News

Just Enterprise is running a series of free webinars this week and next to support social enterprises with their applications to the Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF): Friday 8th May at 1pm, Monday 11th May at 12pm, Wednesday 13th May at 12pm, and Friday 15th May at 1pm. These webinars (lasting roughly an hour) aim to help organisations understand their financial situation in order to apply for the TSRF.

Volunteer Scotland’s Disclosure Services team has created virtual drop-in sessions, taking place every Thursday, 12:30pm – 1:30pm via Zoom, to provide support and answer questions around the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme during this time. These sessions aim to provide an opportunity to ask any questions around the PVG scheme, including those around the new process. Participants can join the session from any device. It is for general questions only.

Due to an incredible response from over 76,000 people signing up to volunteer and help communities and public services during the COVID-19 pandemic, Scottish Government is pausing its national Scotland Cares campaign.

Due to overwhelming demand, Scottish Government has announced a second phase to the Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF), and pledged additional funding. The TSRF aims to support organisations across the third sector who are at risk of closure due to a sharp decrease in income, or who are unable to deliver their services as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) has launched a short-term emergency fund to help cover the costs of volunteer support in communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Organisations providing essential services within their communities are encouraged to apply for a grant of between £100 – £1,000. A total of £50,000 is available, and applications will be awarded on a first come first served basis.

Foundation Scotland is providing immediate grant funding to support constituted community groups and charities which are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in their local community. Funding is available between £1,000 – £5,000, and will be focused on immediate community needs. The funding is only open to constituted groups and organisations, who are able to provide a governing document.

Due to the current lockdown, Kelvin Valley and Falkirk LEADER (KVFL) and Crowdfund Scotland have moved their workshop events online, with the next free session taking place on Tuesday 9th June, 10am – 10:45am. This is an introductory session aimed at anyone looking to find out more about crowdfunding as a method of fundraising, and the potential uses for local projects in Scotland.

Scottish Government’s Wellbeing Fund is due to reopen for Expressions of Interest this Thursday 7th May. The fund supports organisations across the third sector providing important services for people as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those facing additional barriers or have increased requirements. Grants of £5,000 – £100,000 are anticipated to be available.

The next meeting of the COVID-19 Third Sector Response Forum takes place on Thursday 14th May, 1pm – 3pm, and can be accessed via the Zoom link, or with the meeting ID: 968 735 400.

Police Scotland has launched an online survey to track public confidence levels and experience of their approaches to policing the current lockdown, and are looking to hear from as many people as possible. They hope to use the survey to help capture people’s feeling of safety and any concerns they have, and also capture feedback from those who have contacted Police Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey will be open until the end of March 2021, and should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.