You may well have seen this advert from Dettol which has popped up on billboards on the London Underground. It was met with much mirth on Twitter, and it’s easy to see why; ‘proper bants, plastic plants, meetings and buzzwords’ seem more like a reason to jack it all in and live a monastic life somewhere far away from the rest of human civilisation, rather than a reason to head back to the office.
There is one thing I miss though. Inane conversations about nothing in particular. Zoom etc are great but it does tend to be a bit work heavy. I’m tempted to set up a hotline, where if you’ve got a few minutes spare and want to talk about last night’s dinner, a football match you’ve watched or a scurrilous bit of gossip you can just dial in and natter away.
Let me know if you’d be interested in funding it.
Enjoy the news…
Women in Innovation Awards 2020/21. Innovate UK is offering 10 Women in Innovation Awards to female entrepreneurs across the UK. The awards are looking for women from across the UK who are solving a range of pressing societal, environmental and economic challenges. Winners will receive a £50,000 grant and a bespoke package of mentoring, coaching and business support. Applications need to be in by 14 October 2020 at 11:00am. More info here.
SSE Fellows / students. I have a request from a colleague for a piece of work he’s currently doing – if you are (or know) an SSE fellow, or student, running any type of leisure or team building activity that is delivered virtually please get in touch with [email protected].
Morrisons Foundation funding. Morrisons are offering grants of up to £25,000 to registered charities which make a positive difference in local communities across England, Scotland and Wales. I’ve had a look and I can’t find a closing date – see if you can find one here.
Free webinars. UnLtd Scotland, the School for Social Entrepreneurs Scotland and firm CMS have partnered to deliver a series of four workshops that will cover the basics of setting up your social enterprise from a legal perspective. Topics include how to use contracts, accounting, real estate basics and employment basics. The first webinar is on 16th September. You can register here.
Trustee opportunities. Edinburgh based charity A Place in Childhood are looking for four new board members to support their transition from start-up to longer term sustainability. If you have experience in charity governance and business administration, architecture and design, business development or charity fundraising they would like to hear from you.
Job opportunity one. SSE Fellow (and trustee) Joel Davis has two vacancies at his social enterprise Tutors United, a programme officer (£24k – £29k) and a part time online programme coordinator (£20k – £23k pro rata). Tutors United match university students with pupils from low-income backgrounds to narrow the attainment gap. Closing date is 25th September.
Job opportunity two. SSE Fellow Abigail Melville is hiring a training manager for We Rise, an award winning community business with a mission to empower young people to create successful futures. The successful candidate will develop and deliver an impactful youth mentoring programme for young people in Lambeth. You can find out more here.
Job opportunity three. SSE Fellow Greg Sanderson is on the hunt for a membership manager (£25k) for Smart School Councils, a charity that helps every child to engage with and lead change in their world through democracy, with a focus on supporting marginalised voices. The post holder will be focused on helping teachers in member schools and supporting the development of weekly Home Debate Clubs. Apply by 21st September.
Uncovering suppliers with a positive social impact. The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) Council has launched a new drive to uncover suppliers with a positive social impact. Charities, community business and social enterprises have been invited to apply to become part of a new social impact supplier directory for the sector. The directory will provide social enterprises, charities and community businesses who could offer services and products to PR and communications agencies and in-house teams an easy way to market their offer. Organisations can apply online by completing a brief form here.
Social Value UK are hosting their annual Members Exchange and AGM on the 10th and 11th September. It’s an annual conference for members of the UK social value community to come together and share best practice, discuss ideas and drive innovation in the sector. There is a great lineup of speakers. Readers of this newsletter can get a 20% discount on tickets by booking using this link .
Radio Ga Ga Last week’s Window Swap proved to be ridiculously popular so here’s something similar for you: Radio Garden lets you tune into over 8000 radio stations from around the world. Close your eyes and pretend you’re in the back of a taxi in Bangkok, Havana or Addis Ababa. Give it a listen here.
