#CelebrateNationalLottery25 – grants available for community events

The National Lottery are marking their 25th birthday by bringing people together.

They’re offering people and communities with great ideas the chance to receive a grant between £100 and £1,000.

If you have an idea for an event or community activity, or even if you want to buy something that will bring your community together – they’d love to hear from you.

Any group of two or more people with a great idea can apply. They’re particularly keen to hear from people they haven’t worked with before.

How will they choose who to fund?

#CelebrateNationalLottery25 is about people and communities joining in with their birthday celebrations. They’re expecting a lot of people to apply so to give everyone a fair chance they will use a lottery process, randomly selecting the applicants to be assessed.

Before entering the lottery here’s a few things you need to know

Everyone who submits an application will be entered into the lottery draw, which will take place after the deadline closes at 2.00pm on Friday 6 December 2019. They’ll then run a few straightforward checks to make sure that applications meet their eligibility criteria and genuinely benefit the community.

They hope to let you know by email whether you have been successful by 31 January 2020.

FULL DETAILS AND APPLY HERE

Don’t delay – the deadline is Friday 6th December at 2.00pm!

 Tees Valley Rural Actions’s chance to win £1,000 festive boost

Tees Valley Rural Action is calling on supporters to get behind its bid to win a £1,000 boost as part of specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s annual 12 days of giving Christmas campaign.

The specialist insurer will be giving 120 different charities an early Christmas gift of a £1,000 donation, with 10 winners announced each weekday from 5 to 20 December.

It’s quick and easy to nominate Tees Valley Rural Action online. Nominations are open from 5 November to 19 December and you can vote for Tees Valley Rural Action at www.ecclesiastical.com/12days

Winners will be drawn at random and the more times Tees Valley Rural Action is nominated the more chance it has of being selected.

Tees Valley Rural Action’s volunteers are vital to our community transport services, this funding would ensure we could support more volunteers which in turn would help and support more vulnerable residents across Tees Valley to access hospital appointments and social activities that would otherwise be socially isolated and lonely. Both our community transport services are delivered by a team of enthusiastic and passionate volunteers, who are all fully trained and support by TVRA. #driveforwardteesvalley

Tees Valley Rural Action is encouraging everyone to use their social media channels to ask people to vote for them to give the charity the best possible chance of winning.

Rita Lawson, CEO of Tees Valley Rural Action, said: “Volunteers don’t get paid because their priceless and in our organisation our volunteers they are the key to our community transport services, ensuring we keep the community of the Tees Valley on the move. This funding would ensure our vulnerable residents who struggle to access hospital appointments and social events can gain the support and encouragement they need.”

Mark Hews, Group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of our business. Our annual 12 days of giving Christmas campaign will help charities change lives for the better and we know that for many charities, £1,000 can make a real difference. We’re encouraging everyone to nominate a cause close to their hearts this Christmas to be in for a chance to win a festive financial boost.”

The Rural Community Energy Fund Supports Rural Communities to Develop Energy Projects

The Rural Community Energy Fund is a £10 million programme which supports rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects, which provide economic and social benefits to the community.
The Government is encouraging new community projects across England to apply for feasibility grants of up to £40,000 for green initiatives, including solar battery storage and wind, hydro and geothermal heat projects. Viable proposals will also be considered for further grants of up to £100,000 for business development and planning applications. The grants are aimed at organisations such as rural sports clubs, rural schools and churches. More information can be found here RCEF Leaflet NEYH

Tees Valley EAFRD Calls – Launch Events – Grants for Rural Start-Ups & Business

TEES VALLEY EAFRD CALLS – LAUNCH EVENTS
SIGN UP NOW

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Growth Programme is open for applications from Monday 4 November to Sunday 16 February 2020.
The programme provides grants for rural start-ups and businesses to purchase state of the art equipment and machinery to grow their business or open up opportunities for tourism.
The minimum grant size has reduced from £35,000 to £20,000 meaning that more small or micro businesses could be eligible for a grant for their projects.
There are 3 calls open further details are below. The Handbooks and Expression of Interest (EOI) Form can be found here . EOIs should be submitted directly to growthapps@rpa.gov.uk
Launch Events

Two Tees Valley Launch Events have been arranged as follows:

Monday 25th November – 1pm – 5pm Loftus Town Hall, High Street, Loftus, TS13 4HG. To register for this event CLICK HERE
Wednesday 4th December – 1pm – 5pm Blackwell Grange Hotel, Grange Road, Darlington, DL3 8QH. To register for this event CLICK HERE
Places will be limited so please register asap. Both events will be the same so you need only attend one.

If you have a potential project idea there will be an opportunity to have a one to one session with an officer from the Rural Payments Agency.

If you would like to arrange a one to one session please contact Sue Donnelly after registering.
Download full details here EAFRD Launch Events

 

 

Tees Valley Rural Action Tender for Audit/Accountancy Services

Tees Valley Rural Action, (TVRA) is seeking to appoint an Audit/Accountancy service for a 3 year period commencing 1st April 2020 on a rolling annual renewal.

The scope of this brief is in two parts and are as follows:

Part 1 – Accountancy/Book-keeping
• Provide accountancy advice throughout each of the 3 years
• Bank reconciliation 1 day per month
• Support the Chief Executive with preparing bi-monthly management account and cashflow reports for the Board of Trustees

Part 2 – Audit
• Planning meetings in preparation for Audit
• Financial statements for the 3 years beginning with the year ended 31st March 2020
• Presentation of draft and final financial statements to the Board of Trustees
• Availability for accountancy/audit advice throughout each of the 3 years
• Support with the timely preparation and filing of appropriate returns to Companies House, Charity Commission and HMRC

If you intend to submit a proposal and/or require any clarification, please contact Rita Lawson, Chief Executive on (01642) 213852 or rlawson@teesvalleyruralaction.co.uk

A full tender specification is here for you to download: Tender Specification for Audit and Accountancy Services

 

Police Appeal for Information about Vehicle which could assist Naheed Khan Investigation

Police Appeal for Information about Vehicle which could assist Naheed Khan Investigation

Detectives investigating the suspected murder of Naheed Khan, 43, have today released images of a vehicle that they are appealing for further information about.

It is believed that Naheed may have travelled in the vehicle at the end of April/early May 2018, shortly before her disappearance on the early May bank holiday weekend last year (Monday 6th May).

The vehicle is a distinctive light blue Ford Focus (registration MX02 CVU) which was recovered by officers in January 2019 in Middlesbrough. It has a distinctive white sticker of a vehicle on the rear boot panel which says ‘Paul Walker one last ride’.

Officers believe the vehicle may have been up for sale in June 2018 at the junction of Sedgemoor Road and Holmefields Road in Middlesbrough and it was possibly sold to someone on Falmouth Street, also in Middlesbrough.

Senior Investigating Officer, T/ Detective Chief Inspector Mark Dimelow, said: “We have carried out extensive enquiries since we recovered the vehicle and there a still a few gaps we need answers to regarding the vehicles movements between May 2018 and January 2019.
“Do you recognise the vehicle? Do you know someone who has owned it or have you ever seen Naheed inside of the vehicle?

“If you do recognise the Ford Focus, or if you have been offered it for sale, particularly during the period of May 2018 to January 2019, please contact us with further information.

“Prior to the vehicle being recovered it is believed it had spotlights and further stickers on the front of it. We have also received information to suggest the car was up for sale in the Grove Hill area.”

Naheed, also known as Nad, had links in Stockton, Middlesbrough and Thornaby. She is described as Asian, of slim build and around 5ft 6” tall, with long, dark hair.

A 39-year-old man was arrested in connection with the disappearance of Naheed and released under investigation pending further enquiries.

Anyone with information is asked to call Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number 101. Alternatively, people can visit https://mipp.police.uk/ and provide information direct to the investigation team.

Independent charity Crimestoppers are offering up to £10,000 for information they receive that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the suspected murder of Naheed Khan. Contact Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

 

Third Sector Trends in the North

Durham University now have over 2,000 responses to the study across the North. But to get good information for Tees Valley, we still need you to take part.

Whether your organisation or group is big or small, flourishing or struggling financially – or just carrying on more or less as normal – we need to hear from you.

It takes just 15-20 minutes to do. You shouldn’t need to check up any facts and you can do it on your PC, laptop, tablet or phone by clicking here.

Using the findings, Durham University will build a picture of how organisations and groups work, how they get their resources and how they are planning to work in future.

The research helps to inform national and local government, health organisations and charitable foundations so that they make good decisions on how to invest in the activity of the third sector.

The research also helps the third sector itself to show the extent and value of the work it does. 

The project has generously been supported by Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Garfield Weston Foundation and Power to Change.

And tell your friends and colleagues to do the same: by sending them an email with the link to the survey or by drawing attention to the study via twitter using #ThirdSectorTrends

Headline findings will be published in December 2019 and the full results will be freely available from spring 2020.

Click here to start: https://durham.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/third-sector-trends-in-the-north-of-england-2019-live-s-2

Recent reports from the study so far can be found here

If you have any questions about the research and/or the questionnaire, please contact Professor Tony Chapman, St Chad’s College, Durham University, 18 North Bailey, DURHAM DH1 3RH, or by email: tony.chapman@durham.ac.uk.