Grant Still Available
If you are a Voluntary or Community Group based in Nottingham and require funding for a project, costing up to £7000, funds are still available. Contact Cathy White on 0115 934 8426. Time and money are running out, so you will need to be quick!

Key Criteria
Voluntary or Community group based in Nottingham.
Up to £5000 available for a project involving adults and £7000 for children or young people.

Raja’s view
Have confirmed with Cathy that the funds are still available. There is no cut off date, so contact as and when, but bear in mind, the money may run out!

Tender for Care and Housing Related Support Services for Older People
Leicester City Council Adults and Housing Department are seeking expressions of interest for organisations wishing to tender for care and housing related support services for older people who will be residing in an Extra Care Housing Scheme currently under construction. The initial contract is for 2 years which the option to extend a further 2 years.

Interested organisations are requested to apply in writing for a pre-qualification questionnaire which will need to be returned to the council by 12 noon on Friday 2nd March 2007. Organisations successful at the first stage will be invited in March 2007 to tender for this contract.

Written requests should be sent to:
Pradheep Gadhok Service Manager, Service Contracting and Procurement Unit, Adults and Housing Department, Leicester City Council, B Block 5th Floor, New Walk Centre, Welford Place, Leicester, LE1 6ZG.
Voluntary organisations seeking support with the pre-qualification questionnaire should contact June Gomes at Voluntary Action Leicester on 0116 257 5037 or via email at june@voluntaryactionleicester.org.uk

Key Criteria
You have to be a CSCI registered domiciliary care organisation. Expressions of interest to be in for 12 noon on Friday 2nd March 2007, which will be followed by the pre-qualification questionnaire.

Raja’s view
Seems straight forward and support is available on the pre-qualification questionnaire, however, for those lacking experience in tendering or those that find it to be a nerve-shattering experience should see article below ‘How to Win Tenders’.

How to Win Tenders
A series of workshops have been set up for organisations which hold contracts with and grants for publicly funded bodies such as Local Authorities, Boroughs, County, Metropolitan and District Councils, Supporting People, PCT’s Government Departments, etc.

The workshops are generic in nature and run by Tendering for Care of Derbyshire.
Next dates and venues are as follows:

Chesterfield 5th March
Bristol 12th March
Preston 15th March
York 26th March
London (Euston) 2nd April

Further detailed workshops on Tendering (for those with more experience) and e-procurement (purchasing and contact management by electronic means) are being run throughout the year.

The e-procurement course will look at the processes employed in e-procurement and e-auctions. Analysis of e-procurement online documentation and practice will also be incorporated.

For more details on above workshops, go to website:
http://www.tenderingforcare.com/how-to-win-tenders-workshops

Key Criteria
Who should attend? - those involved in preparing tenders, Senior managers, Finance
Managers and staff with contract procurement within
organisations

All workshops are morning sessions and cost £100 + VAT (£50 + VAT for TfC members)

The more detailed tendering workshops will cost £140 + VAT (TfC member £60 + VAT) and the e-procurement workshop at £160 + VAT (£60 + VAT for members)

Raja’s view
See website, as much of the information is there in far more detail, including booking forms, date and venues for the workshops mentioned briefly and details of what the courses will cover.

However, before sending your booking form for the workshops, it is important that you first ring to see if places are available. These workshops are filling fast and who knows, you may meet some competition at the workshop too…so hurry and get in first!

Future Builders Road show
Futurebuilders England is running a free regional road show in March. Futurbuilders England is the investment fund for the third sector, which offers tailor-made loan and grant finance packages to organisations that want to improve public services.

For the East Midlands, the event is going to be held at Derwent Stepping Stones, St Marks Road, Derby. DE21 6AH on 8th March 2007.
To book go to:
http://www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk/downloadfile.aspx?ID=121
Or you can contact Marianne or Amy on 0191 269 2850.

Raja’s view
The booking form is simple enough. You can also visit there website for details on loans and funding: www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk

Mediabox Young Peoples Fund
A new fund for young people, aged 13 – 19 has been launched, called Mediabox. The fund is managed by First Light Movies in partnership with the UK Film Council, Skill set and The Media Trust.

Individual grants are available for young people, with larger grants available for organisations wishing to engage young people and support them in creating their own media. All forms of media are eligible from print and photography, film and TV, to web, interactive and games.

For anyone interested, you can contact Anthony Thomas on 0115 950 0988, email: Antony.Thomas@em-media.org.uk
Website: http://www.media-box.co.uk/

Key Criteria
Specifically focussed on young people aged 13 – 19.

Raja’s view
Take a look at their site or for more information, contact Antony, who I’m sure will be happy to help.

Connecting Communities Plus
Community Development Foundation (CDF) have announced the launch of round 2 of a grants scheme for local communities on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to increase race equality and community cohesion within their own communities. The £1 million fund is aimed at a local level and CDF believes local communities are in an excellent position to work with other to improve their own situation.

The grants scheme, Connecting Communities Plus, Community Grants, welcomes applications from small, locally run and managed voluntary and community organisations, often run by volunteers, who want to improve opportunities for people locally and to improve relations between people of different ethnic and/or faith backgrounds. The funds are available to groups/organisations in England.

Guidance notes and application forms are available to download from www.cdf.org.uk
If you wish to discuss the fund with anyone, you can call 01223 400343 or email ccplus@cdf.org.uk

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 29TH MARCH 2007.

Key Criteria
The Fund has four key priorities derived from 'Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society', the Government strategy to increase race equality and community cohesion:
A. Improving the experience of people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds in relation to access to and outcomes from public services - education, employment, health, housing and the Criminal Justice System.
B. Increasing the confidence of people from BME backgrounds that public services are delivered in a fair and equitable way.
C. Tackling racism and extremism.
D. Bringing together communities from different races and faiths, and promoting a shared sense of belonging (community cohesion).
Priorities B and C were undersubscribed in the first round and CDF are particularly interested to fund projects that contribute to these priorities in the second round.

Raja’s view
See website for guidance notes and further information. Very useful fund and given the current environment, it seems as if the work may really be needed.

ESF Co-financing East Midlands BME Community Empowerment Project
Funding is available for individually tailored capacity building support for small user-led BME community groups or individuals, based in the East Midlands, to empower them to develop their sustainability and address their barriers and those of their users with regards to participating in learning, and mainstream economic and employment activities.

Funding will be made available for groups/projects to initiate user-led, fully costed and evaluated activities that are designed to stimulate the engagement of users/the target group in learning, in community and social enterprises and the labour market.

There is no cut off date and the project is scheduled to run until March 2008. For further details or for applications to join the programme, contact Tony Palmer, Project Manager, ACDA, New Brook House,
385 Alfreton Road, Nottingham, NG7 5LR.
Email: tony.palmer@palmerassociates.co.uk

Key Criteria
The project will support groups or projects working with beneficiaries of BME origins, in the Community Economic Development Wards across the East Midlands who are user-led and understand the needs of their local community or community of interest.

The groups and projects supported will target disadvantaged BME beneficiaries and will be user-led including:
• people with severe basic skills needs
• long term unemployed without any qualifications, lacking confidence and self esteem
• including people for whom English is a second language
• refugees
• people with a disability or health problems
• people recovering from alcohol and drug abuse
• homeless people
• people who have completed a custodial sentence
• carers
• people with mental health difficulties
• people living in isolated rural communities.