We support organisations in developing and implementing effective safeguarding practices, especially when working with children, young people, and families.

Our goal is to ensure that local groups have the tools and knowledge to create safe environments for all involved.

Collaborating with other organisations can open doors to exciting opportunities.

Whether you’re working on a joint project, applying for funding as a consortium, or planning a merger, we provide guidance on partnership development and help you navigate the complexities of working together effectively.

CVS can support charities, voluntary and community groups and social enterprises to form partnerships and develop joint working arrangements.

Some organisations ask for help to identify potential partners, some want specific help to develop partnership documents, and others ask for support to ensure that governance behind the partnership is fit for purpose.

For more information, access NCVO’s guidance on partnerships, consortia and collaborations.

Additionally, the Charity Commission has specific guidance on collaborative working and mergers.

We offer one-to-one coaching sessions for voluntary, community, and faith-based organisations in Ealing and Hounslow.

These sessions provide tailored advice and strategies to help your group overcome challenges and achieve its goals. You’ll be asked to complete a brief questionnaire to ensure the support is focused on your needs.

Based on the information you provide, you will then access two 2-hour coaching support sessions with Ealing and Hounslow Voluntary Sector Support Staff.

Coaching sessions would cover the following priorities:

• Leadership Development
• Presentation / Public Speaking Skills
• Networking / Collaboration / Identifying local partners
• Marketing / Basic Online Skills
• Identify Staff/Volunteer needs and refer to relevant training
• Developing Policies
• Signposting to further specialist support and training
• Support with recruiting skilled volunteers
• Coaching support received will be tailored to meet the specific needs of your organisation

All participating organisations will be invited to an informal networking event in order to speak to other organisations that provide services in Ealing and Hounslow and to identify potential partners.

For further information or to request our needs analysis form, please contact: iain@ehcvs.org.uk

The Community Learning Bank is a one-stop shop offering valuable resources to support local groups.

Access the resources below:

NCVO

• Help and guidance for VCSE groups covering setting up, governance, running a charity, funding and strategy.
• Tools and guidance for trustee boards
• Evaluation Tool

Russell-Cooke Lawyers

• Legal information and advice, where you can also sign up for their regular e-newsletter with legal updates.

Local Government Association

• Toolkit: Partnership working with the voluntary and community sector

National Lottery Community Fund

• Free VCSE Strengthchecker

Society

• Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit

Sayer Vincent Resources

• Varied resources library

We are committed to helping small groups grow and succeed.

Whether you are a new or existing group, we provide advice on accessing funding, improving operational efficiency, and adopting good practices in governance, strategy, and service delivery.

The advice and support that we give can cover areas such as:

• Hands-on help with setting up your group
• Applying for charity registration
• Help with forming a constitution
• Roles and responsibilities of a management committee
• Monitoring and evaluating your work
• Funding information and support with completing funding applications.

Resources

• Setting up a new organisation
• Choosing your legal structure
• Understanding charity status and registration
• Understanding social enterprise
• A charity’s governing document: what it should include

To help charities and community groups reduce costs, especially in the current cost-of-living crisis, we provide access to national discounts via charity buying schemes.

We also offer information on major IT firms and telecom providers, ensuring your group has access to affordable services.

Useful links:

• Property advice for charities
• Help for charities to reduce their expenditure
• Community Ownership Fund
• VAT Implications of Charity Supporter Schemes
• Computing Discounts for Charity Workers
• Lenovo Discount Programme at Charity Digital Exchange
• BT Charity Discounts

In this section, there are documents relating to specific policy areas.

There are also a number of templates and forms that you can adapt to meet the needs of your group.

• Volunteer Policy
• Off-Site Lone Working Policy
• Health & Safety Statement Policy
• Equality and Diversity Policy
• Data Protection Policy
• Safeguarding Children Policy and Statement
• Redundancy Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• IT Usage Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Consortium Development and Good Practice Guidance

At EHCVS, we understand that a strong online presence is essential.

We offer Social Media and Website Development Support to help your organisation establish and improve its digital presence.

Our support includes:

• In-house and online training to help your team navigate social media platforms and website management
• Free templates for social media posts and website design to ensure your messaging is consistent and effective
• Bespoke 1-to-1 support tailored to your organisation’s specific needs, helping you enhance your digital marketing efforts and grow your audience

For more information or to request assistance, please contact Caitlin:

Email: communications@ehcvs.org.uk

Our Group Development Service offers a wide range of support, including:

• Assistance with charity registration and group setup
• Guidance on developing your group’s constitution
• Help with establishing quality systems and best practices
• Support in policy development

For more information or to request assistance, please contact us at info@ehcvs.org.uk

Key Quality Standards in the Voluntary Sector

Quality Standards – People Management

Quality Standards – Organisational Quality

Trusted Charity

Two-step process:

• Self-assessment – Online tool (English/Welsh) to evaluate performance and plan improvements. Subscription includes a free guide. Pricing varies by staff size (NCVO/WCVA members get 10% off).
• External assessment – Awards the Trusted Charity Mark, demonstrating excellence.

Data protection legislation covers everyone about whom you keep personal data. This includes employees, volunteers, service users, members, supporters and donors.

The legislation:

• requires organisations to register if they keep records (unless they are exempt, and this includes many charities and clubs)
• governs the processing of personal data, including sensitive personal data
• requires organisations to comply with eight principles for data protection
• allows employees, service users and other contacts to request to see the personal data held on them.

Every organisation should have a written policy and procedure that is specific to their context about how they handle personal data and enact privacy principles.

Requirements for these policies and procedures will change when GDPR takes effect. Read the NCVO guidance for charities on how to prepare for GDPR.

Charity Finance Group have also produced GDPR: A guide for charities

Support from the regulator

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the regulator for data protection and privacy law. Their website is an excellent source of information and support and includes:

• Advice for small and medium organisations
• An advice service by phone on 0303 123 1113 with a specific service for small organisations (option 4). You can also email casework@ico.org.uk
• A self-assessment toolkit for small and medium enterprises
• A code of practice for writing privacy notices
• An extensive index of specific guidance on a broad range of related topics like marketing, CCTV, data deletion, and filing systems

Sample policies

It can be hard to write a policy from scratch. There are a number of suppliers of sample policies. These are intended as guidance only and should be developed alongside the guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure it is specific to your circumstances.

• NCVO members can access free guidance on writing a GDPR-compliant data protection policy on the NCVO Knowhow Nonprofit website.
• Bates Wells Braithwaite law firm has a customisable and GDPR-compliant data protection policy you can purchase on their Get Legal document production site. It takes you through a guided questionnaire to produce a bespoke policy.