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Weekly round up of news, events, jobs and training for the sector.
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All banks and building societies should be covered by a new scheme to give dormant accounts to good causes, says NICVA. In its submission to the Treasury on unclaimed assets, NICVA said the local Executive and Assembly should decide the overall priorities for spending the money in Northern Ireland.
NICVA’s comments are on government proposals for an estimated £400–500 million that has been sitting for 15 years in bank and building society accounts forgotten by owners. Northern Ireland’s share could be £14-17 million.
“Our first priority is to have a campaign to re-unite people with their money but it is wrong that banks and building societies should make a profit from these dormant funds. They should be used to benefit the community generally,” said chief executive, Seamus McAleavey.
“The scheme should be compulsory for all banks and building societies. It is daft for government to suggest that some financial institutions might hand over money for good causes but others could hold on to it.”
NICVA also believes there should be public consultation on the priorities for spending the money eg fighting poverty, helping children and young people, tackling health inequalities or creating a social investment bank.
Northern Ireland’s new administration should decide general priorities but Ministers should not be allowed to decide or direct the actual distribution of money. NICVA suggests instead that this could be done by the Big Lottery Fund.
A campaign that uncovered £6million in unclaimed benefits last year has been re-launched by the Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie MLA.
She announced that Advice NI and Citizens’ Advice have been appointed by the Social Security Agency to help people check that they are getting all the support that they are entitled to. This is the third year that the Agency has operated a benefit uptake initiative with external advice organisations.
The Minister said: “We are aware that there are people who are not claiming support that they could have. This can be for personal reasons or because they are confused by the benefit system or the complexity of the forms. This proactive approach by the Social Security Agency will make it easier for them by involving Advice NI and Citizen’s Advice to give them extra support.
“The Agency is repeating the exercise for a third year because of the success of previous campaigns. Last year, for example, six per cent of those contacted were found to have entitlement that they had not claimed. On average they were paid an extra of £42 per week – a sum that can make a real difference to people’s lives.
“This time we will be concentrating on people with disabilities, mental health illness or long-term illness, people over 60, carers and families/children. I would encourage anyone who receives a benefit uptake letter from the Agency to take this opportunity to see if they should be getting more money.”
The exercise is in addition to three mail shots that the Agency is undertaking to encourage people to claim Carer’s Allowance, Pension Credit or rates relief directly from the Social Security Agency.
This event at NICVA on 7 November 2007 has been developed in partnership between NICVA, the Equality Commission and the Labour Relations Agency. The day will involve two practical seminars focusing on key areas of knowledge required by employees with line-management or supervisory responsibilities:
Seminar 1: Equal Opportunity Awareness
This seminar will provide participants with an introduction to Employment Equality Legislation in Northern Ireland.
Seminar 2: Handling Discipline and Grievance
This seminar gives practical guidance on how to manage discipline and grievance issues effectively in the workplace.
Both seminars will provide participants with an opportunity to explore practical case studies highlighting relevant issues and the factors to consider.
If you would like to book a place on this workshop please contact Margaret Thompson on 028 9087 7777 or email margaret.thompson@nicva.org.
In June 2007 Save the Children launched a public campaign at Stormont when primary and secondary pupils handed over ‘campaign cards’ to the First and Deputy First Minister. Since then it has recruited and trained student campaigners to attend events over the summer to ask people to sign up in support.
So far it has attended the Milk Cup, the Children in Crossfire conference, the Ulster American Folk Park and the West Belfast Festival and found people to be very open and interested in backing the campaign.
There is no request for money, only addresses and signatures to persuade the Executive and MLAs to prioritise the ending of child poverty in the Programme for Government and the Comprehensive Spending Review. It is a critical time because decisions will be made by September, so public participation can make a real difference.
Save the Children is worried by new statistics from the Department for Social Development (Households Below Average Income 2005-06) which show that there are more children in poverty than previously recorded. Last year’s report suggested that 24% of children were living in poverty, which is equivalent to 100,000; the 2005-6 report suggests that this figure is more accurately 29% or 120,000 children.
Alex Tennant from Save the Children said:
"The estimate of 100,000 children in poverty in Northern Ireland was a matter of grave concern, requiring urgent action. To hear that a more accurate figure is 120,000 children experiencing poverty is deeply shocking and should act as a spur to our politicians to prioritise action on child poverty."
Save the Children is asking everyone in Northern Ireland to act as champions for children in poverty. It wants as many people as possible to call 028 9043 1123 and get campaign cards sent out to them.
You can also write to Save the Children at 15 Richmond Park, Belfast BT10 0HB, email: infoni@savethechildren.org.uk or visit www.savethechildren.org.uk.
Please take the opportunity to shape the development of skills in the voluntary and community sector.
“Success is down to perseverance, ability, skills and experience, but it is also about being given an opportunity.” Leigh Clifford (CEO, Rio Tinto)
The need for adequately trained and skilled individuals in the voluntary and community sector has never been underestimated. However the opportunities for organisations to help individuals develop may not have always been there. At the very least there has been a lack of a strategic approach to the development of skills in the voluntary and community sector.
Positive Steps signalled the need for a skills strategy for the voluntary and community sector; however, our knowledge of the actual skills gaps and future skills needs of the voluntary and community sector was patchy.
Therefore research has been carried out to enable the skills needs and workforce development issues of voluntary and community organisations to be analysed. It also provides a break down of occupations and skills needs by the Sector Skills Council (SSC).
This new research carried out this year raises important issues which can help to develop its workforce for the future. You are invited to inform a shared action plan offering new solutions and building on the skills identified in the research.
Consultation events will be held from 9.45am to 3.30pm as follows:
At each session a number of themes that have emerged during the research will be discussed. These themes include recruitment issues, alleviating skills gaps, accessing training, skills developments and developing the skills strategy.
If you are interested in attending please contact Leanne Reilly, Skills for Justice on 028 9025 8028 orleanne.reilly@skillsforjustice.com.
The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland has small grants (minimum £1,000, maximum £10,000) available to fund local community groups to run projects that will contribute to the development of the Bill of Rights and leave a lasting local legacy.
Your project must:
For example, grants can be used to:
Successful applications to date include:
The closing date for the last round of funding is 28 September 2007 for projects to take place between October and December 2007.
Call 028 9024 5927 or visit www.communityfoundationni.orgfor details.
Since August 2007, Northern Ireland’s 16 further education (FE) colleges have merged into six new area based ‘super’ colleges. The six new colleges will continue to be at the heart of local communities, providing education and training to learners throughout Northern Ireland.
The new colleges and their websites are:
Belfast Metropolitan College -www.belfastmet.ac.uk
North West Regional College -www.nwrc.ac.uk
Northern Regional College -www.nrc.ac.uk
South Eastern Regional College -www.serc.ac.uk
South West College - www.swc.ac.uk
Southern Regional College -www.src.ac.uk
To find out about courses in your local college text ‘college’ to 60900, or visit one of the websites above.
To find out more about the mergers please contact the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges (ANIC) at comm@anic.ac.uk or the Department for Employment and Learning at feprogramme@delni.gov.uk or visit www.delni.gov.uk/femerger or www.femeansbusiness.com/review.
UnLtd, the foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, is seeking applications for its Level 2 competition - people with vision and commitment who are changing society for the better. Level 2 awards are aimed at individuals who have normally been delivering their product or service for at least one year and can demonstrate both the business case and the social impact. Individuals who have set up a project, social enterprise or charity can apply for up to £20,000 which can be used for living expenses so that they can devote more time to their project, scale it up or replicate it in some way.
The criteria used for assessment of applications are:
Applicants should submit an expression of interest form, to include information about you and your project. The closing date is 7 September 2007.
Download the form at www.unltd.org.uk or contact Ciara Brennan, Development Manager for more information on 028 9024 4007.
THE IRISH Football Association receives many requests for fundraising donations and sponsorship every year and whilst the IFA acknowledges all are worthy causes, it is not feasible to accommodate all that seek help. In response to this, the IFA has developed a Charity Policy and Procedure document which outlines the Association's charitable principles.
The IFA will now officially adopt a small number of charities for the duration of an international campaign (ie two years). During this time the Association will utilise its high media and public profile, working alongside partnered charities to help them achieve their aims and objectives.
IFA's Head of Marketing and Communications, Geoff Wilson said: "The IFA is heavily involved and committed to charitable work within Northern Ireland and further afield. Hopefully, through this new policy we can focus on a smaller number of charities which will enable us to centre our attention on helping the organisations achieve their main aims and objections. At the IFA we are very excited about this and look forward to announcing the official charities in January 2008."
If you wish to apply, please download the official document www.irishfa.com/filestore/documents/Irish_FA_Charity_Policy.doc and return the completed application form by 31 August 2007.
The Ulster People’s College is currently enrolling for its Community Relations course which begins in October and is accredited to OCN Level 3.
The course provides an opportunity for community relations workers to further develop their knowledge base and enhance their skills. Areas covered include community relations theory, policy and practice, cultural attitudes and behaviour, race and ethnicity, reconciliation and approaches to dealing with the past.
The one year course is free and will take place on Tuesdays from 9.30am to 3.30pm at 1 Lower Crescent, Belfast for one academic year.
For further information or to register please contact Tracey Loughens on 028 9033 0131 or emailtloughens@upclearn.org.
Got an environmental event to plug? Why not take a minute to publicise it, free of charge, on Northern Ireland Environment Link’s (NIEL) new online events calendar?
Simply visit www.nienvironmentlink.org/events/add.asp and copy and paste the details into the online form – you can also add an image or web link. Your event will then be moderated internally and should go live within five working days. All types of environmental events can be submitted for consideration, including conferences, talks, training courses, walks, volunteer work days, etc.
To find out more, please visitwww.nienvironmentlink.org call 028 9045 5770 or email: info@nienvironmentlink.org.
Have you made a short film? Would you love to see your film screened in the cinema? Cinemagic is looking for imaginative and original films made by young people to be screened as part of the 2007 Cinemagic Young Filmmaker competition in association with First Light Movies, which takes place during the annual film festival in Belfast from 16 November to 2 December 2007.
The Cinemagic festival offers masterclasses and workshops in all aspects of filmmaking, and provides a platform for young filmmakers to showcase their talents. The competition will be split into three different age categories; films made by under 15’s, films made by 15 to 17 year olds and films made by 18 to 25 year olds.
The deadline for entries to the Cinemagic Young Filmmaker 2007 is Friday 2 November 2007. Entries should include a VHS or DVD copy of your film and a completed entry form. Films should be no longer than 15 minutes.
Visit www.cinemagic.org.uk/filmmaker.asp to find out more.
Got some furniture or equipment to donate (or going cheap) to a voluntary or community group? Use this space to let people know what you’ve got.
The Northern Ireland Consumer Council has four barstools in excellent condition available free to a good home.
If interested, please contact Rhonda Allen on 028 9067 4817, email: rallen@consumercouncil.org.uk or Philippa McKeown on 028 9067 4814, email: pmckeown@consumercouncil.org.uk.
NICVA submits dormant accounts response
All banks and building societies should be covered by a new scheme to give dormant accounts to good causes.
Don't miss band aid funding deadline
The Arts Council has announced a deadline of 30 August 2007 for its National Lottery funded Musical Instruments for Bands scheme.
Recognition for leading fire fighter
The Institute of Leadership and Management Learner of the Year 2007 award goes to local fire fighter Davy Harbinson.
A unique international summer festival
The Belfast Mela is a celebration of traditions, art, colours, music, and dance.
This section contains a random selection of the latest jobs from the CommunityNI website.
Submit your job - eNews does not carry full job advertisements, but if you would like your job to be one of the featured links, please submit your advertisement to the CommunityNI website using this link.
As the featured link slot is in great demand, to keep things fair, we can only make a random selection of three or four new jobs each week, and cannot guarantee that your job will be selected.
NICVA’s successful Community Diary now has a new home on the CommunityNI web portal. Submit details of your upcoming events in CommunityNI’s Events Calendar.
Simply follow the Submit an Event link to the right of the page, enter the details, and we’ll do the rest.
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Communitybuyer.org has been connecting the voluntary and community sector with top suppliers since March 2007.
Communitybuyer.org is an online directory of products and services specially for the voluntary and community sector. With ratings and advice it’s an essential resource for your buying needs. Only companies that have a keen interest in working with the voluntary and community sector are listed and great discounts are available to NICVA members. Look out for the NICVA member discounts badge on the site.
To find out more, visit www.communitybuyer.org.
NICVA membership is open to all voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland.
To find out more contact Frances McAtamney on tel: 028 9087 7777, email: frances.mcatamney@nicva.org or visit the website.
The opinions, views or comments in this email do not necessarily reflect any views or policies of NICVA. In making information available from other organisations NICVA is not endorsing, privileging or guaranteeing its accuracy but acting as an information conduit in good faith.
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