Funding & Communications Update

Dear Colleague

There are a couple of news items we would like to draw your attention to this week.

Funding

Just a reminder that the Voluntary Action Fund is once again running its Go4 Volunteering grant scheme. This year there is no deadline, applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Grants of up to £2000 are available to voluntary organisations whose annual income is under £50,000. Grants are targetted at supporting the involvement of volunteers, and may include support for the training of volunteers, development of volunteers in running the organisation and information materials for new volunteers. For further information, see the website: www.voluntaryactionfund.org.uk

Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland is running a surgery event in Dunfermline on the 13 September to give charities the opportunity to discuss project ideas, give advice on whether or not the Foundation might be able to provide support and offer tips on filling in the application form. The event is taking place at the Carnegie Library on Abbot Street between 11am and 6:30pm - the surgery is run on an appointment basis, so if you are interested in attending, please telephone to book a slot on 0870 902 1201. If you are considering an application to the Foundation, particularly if your organisation has never applied before, it is well worth going along.

GlaxoSmithKline, in conjunction with the King's Fund, has launched its Impact Awards for 2007. The awards are designed to recognise and reward charities carrying out excellent work in improving people's health. To be eligible, charities must have an annual income of under £1m, and have been established for at least three years. The overall winner receives £35,000 and nine additional winners receive £25,000. There are also a number of runner-up awards. For further information, see the website:www.kingsfund.org.uk/funding/gsk_impact_awards

Finally, CVS Fife is planning a Funders Fair event for November 7 which will take place at the Rothes Halls in Glenrothes. We will send out more details nearer the time, but if you are developing project ideas or looking to expand your funding base, or just want to get more information on what's out there, please put this date in your diary.

Fife Life

The editors of FifeLife, the free colour newspaper produced by the Community Planning partnership which goes to every household in Fife, are looking for article ideas for their Winter edition. The theme for winter will be "safeguarding our environment" and front and centre page articles will reflect this theme.

In addition the editors will be looking for a wide range of stories which highlight partnership working in Fife. Voluntary sector articles which have been selected for inclusion in the past have normally highlighted projects where the sector is delivering services or activities jointly with NHS Fife, Fife Council, Scottish Enterprise Fife, Fife Constabulary or Fife's Colleges. Article ideas are also more likely to be selected if they present an eye-catching photo opportunity. As it is the Winter edition, strong stories which relate to the time of year will also be considered.

If you have ideas for articles please forward them to me via email by Thursday 13 September. Please note, at this stage I only need a brief outline idea along with your thoughts about a photo. The Community Planning Communications Group will meet on 25 September and decide which articles will go forward - I will get back to everyone who forwards an idea after this meeting.

Kind Regards

Carole Patrick
Deputy Manager