Groups

23 February 2012

What this section covers

Welcome to the section on group support. CVA is the umbrella organisation to over a thousand voluntary and community organisations in the Croydon area. We provide support to groups on setting up, charity registration, fundraising, finding premises, marketing, financial management, policies and procedures and much more.

We also provide training in a full range of subjects to meet the needs of small new voluntary groups and social enterprises as well as large established charities, click here for the latest....

As well as enabling groups and individuals to access appropriate funding to support local communities, Croydon Voluntary Action’s Capacity Building Service helps not for profits to develop their capacity to sustain themselves longer-term AND to run as effectively as possible. We do this by working with you to identify strengths and set out opportunities for development. No matter what size of organisation you are, we can guide you, email Bhupendra for details of this.

We also work in partnership with other agencies in Croydon - one example being the BASIS Infrastructure Project run in conjunction with the Asian Resource Centre Croydon and the Croydon BME Forum.

Take a look at the resources on other pages designed to help you, we are adding to these all the time.

Design & Print Service	'How to' Fact Sheets
Finance	Starting Up?
Legal Structure	Governance
Resources

Social Enterprise Uk has various resources geared at helping social enterprises develop.

Social Franchising: A Guide for Franchisees is their latest manual which provides a general introduction to social franchising from the perspective of the franchisee; giving practical advice on how to decide if franchising is the right course of action, on selecting a franchise, and on building a successful franchise relationship. The manual outlines the ten steps to social franchising for the franchisee - in the commercial world franchisees are most often individuals, but in social franchising they are commonly organisations. The guide provides social enterprises with tailored, practical tools to make it easier to assess whether, when and how to take on a franchise, including a simple readiness tool, a template franchise agreement and advice on how to set franchise fees. The manual also features four unique case studies describing the journeys taken by real-life social franchisees, all with various degrees of experience. You can download a copy of this guide below.

A Guide For Franchisees

To find out more about the latest in their campaigns, and how to get practical help in exploring your franchise potential read more

More help for Social/ Community Enterprises

The Co-operative Uk has launched free support services for Community Enterprises - 'The Simply Suite' - offers legal and governance advice to Community Enterprises in partnership with Making Food Local:

Simply Finance
Simply Governance
Simply Legal

There is also an online governance audit tool which will help assess organisations an an online select a structure offering help to start up enterprises.

Click on website for full details.

Offer: Free NCVO Membership

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) are able to provide community membership free of charge to groups and organisations with an annual income less that £10,000. As well as exclusvie members discounts on certain publications/events/hire, and becoming part of a powerful community you will get:

Free Legal Information service
Free VAT advice service
Members' only helpdesk .
Fortnightly email bulletins

For more details of all of the above go to the NCVO website.

24.06.11

Changes to Business Link.....

Business Link is changing - whilst its regional advisory service will close on 25th November they are making available new online services. They are also providing a new mentoring portal which is already proving successful. Read more

Are you working from home? If so read below

Following the recent reviews of UK health and safety legislation, the Health and Safety Executive has issued revised guidance on home working (INDG 226). There will be fewer requirements for employers concerning health and safety compliance, and where the type of work carried out at home is deemed ‘low risk’, such as office-type work, the employer will only be responsible for the equipment it supplies. Solicitors Shoosmiths, point out that display screen equipment risk assessments are still required. Click here for the very short IND226

New Charity Law

The ICAEW charity blog points out that one practical effect of the Charities Act 2011, which consolidates various charity law, is that once it comes into force on 14th March, reference should be made to the 2011 Act in annual accounts, independent examination and audit reports. Read more

New Resources for Social Media

Striding Out: Help in new media.....

Striding Out have launched the first mobile app to support social entrepreneurs. The Social Enterprise Toolbox Kit is now available as an ebook or an app

It is written for a business leader at any stage of running their social enterprise as its intention is to help you undertake a considered and structured analysis of how well you are planning and managing your business. Click for more information: App for Mobiles Ebook

Top Ten Tips to create a Business Plan

Brief 10 Top Tips.......

For very brief ten 'top tips for creating a business plan' from the Plunkett Foundation's Making Local Food Work programme, click here.

Pilot scheme offering free human resources to organisations

Many small and medium sized charities do not have a dedicated HR professional. It can be quite daunting for a Chief Executive, administrator or other charity officer to have to deal with technical personnel issues when they have no qualifications or experience in such matters. HRNet aims to relieve the pressure on charities by providing expert advice tailored to the organisation's particular set of circumstances.

Questions are answered by members of the volunteer panel who are qualified HR practitioners in the commercial and voluntary sectors. Other charities are also able to offer the benefit of their experience.

A weekly email newsletter is sent to all members and questions and answers are loaded on the HRNet site to form a searchable resource for future reference. All areas of Human Resources practice are covered.

HRNet is open to all registered charities and membership is free. To register click on HRNet

Opportunity: Interested in hosting a place for a Civil Servant?

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is asking private, public and third sector organisations to host placements to help BIS gather feedback to inform future growth policy. If you feel this would work for your organisation read more

28.07.11

Guidance re Insurance

Deciding on what insurance you need for your activities can be tricky. There are two types of insurance which are required by law:

Motor Insurance if your charity owns or operates motor vehicles
Employee Liability if you employ staff

The Charity Commission has published a guide entitled 'Charities and Insurance' - CC49. This should answer any questions which may arise and give your trustees confidence in t heir judgements. Follow the link below:

Guide to Charities and Insurance