Community & Voluntary Service is Your CVS

Welcome to Your Gateway to the Voluntary & Community Sector in Bedford Borough &  North Central Bedfordshire

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

The Aim of CVS is therefore to support, promote, develop and enable the local voluntary sector to provide 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

New

New Leaflet

• Community & Voluntary Service - What we do? - download this new leaflet and find out what CVS can offer your organisation

Newsletter

• Beds-Spread - June 2010

Bedfordshire & Luton Compact Consultation

• A Consultation Draft of a new Compact for Bedfordshire and Luton is now available. The Bedfordshire and Luton Compact is the agreement between local statutory organisations and the voluntary and community sector to improve and develop their relationship for the benefit of the communities they serve...more info
  
  The closing date for receipt of your views and comments is 24th September 2010.

ICT

• ICT - our new ICT page details resources that may assist your organisation, including details of the new ICT help desk for the Eastern Region and how embracing social media may assist your organisation.

Personalisation

• Personalisation Agenda - personalisation means that services are designed and delivered from the starting point of individuals’ needs and wishes, instead of individuals having to fit into existing services. Personalisation represents a cultural shift of seismic proportions for many third sector organisations in Bedfordshire. Our new page aims to keep you up to date with developments and training opportunities.

Sustainable Funding Guide

• Don't put all your eggs in one basket! Bedfordshire's Sustainable Funding Guide - helping your organisation diversify your funding streams

ConsortiCo Ltd

• ConsortiCo Ltd - 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 - visit their new website at www.consortico.com

Forthcoming Events

• Volunteering Open Day - Tuesday 3rd August 2010
• Bedford Borough Third Sector Assembly - Tuesday 21st September 2010
• Bedfordshire Refugee & Asylum Seekers Support AGM - Wednesday 29th September 2010
• Central Bedfordshire Third Sector Assembly - Tuesday 23rd November 2010

Find Out More....

Vacancies

• Goldington & Putnoe Children's Centres - Family Work Co-ordinator - Deadline: Friday 13 August 2010

• IT Can Help - Area Organiser (Beds, Bucks & Herts - Voluntary Role) & County Co-ordinator (Voluntary Role)

Find Out More....

Training

CVS offers a comprehensive calendar of training for voluntary and community groups in Bedford Borough & North Central 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 2010/11 visit our Training Page.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

• Risk Assessment - Thursday 16th September 2010
• Tendering for Success - Tuesday 28th September 2010
• Support and Supervision of Staff - Tuesday 5th October 2010
• Introduction to Marketing - Thursday 14th October 2010
• Managing Redundancies - Tuesday 2nd November 2010
• Making a Good Funding Application - Wednesday 3rd November 2010

Fit for Funding Workshops

• Wednesday 8th September (evening)
• Saturday 2nd October (morning)
• Monday 1st November (morning)
• Thursday 2nd December 2010 (evening)

Demonstrating Need and Understanding Outcomes

• Tuesday 12th October (evening)

Find Out More.... 

Third Sector Assemblies

The new Third Sector Assemblies for Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire launched on 23rd March 2010 and 3rd February 2010 respectively. Presentations from those events are now online.

Find Out More.... 

ICT

On our ICT webage we aim to keep you up-to-date with what’s going on in our county, regional and nationally. You can find details of the new Regional ICT Helpdesk, the Regional ICT Champion for the Eastern Region, Knowledgebase, How the use of Social Media could benefit your organisation and details of other useful ICT resources.

Find Out More.... 

Community Noticeboard

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

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....

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.