Don’t worry workers. Only a few hours to go until the weekend. Not long until you can break free from the emails, the meetings and the spreadsheets and enjoy approximately 64 hours of your own time. That doesn’t sound particularly long when you think about it really does it? Once you’ve factored in sleeping, showering etc it probably only leaves you with a few hours before you’re back in the office. This all came up in a conversation I had with someone earlier this week which resulted in me removing access to my work emails from my phone – honestly, it’s revelatory. I thoroughly recommend it.
Hopefully you’ve had a good week, enjoy the news…
Alba affairs
Unless anyone has any objections, let’s start north of Hadrian’s Wall and work our way down. (If you do have any objections, this newsletter probably isn’t for you.) SCVO have two pieces of news this week – first, they’ve opened applications to the Scottish Charity Awards with eight categories to enter. Despite the name, you don’t need to be a charity to enter, but you do need to get your entry in by 26th March.
SCVO have also published the full programme for The Gathering 2020, which takes place in Glasgow on 19th and 20th February. It’s free to go along and there are 65 events taking place over the two days – it looks well worth attending. You can find out more here.
Boost (non chocolate bar) news
Scrap that heading, let’s take some time to discuss Boost chocolate bars. Do you know anyone that eats them? It always seems to me that there are at least four of five above them in the pecking order (Mars, Dairy Milk Caramel, Wispa, Raisin and Biscuit Yorkie for example). I’m not sure when a Boost would ever be needed. Let me know by email if you are a Boost eater though.
Back to proper content. Through their own Boost It fund, Firstport and the Scottish Government are offering repayable grants of £30k – £50k to social enterprises that are responding to climate emergency and environmental issues.
Applications are open until 3rd February.
Blame the sat nav
This whole north to south thing is going to fall apart somewhat for things that exist online. To maintain the narrative, you could pretend you’re reading this in a cafe in the Pennines (if you are reading this in a cafe in the Pennines you don’t need to pretend). It’s online we’re going for the recently relaunched Aviva Community Fund, open to charities or CICs with an imitaciones de Rolex income of below £1 million. The first funding round is open until 11th February and you can apply for up to £50,000.
You won’t find us on Alta Vista
While we’re surfing the web (what happened to that phrase?) it provides an ideal time for me to plug our Start Up Boost course which we’re running again throughout 2020 after it went down well last year. Aimed at early stage social entrepreneurs, two online sessions will give your young enterprise – or even just the germ of an idea – direction and clear sight on how to grow and flourish. Numbers are limited and it’s first come, first served…
Don’t forget your PIN
A quick trip to the cashpoint before we head off again. (I know no-one uses cashpoints anymore but just stick with me on this one). This particular cashpoint is a Natwest cashpoint. It’s a remarkable coincidence because I was about to tell you about Natwest’s Social & Community Capital 20th Anniversary Grants, which offer £20,000 to seven organisations making a positive impact around the UK.
No mention of Robin Hood
To Nottingham, home of the largest publicly owned bus network in England and the first place in the UK to introduce a workplace parking levy. It’s also home to SSE Fellow Jacqueline Hollows’ ‘FreeMinds FreePeople’ project, run as part of her social enterprise Beyond Recovery. The project is funded by Nottinghamshire’s Violence Reduction unit and works with men who are serving or have recently been released from Nottingham prison and has had some remarkable success.
Time for some serious business
Make sure you’ve got some smart clothes with you because we’re in London now and we’re meeting with Deutsche Bank. They’d like to tell us about the Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs, a programme which ‘aims to enable and celebrate creative entrepreneurship for social good led by 18-30-year olds in the UK today’. Five winners will receive a share of a £50,000 prize fund along with £100,000 worth of business support.
Puppy power
A hop, skip and a jump away are the offices of Ashoka. They have started the new year with a bang and have a whole load of support programmes available for you to apply to. There’s support for everything from helping develop the skills needed for everyone to play an active role in the economy of tomorrow to harnessing the mutual positive power of the pet–human bond…
Check if there is something for your organisation here
We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when
We’re going to leave London now, and the last stage of the journey is up to you. How exciting!
Will you head to Cornwall, where SSE Cornwall are recruiting a Marketing & Communications specialist on a freelance basis (£150 per day, 2 days per month). If you have experience communicating with hard to reach groups, great people skills and you’re an excellent team player then apply by 3rd February.
Or perhaps you’d rather head to High Wycombe, the only place in the world where the mayor gets weighed every year. It’s also where you’ll find SSE student Michael Brown and his social enterprise Empower to Cook, which provides cookery classes, food education and consultancy to children, community groups, families and corporates. Michael is looking for someone to run a newly funded Community Cooking and Wellbeing Kitchen on a part time basis. Further details here.
But if the only way is Essex, take a trip to Basildon and drop in on SSE Fellow Sarah Rafique and her social enterprise Generation Medics. While there you could apply to become a Marketing and Outreach Officer. The organisation aims to widen access to medical and healthcare careers information, advice and opportunities for people from all social backgrounds. You can find out more and apply here.
