In what is a first for this newsletter, it’s being written while I’m outside. I’ll be honest, it’s not quite as good as I imagined that it would be. I thought it would revolutionise my workday. I had visions of home made lemonade, a cool breeze and perhaps a friendly conversation with my neighbour.

The whole experience is actually extremely underwhelming. The glare from the sun makes it almost impossible to see what I’m writing on the screen, it’s far too hot and I’m being menaced by an overly aggressive bee. I’ve never made lemonade so I audemars piguet replica don’t know where that was magically going to appear from; I’d probably just end up getting stung by the bee when trying to drink it so it’s probably a good thing on balance.

Enjoy the news…

@davemcglashan

Aviva have reopened their Community Fund to include applications for projects that enable causes to adapt or continue their vital services by covering core running costs, so they can help their beneficiaries and communities during the current pandemic. Applications are open until 28th July. Details here.

The Do-Gooders have launched a campaign inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, with the aim to shed light on UK based, black-owned, and black-managed sustainable businesses. An online directory allows you to use your purchasing power to show your support to black-owned sustainable, local, and independent businesses. Get shopping here.

Our Digital Marketing and Press for Charities and Social Enterprises next week proved to be so popular that it’s now sold out (boooooooooo). But if you’ve missed out, never fear because we’ve scheduled in extra dates for July and September (yaaaaaaaaaay). You can book a place here.

We’re partnering with Lime Green Consulting for a briefing on fundraising during Covid-19 on 10th July. For this weekend only, readers of Have I Got Social Enterprise News For You can book a discounted place for just £40. You need to book your place by Tuesday.

Spring Impact’s Scale Accelerator is now accepting applications from UK based charities and social enterprises that have been operating for more than two years that are now looking to scale their impact. On offer is £30,000 worth of consultancy support. Apply by 12th July.

June is Pride Month and my colleague Henna has been chatting to LGBTQ+ members of the SSE community about barriers they’ve faced in the social enterprise sector and beyond due to their gender identity and sexuality. You can read her findings here.

At some point (hopefully in the near future) we’ll be able to emerge from our cocoons and head back to the office. Ahead of this, PwC are running a free ‘Navigating the release from lockdown’ legal workshop‘ on Tuesday 30th June from 9:30-11:00. the workshop will cover the legal issues arising around returning employees to the workplace, including managing health and safety. You need to sign up today if you’d like to attend.

Edventure is award-winning social enterprise based in Frome, Somerset, founded by SSE Fellow Johannes Moeller. They are looking for a team entrepreneurship facilitator & trainer with experience in course management and social enterprise to deliver and grow a 10-week flagship course in community entrepreneurship. Teams of students on this course set up social enterprises projects to tackle local problems. The role pays £25k pro rata over 18 hours a week and is based in Frome. Apply by July 26th.

Edventure are also looking for students to take part in the aforementioned programme. Students will be guided through the basics of setting up a social enterprise,  build a community around the idea, carry out research and design a business model based on this research. Anyone aged between 18-35 can apply, the course starts on 7th September and will be in Frome. Further details here.

Finally, we’re going fundraising heavy next month. We’ve got a workshops on Developing a Fundraising Strategy on 8th July, An Introduction to Sources of Funding for Charities and Social Enterprises on 10th July and Fundraising from Trusts and Foundations on 15th July.

Shhh… can you hear that? I am writing this in absolute silence. Wonderful, brilliant, beautiful silence. The kids are back in nursery, my wife is at work and so for the first time in 90 days I’m alone in the house. It’s actually a little eerie. It does mean, however, that we’re back in our usual Friday morning time slot and I’ve actually had more than 30 minutes to put this together. Hurrah! I’m not sure if that means it’s any better than it has been or if it’s just taken me longer to write than it has been doing…

Enjoy the news…

@davemcglashan

• You need to be quick with this one, but we are running a 45 minute webinar at 1pm today looking at how should you manage cash in a crisis. It’s the first in our new Recover & Rebuild series, helping social entrepreneurs get back on their feet. Register now: https://bit.ly/2Ycbh4y

• We’re not the only people doing webinars (you’ve probably noticed, they seem to have got quite popular all of a sudden). Our friends at Lime Green Consulting are running a briefing looking at ‘Fundraising During Covid-190 on 10th July’. You’ll hear from experts on the impact of Covid-19 on different fundraising areas – what’s changed, what to expect next and how to respond. You can book a place here (note – we get a small commission for each place booked).

• Social enterprise Girl Dreamer are offering small, unrestricted, emergency grants to micro-small size organisations that are founded/led by young women or non-binary people of colour to help them through any needs they may currently have brought on by COVID-19. Grants of £100 – £1000 are available, and the deadline to apply is 15th June. You can find out more here.

• We are looking for people to contribute to a piece about the experiences of LGBTQ+ social enterprises. If you are an SSE student/fellow from a BAME background, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact [email protected] to get involved.

• I’m going to make a bold assumption and guess that you haven’t been thinking about Christmas too much recently. But if you are a UK-registered charity looking for some extra funds then The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge is now open for applications. It offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to have their donation doubled – you need to apply here.

• We are looking for three individuals to join SSE’s Board of Trustees. We’re seeking Trustees that will bring new skills, knowledge and experience to help us fulfil our ambitions and amplify our impact. We’re particularly interested in recruiting Trustees that reflect the diversity of the students we support and are representative of the geographic areas we work in. If this sounds like you, apply by midnight on Sunday 12th July 2020.

• “I just can’t wait for the gym to be open” is not a sentence that I have found myself saying over the last few months (“I’m a gym member. I try to go four times a week, but I’ve missed the last twelve hundred times.”). So what I need is Dangerous Dads’ Dad Dancing Fit Club Online. Taking place every Tuesday and Saturday at 9am, it’s a fitness programme for all the family featuring ‘classic dad dancing moves from John Travolta and Rocky, to ZZ Top air guitars and The Robot.’ You can find out more here.

• We’ve launched ‘Virtual Volunteers’, a new platform connecting social enterprises with volunteer professionals. It’s free to use, both if you have a post that you need help with or if you can volunteer your skills. Check it out here.

• My colleague Hannah has taken a look at how community businesses are rebuilding in a new blog. For many it’s been a difficult period as income has shrunk but, as with much of the social enterprise sector, many have found ways to adapt. You can read the blog here.

•  The Small International Development Charities Network are looking to build an understanding of how Covid-19 is affecting small charities working in international development and have put together a short survey to gather insight. The results will build meaningful conversations with influential groups, inform policy and the wider public and one respondent will win a luxury hamper. You can take the survey here. 

• Kim McCabe of social enterprise Rites for Girls is hosting a talk on ‘Parenting our children safely through’ this Sunday from 10:00am – 11.30am, discussing practical ways to make the journey of growing-up safer, kinder and better supported, particularly through the adolescent years and especially in these changing times. You can book a place here.

• Children in Need have opened applications to their COVID-19 Next Steps Grant, which offers grants of between £5,000 and £80,000 to ‘help organisations with more complex service adaption, including additional staffing requirements’. The deadline to apply is July 1st.

• In Southwark, London, the council have launched a new Discretionary Grants Fund for businesses with 49 or fewer full-time employees) that have suffered a significant fall in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic that were not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Fund. Up to £25k is available and charities and social enterprises are eligible to apply. Details here.

• SSE Fellow Davie Parks’ social enterprise The Skill Mill has begun making socially and environmentally good face masks. They are practical and fantastic value, they don’t interfere with care sector supply and make an excellent marketing tool – you can get them made with your organisation’s logo on them. They are also washable and reusable so better for the environment than single use PPE. Order them here.