Community and Voluntary Service - Mid and North Bedfordshire Voluntary Works - A consortium of umbrella voluntary organisations providing a wide range of services across Bedfordshire & Luton


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Greetings from the CVS

Community & Voluntary Service is Your CVS

Welcome to Your Gateway to the Voluntary & Community Sector in Mid &  North Bedfordshire

Community & Voluntary Service (CVS) is an umbrella organisation that supports and represents the interests of voluntary organisations, community groups and charities in Mid & North Bedfordshire.

The Towns of Bedford, Kempston & the villages of North Beds, together with the Market Towns (Ampthill, Biggleswade, Flitwick, Potton, Sandy, Shefford & Stotfold) & villages of Mid Beds, have a thriving range of independent groups working to make our community and surroundings a better place for all who live and work here. A truly vibrant voluntary sector of over 2000 groups!

The Aim of CVS is therefore to support, promote, develop and enable Mid & North Bed's voluntary sector in providing effective services to meet the needs of local people.

Please explore the pages of our website to find out how we can assist your group in achieving your aims

What's New

New

Funding Fayre 2009

  • Funding Fayre 2009 - view images & reports from the event that took place on Wednesday 17th June 2009 at Bedford Corn Exchange & was attended by 225 people. In case you were unable to make the day you can also download copies of the presentations from the workshops.

ConsortiCo Ltd

  • ConsortiCo Ltd - launched at the Funding Fayre 2009 - find out about this new initiative that provides a 'vehicle' to allow local third sector organisations to form consortia to compete effectively in securing public service contracts

Newsletter

Recession Resources

Our new Recession Resources Page aims to provide all the latest available resources so your organisation can weather the current economic downturn. Resources include:

  • ‘Surviving the Downturn’ - from National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
  • ‘Recession Support Portal’ - from the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO)
  • ‘Recession Resources and Support’ - from the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA)
  • 'Responding to a funding cut' - from the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA)
  • 'Helping charities through the Economic Downturn' - from the Charity Commission, including 'The Economic Downturn - 15 Questions Trustees need to ask'
  • 'Managing financial difficulties and insolvency in charities' - from the Charity Commission
  • 'Managing the Workforce in a Recession' - from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)
  • 'Fundraising Healthcheck' - from the Institute of Fundraising
  • 'Early Warning Guide' - from Development Trusts Association
  • 'Charities Aid Foundation financial crisis helpline' - 0800 980 2000   
  • 'Surviving the Recession - Free Support' - from the Cranfield Trust
  • ‘Real Help for Communities Modernisation Fund' - the The Government’s £16.5 million fund will help third sector organisations be more resilient to the impact of the economic downturn. Resources include bursaries & loans

Visit our Recession Resources Page to learn more

Forthcoming Events

  • HULA Animal Rescue - Children's Open Day - Sunday 12th July 2009
  • Elstow Cricket Club Ashes (in aid of Cancer Research) - 25th/26th July 2006

Find Out More....

Vacancies

  • Voluntary & Community Action (based in Leighton Buzzard) - Funding Adviser - Deadline: 16th July 2009
  • Voluntary & Community Action (based in Leighton Buzzard) - Volunteering Adviser - Deadline: 16th July 2009
  • Youth at Work UK - Policy and Networks Officer - Deadline: 23rd July 2009
  • Bedford Citizens Advice Bureau - Book Keeper

Find Out More....

Training

CVS offers a comprehensive calendar of training for voluntary and community groups in Mid & North Bedfordshire, especially for groups seeking training on Fundraising, Quality/Best Practice and Procurement/Trading. To find out more about our programme of training opportunities for 2008/9 visit our Training Page.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

  • Fundraising and the Law - Tuesday 15th September
  • Getting Tender Ready - Tuesday 29th September
  • Project Management - Thursday 1st October

Find Out More.... 

Fit for Funding Workshops

CVS is running a series of FREE funding workshops to help meet the demand from groups for funding and development advice and guidance. Each workshop will take place at our offices at 43 Bromham Road in Bedford. Here are the forthcoming dates:  

  • Thursday 1st October 2009 (evening)
  • Saturday 31st October 2009
  • Tuesday 1st December 2009

Demonstrating Need and Understanding Outcomes

This workshop will build on the skills you gained from the Fit for Funding workshop and will:

  • explain how to identify and explain need for your work
  • define aims, outcomes, targets and milestones

Through using practical examples and an interactive workshop we aim to make sense of some of the most common problems groups have when making funding applications.

  • Monday 21st September 2009

If you would like to attend one of the workshops please contact Kayleigh Brennan on 01234 354366 or e mail kayleigh@yourcvs.org 

Find Out More.... 

Consultations

  • Bedfordshire Survey of Voluntary & Community Organisations
  • Beds Voice Panel
  • What Happens When Your Computer Breaks Down? - What are your groups ICT Needs? - Results

Find Out More....

Newsletter

Beds-Spread Newsletter

Beds- Spread - The CVS Newsletter

Here at CVS we like to keep our members up-to-date with what is happening in the voluntary sector and so we produce Beds-Spread, our newsletter, every 6 weeks. You can download a copy of the latest Beds-Spread or previous editions by visiting the Beds-Spread page of our website.

Community Noticeboard

Mid & North Beds Community Notice Board

Mid & North Beds Community Notice Board

Any groups working to develop and promote local voluntary and community activity in Mid or North Bedfordshire can post notices on the Community Notice Board Page. This may include your organisations Job Vacancies, Items for Sale, details of your upcoming events. Please email details to info@yourcvs.org

Fundraising

CVS Mid and North Beds Fundraising Toolkit

Fundraising Toolkit

This toolkit was launched at the 2007 Funding Fayre on 14th June & has been produced for use by local voluntary and community groups and it provides useful information on sources of funding from both local and national sources, information sheets on a variety of different subjects including how to make a good application, budgeting, a jargon buster, A – Z of fundraising ideas, and a guide to useful resources. It will be regularly updated.

The individual chapters can be downloaded from this website. More details.....

Development Work

Safeguarding Children Resource Pack

Safeguarding Children Resource Pack for Bedfordshire

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A Safeguarding Children Resource Pack is now available to download from this site that includes:

  • How to Compile a Safeguarding Resource Pack
  • A Model Safeguarding Policy
  • A Model Logging Concerns Sheet
  • A Model Safeguarding Children Procedure
  • A Model Designated Safeguarding Children Champion Specification
  • Guidance for a Code of Conduct for Staff and Volunteers
  • Guidance for Staff and Volunteer Selection and Training
  • Guidance on the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Procedure

For more details and to download the Resource Pack visit our Safeguarding Children Page.

Information Sheets

CVS - Mid & North Beds have produced a series of Information Sheets to assist you in the development of your organisation. The topics covered include:

  • Starting a New Voluntary or Community Group;
  • Attaining Charitable Status (including a Summary of the New Charities Act 2006);
  • Governance Issues;
  • Policies; Finance Issues;
  • Development/Business Planning;
  • Quality Assurance;
  • Employing Staff;
  • Managing Volunteers;
  • Publicity;
  • Holding Events;
  • Managing Information;
  • Accessibility Issues.

Please visit Information Sheets page to access these resources.

Get On Board - The Trustee Recruitment CampaignGet on Board - Recruiting New Trustees Campaign

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93% of voluntary & community sector trustee boards have between one & five vacancies. Is yours one of them? Get on Board by visiting our Get on Board page to find out more. You will also find a number of useful information sheets that will assist you in recruiting new trustees. These information sheets include:

  • What is involved in becoming a Trustee?
  • A Trustee ‘Job Description’
  • A Trustee Person Specification
  • A Trustee Skills Audit
  • A Trustee Code of Conduct
  • A Trustee Declaration
  • A Trustee Board - Terms of Reference
  • Recommended Documents for Inclusion in a Trustee Induction Pack
  • A Recommended Trustee Induction Procedure

Beds & Luton Compact

We are seeking your views on how to take the Beds & Luton Compact forward in the County. Visit our Compact page to find out more and how exactly your organisation can help.

How the Voluntary Sector can play their part in Tackling Climate Change

Find out how your organisation can play a part in reducing global warming, as part of the new 'Every Action Counts' campaign for the voluntary sector. You can also discover some of the local and national schemes that will be of relevance to you in reducing your organisations 'carbon footprint'. More Details....

Reports

We aim to bring you published reports of relevance to the Voluntary & Community Sector in Mid & North Bedfordshire. At the moment these include: The 'Strong Communities' Report & The 'State of the Sector 2006' Report. Essential reading for those with an interest or involvement in the local voluntary & community sector!

 
Volunteering Opportunities
do-it.org.uk - want to volunteer? Enter your town or postcode:

It could not be easier to find out about Volunteering Opportunities in Mid and North Beds. Just enter the name of your town, village or postcode in the Do-It Search Box and press the find-it button and you will be shown details of the volunteering opportunities in your area. Also, visit The Volunteer Centre Bedford website.

Volunteer Centre Bedford

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Community and Voluntary Service, 43 Bromham Road, Bedford, MK40 2AA
Tel: 01234 354366  Fax: 01234 347503  Email: info@yourcvs.org
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