VANEL e-bulletin for 16th November 2018
Headlines
It’s Trustees’ Week all this week so we’ve got a bumper set of links, news and info for Trustees, Committee Members and Boards in this week’s e-bulletin.
We’re also moving into the run-up to Christmas now with events and fairs coming along. Come and meet the IGNITE team at the Cleethorpes Christmas Market this weekend. And if your organisation is running a Christmas event that you need promoting send the details, flyers and web links all through to editor@vanel.org.uk so we can include it in upcoming bulletins.
Diary Reminders
12th-16th Nov is Trustees’ Week
17th-18th Nov come and meet IGNITE at the Cleethorpes Christmas Market
19th Nov World Toilet Day and cake competition
23rd Nov IGNITE are supporting a football tournament
24th-25th Nov is the Christmas Fair at St Andrews Hospice
28th Nov next Volunteer Managers Network
30th Nov is the closing date for this round of the Young People’s Holiday Respite Fund
CARE need your toys donated for Toys for Joy before 7th Dec
8th Dec is Seaside Santa Grotto at Beach Hut 9 in Cleethorpes
13th Dec is the closing date for Crime Reduction Fund round 3
IGNITE news
Bake for bogs! On Monday 19th November, as part of World Toilet Day, the IGNITE team are holding a Toilet themed bake off competition to raise money for Toilet Twinning. 19th Nov is World Toilet Day and the IGNITE team will raise money in order to twin one of our office toilets to ensure someone in need has access to a proper latrine. If you want to donate a cake please feel free to pop it into the VANEL offices on Monday morning. If you’re not a baker you could drop us in a donation or get involved yourself in your own office or team. Find out more about Toilet Twinning and this important initiative here. Contact Kirsty in IGNITE for more information or come along and meet the team at the Cleethorpes Christmas Market at the Leisure Centre over the weekend.
Trustees’ Week special…
It’s Trustees’ Week! (12th-16th November), so I’ve got a few more bits of Governance news than normal this week. You can read an introduction to Trustees’ Week from the Charity Commission just here or visit the information page about Trustees’ Week here.
This year the themes for the week have been:
Diversity in trusteeship
What makes a good trustee
Supporting and recruiting trustees
VANEL has championed good trusteeship and governance for the past decade and we’re here to support, train, guide and advise trustees, committee members and boards. So this week, supporting Trustees’ Week and connecting to their themes, we’re encouraging people to find out about trusteeship and get involved (especially younger people!), we’re sharing resources and good guidance and offering training, we’re sharing local trustee opportunities and we’re launching a new way for local trustees to keep in touch with each and other and get better support. Here’s more thinking from NCVO on building a diverse board and attracting Trustees.
We’ve put together a training calendar of Governance and Trustee related training from November until January. Download it here. If you can’t make these dates or need something slightly different then please talk with us. Most of our training is normally delivered in a bespoke way anyway, so we can always see how we can tailor training to the needs of your board.
Trustee opportunities. VANEL always knows of trustee and committee member vacancies across our member organisations. So if you’re thinking you could volunteer your time to help steer a charity by becoming a Trustee then we need to hear from you so we can help put you in touch. We’ve always got groups on the lookout for Treasurers, but there are plenty of other Trustee opportunities too. And if you’re under 30 and are or are looking to be a Trustee then we’ll provide some training to you for free!
And of course, if your charity needs Trustees then also please let us know so that we can be on the lookout for the right people to join you.
I wrote an article earlier in the week about getting onboard as a trustee for the first time. It’s here. An if this is all new to you then you might want to sign up for one of our “Could I be a Trustee” sessions. These sessions give you a good introduction to the role so you can decide if it’s for you. Sessions are organised once enough people are interested and are usually free. Get in touch with Karl to find out more.
Resource of the week – currently free to download from NCVO as part of their Trustee’s Week offer – it’s their updated Governance Wheel. This is a practical tool to be used in conjunction with the Charity Governance Code and has recently been fully updated. Use it to evaluate your board governance capabilities and effectiveness and find a way to introduce improvements. The tool can be found here to download (and the Code is here). Want some help with this? We can provide a ‘Better Boards’ training session to your board or bespoke support. Again, contact Karl to discuss.
One theme coming out off the Trustees Conference last week was about Trustee behaviour and ethics. The news is that by the end of the year there will be new set of Ethics Principles shared with the sector to sign up to. We’ll watch out for these but you can still read the Ethics Code that was proposed earlier in the year here. This started the ball rolling. How’s your board for behaviour? Read more about other themes arising from the Trustees conference on the NCVO website here.
VANEL are starting a new online way of connecting the Trustees and Committee members across all VANEL Members and Friends. Our new online Trustee Network is free for our member organisations and is a place to learn more about leading charities together with your peers. We’re also going to be sending out our “View from the Top” monthly e-bulletin once again – a monthly summary of all the news and information shared in “Governance Weekly” and more. So encourage all the members of your board/committee to sign up. Go here, add your details to subscribe to the Trustee e-newsletter and also decide if you want to be given a login for the new private discussion space. Any more questions about this, please get in touch.
Did you remember to say thank you to all your Trustees this week? (There’s still time!). They are unpaid volunteers who have taken on a lot of responsibility specifically to help lead your organisation. It’s a tough world for Trustees out there and we all value their efforts. So make sure you say thanks! You can read about a couple of VANEL Trustees – Mandy and Lesley in a story we published recently just here. I also wrote an article last year about supporting your volunteer Trustees throughout their journey with your charity. Have a read of that here.
If you’re still considering a Trustee role (please do) then it might be good to hear from existing Trustees about why they do it and what they gain from the experience. There’s a set of stories just here and NCVO have published another one here.
A reminder that NCVO also published their Trustee Week special news roundup just here.
And if you’re already a well established Trustee and want to think a little bit deeper about the future for our sector and your own charity, then I’ll refer you back to a project that ACEVO ran around Trustees’ Week last year. They published “30 things to think about”. They are still available to view/read just here and they’re worth you visiting if you want to have something to think about in the build up to Christmas. Maybe something in here to provide you a New Year Resolution to take your Trustee role to the next level?
Any questions or issues around voluntary sector governance, leadership or trusteeship, please get in touch with me – Karl Elliott, karl@vanel.org.uk, 01472 361043.
Back to a normal “Governance Weekly” column in next week’s e-bulletin. Go sign up for our new “View from the Top” e-newsletter here or get in touch for a chat
Member news
St Andrews Hospice have a Volunteer Recruitment event taking place on 21st November at their Hub. The Hospice has ongoing need for volunteers so this is a chance to talk to existing volunteers, find out more and see if you could help out. 10am-2pm at the Hospice. Flyer with details here. Info on their website here.
YMCA Humber have just announced the appointment of their new CEO. Debbie Cook will be joining YMCA from 3rd December moving across from a current role at Seafish. Debbie, who lives near Louth, says: “I am honoured and absolutely thrilled to be joining YMCA Humber. I am incredibly passionate about the charity sector. I know that YMCA Humber already does some incredible work, supporting young people and their communities across the region. I am looking forward to working with the great team in place to build on current success and grow the work of the charity. To be part of an organisation that helps young people to fulfil their potential is a privilege and will be hugely rewarding. I can’t wait to be a part of that.” Watch the YMCA Humber website for more details.
Hold the date. YMCA Humber will be holding the next Sleep Easy event on 1st February 2019 and this will be the 10th Sleep Easy they’ve organised. All the details are here.
The West Marsh Community Centre organised Volunteer Awards are now closed for nominations and the awards evening will take place on Thursday 22nd November at Cue World in Grimsby. Well done to everyone who was nominated – you’re all valued for your volunteering efforts. Good luck for the evening. For tickets please contact Neil or Anita at the Community Centre.
Did you know that Humber & Wolds Rural Action delivers a Voluntary Car Service across Northern Lincolnshire, which helps people with genuine transport difficulties get to important appointments such as doctors, hospitals, dentists, clinics,support groups, local shops etc? All our drivers are volunteers and we now urgently need more. Therefore if you have some time to spare, please get in touch with Carole Foster on 01652 637700. Drivers must hold a valid driving licence and own their own car. All expenses are reimbursed. You can find out more about this service here.
Funding news
If you’re interested in European Funding then there is an ESF Calls Launch event taking place at Beverley Racecourse on Tuesday 20th November, 9.30am-2pm. All the details on eventbrite here.
A reminder that the Young People’s Holiday Respite Fund is still open for applications for another couple of weeks (until end of November). So if you have an idea of how to provide some respite to a young person then get in touch to find out about funding. All the information is here.
Local news
The LSCB have Criminal and Sexual Exploitation Level 2 (1day) training available on new dates of 10th Dec, 8th Feb, 26th March. Visit the website here for more information or make contact with them via learninganddevelopment@nelc.gov.uk.
The Friends of Cleethorpes Heritage group has closed its doors after many years. They have closed down gracefully, donating their assets and making final contributions to the Cleethorpes community. If you’ve ever come across this group then you might like to read their final letter to supporters here.
Reminders
Sector Support North East Lincolnshire have their Funding and Information Fair next week on Wed 21st November at Centre4. Details and booking information is here.
Santa will be at Beach Hut No 9 in Cleethorpes on 8th December. Details here. Bring the family. Any money raised will go to RNLI Cleethorpes.