Blog
shanna.lennon
This week is Refugee Week, a nationwide programme of arts, cultural and community events, which brings people together to learn more about each other and recognise the massive contribution refugees make to society in the UK.
It is the perfect opportunity to welcome people to the city and celebrate the richness that refugees bring to our communities.
What can you do?
First, you…
Nigel Rose
I like stats and I like stories and I like it even better when the two are put together, because that’s where real richness is found.
Numbers without stories are often, in my experience, misinterpreted or misunderstood, whereas stories without numbers can lack force and are dismissed as anecdotal.
What I don’t like is when people prioritise stats over stories, and that happens all too often.…
michelle.foster
360Giving supports organisations to publish their grants data in an open, standardised way and helps people to understand and use the data to support decision-making and learning across the charitable giving sector.
On GrantNav: http://grantnav.threesixtygiving.org/ you can search, explore and download UK grant data from funders publishing open data to the 360Giving Standard, all for free.
We…
Nigel Rose
I went to Young Manchester’s Welcome Event a couple of evenings ago held at HOME. It was a positive and celebratory event with performances by a number of young people including beat boxing, singing and dancing, as well as the usual heartfelt speeches, the best of which (sorry to other speakers) was one by Saeed Atcha, founder of the magazine Xplode (an invitee to the royal wedding!). He is…
hayley.lightfoot
I attended some interesting training last week looking at new approaches and perspectives around volunteer retention.
There were seven key things that were identified as being important to do in order to engage with a volunteer (and hopefully retain them):
• Be flexible
Eg: Have more than one volunteering role. Make it easier for people to come back and volunteer again if they have to take…
Mike Wild
About a year ago, I wrote a blog which focused on the development of the Manchester Local Care Organisation. Its subtitle was Episode IV: A New Hope. Now that the LCO is officially launching on 1st April, I’m finding myself wondering what this moment actually means? And which bit of Star Wars is it?
Certainly it doesn’t signify the completion of a transformation programme and nobody would claim…
jack.puller
ICYMI: A little bit about the Active Communities Team at Macc:
The Active Communities work of Macc emerged in October 2017, and will develop the organisations approach to volunteering, active citizenship and asset based community development by being an enabler and partner to the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise sector through a collaborative, strategic approach.
This new team covers a…
aneeqa.javed
Have you heard about the new GPDR legislation that everyone is busy coming to terms with, coming into place on 25th May 2018? I thought I’d tell you a bit about how the new rules fit into the marketing and communication world and the practical things you can be implementing
I was quite taken aback by all the new rules and regulations that are coming into place, but actually looking at it…
jack.puller
A little over 2 weeks into the UK Spring, and I've yet to reach for the cleaning products...
That said, colleagues at Macc can attest to my hoovering up of a stress ball innards (mung beans), that I split open, after taking great pride in making it earlier in the week at a Celebration of Innovation Event for youth sector resources.
I also met with Kathryn from Manchester Cares who…
Mike Wild
"Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was “Oh no, not again”.
Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the Universe than we do now."
Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Minister for Civil Society has launched a ‘…
People/communities experiencing racial inequalities, Children and Families, Commissioning , Community Engagement, Crime and Disorder, Environment, Equalities, Faith, Health and Wellbeing, Homelessness, Learning, Skills and Employment, LGBTQIA+, Mental Health, Older People, Physical Disability, Policy and Influence, Social enterprise, Transgender, VCM, Volunteering, Young People, Other
claire.tomkinson
So I’ve got a question that I’m struggling with at the moment. It’s attracting some mixed views in the office, so let’s put it out there for a wider debate.
Why is it so often the case that the public sector’s answer to working with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector is to create a job and additional resources within the public sector?
Now don’t get me wrong, I totally agree…
Nigel Rose
This blog is going to seem really ungrateful but I know for sure I am not alone in this view.
I am a bit fed up of seeing another fund that gives out tiny grants.
I’ve just had a look at the Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Sir Robert McAlpine Construction Fund which is £20,000 in all, and is giving out “small” grants of £500 and “large” grants of £2,000. £2,000 is not a large grant, it’s a…