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I’m writing this in the final days of 2017 and a list of things which will affect charities, community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises even just within Manchester is something you can never actually finish writing (note to self: write more blogs this year) but here are the things which are swishing around in my head as things to think about for 2018.
Starting with a few things at national level, Office for Civil Society will start consultation on a new Civil Society Strategy. The Conservative-led governments since 2010 have sometimes...
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Every year I do a humorous update on some of the policy issues and trends over the year. (2016, 2015). Given the general level of bleakness (read this if you feeling particularly strong) it seems only reasonable to try a lift the mood a fraction, whilst having a gentle dig at some of the frantic absurdity that surrounds us.
Elusive Growth
It is now generally acknowledged that the economy is broken especially in the North and even (please whisper) in Manchester. The previous economic orthodoxy to “build shiny new things” and “attract big business” led...
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Our latest data sets on our work with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and volunteers is now available on our website here: www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/policy-and-influence/open-data
Charity think tank NPC has published a practical guide outlining the process for how charities can turn their raw data into wisdom and informed action. Data with Destiny draws on the Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom model....
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November will see the start of a new Volunteer 'Meet Up' group run by Volunteer Centre Manchester. The two-hour friendly and informal sessions are a great opportunity for registered Volunteers of VCM to meet, socialise, network, share stories, get tips and advice and generally support each other.
After a volunteer begins a role with an organisation the connection to others volunteers outside of that organisation can become hard to develop or sustain. This platform will enable volunteers to be part of...
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"100 Subscribes is all it takes!..."
Jack!? What an earth is Micro-volunteering?
My colleague (Barkery) put it nicely in a blog post towards the back end of 2016.
https://www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/have-you-got-five-minutes-change-world
Micro-volunteering is 'bite-sized, on-demand, no/low commitment actions that benefit a worthy cause'. Activities may include signing petitions, clicking voting buttons to help raise funds or...
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Our latest data sets on our work with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and volunteers is now available on our website here: www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/policy-and-influence/open-data
How much Big Lottery funding is spent in your local area?
Grants from the Big Lottery Fund provide a crucial source of income for much of the voluntary and community sector. And ensure that important public services are delivered to those in need.
Through the...
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Hello!
Hope you are all well.
In this blog, I've come up with 5 mistakes you might be making while using social media, without knowing you are even doing it. 
1) Lack of engagement- it’s all well scheduling posts in one go so you don’t have to be online all the time, but some people forget that social media is all about socialising. You do need to be online, I’d say at least once a day for 10-15 minutes, just to...
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Hello!
Sorry, its been a while!
Today I'll look at how you can make you social media content interesting and creative.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to know what to post and how to convey a message in an engaging way. But there are ways of doing it; it just takes time and patience- two things we all tend to lack!
Here are some ways of creating content which are easy and don’t take too long to make:
1) Create mini images- you can make these anywhere like Microsoft word, Publisher or if you’re feeling even more creative, you could something more fancy. But...
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Our seventh Volunteers’ Week Spirit Story comes from Eileen – a volunteer with Age UK Manchester.
"Age UK Manchester (formerly Age Concern Manchester) is an independent charity working with and for older people across Manchester.
Age UK Manchester offers information, advice and support to people aged 60 or over, we provide high quality day, home and residential care in Manchester and run a number of projects and services for...
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Our fourth, fifth and sixth Volunteer's Week Spirit Stories come from Beca, Al and Marie who all volunteer with Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH).
"MASH supports women engaged in prostitution (sex work). Last year MASH supported 884 women.
All the women we support are individuals and have their own reasons for sex working, however some women feel like they have less choices than others and MASH specialise in...
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