CAVOS

Supporting Voluntary and Community Action

... from homepage


CAVOS 10th Birthday Celebration Event! Visit the CAVOS 'Events & Training' page for more information

Could you be a CAVOS Trustee? See article below for more information

CAVOS news


Could you be a CAVOS Trustee?

CAVOS draws its Trustees from its membership of organisations or from people we can co-opt who have the appropriate skills and experiences we are looking for.
We provide a good induction process and any support to help individuals become a key member of our Board of Trustees.
If you would like to find out more about supporting the Voluntary and Community Sector through being a CAVOS Trustee, please contact our Chief Officer Gillian Fortune to arrange an informal chat (01388 811115)

Volunteer Awards Evening 2010 - the winners

The 2010 Volunteer Awards Evening was held on Thursday 4th July at Spennymoor Town Hall. The Awards Evening saw volunteers from the ‘Sedgefield Borough’ area rewarded for their hard work and dedication Julia Bowles (CAVOS Chair) presented the awards
This year’s winners were:
Volunteer of the Year:
Alicia McGuire, Young Women’s Sport and Active Recreation Project
Volunteer Group of the year:
Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Services
Special Recognition Awards:
No one left empty handed as thank you certificates were presented to all volunteers who attended
For information on recognising the good work of your volunteers, contact Sharon at the Volunteer Centre on 01388 811115.

Big Society—the basics

The Big Society is a Government agenda that seeks to shift power from politicians to people. It formed a key element of the Conservative 2010 election campaign and was the subject of the first major policy announcement of the new coalition government on 18 May 2010.
The main themes are:
What’s it all about?
The new coalition government has stated that Big Society is a way to “put more power and opportunity into people’s hands”. Prime Minister David Cameron has said that “We want to give citizens, communities and local government the power and information they need to come together, solve the problems they face and build the Britain they want”.
He has gone on to say that “only when people and communities are given more power and take more responsibility can we achieve fairness and opportunity for all”
The cabinet Office summary of Big Society and the policies that have already been agreed to take it forward is available to download from the ‘Online Resources’ section of this website. It is the first strand of a comprehensive Programme for Government to be published in the coming days, which the Government has stated will “deliver the reform, renewal, fairness and change Britain needs”
Source: NCVO & Cabinet Office

Budget 2010 – bite sized breakdown

In his Budget speech, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne outlined how the Government plans to raise and spend money during the coming year.
The most significant aspect of his speech was the detailed breakdown of spending cuts that the Government is proposing. These cuts have been the focus of massive media attention since the Chancellor’s budget speech and are also the aspect of the budget that will affect the voluntary sector the most. Although few indications have been given as to exactly how the sector will be affected, we can guess that the repercussions could be harsh. Importantly, the people that we all work to support will be affected greatly by these cuts so we all need to be aware of what they are and how they may affect our services and the people who access them. A ‘bite sized’ version of the budget is available to download from the ‘Online Resources’ section of this website. It has been produced by the Urban Forum (www.urbanforum.org.uk) and is a handy guide to understanding the Budget.

Coping with the budget cuts

National voluntary sector bodies have developed online resources to help groups cope with cuts:
NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) can provide information on how you raise your money; demonstrating your worth; managing your workforce; working with other organisations, innovating; using the Compact.
http://tinyurl.com/2wvo74e
Compact Voices has tips for public sector bodies and information for voluntary groups. They want to you to tell them what is happening, were you warned or consulted of any cuts?
http://www.compactvoice.org.uk/cuts
Cutswatch.org.uk has been set up by ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) to provide guidance and support to third sector organisations through public spending cuts. The site provides news, case studies, guides and information on how to positively deal with spending cuts, along with links to events and services.
http://www.cutswatch.org.uk/main/
Most importantly: CAVOS is support is available to all voluntary sector organisations working in the ‘Sedgefield Borough’ area. We can provide a wide range of advice and support on accessing alternative forms of funding, recruiting and motivating volunteers, promoting your group to mention but a few! Please contact us to discuss your support needs

Vetting and Barring Scheme halted

Over the past year, CAVOS has featured articles on the new Vetting and Barring Scheme in our newsletters and a factsheet was sent out with our last issue. The Vetting and Barring Scheme was set to be a new system that would be introduced to help protect children and vulnerable people from harm by stopping people who are considered to be ‘unsuitable’ from working with them. The Vetting and Barring Scheme is administered by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
The next phase of the scheme was due to be introduced in July 2010. It was due to become a legal requirement as of November 2010 for any new employee/volunteer working regularly with vulnerable people to be registered with the ISA before they start that work.
THIS HAS NOW BEEN POSTPONED
In its recent document ‘The Coalition: Our programme for government’, the Government set out its aim to ‘review the criminal records and vetting and barring regime and scale it back to common sense levels’. In order to deliver this promise and carry out the remodelling, the Vetting and Barring Scheme will be halted. A new date for reintroduction has yet to be set.
This means that you no longer have to be concerned about registering with the Independent Safeguarding Authority this year. CAVOS will continue to keep you informed of any further changes and whether a new date for introduction is scheduled.
Although this Scheme has been postponed, there is still a range of safeguarding systems that your organisation can adopt to ensure that you are following best practice procedures to keep the vulnerable people that you work with safe. CRB checks are one of the main mechanisms for ‘vetting’ a person’s suitability to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults based on their criminal record. CAVOS offers a comprehensive CRB Disclosure Service to voluntary sector organisations working in the ‘Sedgefield Borough’ area. For more information on this service or to discuss your safeguarding needs and concerns, contact Michelle at CAVOS on 01388 811115 or email
michelle@cavos.org.uk
For the official Home Office guidance and more information on why the Scheme has been delayed, click the link below:
tiny.cc/jlwuq

The County Durham Plan

The County Durham Plan (the Local Development Framework for Durham) sets out the planning framework and policies for the county, and will make specific proposals for new developments through a collection of related planning documents. Durham County Council want you to get involved in and let them know your views on this Plan
In 2009, the County Council asked you to help them understand the main issues that affect County Durham, its towns and villages. The Council has since used this information to develop a number of options to meet these objectives. They now want to know what you think. Have they succeeded in achieving the ambitions of the county? Have they taken into account your needs and the needs of your community?
How can you get involved?
The full consultation documents are now available for comment. Click this link to visit the County Durham Plan Consultation Pages:
tiny.cc/8ynbs
The Consultation Pages is where you can view the document and to lodge your comments. Copies are also available at local libraries and our customer access points. You can send responses in a number of ways; you can submit comments to the Council by picking up a response form from libraries. However, they would encourage you to submit your views via the Consultation Pages on the Council website (link above)
A series of roadshows will be offered around the county where you can talk to officers and share your views. The roadshows being held in the Sedgefield Borough area are:
Click the link below to go to the Durham County Council web pages dedicated to the County Durham Plan:
tiny.cc/o1vtc

Portrait of the North East paints a grim picture

The Office for National Statistics have produced “Portrait of the North East”, a summary of regional trends.
There are positive and negatives coming out of the report. Positives include: impressive scenery, highest educational achievement, reasonably affordable housing, low risk of flooding, the value of jobs is increasing, significantly increased diversity due to inward migration from abroad and a large student population.
However, there are negatives:
Click the link below to view the full document:
www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/RegionalTrends/rt42-article2.pdf
Source: VONNE

The refresh of the County Durham Compact

The County Durham Compact is a partnership agreement between the public sector and the third sector (the voluntary and community sector) in County Durham. Its purpose is to identify and agree to ways of improving working relationships between the two sectors.
The first County Durham Compact was launched in 2001 and following changes to the structure of some of the public sector agencies we believe that the time is now right to refresh and re-invigorate the agreement.
The national Compact has provided the framework for the County Durham Compact which has been developed and prepared for consultation by a working group of individuals representing organisations from across both sectors. Everybody will benefit from clarifying and developing a quality relationship that improves partnership working. This Compact needs to deliver something for everyone. It is about developing relationships and getting them right so that organisations from both sectors work better together.
Part of the process to establish a good working agreement is to discover what third sector organisations think about it. The draft Compact document is avilable to download from the 'Online Resources' page of this website along with the questionnaire that accompanies it. You may send your responses before 31st August 2010 to CAVOS or to Sue Graham at One Voice Network, whose contact details are on the bottom of the questionnaire.
CAVOS recommends that you read and consider the County Durham Compact; this is your opportunity to be involved in shaping how the voluntary and community sector develops it working relationship with the public sector.

The new Governments launches ‘Building a Big Society’

David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, unveiled a new document last week outlining the coalition government's plans for implementing the ‘big society' programme, which include setting up a Big Society Bank and introducing a national citizen service.
The document, Building the Big Society says the new bank will be paid for with funds from dormant bank accounts. The bank will provide finance for charities, social enterprises, neighbourhood groups and other non-governmental bodies, the document says.
It also says the government will "take a range of measures to encourage charitable giving and philanthropy" and launch a national Big Society Day.
"We will support the creation and expansion of mutuals, cooperatives, charities and social enterprises, and support these groups to have much greater involvement in the running of public services," it says. "Today is the start of a deep and serious reform agenda to take power away from politicians and give it to people," said Cameron.
Nick Hurd, the Minister for Civil Society, will be responsible for putting the plans into place. He will be supported by Nat Wei, a consultant with experience in both venture philanthropy and venture capital, involved in education charities. He founded the Big Society Network and has been appointed to the Lords as government advisor on the Big Society.
www.thebigsociety.co.uk
In an open letter to the sector signed by Francis Maude and Nick Hurd they said "We are keen to ensure that financial pressures do not lead to unnecessary cuts in
the services delivered by Third Sector organisations. Therefore we will work with councils so that where, as is frequently the case, voluntary organisations deliver
extremely good value for money, their performance is recognised."
Click the link below to visit the VONNE website and download the open letter and briefing on Building a Big Society:
tiny.cc/0v7fa

Safeguarding support pack

CAVOS has been funded through the Sedgefield Local Children’s Board to provide our ‘Voluntary Sector Participation project’.
This project provides support to voluntary groups to help them through the uncertainties of safeguarding: including what to do, how and when to do it.
The safeguarding of children is extremely important and all funders now ask voluntary groups who apply for funds to prove what procedures they have in place to ensure that the children and young people in their care are safe.
As part of this project, we have developed a support pack for groups in the usual CAVOS easy to understand style. The packs give you a lot of information on a range of issues including:
This pack will help guide you through the things you need to know but if you need any further support – just ask us. Contact CAVOS for your free support pack

Civic Activism - why the north east citizens face barriers in taking part

The North East Empowerment Partnership (NEEP) has recently carried out research to understand how the general public feel about standing for public appointments and engage in civic participation. The Place Survey 2008 highlighted that the North East region was one of the lowest scoring in the country for individuals getting involved in local decision making. The findings from the research make an interesting read with many myths being busted. It's not down to public apathy but rather a cultural issue with party politics and cost putting many local people off standing for office. The report makes recommendations to help to encourage wider participation and the NEEP will now be sharing the findings with current Elected Members and local authorities to work together on this.
Click the link below to view the final report
tiny.cc/yh105
Source: VONNE

Charity Commission Financial Guidance update

The Charity Commission has updated financial guidance covering risk management; financial difficulties and insolvency; reserves and internal financial controls. Click the link below for more information:
tiny.cc/0pgyk

Coalition Programme launched - key headlines for sector

The Coalition: our programme for government has been published. It sets out a programme for partnership government over the next five years. It expands on the 4 pages initially published through negotiations to form a coalition government. VONNE (Voluntary Organisations Network North East) has written up the key headlines from the document of most relevance to the third sector. Click the link below to visit the VONNE website and read the key headlines:
tiny.cc/tvz3w

Safety leaflets to download

A range of safety leaflets are now available for you to download from the Online Resources page. These leaflets have been published by Safe Durham Partnership and cover topics such as personal security, vehicle security, domestic abuse, responsible drinking etc.

CAVOS ‘Group Health-Check’

Considering what training to do can be difficult. You have time constraints and have to choose between what you want to do and what you should do. There is so much that has to be done just to run a small organisation that it can be a bit of a minefield and it is hard to know where to start. We have a solution that may help you to decide what you need to know. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know!
The CAVOS ‘Group Health-Check’ is an easy guide to finding out what you should have, what you do have and what support you need to help you get to where you want to be. This simple step-by-step approach couldn’t be easier! This is a great way of prioritising the support and information you need, so make a start with the health-check and help us to help you.
The ’Group Health-Check’ can be downloaded from the 'Online Resources' page of this website or give us a ring on 01388 811115 and we’ll send you one. We suggest that more than one person completes the form to give you a clearer picture of what your group has in place and what you need.
If you complete your health-check, please send it back to us and someone from CAVOS will then be in touch with you to discuss your needs further

Support In Finding and Keeping Volunteers

CAVOS has a new support service for our Voluntary and Community sector groups. We can come out to see your group or organisation and help you to develop new and innovative ways to ‘find and keep’ volunteers. We can provide you with new tools, tips and techniques as well as support to set up the right systems and find new people within your community to assist you with your activities.
This is not about getting people on your committee but about helping you to identify other needs you have, and finding ways of involving people to help out. You may think you have tried many things, to no avail, but we think we have the answers and we would like to help you achieve your aim in ‘finding and keeping’ volunteers.
This new service is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and can give you exciting and interesting tips and tools to get you on your way.
Do you promote your group in the right way to the right people? Are you offering what people want? Many people are afraid to volunteer because they may get roped into to other things. Many people leave volunteering because things are not well organised. We often WANT more people to help but aren’t sure of exactly WHAT we want them to do.
Let us help – you have nothing to lose and much to gain. Give us a call at CAVOS and ask for the ‘Finding and Keeping Volunteers’ support service – Go on – You know you want to!

Remember-CAVOS support is free!

It has come to our attention at CAVOS that there are people and companies in the area offering support to local groups at a cost.
CAVOS would like to remind you that all of our support services are free of charge and we specialise in working with locally based groups and organisations. CAVOS can provide your group with all of the advice, support and information that you will need to run at your best.
If you'd like someone from CAVOS to meet with your group to discuss how we can help you, ring Laura or Michelle on 01388 811115