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.
  • NEW: Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024 - a range of free recordings of sessions that were delivered as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week.

Finance

  • Embrace Finance has created a webpage containing a range of finance resources for VCSE sector groups & organisations.

Fundraising & Funding

  • 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
  • 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

  • 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.
  • NEW: 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.
  • NEW: Mental Health Support in Gloucestershire - we've put together a list of mental health support avaliable in the county.
  • NEW: 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.

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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • 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

Recruitment & HR

NEW! Room Hire

Social Media & Marketing

  • 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

System Governance

Training & Skills Development

  • Gloucestershire VCS Alliance training & events programme - we offer a range of fully funded learning & development opportunities for the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire. Find out about what's coming up here
  • Gloucestershire VCS Alliance Training Directory- we've created a free training directory for VCSE sector groups & organisations wanting to explore learning & development opportunities available to their team. 
  • Online training & webinars - you can catch up online and stream our recorded webinars and online training videos here
  • 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

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.
  • NCVO guide - practical advice and step-by-step information to help VCSE sector groups & organisations to manage volunteers and volunteering processes.

Miscellaneous

  • 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.
  • 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. 
  • 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.
  • 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. 

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.