Book your place at a workshop where you can:

• Find out what training and funding is available
• Complete the application form (with help from an advisor)
• Have your success confirmed by the end of the workshop

Book now, only 15 places available on each workshop

Thursday 25th June, 10 am - 1 pm

Poringland Community Centre, Overtons Way, Poringland, NR14 7WB

Thursday 2 July, 10 am - 1 pm

Voluntary Norfolk, 83-87 Pottergate, Norwich, NR2 1DZ

Thursday 9 July, 10 am - 1 pm

North Norfolk District Council Offices, Holt Roa,d Cromer, NR27 9EN

For more information about the Leadership and Management programme, please call Liz Reed on 0779783018 or email liz.reed@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk

*If organisation has between 5 and 249 staff (paid or unpaid)

The World is Changing - are you?

Join SEEE - Meeting the challenge of change

Conference and AGM on 9th July 2009, Newmarket Racecourse.

Members may book up to 3 places free of charge.  Places for non-members are £50 per place.

Workshops will be running in the morning and afternoon and will include:

Catch them young - Growing the next generation of entrepreneurs

Dragons or Unicorns? - Working in partnership with the private sector

Enterprise for all - Enagaging BAME and other groups

Going for Growth - Scaling up your enterprise

Social impact measurement - Proving your worth

On your marks - Social enterprise in 2012 London Olympics

The creative way to regenerate - Entrepreneurs in the creative sector

To CIC or not to CIC? - Theory and practice on Community Interest Companies

Delegate booking forms available online at http://www.seee.co.uk/agm

Each delegate to fill out a seperate form.

Norfolk RCC Training Sessions Upcoming In Spring 2009

Play Equipment Inspection Course 24th April 2009 9.30am-1pm

Forthcoming training on carrying out routine inspections of play equipment. Learn what to look for when inspecting play equipment and how to record your findings. Training will be held in our Dereham office, with a visit to a nearby play site and will be suitable for those volunteers managing Play Spaces: Village Halls, Playing Fields and Parish and Town Councils. For further details see-link to our current training program

Free Legal Advice for Community Groups

LawWorks for Community Groups provides quality legal advice to those in the voluntary sector – free of charge! Thanks to a national network of volunteer lawyers, free business law advice can be provided to community groups, small charities and social enterprises who do not have funds to pay for legal fees.

LawWorks for Community Groups can help with a wide variety of legal matters, including:

• Company law: (such as advice on commercial contracts; how to incorporate as a company; updating and amending the organisation’s Articles of Association etc.); • Employment law: drafting, reviewing and updating employment contracts and staff handbooks. • Intellectual property law: advice on registering a trademark and data protection issues. • Property law: advice on lease terms; assistance with negotiating tenancy agreements. • Other areas advice is available on include: charity law matters; tax/VAT matters; insolvency and help in drafting contingency plans; insurance law matters; health and safety law matters; general commercial matters etc.

To apply, please visit the LawWorks website http://www.lawworks.org.uk and complete the online application form under the “Charities” section.

Applications are reviewed by the Community Groups team who will help organisations understand the scope of advice that they require. They will then select the right volunteer lawyer for the case and put you in contact with them. All of the volunteer lawyers treat these cases just as they would treat ones for which they have been paid. It really is that simple!

Any questions? Please call The Community Groups team on 020 7929 5601 or email lcg@lawworks.org.uk.

Grassroots Grants

Norfolk Community Foundation has £1.1m to distribute before 2011. If your community group or project needs money to meet a local community need, you can apply for up to £5,000. The only requirements are that the group must be largely volunteer led, have a formal constitution and bank account, been active for more than a year and have an income of less than £30,000 per year. For more information please telephone 01603 623958 or email info@norfolkfoundation.com or download an application form from http://www.norfolkfoundation.com

http://www.norfolkfoundation.com/grant/app_pack.htm

Free Adult Education Courses

Update your maths and english skills for free, gain confidence and a national qualification at level 1 or 2. Most courses are held in Adult Education Centres, village halls, community centres or other centres near you, offering daytime, evening and weekend courses.

Choose the skills you need to improve such as spelling, reading, form filling, fractions, decimals or handling money.

For further information or details of local courses please contact your local office or visit http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/adulteducation

Parish Plans get thumb's up from communities

A study into the effectiveness of parish and town plans in Broadland, carried out by Broadland District Council and Norfolk Rural Community Council, has shown the commitment and enthusiasm of Broadland’s communities for identifying and addressing their own needs.

However, the report also shows that there are certain aspects of producing a parish or town plan that need more forethought, resources and commitment from other organisations. Click here for more information.

Services2gether Feasibility Report Published

Click here for more information

Community play and recreation guide launched

Many communities own or manage open green spaces for use by their residents for a whole range of activities such as sport, play or gardening. These recreation grounds provide a valuable resource for the community but impose demands on local volunteers regarding their management.

In order to help communities with their important work, the Rural Community Councils in the East of England(RCCs) have developed support workshops and information for managers of community play and recreation facilities.

The toolkit can be found on the Rural Action East website (the regional body for the RCCs in the Eastern Region) under the projects section.

Or by clicking here to look at the section on information for playing fields and playgrounds

Post Office Closures

March 26th was Decision day for the announcement of Post Office Closures across the County. NRCC has reacted with surprise at a number of the decisions that have taken place and has attended public meetings to explain what communities should be doing to make their case to save their Post Office. We have until June 2nd when the consultation period ends and closure decisions become final.

The NRCC is working with District Councils and the County Council to co-ordinate action.

If you feel that your Post Office should not be closed and wish to fight the decision, then contact Peter Smith 01362698216

1000 Days to the Next Round Of Closures The latest subsidy expires in 2011, NRCC outlines its fears for the future of our communities, unless we take action NOW Open Letter On The Future Of Post Offices In Norfolk

In Kind Direct

In kind direct redistributes products left over from business practices to those charities that can benefit from such items. They have recently announced that they will no longer require an annual registration fee meaning charities only pay the handling and transport costs of goods received. Therefore if you haven't before go to http://www.inkinddirect.org and save some money for your organisation.

Signpost

Norfolk Rural Community Council publishes a bi-monthly e-bulletin called 'signpost' which contain information and advice on rural issues. To view the most recent copy of signpost as well as back issues click here

Reports and Press Releases

Below are links to a number of recent reports and press releases detailed in pages on this site. A full list can be found by looking and the research and reports category on the community insight section of this website

• Community energy initiatives: Embedding sustainable technology at a local level: A study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, of community renewable energy projects in Britain has found that so far, projects are largely based in the countryside, some quite remote. click here for link to main report 15:23, 3 August 2007 (BST)

• Carnegie Commission Calls for New Agenda for Rural Assets and Services The Carnegie UK Trust's new report calls for more rural communities to take control of their own local assets and services. The Carnegie Commission for Rural Community Development’s report calls for assets ranging from housing, renewable energy supplies and sports clubs to be managed at a local level. The report also calls for a greater role for networks such as rural stress helplines, debt counselling and support groups for older people, which constitute ‘social’ assets.

• Migrants, integration and local neighbourhoods Three reports published 29th May by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have examined the effects of migration to Britain.

• Government Issues Response To Post Office Consultation Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling has confirmed that 2,500 post offices in rural and urban areas will be closing. The NRCC aims to support communities who lose their Post Office, contact us for more information.

• The Quirk Review findings on community asset management and ownership was published on May 15th and basically blows away many resistances to the transfer of public assets to community ownership.

• The Commission for Rural Communities have published a report looking at the effects of cash purchases for housing in rural areas. This report strengthens the need to address the problems that local people are faced with regarding housing needs in rural areas. NRCC has a dedicated team of Affordable Housing Enablers contact us for more details.

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Please date all entries so that they can be removed when they are no longer relevent and post in the following format. Want more information? Why not look at our user guide.

Name of Community - Venue

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FULLY FUNDED TRAINING COURSES IN NORFOLK

The following courses are designed for Voluntary groups/ Charities and Social Enterprises and delivered by The Guild.

Exploring Your Idea

Whether you are thinking of setting up your own organisation or taking your existing one to the next level, this one-day course will enable you to explore your idea and examine ways to turn it into reality. OCN accreditation available.

Dates and venues:

Friday 24th April 2009, Great Yarmouth

Thursday 18th June 2009, Kings Lynn

Understanding and Starting a Social Enterprise

This is a one-day course introducing the world of Social Enterprise. You will learn what a Social Enterprise is and what makes it different from other businesses. Topics include Social Enterprise structures and legal and financial issues.

Dates and venues:

Monday 11th May 2009, Great Yarmouth

Friday 10th July 2009, Kings Lynn

Finances and Funding for a Social Enterprise

This one-day course will provide you with an understanding of the basic finances of running a Social Enterprise.

Dates and venues:

Monday 27th April 2009, Kings Lynn

Friday 3rd July 2009, Great Yarmouth

Money Management

This 5 day course takes place over 30 hours of training and helps you to learn the language of finance, plan how to meet future money needs and strategies for improving cash flow. OCN accreditation available.

The course will take place in Norwich on the following dates:

Friday 1st May 2009

Friday 8th May 2009

Friday 15th May 2009

Friday 22nd May 2009

Friday 29th May 2009

Preparing a Business Plan

Preparing a Business Plan takes place over 15 hours of training and helps participants to write a business plan for their own project or organisation. OCN accreditation available.

The course will take place in Norwich on the following dates:

Monday 15th June 2009

Monday 22nd June 2009

Monday 29th June 2009

Project Management

This 3 day course enables participants with an idea for a Social Enterprise, or any type of organisation in the social economy / voluntary sector, to carry out a feasibility study to create pathways to ensure its success. OCN accreditation available.

The course will take place in Norwich on the following dates:

Friday 11th September 2009

Friday 18th September 2009

Friday 25th September 2009

All the above courses are fully funded through Seamless Support to any individual or group based in Norfolk. Outside Norfolk £75 + VAT per person per day (please note Exploring Your Idea is only available for participants based in Norfolk).

For more information please visit The Guild website [http://www.the-guild.co.uk ] where you can also download a booking form. Alternatively email us on services@the-guild.co.uk or call 01603 615200.

TELECLUB VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Are you a sociable person who enjoys a chat on the phone? Do you want to help your community but have limited time? By giving a short amount of time you can volunteer for Teleclub chatting to our members from the comfort of your own home at times which suits you.for more information phone 01603 785 261 and make a real difference to someones life.

One to one counselling - at a special rate!

Soul Journey - Inner Space, Norwich

Date/Time: Ongoing by appointment

One to one counselling offered by diploma students who have reached a point in their training where they are considered, by their tutor, ready to offer counselling. They will receive regular supervision, as all counsellors are expected to do.

Cost: £8 initial assessment, subsequent sessions £6

For further information or to book a session contact:

Anita Martin Telephone: 01603 502228
Email: souljourney@freeuk.com

For information on our events, courses and workshops, including counselling training, please visit our website:

http://www.souljourneyonline.co.uk