VCSE Sector Resources

We've put together a selection of resources and information for VCSE sector groups & organisations in the county.

We regularly update this page - please bookmark this page to come back and check-in whenever you can.

Equality, Inclusion & Diversity

  • NCVO guide - information to help you get started in improving your group/organisations’ approach to equity, diversity and inclusion.
  • Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024 - a range of free recordings of sessions that were delivered as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week.

Environment & Climate Action

Finance

  • Embrace Finance has created a webpage containing a range of finance resources for VCSE sector groups & organisations.
  • Website to Support Charities Opening and Managing Bank Accounts - UK Finance has launched a website to support charities opening and managing bank accounts. Their new website features a free account finder tool, step-by-step guide and frequently asked questions to help charities find the best account for their needs.

Fundraising & Funding

  • Fundraising Regulator - Volunteers and fundraising guidance
  • Gloucestershire VCS Alliance Funding Bulletin - our monthly e-Bulletin for groups & organisations in Gloucestershire that contains the latest funding opportunities, tender announcements and more. Find out more and join our mailing list here
  • Fully funded support to ‘Get Awards for All Ready’ - Our colleague Cate is offering a range of bespoke support and workshops to help community groups & organisations across the county to develop an Awards for All bid. Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
  • NCVO guide - information and step-by-step guides to help VCSE sector groups & organisations to find funding, prepare budgets and write funding bids. 
  • Five Minute Fundraiser Videos - some introductory fundraising videos covering community fundraising, legacy fundraising, corporate fundraising and more.
  • Free Fundraising Guides - Richmond CVS have a range of free guides on their website.

Governance

  • Charity Commission - Charity Boards and Governance
  • The Cranfield Trust has a range of free resources, tools and webinars covering a range of organisational management themes. 
  • Gov UK: 'The Essential Trustee' - guidance that explains the key duties of all trustees of charities in England and Wales, as well as what trustees need to do to carry out these duties competently.
  • How to register & set up a CIC or CIO (Online Toolbox) - free information about registering your group/organisation, constitutions, finding funding, opening a free bank account and insurance.  
  • National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Small Charity Guide - a free guide is available covering how you can improve cyber security quickly, easily and at low cost. This guide is targeted towards charities but may also be relevant to a range of groups & organisations of all shapes and sizes.
  • Ofcom Rules for Online Services - Ofcom has produced a 'What you need to know guide' covering the Online Safety Act and some key definitions of terms used. 
  • Social media guidance issued by Charity Commission – the Charity Commission has issued its long awaited 'Charities and social media guidance’. This guidance will help a range of VCSE sector groups & organisations (not just charities) to understand the risks, their responsibilities and what to consider if issues do arise. It also explains the importance of having a social media policy and contains a useful checklist to help you develop a new policy or update an existing one.
  • Trustees Week' - Trustees’ Week is a national campaign that occurs in November each year to celebrate the achievements of nearly one million trustees across the UK. We celebrate each year with a campaign specially designed for the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire. Please keep updated via our social media: @GlosVCSAlliance on X and @GlosVCSAlliance on Facebook.
  • The Governance App - this free app aims to help your trustee board to review and improve its governance together. You can find out more about the app and its benefits here

Health & Wellbeing

  • Gloucestershire’s Health and Care App Library – One Gloucestershire has an online library containing a range of apps that have been through the ORCHA review process. The apps cover themes such as mental health, diabetes, cancer, breastfeeding, dental care and medication reminders. 
  • Healthy Workplaces Gloucestershire - support, information and advice to help groups & organisations in the county and their team to develop a healthy workplace.
  • Mental Wellbeing Helpline launched - Adults (aged 18+) in county can contact this new helpline without the need for a referral, or an appointment. You can also find out more on our website.
  • Mental Health Awareness Week free resources - A to Z topics, publications and mental health statistics
  • Mental Health Support for Children & Young People in Gloucestershire - we've put together a list of mental health support avaliable for children & young people in the county.
  • Mental Health Support in Gloucestershire - we've put together a list of mental health support avaliable in the county.
  • Money in Mind tool – Developed in partnership with the NHS, this Toolkit details a range of questions a mental health professional can ask to explore any issues that someone might have about their finances. The Toolkit is editable to allow for bespoke additions for local services.
  • Smile App - a free app tailored to the needs of people managing chronic physical health conditions such as diabetes, cancer or long Covid. 
  • Social Prescribing resources – NAVCA, the National Academy for Social prescribing and Spirit of 2012 have published a set of resources which aim to facilitate better connections between NAVCA members and their local Primary Care Networks. 
  • The Wellbeing Line - free and confidential mental health & wellbeing support for the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire is available via The Wellbeing Line. No prior application is required. More information about sector-specific support is here.

Health & Safety

  • HSE Home Working Guidance - The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has redesigned their home working guidance to provide more information about some of the straightforward actions that organisations can take to manage home workers’ health & safety. This includes information about stress & poor mental health and working with display screen equipment. They also have some practical guidance for home workers. 
  • Free leaflet to help you protect lone workers - The HSE has a useful leaflet on their website with guidance about how to keep lone workers healthy and safe.

ICT

Information Updates

  • Gloucestershire VCS Alliance News Bulletin - our bi-monthly newsletter full of news, information and resources for VCSE sector groups & organisations of all shapes & sizes in Gloucestershire.
  • Gloucestershire VCS Alliance Better Together Newsletter - our exclusive member-only quarterly newsletter full of earlybird offers, exclusive membership discounts and member updates. Our membership is free for VCSE sector groups & organisations operating in Gloucestershire. More information about membership and how to join is here
  • GoVolunteerGlos publishes a monthly 'Volunteering Insight' newsletter for groups & organisations supporting volunteers in the county. To sign up, please email support@govolunteerglos.org.uk
  • Social Media - follow us on Twitter (now known as 'X') or news, information and updates about 'What's Happening' within the VCSE Sector in Gloucestershire: @GlosVCSAlliance. You can also search for our hashtag: #VCSENewsGlos. You can also find us on Facebook: @GlosVCSAlliance

Marketing & Comms

  • NEW: Charity Comms social media resources - Our Comms Officer recently attended the Charity Comms Social Media conference and spotted these resources on their website. There’s something for everyone - from templates, to guidance, to tips and advice.
  • How to keep your online communities safe - We spotted this useful article from CharityComms which identifies the key steps every charity can take to help protect their supporters and community members online. This information may also be useful for a range of groups & organisations, not just charities.
  • Five free marketing tools for charities guide - The Media Trust have published a comprehensive overview of five tools they state ‘stand out from the crowd’. These tools may be useful for a range of VCSE sector groups & organisations, not just charities.
  • People's Health Trust guide - Links to tools and resources to support low cost and free marketing & communications.
  • Sector Shorts - Our new series of bitesize learning videos for VCSE sector groups & organisations in Gloucestershire. Series One: Social Media for Beginners introduces you to social media and guides you through how to use Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn and Tiktok: Watch Now

Recruitment & HR

Room Hire

System Governance

Training & Skills Development

Volunteering

  • Go Volunteer Glos - VCSE sector groups & organisations can recruit and showcase their volunteering opportunities, for free, to thousand of potential volunteers from a range of backgrounds via Go Volunteer Glos - the online home of volunteering in Gloucestershire.
  • Bitesize Volunteering - Community Impact Bucks have put together this useful guide about bitesize volunteering for groups/organisations looking to find out more about how to get started with this different approach to volunteering.
  • Charity Digital - How to improve workplace volunteering - Some useful information and guidance to help any group/organisation new to workplace volunteering (and those with more experience wanting to do a bit more research about this type of volunteering)
  • Charity Digital: How to write a volunteer handbook - Charity Digital outline the key steps to writing an effective volunteer handbook.
  • Charity Job: How to recognise and reward volunteers - Some useful tips and ideas for groups & organisations of all shapes and sizes working with volunteers.
  • Free Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) guide and resources - The Gloucestershire Volunteering Collaborative (GVC) has launched a comprehensive new guide, toolkit and case studies which are now available on the Go Volunteer Glos website.
  • Fundraising Regulator - Volunteers and fundraising guidance
  • NEW: How to recruit digital volunteers - The Charity Digital team share “12 top tips to recruiting and retaining digital volunteers, helping charities embrace digital and fill critical skills gaps”.
  • Just One Thing Podcast (feat. the late Michael Mosley) - How volunteering could lower your cholesterol and help you stay healthy for longer
  • Investing In Volunteers Essentials - IiV Essentials is a free online tool designed especially for volunteer-involving groups and organisations. It was developed nationally and is supported by NCVO, Volunteer Now, Volunteer Scotland and WCVA.
  • NCVO guide - practical advice and step-by-step information to help VCSE sector groups & organisations to manage volunteers and volunteering processes.
  • Third Sector Podcast - Getting the most out of skilled volunteers
  • Vision for Volunteering conference theme recordings - Held from January to March this year, the Vision for Volunteering conferences explored five themes: Awareness and Appreciation, Power, Collaboration, Experimentation and Equity and Inclusion. The conference is available via the above weblink.
  • Vision for Volunteering toolkit - This toolkit was developed to "help you start conversations with those in your organisation, group or community about the Vision for Volunteering and what this could mean for you". The toolkit contains resources and a plan for a 2 hour long introductory session to explore the Vision for Volunteering, the volunteering context for you and what steps you could take to improve volunteering locally. It is aimed at anyone who volunteers or works with volunteers.
  • Vision for Volunteering - Measuring the impact of work with volunteers - Find out more about how 'Ripple Effect Mapping' could help your group/organisation to measure the impact of volunteering.

Miscellaneous

  • A-Z glossary of charity terms and definitions – Charity Digital has compiled a glossary of essential phrases and terminology related to philanthropy, charities and the non-profit sector. 
  • Families in Partnership Newsletter - This newsletter is published bi-monthly and is co-produced with parent carers and carer organisations in Gloucestershire. It provides children & young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and those who support them, with information updates. 
  • Gloucestershire Carers Hub Translation Services - Gloucestershire Carers Hub offers translation services to carers who are not fluent in English. They can provide this service as a telephone or face to face meeting. Leaflets in a number of languages can be found on their website. Their website also has a translation function. If translation services are required, for those making referrals to the hub, please state this on the referral form when it is completed.
  • Free Guide from New Philanthropy Capital - 'Centring Lived Experience: A strategic approach for leaders' is a useful guide that identifies a range of steps that senior leaders can follow in order to embed lived experience in their organisations.
  • Narcotics Anonymous (NA) - Support is available to help individuals to achieve and maintain a drug free life. NA are keen to offer community support within Gloucestershire and would love to offer a presentation to community teams or have a conversation about how to work together. Their meeting directory in Gloucestershire is here: Gloucestershire Directory and can be printed off as a PDF. 
  • NCVO & ACEVO’s Voluntary Sector Manifesto - NCVO describe this document as a “tool for all of us in the sector to use to set out our collective and brighter vision for the future. It allows us to demonstrate to the next incoming government how we can work together in partnership to tackle some of the biggest issues facing our society”.
  • Political campaigning during an election guidance - With less than a month to go until the nation votes, NCVO has created some useful guidance for VCSE sector groups & organisations to highlight the key issues in charity and electoral law.
  • Reducing the carbon footprint of community events tips and ideas - The National Lottery has shared an article on their website to support any groups/organisations wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. 
  • Warm Welcome Spaces Online Directory - This website provides information about spaces within local communities that are opening their doors to offer a free, warm, welcoming and friendly space.

Tune into our podcast

We produce a monthly podcast where our Chief Officer, Matt Lennard, discusses all things VCSE sector in Gloucestershire with a range of guests. You can find out more and tune in here

Join our online debates

Sector Spotlight is our new online series which bring colleagues from VCSE sector groups & organisations across Gloucestershire together to share their views and ideas during a friendly debate. Anyone for the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire can join in and we are currently looking for future panel members. You can find out more and catch up on previous debates here

What we do

We're the independent voice that informs, strengthens and develops the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire. We promote partnership working at every level and ensure that the views of the sector are represented in a range of ways, including via our work with the Gloucestershire VCSE Strategic Partnership, ILP Representatives and agencies involved in the county's Community Mental Health Transformation programme.

In addition to this work, we provide a range of free and fully funded information and support for the sector. More information is here

Get in touch

If you have a link to a resource or some information that you believe is useful to the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire, or would like to contact us, please use our webform and a member of our team will get back to you.