The essential newsletter for voluntary and community groups in Devon

promoting and providing technical and practical support

Issue 5, April 2015

MARKETING EDITION

DeVA Partners are

Regular Features:

DeVA Update, Voluntary Sector News, Funding Extra, Voluntary Voice Update,

Organisational Matters and Volunteering Extra

De

VA

UP

DA

TE

We're building vibrant, healthy communities.

News and Update 2

Don’t forget we offer help, advice, training and support to the voluntary and community sector across Devon and support the engagement of the sector in having a powerful voice.

Any non-for-profit group based in, or delivering services in, Devon can access the services we provide so why not get in contact and see how we can help you!

Exciting New Contact for DeVA in partnership with Westbank

We are excited to announce DeVA as partner to the successful tender

for the Voluntary Sector Representation within the Community Health

and Social Care Teams (used to be called Complex Care Teams).

DeVA joined forces with Westbank Community Health and Care to bid

for the contract which was put out to tender by Devon County Council

in January 2015 and we are pleased to announce that the partnership,

led by Westbank, has been awarded the contract for delivery across

Devon with a start date of 1st April 2015.

The partnership's intention in delivery of this contract is to maintain the focus on frontline

engagement of the voluntary and community sector (VCS) representatives. Westbank will take

responsibility for contracting with local VCS representatives whilst DeVA's role, led by Teignbridge

CVS, will be to provide the co-ordination, training and development of representatives and to

provide opportunities for representatives to engage with the health and social care sector that they

work with.

Westbank have contacted all existing VCS representative organisations to continue with the delivery

of this role until the 30th April 2015. The month of April will see Westbank work with these groups

to set out the terms and conditions for representation longer term, establish robust monitoring

systems and performance criteria. For DeVA, April will provide us the opportunity to ensure robust

co-ordination is in place across the localities, establish our monitoring systems and further establish

working arrangements with Westbank.

For more information please email us at support@devonva.org

De

VA

UP

DA

TE 3

Our conference last year was a big success and we are planning for this year to be even better!

More than 140 people attended last year with 91% saying the speakers and networking opportunities

were good or very good and 87% of delegates rating the workshops good or very good.

Watch this space for news on our fantastic annual conference

coming in the Autumn!

DeVA Business Development Strategy 2014-2017

DeVA’s core purpose is to build vibrant and healthy communities across Devon. We do this by

supporting voluntary and community groups in a wide range of ways specific to individual

organisational needs. Despite continued pressures on funding and rising demand for our services,

DeVA is proud that we and our CVS members continue to deliver high quality support.

By working together as DeVA; we have maintained (and enhanced) our services through more efficient

use of resources, but there is more we can do. We have therefore; developed a new Business

Development Strategy for 2014-2017. It has been produced to ensure we secure a sustainable future

for the invaluable support we provide to you, the voluntary sector, thus allowing you to continue to

make the biggest possible impact on your local communities.

It has four strategic aims:

Explore alternative and innovative sources of core funding

over the medium term.

£ £ £ £

Identify and implement further efficiency savings.

Diversify our income to work with partners to address

unmet needs in Devon communities.

Secure continued core funding to enable us to work for

the benefit of VCS groups and organisations in Devon

For more information on our Business Development Strategy including more details on our four

strategic aims please visit www.devonva.org/about_us

SEC

TOR

NEW

S 4

Social Value Act 2013

In our last newsletter (January 2015), we

highlighted the scope of the Social Value Act

2013 which was designed to improve the

social and environmental impact of services.

Even though the Act is already changing the

public service landscape in the UK, the

Government has published the results of the

review undertaken in November 2014.

Lord Young of Graffham, who conducted the

review, said that although awareness of the

act is growing, incorporation of social value

across the whole public sector appears to be

“relatively low” and there is “inconsistent

practice” among public bodies about how

they apply the act.

Main points:

better measuring and quantifying of

social outcomes in needed

the Act should not be extended to

goods and works

it should not be made mandatory for

commissioners of public services to take

the Act into account

Cabinet Office needs to do more to

promote understanding, awareness and

take-up of social values across public

sector and business

The review also concluded that an amendment to

the act is needed to reflect the recent changes to

EU procurement law.

The changes to the EU procurement law has seen

the threshold for contracts raised from €134,000

(£99,000) to €750,00 (£556,000) for contracts

offered by central government and €207,000

(£153,00) for other public bodies. See Funding

Extra page X for more information.

The review states this had led to an “unwelcome

side effect” where the act will no longer apply to

the majority of public service contracts, and the

minister for the Cabinet Office has been asked to

enact an amendment to the act.

The full review can be downloaded at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/

social-value-act-review

See Funding Extra (page 11) for a voluntary sector

guide to social value and commissioning.

SECTO

R N

EWS

5

Pre-Election Budget Highlights

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has delivered his

last budget (18 March 2015) before the general election which

included a number of measures aimed at the voluntary and

community sector. Here are some of the announcements which

will impact the sector:

Department for Communities and Local Government budget for local government will be cut

from £13.7 billion to £10.5 billion by 2015/16.

Cabinet Office’s budget to be reduced by a further £200 million - directly affecting the Office for

Civil Society.

Cap on gift aid claims under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme will rise from £5,000 to £8,000

from April 2016 (potentially generating an additional £15 million).

Finance Bill 2015 will make it easier for intermediaries to complete gift aid claims on behalf of

donors.

Finance Bill 2015 also ensures hospice charities, search and rescue, and air ambulance are

eligible for VAT refunds from April 2015. Blood bike charities will also now be included in the

VAT refunds scheme.

£40 million awarded to Listed Places of Worship - Roof Repair Fund 2015 to 2017.

£75 million from Libor fines (fines raised from banks) will go to charities for regiments which

fought in Afghanistan and to the Government contribution towards a permanent memorial for

those who died in Afghanistan and Iraq.

To view the full budget visit https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/budget-2015

Care Information and Advice Network for Devon

An Information and Advice network for Devon County

Council (DCC) administrative area of Devon is being

developed in co-production with key partners

including the Voluntary and Community Sector, public

sector providers and Clinical Commissioning Groups.

A key outcome is that people know how and where to go locally in Devon for information and

advice on care and support for adults and carers.

Under the Care Act, local authorities are responsible for ensuring all adults in their area, with a need

for information and advice about care and support are able to access the information they need. This

is a very broad group, extending much further than people with an immediate need for care or

support, e.g. carers. It will only be achieved through working in partnership with wider local

information and advice providers including the voluntary sector. The Information and Advice network

will ensure DCC and partners will remain in a good position and fit for purpose.

The Information and Advice network will be developed over the next 12 months. Watch this space for

more news as it develops or contact us at support@ddevova.org

VO

LUN

TEER

ING

EX

TRA

6

Copyright and Volunteers

Did you know Volunteers keep the copyright on the material they produce

unless they assign it to the organisation?

This could include leaflets, designs, articles, photographs, artwork.

Ensure the volunteer signs over their material to your organisation. This is not the case with

employees as their work automatically belongs to the organisation.

Do you know there are many ways we can support you and your

organisation with volunteers?

Our team of specialist Development Workers and Volunteering

Support Coordinators have a wealth of knowledge and

experience and can tailor their support to meet your

organisational needs.

We also facilitate Volunteer Managers Forums around Devon which are designed to support those

involved in recruiting and supporting volunteers. They are also great networking opportunities so

why not contact us to see when your nearest one is?

Email us at support@devonva.org to see how we can help you.

We offer a brokerage service to help you find the right volunteers for your

organisation. We can help you create your volunteer opportunities to ensure

the role is right and advertise them for you.

Not sure where to start? Then try our information and guidance sheets on ‘Involving People in Your

Organisation’ and ‘Developing a Volunteer Handbook’ available to download from our website at

http://www.devonva.org/information_and_guidance

VO

LUN

TEERIN

G EX

TRA

7

How will you celebrate

your volunteers?

http://volunteersweek.org/

Involving Volunteers Under 18 – Checklist

Does your organisation have appropriate

safeguarding policies in place?

Do you have a code of practice/guidelines

regarding working with young volunteers

which assist adults working with children

to do so safely and responsibly and sets

clear expectations of behaviour? This could

be as basic as supervising young volunteers

at all times or having two adults present.

Is the person who will be instructing or

supervising the young volunteers DBS checked? Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary

to perform checks on the entire staff, or on anyone who is unlikely to end up in a regular one-

on-one or teaching situation (more than once a week or four times in a month) with a young

volunteer. It is also worthwhile remembering that recruitment, training and supervision can act

as more effective safeguarding tools than DBS disclosures.

Does your insurance cover volunteers of all ages?

Do you need a parental consent form (only if volunteers still live at home)?

Do you have a risk assessment for the role being carried out by somebody under 18?

Does the young person need a child work permit? This is the case for charity shops and

potentially for any setting, where money changes hands. Further information and permits can

be obtained from:

http://www.babcockeducation.co.uk/ldp/view_folder.asp?

folderid=3055&depth=4&rootid=2344&level1=&level1id=&level2=2886&level2id=&level3=3053&lev

el3id=&level4=3055&level4id=3055#5

Let us know how you are planning to say ‘Thank You’ to your volunteers at

support@devonva.org

OR

GA

NIS

ATI

ON

MA

TTE

RS

8

The Ethical Property Foundation has produced the results of its 2014 Charity Property Matters survey, highlighting the key issues facing the voluntary sector in relation to commercial and public sector property.

It found a small increase in charities considering their property as posing the greatest risk to long term survival - up to 45 per cent. Some forty per cent rely on informal property advice from friends and contacts.

To read the full report visit http://www.ethicalproperty.org.uk/content.aspx?CategoryID=543

Most registered charities in England and Wales can buy and sell land they own without needing to get approval from the Charity Commission as long as it is in the best interests of the charity, trustees get the best deal possible and they follow the requirements set out by the Charity Commission’s charity

land and property guidance.

The process can be more complex when requiring approval from the Charity Commission. This is where the Ethical Property Foundation (in conjunction with the Charity Commission) can help by offering free advice on charity land and property. You can sign up to access over 125 pages of free, regularly updated property guidance, checklists and templates.

They can also offer bespoke advice on complex issues from one of their property advisers.

http://www.ethicalproperty.org.uk/

Guide to Partnerships

for Voluntary Sector

The guide has been written by ACEVO and

Candour Collaborations, in partnership

with Clinks, and is a handy size at only four

pages.

It highlights:

Issues that could arise in developing partnerships

Benefits you should be looking to secure from partners

Need for transparency about roles and responsibilities in a partnership

Download the guide at:

http://www.clinks.org/resources-reports/making-partnerships-work-you-brief-guide-voluntary-sector

OR

GA

NISA

TION

MA

TTER

S 9

For more information or support on any of these points , contact us at support@devonva.org

or call 0845 6099901.

Charities can now register online with HMRC

HM Revenue & Customs has launched a new

online service whereby charities can register

themselves for tax purposes, which was

previously only available by submitting a paper

form. Following a trial of the online

registration process last summer, charities can

now register online by providing various details

about their organisation and supporting

documentation.

Charities will no longer be able to register

using the paper form ChA1, however any forms

that have been submitted but yet to be

processed will still be considered by HMRC. To

register online with HMRC visit:

https://www.gov.uk/charity-recognition-hmrc

Any charity, no matter how small, can register

with HMRC for tax purposes and to help give

your charity further legitimacy. Registering

with HMRC is also particularly useful

when claiming Gift Aid, where you receive an

extra 25p for every £1 donated under Gift Aid.

For more information and a handy infographic

on why should consider gift aid click on:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/

system/uploads/attachment_data/

file/382094/Gift_Aid_FINAL.pdf

New questions on

charity annual return

With the release of the new 2015 Annual Return

form by the Charity Commission, registered

charities (in England and Wales) must answer

three new questions when they complete the

return online:

1. In the reporting period, how much income

did you receive from:

contracts from central or local government

to deliver services?

grants from central or local government?

2. Does your charity have a policy on paying its

staff?

3. Has your charity reviewed its financial

controls during the reporting period?

All registered charities with an income of more

than £10,000 and all Charitable Incorporated

Organisations who are reporting on their financial

years ending in 2015 must complete the online

form.

There is a ‘Guidance to help complete the annual

return for 2015′ which is a pdf document (250KB)

and can be downloaded at https://www.gov.uk/

prepare-a-charity-annual-return but please note

the link to the guidance is some way down the

web page.

You can access the annual return form via https://

www.gov.uk/send-charity-annual-return.

FUN

DIN

G E

XTR

A

10 New EU Regulations on Public Contracts

Sector think tank New Philanthropy Capital has produced a

briefing on the new Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These

regulations bring into effect a European Directive on public

procurement, from 26 February 2015. According to NPC, they

will help charities win government contracts but do not go far

enough. The new regulation changes to EU procurement laws have raised the threshold for contracts

to €750,000 (£556,000), from €134,000 (£99,000) for contracts offered by central government and

€207,000 (£153,000) for other public bodies.

The briefing ‘Reforming the Relationship’, written with input from Linklaters

solicitors, aims to help charities understand the changes to public services

contracts, and to illustrate to commissioners and procurement professionals how

certain provisions can be used to help them achieve their outcomes by working

effectively with charities.

The briefing can be downloaded from NPC web page:

http://www.thinknpc.org/publications/reforming-the-relationship/.

More details on the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 can be downloaded from:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/pdfs/uksi_20150102_en.pdf.

Starter guide to social investment for voluntary groups

NCVO has produced a guide on Social Investment for the Children’s Partnership, but it can be

implemented widely across the whole voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

Social investment is a repayable finance option - so not a grant or donation - provided to an

organisation by an investor who expects to see both their money paid back and tangible social

benefits.

The 12-page VCSE Social Investment Toolkit explains how using social investment can help fund an

organisation’s work when it is not easy to access grants, and may offer a cheaper and more flexible

option to mainstream banks. The guide also looks at the

common types of social investment available including

loans and bonds, crowd-funding and so-called ‘quasi-

equity’ investments. It has a number of checklists for a

good bid and outlines how an organisation can ready

itself for social investment.

Download the guide at:

http://thechildrenspartnership-knowledge.org.uk/media/1086/vcse-social-investment-toolkit-final-

amended-by-vm_logos.pdf

FUN

DIN

G EX

TRA

11

Charity Finance Group membership

scheme changes With effect from April 2015, the Charity Finance Group (CFG)

has changed its membership scheme - moving from individual

members to organisational membership.

This means colleagues of current members will also be able to access CFG benefits such as specialist

helplines. The Charity Finance Group is an umbrella body for people working in the finance

department of charities, http://www.cfg.org.uk/

Simple Guide on Crowdfunding

from Funding Central

Funding Central has an easy-to-understand section dedicated to crowdfunding under Support and

Advice. It includes pages covering a general overview, steps to crowdfunding success, planning your

campaign, keeping momentum and how to measure success.

It’s a good place to look if you are new to

crowdfunding and want some more

information on it. For details visit:

http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/Page.aspx?

SP=6549

The National Council for Voluntary

Organisations has produced a clear

guide for the Children’s Partnership

on social value and commissioning

but it is a valid toolkit for all charities

and voluntary groups looking at this

issue.

The guide provides an overview of

current commissioning, explores common problems encountered by voluntary sector when bidding

for contracts, offers practical advice and case study examples to show how to evidence social value for

commissioners. Download the guide at:

http://thechildrenspartnership-knowledge.org.uk/media/1092/social-value-and-commissioning-

toolkit-final-with-ncb-logos.pdf

Social Value and Commissioning

Toolkit: A guide for charities

VO

LUN

TAR

Y V

OIC

E U

PD

ATE

12 Voluntary Voice

Voluntary Voice aims to develop the voice of the voluntary and community sector

(VCS) in decision making on local and countywide issues through mandated

representatives from the sector influencing strategic partnerships. There are

currently eight strategic partnerships with mandated sector representatives.

For more information about which partnerships participate, who the mandated representatives are

and full reports of the meetings, please visit http://www.devonva.org/voice_and_influence.

Latest reports available from the mandated sector representatives:

Devon Localism Meeting: January 2015

This is a task and finish group considering the practical ways in which the localism agenda can be

moved forward. At the meeting the sector was represented by Karen Nolan. The Devon Strategic

Partnership (DSP) Board remains supportive of the Devon Local Agenda.

There was an acknowledgement that a culture change is required to deliver Devon Local.

Locality Leads approach will continue whilst it was noted that a locality lead need not necessarily be

from Devon County Council. Voluntary Sector experience and knowledge of their own community

can be a major resource in developing the knowledge of locality leads. The sector needs to be

engaged at the beginning of the process.

Devon Children’s Alliance Executive Group Meeting: January 2015

At this meeting, the sector was represented by Mark Goodman. The group is ultimately responsible

for setting the outcomes and priorities for children, young people and families in Devon through the

development, implementation and monitoring of a Children and Young People’s Plan.

The main points from the meeting include an appraisal of the Youth Service is taking place with

proposals going to Devon County Council Cabinet in March 2015 with one of three options - keep in

house, staff mutual or outsource and that appropriate links to the voluntary sector are needed on

the development of a new website under the Children and Young People’s Plan.

Devon Safeguarding Children’s Board Meeting: March 2015

The Board is made up of professionals who lead those services that work with children and young

people. Members meet regularly to review safeguarding procedures and protocols throughout

Devon. At this meeting, the sector was represented by Mark Goodman.

Devon has been tasked by Ofsted to develop a plan for neglect as it has far more cases than the

national average. Domestic abuse is the most common risk factor in referrals.

MA

RK

ETING

EXTR

A

13 Marketing Extra

Edition

Getting everyone in a charity or voluntary groups to sing from the same songbook is key to success, as ultimately you all have the same objective.

This needs to include trustees, paid staff and volunteers.

Start with some basics:

1) What are your overarching key principles?

At the heart of all your marketing and communication should be your group’s

key message or principles. It is important to spend time on this and get it

right. It should sum up your charitable aims and activities and will form the

basis for your marketing strategies and campaigns.

It is important not to forget why your group is there in the first place.

2) Who is the audience?

Being clear on who is the intended audience for your

marketing is very important. The type of audience

determines the whole communication, from what is being

said to the choice of delivery. Every time your organisation

considers communicating, who it is for should always be

clear from the start, be it internal for staff and volunteers or

external to stakeholders, members, service users or

potential funders. If you do not know who you are going to

communicate with, your message will not be tailored and may end up not being seen by the right

people or even misunderstood if you have not used the right language or method of delivery.

3) What is the message?

Once you have understood who your audience is, you need to define

the information that you want to communicate. Too long and people

won’t read it, too short and you may not be able to include all the

information you want to get across. Don’t use acronyms unless the

audience will understand them. Never assume that people have the

same level of knowledge about your organisation as you do, as the

likelihood is they won’t and this is why you are communicating with

them. Know what your unique selling points (USPs) are and capitalise

on them through your promotional communication.

MA

RK

ETIN

G E

XTR

A

14 Guide to integrated communications

CharityComms has teamed up with GOOD Agency

to launch a practical guide to getting buy-in for

integrated communications and rolling out the

practice across your organisation.

‘One voice: a Best Practice Guide to integrated

communications’ includes considerations from

people from a range of organisations with a range

of budgets, about how they’ve approached the

task of integrating their communications, the

obstacles they’ve come across and what they’ve

learnt along the way.

Integrating communications helps to ensure that:

More people understand who you are and

what you do

All your messages are focused, clear and

consistent

Your charity attracts more support and income

Your organisation will have greater impact. Download the guide at http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/articles/one-voice

How to make the media work

for you - free guide

The European Journalism Centre has

designed a guide especially for voluntary and

community organisations - Making the Media

Work for You.

This guide looks at practical, cost-effective

strategies whilst keeping the reality of limited

communication resources in mind.

Topics include hyper-local strategies (like

initiating and maintaining relationships with

local journalists) and organising social media

fuelled national campaigns.

It is packed with real-world experiences from

campaigners, journalists, non-government

groups and governmental entities.

Download your copy of the guide at:

http://ejc.net/projects/Ongoing/making-the-

media-work-for-you-a-guide-for-civil-society-

organisations

MA

RK

ETING

EXTR

A

15 The power of ‘mobile’

There has been unprecedented cultural

shift towards mobile devices providing

information at people’s fingertips

wherever and whenever they want over

the last ten years. Mobile use is

increasingly becoming the main screen of

choice for people, which in turn has seen

mobile marketing developing into a

sophisticated machine.

Remember to always consider how people are going to view your information on social media,

websites and emails.

For a more detailed view of mobile advertising you can download a six page white paper from

Quantcast which explores mobile trends and busts common misconceptions from:

https://info.quantcast.com/social_MobileGuide.html?LSD2=Twitter

To Blog or not to Blog . . .

Not sure what a blog is or how to get started?

Then this ‘blogging toolkit’ for voluntary and

community groups produced by Locality is for

you.

Writing a successful blog can help your

organisation get your messages out and build up

networks of supporters and volunteers.

Download your copy of their blogging tips at

http://locality.org.uk/blog/guide-blogging/

Ultimately, whichever way your

organisation decides to market

itself, you need to get your message

out there and share it.

Your message is worth shouting about.

www. devonva.org Follow us @Devon_VA

East Devon Council for Voluntary Service

Younghayes Centre, 169 Younghayes Road, Cranbrook EX5 7DR

Telephone: 01404 549 045

Chief Officer: Lynne Lewis

Email: admin@edvsa.org.uk

Website: www.edvsa.org.uk

South Hams CVS

The Cottage, Follaton House, Plymouth Road, Totnes TQ9 5NE

Telephone: 01803 862266

Chief Officer: Jill Davies

Email: cvs@southhamscvs.org.uk

Website: www.souhhamscvs.org.uk

Involve—Voluntary Action in Mid Devon

Sunningmead Community Centre, Lazenby Road,

Tiverton EX16 4AL

Telephone: 01884 255734

Chief Officer: Duncan Wood

Email: office@involve-middevon.org.uk

Website: www.involve-middevon.org.uk

Teignbridge Community and Voluntary Service

36-38 Market Street, Newton Abbot TQ12 2RX

Telephone: 01626 326120

Chief Officer: Sue Wroe

Email: office@teigncvs.org.uk

Website: www.teigncvs.org.uk

North Devon Voluntary Services

149 High Street, Ilfracombe EX34 9EZ

Chief Officer: Pat Diango

Telephone: 01271 866300

Email: admin@ndvs.org.uk

Website: www.ndvs.org.uk

West Devon Community and Voluntary Services

13 East Street, Okehampton EX20 1AS

Telephone: 01837 53392

Chief Officer: Karen Nolan

Email: info@westdevoncvs.org.uk

Website: www.westdevoncvs.org.uk

support@devonva.org Like us Devon Voluntary Action

0845 6099901

DeVA’s Company Number 8711291 and Charity Number 1158671