015
At this meeting, the sector was represented by Mark Goodman. The group is ultimately responsible
for setting the outcomes and priorities for children, young people and families in Devon through the
development, implementation and monitoring of a Children and Young People’s Plan.
The main points from the meeting include an appraisal of the Youth Service is taking place with
proposals going to Devon County Council Cabinet in March 2015 with one of three options - keep in
house, staff mutual or outsource and that appropriate links to the voluntary sector are needed on
the development of a new website under the Children and Young People’s Plan.
Devon Safeguarding Children’s Board Meeting: March 2015
The Board is made up of professionals who lead those services that work with children and young
people. Members meet regularly to review safeguarding procedures and protocols throughout
Devon. At this meeting, the sector was represented by Mark Goodman.
Devon has been tasked by Ofsted to develop a plan for neglect as it has far more cases than the
national average. Domestic abuse is the most common risk factor in referrals.
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13 Marketing Extra
Edition
Getting everyone in a charity or voluntary groups to sing from the same songbook is key to success, as ultimately you all have the same objective.
This needs to include trustees, paid staff and volunteers.
Start with some basics:
1) What are your overarching key principles?
At the heart of all your marketing and communication should be your group’s
key message or principles. It is important to spend time on this and get it
right. It should sum up your charitable aims and activities and will form the
basis for your marketing strategies and campaigns.
It is important not to forget why your group is there in the first place.
2) Who is the audience?
Being clear on who is the intended audience for your
marketing is very important. The type of audience
determines the whole communication, from what is being
said to the choice of delivery. Every time your organisation
considers communicating, who it is for should always be
clear from the start, be it internal for staff and volunteers or
external to stakeholders, members, service users or
potential funders. If you do not know who you are going to
communicate with, your message will not be tailored and may end up not being seen by the right
people or even misunderstood if you have not used the right language or method of delivery.
3) What is the message?
Once you have understood who your audience is, you need to define
the information that you want to communicate. Too long and people
won’t read it, too short and you may not be able to include all the
information you want to get across. Don’t use acronyms unless the
audience will understand them. Never assume that people have the
same level of knowledge about your organisation as you do, as the
likelihood is they won’t and this is why you are communicating with
them. Know what your unique selling points (USPs) are and capitalise
on them through your promotional communication.
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14 Guide to integrated communications
CharityComms has teamed up with GOOD Agency
to launch a practical guide to getting buy-in for
integrated communications and rolling out the
practice across your organisation.
‘One voice: a Best Practice Guide to integrated
communications’ includes considerations from
people from a range of organisations with a range
of budgets, about how they’ve approached the
task of integrating their communications, the
obstacles they’ve come across and what they’ve
learnt along the way.
Integrating communications helps to ensure that:
More people understand who you are and
what you do
All your messages are focused, clear and
consistent
Your charity attracts more support and income
Your organisation will have greater impact. Download the guide at http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/articles/one-voice
How to make the media work
for you - free guide
The European Journalism Centre has
designed a guide especially for voluntary and
community organisations - Making the Media
Work for You.
This guide looks at practical, cost-effective
strategies whilst keeping the reality of limited
communication resources in mind.
Topics include hyper-local strategies (like
initiating and maintaining relationships with
local journalists) and organising social media
fuelled national campaigns.
It is packed with real-world experiences from
campaigners, journalists, non-government
groups and governmental entities.
Download your copy of the guide at:
http://ejc.net/projects/Ongoing/making-the-
media-work-for-you-a-guide-for-civil-society-
organisations
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15 The power of ‘mobile’
There has been unprecedented cultural
shift towards mobile devices providing
information at people’s fingertips
wherever and whenever they want over
the last ten years. Mobile use is
increasingly becoming the main screen of
choice for people, which in turn has seen
mobile marketing developing into a
sophisticated machine.
Remember to always consider how people are going to view your information on social media,
websites and emails.
For a more detailed view of mobile advertising you can download a six page white paper from
Quantcast which explores mobile trends and busts common misconceptions from:
https://info.quantcast.com/social_MobileGuide.html?LSD2=Twitter
To Blog or not to Blog . . .
Not sure what a blog is or how to get started?
Then this ‘blogging toolkit’ for voluntary and
community groups produced by Locality is for
you.
Writing a successful blog can help your
organisation get your messages out and build up
networks of supporters and volunteers.
Download your copy of their blogging tips at
http://locality.org.uk/blog/guide-blogging/
Ultimately, whichever way your
organisation decides to market
itself, you need to get your message
out there and share it.
Your message is worth shouting about.
www. devonva.org Follow us @Devon_VA
East Devon Council for Voluntary Service
Younghayes Centre, 169 Younghayes Road, Cranbrook EX5 7DR
Telephone: 01404 549 045
Chief Officer: Lynne Lewis
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.edvsa.org.uk
South Hams CVS
The Cottage, Follaton House, Plymouth Road, Totnes TQ9 5NE
Telephone: 01803 862266
Chief Officer: Jill Davies
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.souhhamscvs.org.uk
Involve—Voluntary Action in Mid Devon
Sunningmead Community Centre, Lazenby Road,
Tiverton EX16 4AL
Telephone: 01884 255734
Chief Officer: Duncan Wood
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.involve-middevon.org.uk
Teignbridge Community and Voluntary Service
36-38 Market Street, Newton Abbot TQ12 2RX
Telephone: 01626 326120
Chief Officer: Sue Wroe
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.teigncvs.org.uk
North Devon Voluntary Services
149 High Street, Ilfracombe EX34 9EZ
Chief Officer: Pat Diango
Telephone: 01271 866300
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ndvs.org.uk
West Devon Community and Voluntary Services
13 East Street, Okehampton EX20 1AS
Telephone: 01837 53392
Chief Officer: Karen Nolan
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.westdevoncvs.org.uk
[email protected] Like us Devon Voluntary Action
0845 6099901
DeVA’s Company Number 8711291 and Charity Number 1158671