The Charity Governance Awards 2018

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Entries are now open for the Charity Governance Awards 2018.

The awards recognise and reward charities achieving great governance. They shine a spotlight on the trustees, staff and volunteers who make change possible day after day by showcasing the stories that demonstrate how effective governance can transform lives.

Organisations are able to enter one of seven categories: These are:

  • Board Diversity & Inclusivity.
  • Embracing Digital media.
  • Embracing Opportunity & Harnessing Risk.
  • Improving Impact – charities with 3 paid staff or fewer (including charities with no paid staff).
  • Improving Impact – charities with 4–25 paid staff.
  • Improving Impact – charities with 26 paid staff or more.
  • Managing Turnaround.

The awards are free to enter and are open to all charities, both big and small. Each of the seven categories offers a £5,000 cash prize.

You can enter online for free until 12th January 2018. The winners will be announced at a complimentary invitation-only reception on 24th May 2018.

The Charity Governance Awards are organised by The Clothworkers’ Company – a City Livery company that supports trusteeship initiatives, in partnership with charity think tank and consultancy NPC (New Philanthropy Capital), charity recruitment specialists Prospectus and volunteer matching charity Reach.

 

 

Every village hall could be a hallmark hall

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Having Hallmark accreditation demonstrates that a Hall’s management committee is managing its charity well.

That’s important to the individual trustees, the community as a whole and is especially poignant when it comes to potential funding.

Hallmark promotes the good management of village halls through a quality standards scheme which is supported by a system of peer visits. The main benefits of the scheme are:

  • It gives Village Hall volunteers confidence that they are running their Hall in the correct manner.
  • It provides funders and other organisations interested in Village Halls with a benchmark for well managed community facilities.
  • It is widely acknowledged by the Charity Commission and 
  • It can lead to reduced insurance premiums.

Any committees interested in moving towards accreditation should contact Lisa Chambers at Cambridgeshire ACRE.

You can also visit: https://cambscommunitybuildings.wordpress.com/hallmark/

There are three levels to the Scheme, undertaken in sequence:

Hallmark One checks charitable administration and management.

Hallmark Two checks health and safety, security and licences.

Hallmark Three checks community involvement, social awareness and forward planning.

 

Minding Us

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Young people need more flexible, creative solutions to give them the information and support they need to stay mentally well.

So states Minding Us, a new report from Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, which shares more than ninety young people’s thoughts about mental health care and what they want to change. It was part of a project to help local mental health commissioners re-design services for children and adolescents.

The young people Healthwatch spoke to had lots of different experiences that put them at greater risk of mental ill health.  Many had had one or more difficult life challenges such as dealing with prejudice, isolation, abuse or a disability. Healthwatch worked with organisations like Link to Change, The Kite Trust and Carers Trust to listen to the views of young people.

The majority of young people wanted to talk to a trusted adult or a friend to get information about mental health. Young people want more awareness of how to stay mentally well, and where to get help and assistance if it was needed.

They need more flexibility over when, where, and how often therapy appointments are held, including some creative options. They mostly preferred face to face appointments in a place that suited their needs, although online and video chat were popular with some.

Emma Amez, Project worker said:

‘This report shows the need to do things differently for young people and those around them to give them the support they need before they reach crisis level.’

‘Young people are telling us very clearly that they need services that are flexible and creative, so they can drop in and get support when and where they need it.’

‘It is important to educate young people and those around them about mental health. We need to break down the stigma of mental illness and say, it is OK to get help if you need it.’

Wendi Ogle-Welbourne, Corporate Director: People and Communities, Peterborough City Council, Chair of the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Board for Children and Young People, said:

‘It is fantastic that young people have been able to tell us what and how they want to be helped with their mental health. The views of young people are important to us as it will help professionals to think about how we commission and deliver services in the future.’

‘It is clear from the feedback from young people that we have to help professionals in universal settings such as schools to understand better how to help young people with mental health needs as they are often the people young people trust and want to talk to.’

If you have an experience of young people’s mental health services, either for yourself or for someone important to you, please tell Healthwatch about it. It is important they hear about your experiences so they can help services to improve. Find out more by visiting www.healthwatchcambridgeshire.co.uk or www.healthwatchpeterborough.co.uk or call us on 0330 355 1285

 

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