The Prince Update - July 12th
Richard Prince shares his regular horizon scan of the sector news, flagging up developments, new funding and opportunities in the social sector for portfolio careerists and others to be aware of.
Sector news
New Lottery £50m fund for Black and ethnic minority-led charities
The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has partnered with The Ubele Initiative to invest £50m in Black and ethnic minority charities over the next five years. The NLCF said in a statement that the scheme was designed to help the funder move “out of our comfort zone” and reach charities which had not previously received National Lottery support. The organisers hope that the scheme, called The Phoenix Way, will be open for funding applications in the autumn. National and regional panels, led by people from Black and minoritised communities, will be created during the summer to advise on future funding decisions.
Charities offered £150,000 grants for digital and financial inclusion schemes
The Santander Foundation has launched a £1.8m Financial & Digital Empowerment Fund that will provide support to organisations working to improve digital and financial skills. The grant-maker said the fund would support projects equipping people with the tools, knowledge and confidence to make better-informed decisions about money. It said it would make 12 awards of £150,000 to UK-registered charities and community interest companies to be spent over the next three years.
Six hard-earned lessons on social enterprise mergers
UK social business Catch22 – itself the product of a merger between two organisations – has announced a string of tie-ups in recent years, including at least one that didn't quite go to plan. CEO Chris Wright tells what he’s learned from the experience.
Be crystal clear about intentions. Be very clear about what it is you're going to try and achieve snd don’t assume that your counterparts share the same vision
Watch out for the distress factor. If financial distress is driving the decision, rather than “a really clear vision”, it’s much harder to approach it in a strategic way.
Shop around for the best partner – even if you’re small
Be aware that things might not work out as expected
Invest time in relationships - Successful mergers take commitmen
Prepare to leave egos aside. “Sometimes you step aside because the greater good can be achieved by doing that. And that requires a huge humility,”
Charities deliver scathing feedback on the government’s Covid-19 support package
Charities feel they have been treated shabbily by the government. Funding intended to support the sector through the pandemic was unattainable for many, and it came too late for those it did reach, in some cases so late that funding may actually have to be returned. Moreover, the sector fears that the long-term consequences of the pandemic are poorly understood by a government that has put little effort into really listening to what charities have to say.
Charities are not alone in their concerns. Earlier this month, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) strongly criticised the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for a lack of transparency about decision-making, deviation from formal processes and inadequate attention to impact.
NPC - What the public thinks about levelling up
What exactly is the ideology of this government? For lots of people, trying to work that out is tricky and perplexing. Is it for sound money or for spending whatever it takes? Does it want more global trade or does that only apply to countries outside of the EU? Is it for decentralisation or for crack units in the centre running the country? It’s really not that clear. To explore this a bit further, NPC commissioned a nationally representative poll. And what does it show? Well, it certainly shows that the agenda resonates with the public: almost half of people around the country feel their area should be levelled up.
When we asked people what they think having their area levelled up would mean, the biggest priorities were reduced homelessness (36% placing this in their top three factors), poverty (36%), crime (34%), and unemployment (32%). Fair enough, you might think, but when we analysed the various levelling up funds announced so far by the government, alongside these polling insights, we found that these social needs are not really where the money is going to be directed (over 90% of the £8.77bn of levelling up funding is likely to go on capital investment). Read more at:
Comment: If the sector can improve its engagement with government (and vice versa) then there are many opportunities to work together – as this article recommends.
'Boom' in community pubs as co-ops prove Covid-resilient
There are more community-owned pubs in the UK now than there were before the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the hospitality industry being decimated by repeated lockdowns, according to new findings from Co-operatives UK. “Because of their co-operative ownership, the community tends to be considerably more invested in these pubs and their success. They can boast more diversified revenue streams as a percentage, and will also act as community hubs. These factors have offset the Covid effect.”
New RSA head calls for ‘fundamental rethink’ to enhance community power
Former chief economist at the Bank of England and incoming chief executive for the Royal Society of Arts, Andy Haldane, has called for a ‘fundamental rethink and refresh’ to our model of capitalism, to increase community power in the UK and overcome societal inequalities.
Speaking at Local Trust’s first ever Community Power Lecture, Haldane said “there is much further for us to go in enhancing community power and spurring community development if the large and long-standing problems afflicting the UK’s left-behind cities, towns and communities are to be tackled.
Comments: interesting thoughts on community power and civil society as the “second invisible hand” shaping society, especially his point that “invisibility” often comes from difficulty measuring and providing impact.
2. Charity careers and future of work
The Three Areas of the Charity Sector Set to Grow in 2021 and Beyond
Article with Chariyjob looking at growth sectors in the charity job market, as the sector continue to adapt to COVID-19 and how it has changed fundraising, charity operations and government priorities. It highlights public health-related charities, homelessness and anti-poverty and mental health and wellbeing as particular growth areas.
NatCen: rise in stress among those working from home
Working from home during the coronavirus pandemic has caused increased levels of loneliness and mental distress, according to new research into how workers have been affected by the crisis.
With ministers still debating how to manage the return to workplaces in the wake of Covid restrictions, a study by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) found that the biggest increases in mental distress and loneliness during the pandemic were felt by the most isolated group – those working from home and living alone. However, in a finding that surprised researchers, people working from home and living with others also experienced a significant increase in loneliness not felt by those working outside the home.
‘Digital transformation has been fast-tracked' during the pandemic, say fundraising leaders
The vast majority of fundraisers have found that the pandemic had accelerated digital transformation in their organisations, according to a survey by Fundraising Magazine, published by Civil Society Media. More than 85% of respondents reported that the pandemic had accelerated digital transformation in their charities, while only nine respondents did not think it had. Moreover, close to 80% of respondents said that in regards to digital adaptations, their future fundraising would likely take a hybrid approach using both virtual and in-person campaigns.
Social care workers lose out on £7,000 in pay each year, finds Community Integrated Care
Frontline social care workers are being paid thousands of pounds less than other workers with equivalent skills, a charity claims. Community Integrated Care said teaching assistants and police community support workers have similar skillsets but on average receive £7,000 more per year. It is calling for an "immediate and fair" rise, saying the status quo is "immoral" and "cannot be justified".