Winter 2011
The key ingredients for a successful employee volunteering experience
A top tips list for community organisations created by City Action's community partners for gaining maximum benefit from employee volunteering.
Executive summary of City Action's community consultation to better understand how our community partners have been affected by the recent spending cuts and how this will impact on their capacity to engage with employee volunteers.
City Action top tips for effective cross-sector partnerships
The findings from the City Action Community Consultation (see above) revealed a clear message to businesses to consider developing longer-term partnerships with community organisations. In response City Action has prepared a list of top tips to guide businesses.
Updated Partnerships Service Membership Policy
The City Action Membership Policy for businesses that we work with solely to facilitate longer term partnerships with community organisations.
Summer 2011
Community Consultation 2011
City Action recently conducted a community consultation to better understand how our community partners have been affected by the recent spending cuts and how this will impact on their capacity to engage with employee volunteers. Please click here to read an executive summary.
City Action top tips for effective cross-sector partnerships
The findings from the City Action Community Consultation (see above) revealed a clear message to businesses to consider developing longer-term partnerships with community organisations. In response City Action has prepared a list of top tips to guide businesses. Please click here to read.
In the Spotlight
In this section we highlight news on a current topic that we think will be of interest to both our community and corporate members.
The Big Society
Comprehensive spending review: What it means for the charity sector
In the Spotlight: The Big Society
NACVA & The Big Society
The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action has a number of articles and guides to understanding The Big Society.
Click here to see listing
NEF & Ten Big Questions About The Big Society
The New Economics Foundation has identified ‘Ten Big Questions About The Big Society’, and put together a list of proposals for how concept might work in practice.
Click here to read more
Red Tape Purge
The Cabinet Office announced on 17 August that red tape would be purged for charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises.
Read the full article here
In the Spotlight: Comprehensive Spending Review: What it means for the charity sector
The Government's Spending Review 2010 report has been released. Read Third Sector's special report to find out what it means for the charity sector:
Click here to read more
City Action Community E-Bulletin: February 2011 Edition
The following topics are covered:
Corporate Community Involvement in the news
Funding News
Sector bodies launch online map of spending cuts Umbrella bodies and voluntary sector organisations - including NCVO, Acevo, Navca and regional voluntary networks - are collaborating on a website that maps government spending cuts.
The Voluntary Sector Cuts website will allow people to enter cuts they become aware of on a spreadsheet that is available to the public. For more information click here.
NCVO Sustainable Funding Project The Sustainable Funding Project was established in 2000 as an initiative of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). It provides tools, training, consultancy and resources that encourage and enable voluntary and community organisations to develop and implement a sustainable income strategy. For more information click here.
Funding Central A website for third sector organisations providing access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities, plus tools and resources that support organisations to develop sustainable income strategies. For more information click here.
Upcoming Events
Corporate Community Involvement in the news The Evening Standard featured a diary piece from The Lord Mayor of London, in which he pointed out that in the worst recession most remember half of us are still giving to good causes including the much-demonised City for which he is global ambassador. He said that contrary to myth, City workers are neither insulated from, nor blind to, the effects of poverty. He talks about the Lord Mayor's Appeal and about philanthropy in general.
City firms are increasingly using festive volunteering opportunities as a stepping stone into a long-term Corporate Community Partnership with lasting benefits. Several of our corporate members organised gift donations and provided assistance with setting up and delivering festive activities in December, with one of our community organisation members informed us that the business they received support from have subsequently agreed to help them with setting up their computer network.
City Action’s services are focussed on the matching of City volunteers’ skills with the needs of neighbouring communities, as we see this transfer of knowledge adding the most value and providing the most sustainable impact. We have decided that in order to focus our time and resource on meeting our key objectives, we are no longer going to promote one-off practical challenges (manual tasks such as painting/decorating, gardening etc.), unless as part of a bigger, skills-based relationship with a particular business. Consequently, we will be removing the ‘practical support’ section from our online database.
Case Study
Top Tips
nfpSynergy’s website features top tips for charities from journalists
Journalists share their tips for how charities can get their stories into the media and the best ways for charities to contact journalists; helping not-for-profits sharpen their media work and make better use of their limited resources.
Other News
Liquidnet & Sotheby Mews Day Centre
Liquidnet Europe Limited, a small asset management business, joined City Action following attendance on a Community Tour to Islington in June 2010. One of the community organisations visited was Age Concern Islington’s Sotheby Mews Day Centre, with whom Liquidnet have chosen to support a variety of social events for local older people.
Colt and Friendship Works
Colt have been building their CSR programme from scratch since 2009. Selecting a charity partner was one aspect of setting up their community programme - the other aspect was introducing an employee volunteering policy which they introduced at the end of 2009. Colt operates in 14 countries and in 2009 each country was asked to work with its employees to select a charity partner for the next two years.
read more
