The IMPACT Awards, now in their twelfth year, recognise and reward registered charities that are doing excellent work to improve people’s health, with amounts of up to £35,000.

Organisations have to be at least three years old, working in a health-related field in the UK, with a total annual income between £10,000 and £1 million.

Apply by 26th September, http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/funding/gsk_impact_awards/index.html.

– A consultation paper has been issued on the “third sector’s strategic voice” within the Communities and Local Government Department, the Third Sector Partnership Board, covering its future role and remit, membership and way of working. Respond by 30th September, download from
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/thirdsectorconsultation.

– There is a consultation paper on The Empowerment Fund - proposals to provide support for existing national third sector organisations operating across England to help local communities turn key proposals into practical action on the ground. Views needed by 30th September, http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/empowermentfund.

– Closely related is a Ministry of Justice proposed framework for greater citizen engagement, using innovative methods such as citizens’ summits and juries to inform national policy-making. The discussion paper also contains proposals for strengthening the process for petitioning the House of Commons. To 31st October, http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/citizen-engagement.htm.

The long awaited community empowerment White Paper was published by the Communities and Local Government Department last week (9th July).

The stated intention in the first paragraph is “to pass power into the hands of local communities. We want to generate vibrant local democracy in every part of the country, and to give real control over local decisions and services to a wider pool of active citizens.” Go to the main page for ‘Communities in control: real people, real power’ or download the full White Paper (pdf, 1.72MB) from http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/886045.pdf.

The largest single programme proposed is a £70 million Communitybuilders fund, to help community organisations grow and thrive, which is jointly funded with the Office of the Third Sector and should begin in Spring 2009 - http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/080709_community.aspx. Also see Consultation section above. Detailed reactions from sector bodies were still to come at newsletter production time.

Community asset transfer pilot schemes were also announced - the West Midlands press release for example is here: http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=373357&NewsAreaID=2. ‘Managing Risks in Asset Transfer: A Guide’, practical guide to help local authorities and community organisations more effectively manage the risks involved, has also been published, http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/managingrisks.

Sport England is looking at possible changes to the way it distributes National Lottery money for community sport. Views are welcomed on ways to improve application and award processes as well as any particularly valued features of the current Community Investment Fund.

Go to http://www.sportengland.org/index/get_funding/homepage-lottery_consultation.htm and respond by 12th September. Sector support umbrella body NAVCA has welcomed the consultation - http://www.navca.org.uk/news/sportfunding.htm.

This year’s TalkTalk Innovation in the Community Awards are open for entries.

This enables charity and community groups throughout the UK to harness the power of the internet, with 30 winners receiving grants of £2,000 each to fund technology related projects, and five overall winners will also get technology equipment of their choice. Last year’s winners ranged from chat rooms on health issues to web-based support networks.

See http://www.talktalk.co.uk/innovation, and apply by 30th September.

Futurebuilders England has a new Tender Fund, offering three year loans of between £3,000 and £50,000 to third sector organisations who need relatively small sums of money to help them tender successfully for specific public service delivery contracts.

See http://www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk/content/Funding/TenderFund.aspx

The Welsh Assembly Government’s Deputy Minister for Regeneration, Leighton Andrews, has declared that he is “committed to implementing the findings of the Quirk review in Wales”, which called for more community ownership of public buildings, “across all of Wales not just the most populated towns and cities”. He hopes to make a further announcement in the autumn on establishing a community asset fund to help to make the buildings fit for purpose. News item at http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/presreleasearchive/2321519/?lang=en.

The Deputy Minister has also announced a “new fund to boost community regeneration” of at least £25 million over the next three years. This should have a sharper focus than previous Communities First funds on stimulating practical improvements to tackle poverty, contribute to wider regeneration initiatives and improving employability. See http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/presreleasearchive/2315902/?lang=en.

A thirty million pound Scottish Investment Fund is being set up by the Scottish Government to help trading charities and social enterprises increase their turnover or become financially sustainable. It will provide a mixture of loan/repayable finance and grant funding to mature established social economy organisations who have been trading successfully for at least three years. Official news item at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/06/18150321, or see fund manager Social Investment Scotland’s information, including a pdf download (61KB) of the Investment Strategy.

As reported by Charity Finance (http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/home/content.php?id=1993), organisations at an earlier stage of development will be able to apply to the separate Third Sector Enterprise Fund, which will have £12 million over three years available in amounts of up to £100,000. Details are to follow in the next few months.

The Scottish Government has also published ‘Enterprising Third Sector Action Plan, 2008-11′ to “help to create the right conditions in which an enterprising Third Sector - including social enterprises - can thrive, enabling the Third Sector to play a full role in the development, design and delivery of policy and services in Scotland.” This is a large pdf, see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/15300/Actionplan for introduction and link.

The Social Development Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly met away from Stormont for the first time last week, visiting the offices of Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, with over 50 representatives from the sector having an opportunity to see how it operated.

NICVA gave a presentation on the tight funding situation with government efficiency savings squeezing services. More in NICVA news item at http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/assembly_committee_nicva.

‘Buy and make a difference - How to address Social Issues in Public Procurement’ is a pamphlet issued by the Office of Government Commerce for public sector bodies. It explains how “social objectives” can be pursued alongside cost issues.

News item at http://www.ogc.gov.uk/About_OGC_news_8440.asp, direct link to pdf, 1012KB, http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/Social_Issues_in_Public_Procurement.pdf.

Children and Young People Now reports that up to eight million pounds is to be used to give voluntary sector parenting projects supported by the government’s Parenting Fund more time to get long-term funding from local authorities.

Funding for second round projects was due to end this month (June 2008), but they could now continue to March 2009. http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/817560/.

A research study examining how well Primary Care Trusts and charitable hospices work together is being undertaken by the Commission for the Compact in partnership with Help the Hospices.

It will look at different local relationships, explore successes to date and remaining challenges through anonymous case studies. Findings are due out in September. Commission for the Compact news item.