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Smethwick Bangladeshi Youth Forum used its £1,000 Modernisation Fund bursary to explore partnership and collaboration options to help it become more sustainable.

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Our priorities

Funding

There are currently no funding programmes open for application. Click here to read more about how our funding is helping to build a stronger third sector

Research

External Stakeholders Survey - Capacitybuilders has published the results of the external stakeholders survey carried out in Jan/Feb 2010.

We want third sector organisations to be able to access high quality support and advice.

Latest news

Modernisation Fund Grant Holders set to benefit from continued support

Capacitybuilders is partnering with registered charity, Pilotlight, to offer continuing capacity building support to some of the Modernisation Fund Phase Two grant holders who are in the final stages of working through a merger or collaboration.

Pilotlight is a registered charity working to provide free capacity building support to small, ambitious charities and social enterprises. They do this by bringing together multidisciplinary teams of skilled strategists and experienced professionals from the private sector with the managers of small third sector organisations, to coach them through the process of planning for growth, development and sustainability.

Matt Leach, Capacitybuilders’ Chief Executive commented on the partnership:

"I'm delighted to announce Capacitybuilders' new partnership with Pilotlight. Pro-bono support can make a huge difference to the capacity of the third sector, and this partnership will help to provide Modernisation Fund grant holders with important additional assistance to develop their plans for merger and collaboration."

Additional support

Around 70 Modernisation Fund grant holders - who have each received grants from Capacitybuilders of up to £10,000 - have been invited to work with Pilotlight to explore whether they could benefit from additional support. This would include work towards a new strategic plan for the development and growth of their organisation. Pilotlight will act as broker, sounding board and critical friend and take care of administrative matters.

Deborah Xavier, CEO, Pilotlight London commented :

“The Pilotlight Process is designed to develop the skills of the managers of charities and social enterprises doing essential work in their communities, to help them to manage the change necessary to achieve growth and sustainability. Many of our senior business volunteers have been through the process of merger or partnership in their own organisations, so they bring the benefits of their own experience to the Pilotlight Teams. We very much look forward to working with Modernisation Fund grant holders as they carry out their partnership and merger plans.”

Capacitybuilders announce £2m new capital investment in third sector resource centres

Four flagship resource centre projects in Blackburn, Scarborough, Gateshead and Slough are in line to receive grants of up to £500,000.

The grants are being awarded under the final strand of Capacitybuilders’ Capital Investment Programme of £7m, funded through the Office of the Third Sector. With additional match funding of at least 50% from other sources, the investment will support the development of new resource centre facilities and shared services for co-located organisations.

Coast and Moors Voluntary Action, Scarborough

Using their grant of £500,000, Coast and Moors Voluntary Action in Scarborough is purchasing land and constructing a new, flexible, purpose built community resource hub. The centre will offer high quality work space, supported by shared spaces such as meeting rooms and hot desk virtual office solutions, enabling them to increase the infrastructure services that they offer, whilst being environmentally sustainable with excellent access provisions.

Slough Council for Voluntary Service

Slough Council for Voluntary Service is working in partnership with Slough Borough Council to use their £500,000 grant to build the Thames Valley Community Centre. As well as supplying quality office and meeting space to key frontline organisations this new build will be a 'gathering point' for smaller organisations seeking advice, support or simply the means to plan their work more effectively.

Blackburn with Darwen Council for Voluntary Service

Using their grant of £500,000, Blackburn with Darwen CVS is refurbishing and upgrading one of their three resource centre premises. With the addition of a fourth floor, they will offer local third sector organisations additional multifunction space. They also plan to create a comprehensive resource and equipment library that will be housed in the centre and provide a space for co-located services for children and young people, including a day centre and night shelter.

Gateshead Citizens Advice Bureau

With funding for the first two floors of their resource centre already secured, Gateshead Citizens Advice Bureau is using their £490,000 grant to develop the remaining two floors of this new build. Once complete, a wide range of local third sector groups will be able to access services, and vital workspace including an incubation space and conference centre.

Angela Smith, Minister for the Third Sector said:

"I'm really pleased to be investing £2 million in redeveloping these four resource centres. Once completed they will provide vital community hubs that can be used by charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises to provide high quality services for their communities.”

Matt Leach, CEO of Capacitybuilders said:

“The Capital Investment Programme was launched by Capacitybuilders in 2008 to support the improvement and development of local third sector resources centres. Under the first two strands of the programme, 166 local resource centres across England have been awarded grants to make smaller scale improvements to their premises, helping to ensure that a wide range of frontline organisations have better access to better shared facilities and services within their local area.”

Volunteer Management Programme - skills development providers selected

Capacitybuilders today announced details of the four successful providers of skills development programmes under Strand C of the Volunteer Management Programme. This follows the assessment of expressions of interest received in January. The four providers are Skills – Third Sector, Voluntary Action Sheffield, Attend and Project North East.

Dave Conroy, National Programme Manager for Capacitybuilders said:

“Volunteers play a vital part in our society, not least during the current difficult economic times. It is essential that these dedicated people are properly managed and supported in their roles.

We are confident that those selected, understand the needs of volunteer managers and have the capacity and experience necessary to ensure a legacy of skilled and confident volunteer managers across a wide-range of volunteer-involving organisations.”

Under Strand C of the programme, individuals with volunteer management responsibilities will be able to apply to take part in a bursary funded skills development programme.

Skills development

Two skills development products will be available: the first will be targeted at those with operational responsibilities; the second will be targeted at those with a strategic role in volunteer management, including those in leadership positions.

Mark Freeman, Learning and Skills Manager from Skills - Third Sector commented:

“Skills Third Sector supports Capacitybuilders in its desire to link the training it is funding for Volunteer Managers to the National Occupational Standards. These standards were developed by practitioners in the sector and help to define the skills needed to be an effective manager of volunteers. As such, qualifications based on these will ensure that those on the courses are getting the skills that they need.”

Process

Access to bursary support will be coordinated nationally through a single online entry point, with assessment of suitability and delivery of programmes undertaken regionally under the management of the four approved providers.

Application opens in April

Full details of the bursary application process will be announced in March, ahead of it opening for application in April. Capacitybuilders is currently working closely with the selected providers to ensure ease of access to the scheme and to develop shared protocols for engaging with potential learners.

Meanwhile, interested parties should not contact providers directly; rather Capacitybuilders strongly advise registering for their regular e-bulletin to receive early notification of the bursary application process: http://capacitybuilders.org.uk/sign-updates

Evaluation reports on impact of early ChangeUp investment

Findings from the independent evaluation of ChangeUp - covering the initial funding period for the programme from April 2004 to March 2008 - show how the programme’s early focus on partnerships and greater collaboration contributed to a significant distance travelled in the way that third sector support services are organised.

This led to greater stability and resilience and opened up greater funding opportunities and influence.. The report also highlights high levels of satisfaction amongst users of local support services.

The evaluation, carried out by the Third Sector Research Centre, BMG Research, Guidestar Data Services and Sustain Consultancy, concludes that by the end of the first phase of ChangeUp investment, partnerships established at a local level in response to the ChangeUp programme had supported the development of better local relationships between third sector organisations and public agencies, leading to greater influence within local decision making.

However, the evaluation also identifies the need, going forward, for the programme to address different rates of progress in local partnerships, and to ensure improvements in partnership working contribute effectively to the development of services for local frontline third sector groups.

The report was published by Capacitybuilders this week and is available on the Improving Support website. It was overseen by an independent advisory panel - chaired by Danielle Walker Palmour – which also included representation from Charities Evaluation Services, OTS, the NAO and the Cities Research Centre.

Commenting on the report, Capacitybuilders’ Chief Executive Matt Leach said:

"The evaluation provides a valuable insight into the impact of the early years of ChangeUp investment, highlighting in particular significant improvements made in partnership and collaboration in the delivery of support at a local level. Effective partnership, joint working and collaboration will become increasingly important as demand for support services continues to increase against a background of tighter funding across the sector.”

Following publication of the evaluation of ChangeUp to March 2008, the evaluation will now shift to evaluating the progress of ChangeUp from April 2008 through to March 2011, and will publish further reports during 2010-11.