The Government is introducing a temporary new right to statutory unpaid Emergency Volunteering Leave via legislation currently going through Parliament. This does not apply to workers in firms with less than 10 staff. The Coronavirus Bill, which will be presented for its second reading on Monday, makes provision for workers to take up to four weeks unpaid leave with expenses covered by government. Read more
Many organisations are already asking how they can help during the Coronavirus outbreak. WLB are working with our partners in the public and non-profit sectors to assist with signposting members of the business community to where you can offer support. Read our briefing note on where you can direct your support in our seven boroughs of: Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hillingdon and Hounslow. Read our Community Action Briefing Note From Brompton Bike Hire to Frame, here are a few inspirational actions that the West London Business team has spotted from companies in response to Coronavirus. We hope these provide creative and timely inspiration as you reflect on how your firm can adapt your talents and capabilities to support those in need of support. Read more
We think funders should take a supportive and pragmatic approach to helping the organisations they fund throughout this period. Speak to your funders about the impact of cancelling or delaying project activities which are part of funding agreements. London Funders has released a joint statement, signed by an alliance of funders from across sectors, pledging to offer support to civil society groups affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The Association of Charitable Funders have encouraged funders to contact their grantees and discuss how they can best support them. Arts Council England will refocus grant programmes to support artists and freelancers who have lost income. The Blagrave Trust has written to grant holders to reassure them of their continued support and flexibility around awarded funding and how it can be used. In addition to signing the London Funders’ joint statement, the City Bridge Trust is promoting a survey from London Plus to assess the impact of covid-19 on London’s civil society. Esmée Fairbairn is offering flexibility with payments and reporting dates and is offering grants plus support. The Garfield Weston Foundation is continuing to support its grantees and will be as flexible as possible regarding projects and timelines. Good Finance has released a joint statement from social funders stating their continued support and flexibility for all the organisations that they invest in. JRF is focusing its efforts to support people on low incomes by working closely with people with direct experience of poverty and listening to their concerns. The National Lottery Community Fund will continue funds to support people, communities and organisations. Nesta will continue to support grantees and will be flexible if grantees need to stop work or change the work they are doing. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation are adjusting reporting requirements and/or suspending them. The UK Community Foundations is looking to coordinate its network of community foundations and partners to respond to the impact covid-19 will have on those they support. The William Grant Foundation has converted all existing revenue grants to unrestricted for the current year. In Scotland the Corra Foundation will continue to support grantees. The Community Foundation will offer emergency funding for community organisations in Northern Ireland to assist older people who have been affected by covid-19. Sourced from NCVO by Nigel Jacques, Sobus Organisational Development Officer
After a week of high-level discussions between charity leaders and national government, it’s sadly all too clear that amidst the COVID19 crisis our political leaders are not taking the threat to the charity sector and its millions of beneficiaries seriously enough. We must now mobilise every voice so that the message gets through loud and clear to all politicians, the press, and the public. If you’re feeling frustrated, scared, or just wondering what to do, don’t worry, you’re not alone! You can make a difference by putting that energy into action! Many charity infrastructure bodies have now put out guidance and assistance.
Sobus has received feedback from several organisations on service delivery and their concerns in the present COVID 19 crisis. Many organisations are having to scale down services for a variety of reasons whilst others are facing increasing demand. Most organisations will also face financial pressures during this period. Funding is obviously critical and funders are beginning to respond to this situation. The GLA and City Bridge have created an emergency fund for community and voluntary sector organisations. “The emergency scheme will be coordinated by London Funders and will be available to organisations facing immediate financial pressures and uncertainty because of the coronavirus. These include increasing demands for services, higher staff absences, fewer volunteers and lower donations.” More details will be available next week on the London Funders website: https://londonfunders.org.uk/ Sobus is also in contact with local funders and appraising them of the situation and will keep update local organisations on developments. There is also guidance for the Charity Sector from the government during the COVID crisis: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector Sobus would like local organisations where possible to forward any updates on services, or initiatives in addressing needs in the current situation.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has published information and guidance about coronavirus intended to help community and voluntary organisations and volunteers to decide next steps they may need to take in light of the spread of the covid-19 virus. Their page is updated daily with the latest government advice and what this means for voluntary organisations, as well as signposting to useful information from other organisations.
Grants of between £500 and £10,000 are now available to charities, CIC’s, CIO’s and voluntary organisations working for the benefit of communities or beneficiaries within the City of London and its housing estates across London. The Stronger Communities Fund is part of the City of London Corporation Central Grants programme and has been separated into the following sub-themes: Developing stronger neighbourhoods and communities; and promoting community health and wellbeing. There are two grant rounds a year and projects must be completed within a twelve-month period. The closing date for applications for the current funding round is the 24th April 2020. Click here
Working from home offers people more flexibility and were you a remote company, you could build a culture where people set their own hours and work at their own pace. However, under these circumstances, you may decide it is important that people maintain their normal office hours and are expected to be online and responsive within those hours. Make a plan — the first important thing now is to set aside time to come up with a plan if you haven’t already. If you don’t have a People team in situ, it’s a good idea to assign this transition to a small task force internally. Find a quiet space — ask your team to think carefully about where they will work, if at home. Do they have a room they can use as an office? Do they have access to a quiet space for calls? As schools are closed along with offices, having a quiet call at home will be challenging. Get IT support backup — you will need redundancy in case your current IT person is sick or just overrun. Prepare for at least two months of fully remote working — better to be over-prepared. Also address mission critical questions: – Can everyone login into everything? – Does your team know who to call if their device crashes? – Does your team have contact info for your Dedicated Customer Support person for the tools you’re using regularly? (e.g. at Zoom, Salesforce, etc.) – Does your team know how to forward calls to their mobile?