CFNI are delighted to be joined by Health Minister Robin Swann as he announces the launch of our new £10 million mental health fund.
This fund will be rolled out over the next three years with the first round of funding opening for applications on 5th July. (Large Grants on 5th July (100k - 500k ) followed by medium (30k - 100k) and small (5k - 30K) grants opening in September.
We will hear more on the fund criteria, how this was created and the current challenges facing mental health in NI.
The Ultach Fund exists to support the work of communities across Northern Ireland who wish to use and promote the Irish language, through the work of registered charities, voluntary and community groups.
The Community Foundation have recently acquired the management and administration of the Ultach Fund and are delighted to continue to fund grass roots community and voluntary groups to promote the Irish language.
The fund is open to registered charities and constituted grass roots community and voluntary groups based in Northern Ireland. Priority is given to applications from small groups, typically with an annual income of less than £250,000, as evidenced in the most recent set of accounts.
3 European Social Fund - Call 3 - application forms and guidance
Please find link below for the guidance notes and individual application forms for Call 3 of the NI ESF Programme 2014 -2020.
The guidance notes are designed to inform and support you through the application process. Applicants must familiarise themselves with these guidance notes and the ESF Operational Programme before completing their application form.
There is a separate application form for each Thematic Objective. Please select the application form/forms for the Thematic Objective(s) under which you intend to make an application.
The Holiday Grants programme provides grants for recreational trips for groups of children aged 13 and under in the UK who are disabled or disadvantaged. This year, given the extraordinary impact of Covid-19, we have made some temporary changes to our guidelines to provide more flexibility on the types of trip we can support.
Given ongoing uncertainties and potential restrictions, we have also decided to fund day trips rather than residential holidays. Our aim is to help maximise the likelihood of trips going ahead so children, many of whom have been under lockdown for much of the last year, can get out and have some fun!
Key grant details:
Grant size: £500 – £2,500
Length: One-off short grants
Decision timescale: 6 weeks
Deadlines: Submission dates vary depending when trips or holidays take place
Qualifying criteria: Please only apply for this grant if you meet the following criteria:
Location of work: UK only, with priority to the 20% most deprived areas
Funding covers: Recreational day trips
Organisation type: Schools, small charities and not-for-profit organisations
Full details and application process available here
5Public trust and confidence in charities research launch
Did you know that one of the biggest factors influencing the public's trust and confidence in charities is that the organisation does what it says it will?
According to new research from the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, 87% of respondents marked 'doing what they say they will do' as a major factor that influences their trust in an organisation.
The research, conducted by an independent agency on behalf of the Commission earlier this year, gathered the views of 1,500 adults on issues including:
their perception of charities
levels of trust and confidence in charities
what influences that trust and confidence
how they have supported charities during the pandemic
the importance of charity regulation
The research results will be revealed in full at the Commission's live, online launch at 10.30am on Friday morning, 25 June 2021.
To book your place at the launch, which will include a Q&A session on the research with Chief Charity Commissioner, Nicole Lappin,and Charity Commissioner, Hugh McKeag, send your name and email address to events@charitycommissionni.org.uk
6Free School Meals and Uniform Grants Parent checklist for online applications
Am I eligible?
To be eligible you must be in receipt of one of the following:
Income Support;
Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance;
Income Related Employment and Support Allowance;
Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit with an annual taxable household income of £16,190 or less;
Universal Credit with net household earnings not exceeding £14,000 per year; .
Or, you are an Asylum Seeker supported by the Home Office Asylum Support Assessment Team (ASAT)
What documentation do I need?
You only need to upload documentation if you are in receipt of Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit or Universal Credit. If you are in receipt of Income Support; Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance; Income Related Employment and Support Allowance or Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit you will not need to upload any documentation.
What else do I need?
You will need your National Insurance number; your childrens’ names, dates of birth and schools they will be attending; your address, e-mail and telephone number; your bank or building society account and sort code details.
Where do I submit my application?
You can make your application online by visiting our website here - after you submit your application it will take up to four weeks to process. You will be contacted if we need any further information. If you are having any difficulties accessing the website or if you need any help and advice you can contact our dedicated helpdesk on (028) 90 418044 or email mealsanduniform@eani.org.uk
7 Important information on deadline for EU settlement scheme
The deadline for applications to the EU Settlement Scheme is fast approaching it closes to new applications on 30 June 2021.
All EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their non EU family members who were resident in the UK at 31 December 2021 must apply to the Scheme to protect their existing rights to things such as working in the UK; access to public funds such as benefits and pensions, if eligible; and use of public healthcare.
If an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and their family members have lived in the UK for many years or have a permanent residence document or EEA Biometric Residence Card (BRC), they still need to apply to the EUSS (or apply for British Citizenship) by 30 June 2021 to continue to live and work in the UK.
Even if an applicant is having trouble with evidence or obtaining documents, it is better to get the application in before the 30th June and to work with the Home Office on any issue.
An application must be made for every eligible child within a family. Parents should apply on behalf of their children, even if they have already applied and been granted a status themselves.
Eligible close family members living overseas can apply to join an EU, EEA or Swiss family member who started living in the UK by 31 December 2020. They can apply to come to the UK at any point. More information on joining family members can be found on GOV.UK.
Non-EU Family members of ‘relevant persons of Northern Ireland’ can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. A ‘relevant person of Northern Ireland’ is a person born in Northern Ireland who can be British, Irish or both. See Advisor guidance on changes to the EU Settlement Scheme – CAJ
Those who have applied to the EUSS before the 30th June but who don’t receive their decision before the deadline will have their rights in the UK protected until they receive a decision. The Home Office will accept some late applications after the 30th June but late applicants may lose their rights in the UK until they apply. If you can always apply before the 30th June.
8New BIHR Project: Co-design a human rights “solution” with BIHR
We are writing to let you know about our new project: Co-design a human rights “solution” with BIHR. During this project, we want support community groups and voluntary groups to find human rights “solutions” to problems or issues they face.
We want to ask you… if you had a blank page, what human rights support would you want from us at BIHR? What would it look like? Think outside the box, it does not need to be a training session or a resource (it could be of course!), creativity welcome!
If you are interested in working with us to co-design a human right “solution” to the issues your group, organisation or members face then head over to our website: https://www.bihr.org.uk/co-design-a-human-rights-support-solution-with-bihr to watch a video about this project and register for our first Zoom workshop on 1 July at 10.30am.
The Women’s Policy Group are relaunching our COVID-19 Feminist Recovery Plan on Wednesday 28th July 2021 from 10am-12pm. We would like to invite you all to attend this relaunch event. Registration is available here: https://bit.ly/351o1yy
One year on from the WPG NI COVID-19 Feminist Recovery Plan 2020 was initially launched in July 2020, gender-neutral policy making prevails and there has been little recognition of the gendered impact of the pandemic on women in Northern Ireland.
We are now re-launching the WPG Feminist Recovery Plan with updated evidence, recommendations and primary research. Our aim is to highlight the harm of gender-neutral policy making in Northern Ireland and hear directly from women on how they have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
10Invite to Lunchtime Elder Abuse Awareness Session
Age Friend Belfast and Hourglass invite you to a virtual lunchtime session as part of World Elder Awareness Month
Elder Abuse Awareness Session: Monday 28th June 2021, 12pm to 1pm
The session will be opened by Councillor Kate Nicholl, Lord Mayor of Belfast and Lauren Cunningham Hourglass Development Manager NI
will share how Hourglass support prevention of abuse of older people, and those who are the victim of abuse and how we can look out for signs. Alderman Sonia Copeland, Chair of All Party Reference Group on Older People will close the session
We hope you can join us and if possible, wear something purple to show support!
This course, from Community Links Training, is being offered through our 'Work Well, Live Well' programme is designed for businesses to develop an awareness of the needs of ethnic minority workers.
The training aims to support a diverse and inclusive workplace and will outline how to access wellbeing support.
Wednesday, 14 July from 09.30-12.30
Participants will be:
Introduced to key legislation in relation to diversity in the workplace, as well as relevant theory & evidence
Asked to consider the impact of assumptions upon the people we work alongside
Asked to consider different approaches to questioning and challenging colleagues, clients and others who may be demonstrating intolerance, prejudice or discrimination
Offered an understanding of ethnic minority & migrant community wellbeing support services and how to access them
Time to reflect on how to put learning into action
This half-day training is free for workplaces. It is offered through the PHA's Work Well, Live Well programme.
12NEW Managing & Motivating Volunteers On Demand Course
To celebrate the end of Volunteers’ Week in 2021 and in time for ‘Thank You Day’, Volunteer Now Enterprises Ltd has some exciting news as we continue to embrace the NEW ENVIRONMENT of Volunteers. We bring you another new online method of building your volunteer management skills.
We are delighted to announce the release of our new online training course, Managing and Motivating Volunteers. This is a new addition to our online Volunteer Management Training offer, following the launch of Attracting and Selecting Volunteers in January. We have also brought all our On Demand Courses together on one page so you can see all we have to offer here.
During the last difficult year, we have been tirelessly working to improve our product offering and service, and we believe that this course will help you enjoy your experience with online training even more.
So what is it all about? This unique training will support you and your organisation to follow innovative, creative, and good practice ideas when planning how best to manage and offer that continued motivation to your volunteers. It will help your organisation to meet your mission, vision, aims and objectives for your volunteer involvement, programme, and projects.
With visuals, innovative features, and practical exercises to enable in-depth learning, this course will offer personal development in a flexible way, whenever and on whatever device.
The course offers a comprehensive overview of good practice, and is tremendous value for money at £45+VAT per person, with a certificate on completion. It is not time-consuming – an average 4 hours of learning. It is user-friendly and is suitable for those organisations, volunteer managers, co-ordinators or anyone who manages and involves volunteers on a regular basis.
Organisations continue to look for flexibility and affordability when it comes to Volunteer Management training, and we are positive that we continue to produce just that.
Our thanks go to the Department for Communities for financially supporting our organisation in the development of this forward thinking, innovative and user-friendly training course.
Enjoy you learning! In our own small way Volunteer Now and Volunteer Now Enterprises Ltd want to play our part in connecting, building, and changing volunteering now and into the future.
YWA (Youth Work Alliance) is working with YGAM (Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust) Homepage - YGAM and GamCare to bring an education and support programme to Northern Ireland, with the mission of safeguarding future generations from gambling and gaming related harms.
Gambling-related harms have been presented as a hidden issue in Northern Ireland for many years, which makes it even more vital for us to ensure children and vulnerable people are informed, educated and safeguarded against the potential harms associated with gambling and increasingly, gaming too.
YWA has 2 Education Officers myself (Helen) and Kevin McGuckin who facilitate the evidence-led, evaluated, and accredited education programmes that extend beyond the individuals that we reach directly by equipping people with the skills and confidence to talk to others about gambling harms and identify harmful behaviour in those close to them.
Feedback from Youth Workers who have completed the training and how it will impact on their practice:
"it's really helped not only our young people but also helps us to help each other, it will help us be more conscious while organising activities and behaviours to be aware of"
"have better information to talk to young people about the dangers of gaming and gambling, will help with the delivery of workshops to young people to help raise awareness"
"more aware of signs and confident to deliver interventions and awareness around these topics"
The training is delivered free and currently online, offered in 2 options: 1 Full session taking up to 3 hours 2 Delivered in 2 parts - Introduction taking 2 hours and Follow-up taking 1 hour
Upon completion of the training, you will be given log in details to YGAMS resource section.
14Single Identity Training & Conflict Management and Mediation Skills Workshop
Facilitating Skills Good Relations – Single identity Programme OCN Accredited Course Level 1 – 1 Credit
Venue DiverseCity Community Partnership, Bishop Street, Derry/Londonderry, BT486PW Date 26 July 2021
Time 9.30am – 4.30pm
Cost Free as funding has been secured
We have spaces still available on our online training courses for parents, carers, family members and professionals. These courses will be delivered on Zoom. Our training is interactive, and will also include a question and answer session.
Online courses available include:
*New* Schools Out and Autism - Tuesday 29th June 5.30pm-8.30pm (Parents, carers and family members only)
*New* Building and Supporting Personal Hygiene Skills - Thursday 29th July 5.30pm-8.30pm (Parents, carers and family members only)
Introduction to Autism and Anxiety - Wednesday 23rd June 6pm-9pm
16SYNERGY: A 9 week T:BUC Summer Programme for 12-14 year olds
Hoodies, day trips, free lunch, teambuilding and adventures!
Churches Trust are running an exciting 9 week programme over the summer for 12-14 year olds where they will have the opportunity to make new friends, develop new skills and have fun.
Our Synergy project is funded by The Education Authority and The Executive Office. The overarching aim of T: BUC is ‘to continue to improve attitudes amongst our young people and to build a community where they can play a full and active role in building good relations.’
The Synergy Camp offers post-primary school young people aged 12 – 14 the opportunity to participate in a fun mix of day trips, group work and adventure activities. Some of the activities we are doing include a day out to The Ulster Museum in Belfast, a storytelling workshop, circus skills workshop, scavenger hunts and much much more!
Synergy will provide a safe space for participants to explore ideas of place, nature, and heritage – all while challenging stereotypes and perceptions of ‘otherness.’
Synergy Project Schedule
Date
Time
Venue
Pre-Camp
Wednesday 7th July
10am to 2pm
12 – 14 The Diamond
Wednesday 14th July
10am – 2pm
St Columbs Park
Wednesday 21st July
10am to 2pm
12 – 14 The Diamond
Residential (Camp)
Wednesday 28th July
10am to 5pm
Belfast- Ulster Museum
Thursday 29th July
10am to 5pm
The Playtrail
Friday 30th July
10m to 5pm
12 – 14 The Diamond
Post-Camp
Wednesday 4th August
10am – 2pm
12 – 14 The Diamond
Wednesday 11th August
10am – 2pm
TBC
Wednesday 18th August
6pm – 8pm
12 – 14 The Diamond
If you have any queries or require further information please contact Wendy at Churches Trust: Tel: 02871 311322 Mob: 07586333847
or email wendymccloskey@thechurchestrust.org.uk.
FWIN are currently compiling stories of women’s experiences during Covid-19 and are working on producing a publication to record them. We are looking for short stories, poems, artwork or photos which capture your life during these very unusual times.
We’d also love to hear about any projects you undertook or something positive you achieved, what books you read, films you watched, box sets you binged on, board games you played or anything else that helped you cope.
Please send any pieces to Email: info@fwin.org.uk or by Post: Foyle Women’s Information Network, Holywell, 8-14 Bishop Street, Derry-Londonderry, BT48 6PW.
Closing date for submissions 27th August 2021. Please indicate if you wish to remain anonymous.
19Would you be interested in joining La Dolce Vita Project Board of Directors?
La Dolce Vita Project is a gender neutral local community based organisation. Our aim is to bring awareness, educate, empower, promote and encourage communities in understanding the affects of domestic abuse,and parental alienation. Not just on the individuals but also on the family, friends and communities.
We are inviting individuals to express an interest in joining our Board of Directors. These positions are voluntary.
We would ask those who have a passion or background knowledge, education in the area of domestic abuse and or parental alienation to consider expressing an interest.
This is not a mandatory requirement and we would also welcome those with a background in Community Development, Law, Funding, Fundraising, Social Work, Human Rights, Work related to Children and Young people, public sector business skills, who can demonstrate core responsibilities within these roles.
All members must be over 18 years of age, will be subject to an Access NI or a Gardai Vetting check and will be required to attend 6, x 1 1/2 - 2 hour meetings per year. 1 Annual General Meeting.
If you are interest forward an email to include in your expression of interest ;
1. Name, Address,
2. Contact Number
3. Email address.
4. Any conflict of Interests regarding membership of any other organisations or a member of other Boards.
5. A short personal statement to include education, and what you feel you could bring to La Dolce Vita Project.
The postholder will help to design and deliver marketing and communications activities for key partnerships and civic initiatives. They will collaborate with partners to help create movements around important civic agendas which contribute to the lives of the people of the city and region such as skills development, career pathways, life-long learning and youth leadership. (Fixed-term for one year.)
The Department of Education has placed an advertisement, copy attached, seeking to appoint DE Representative Members to the Boards of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE); the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI) and Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG).
DE is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all backgrounds regardless of religious belief, gender, disability, ethnic origin, political opinion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or whether or not you have dependents. However, it is recognised that women, people under 30 years of age, members of ethnic minorities and people with disabilities are under-represented on the boards of public bodies and to encourage applications from people in these categories the Department is issuing this notice to groups and organisations which are connected or involved with under-represented categories.
The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 4pm on Monday 19 July 2021 and an Application Pack can be obtained by emailing: egt1@education-ni.gov.uk or by calling (028) 9127 7684 or 9127 9461.
Join the Pedal Power challenge this July! Get on your bike this summer and take part in our virtual family 5k cycle challenge or 100 individual cycle challenge. You can complete the challenge in stages... it's entirely up to you!
Get some pedal power and help raise vital funds for our autism services in Northern Ireland.
23Fun, educational activities to keep you entertained this summer!
To help keep everyone entertained this summer, the Consumer Council has designed a range of free games, quizzes and activities for all to get involved with.
You’ll be learning about scams and consumer rights alongside our mascot, Peanut the Squirrel. Activities include snakes and ladders, snap, charades, pairs and colouring sheets. Who said learning couldn’t be fun? They’ve been designed to have a learning element too, so you may learn something new yourself!
In addition, you may even win a prize! The Consumer Council is asking you to tag it in photos of you playing these activities on Twitteror on Facebook to be in with a chance to win a £25 Love2Shop voucher.
The fun doesn’t stop there, the Consumer Council also has a range of other educational activities focusing on consumer rights, avoiding scams and budgeting on its dedicated activities web page: www.consumercouncil.org.uk/activities.
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