The fourth Love West Norfolk day will be marked on Sunday 14th February – and this year, it’s an opportunity for everyone in the area to say: ‘thanks west Norfolk’.
There are definite benefits to registering as a charity, not least of which is credibility when applying to potential funders. Making your case to the Charity Commission needs to be done in an organised and planned way.
We hope that you will join us during our virtual 2020 Norfolk VCSE Annual Conference, as we deliver a series of free sessions that will provide inspiration, be thought provoking and practically useful for a wide range of VCSE organisations. It will also be a valuable opportunity to share experiences, particularly given the difficult times we have all been adapting to this year.
The newly formed West Norfolk VCSE Hub provides an excellent mechanism for sharing best practice and opportunities for joined-up thinking. It was established to support discussions about key issues for the voluntary sector and public services in West Norfolk, the aim being to help other sectors work with VCSE organisations to ensure that the people of West Norfolk get the best support and services possible.
CAN has always maintained that it is important to share collected experience, wisdom and skills, and collaborate where possible. It is equally important to be able to present all that expertise to key funders and decision-makers in the public sector, and regionally and, ultimately, at national level.
Creative Arts East’s normal activity with vulnerable people focuses on face to face arts, music and dance sessions. These events were unable to take place as a result of Covid-19. Some organisations took activities online. However, many of Creative Art East’s clients suffered from Dementia and online options were unlikely to be effective. Instead creative activity packs were developed with themes from Egyptian dance to creative writing. These could be sent out by post and provided a range of activities that could be done alone or with carers.
The VCSE sector is hard-pushed financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. In previous articles we have looked at how the financial challenges require many of us to explore new ways of fund-raising and generating income – and perhaps turn those challenges into opportunities. In this article we will be exploring an option new to many – Social Investment.
The Arts and Culture sector is an important element in the VCSE fraternity, in the context of community engagement and outreach, and addressing local health issues such as social isolation and loneliness. Natalie Jode, Executive Director at Creative Arts East, has seen the impact of the pandemic on operational capability and capacity across the county.