11 Feb Kent & Medway Funding Fair 20 Feb
BREAKING NEWS: Tickets for this years Kent and Medway Funding Fair Are Going UP! Book your ticket online on or before Friday 15 February to guarantee your ticket price of only £10 per person. As of Saturday 16 February the ticket price will increase to £15 per person. - This event is now closed

25 Jan FREE Safeguarding and Disclosure & Barring Seminar - Maidstone 22 Feb.
Online bookings are now closed

17 Jan Swale Enterprising Women Powering Ahead
Thanks to the grant from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG), Diversity House – a local charity based in Sittingbourne, can expand their project helping women in one of the county’s most deprived boroughs to develop their skillset and seize enterprising opportunities Read more...

14 Jan Kent & Medway Funding Fair 20 Feb
Funding for All are delivering the 2013 Kent and Medway Funding Fair at Longfield Academy on 20^th February. This event will give you the opportunity to hear from and speak to funders and support organisations at a range of seminars. There will be a market place with 25+ exhibitors including local organisations who generate their own income. One to one sessions will be available with Funding for All plus the chance to network with other organisations from across the county. - This event is now closed

12 Nov NAVCA & Locality budget submission
NAVCA and Locality have sent a budget submission to the Chancellor, George Osborne MP. They make the case for a fund that will help micro social enterprise and local charities generate growth in the poorest areas. The submission calls for a fund of £150 million to provide £3 million growth funding to the 50 most deprived areas in England read more...

5 Nov The PCCs first 100 days in office
Safer Future Communities partnership have published this briefing outlining key early activities for police and crime commissioners (PCCs) that charities and community groups need to think about. This guide is based on what PCCs are likely to want to do in their first 100 days in order to meet certain fixed deadlines for documents, reports and budgets.

31 Oct Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) Hustings, Medway 6 November
Download Flyer

24 Sep. Top Quality Youth Clubs
Four youth clubs in Kent have been the first to achieve the Young Kent Quality Mark for youth organisations.  Their achievements were celebrated at a presentation event last Thursday attended by volunteers, trustees and young people from each of the clubs.  The four clubs included Thanington Resource Centre Youth Club (Canterbury), Switch Youth Café (Maidstone), Phoenix Youth (Sandwich) and Andrew’s Youth Club (Broadstairs). 
Young Kent supports youth clubs through the award which looks at all areas of the youth clubs policies, governance and how they work with young people.  Victoria Suchak from St Andrew’s Youth Club said “It has been a very productive process, it’s raised our standards and we are now working more as a team.  The club has expanded, there is a more positive atmosphere and there is more for young people to do.”  As part of the process, the clubs are visited and observed by Young Kent and the youth club leaders attend regular seminars and build a portfolio of evidence.
Young Kent is committed to raising the standards of youth organisations in Kent and is working with a further fifteen groups to help them achieve the Quality Mark.  Eve Johnson, Chief Executive of Young Kent said “It is fantastic to see real change and improvements in the clubs.  This kite mark is really helping clubs provide a better service to young people, raising aspirations and helping young people achieve their full potential.”  These comments were echoed by Nigel Baker, Head of KCC Integrated Youth Services, who added “Praise should be given to the volunteers, who have worked incredibly hard to achieve the Quality Mark; they are leading the way and I hope it will inspire other clubs.”
For more information on the Quality Mark please contact Alison Davis at Young Kent on 07944 343925.

06 Sep KCC Budget Proposals 2013/2014
Read the proposals and have your say   

04 Sep. Kent Youth Organisations Merge to Form Young Kent
Youth organisations and young people across Kent will soon benefit from the newly formed organisation ‘Young Kent’ following the partnership of Kent Youth and Kent Council for Voluntary Youth Services. Young Kent will be dedicated to helping the development and fulfilment of young people in the County by working closely with youth organisations, bodies and groups throughout Kent and Medway.
Kent Youth has partnered with Kent Council for Voluntary Youth Services to form a new organisation to provide a single resource for the many diverse youth clubs, associations and bodies across the county. Combining their core strengths the new Young Kent organisation will provide support, information and its expertise to guide, support and represent youth organisations and groups.
The new president of Young Kent, Peregrine Massey, said, ‘This is an exciting collaboration between two of the leading youth movements in Kent. Young Kent promises to provide youth groups across the county with a single resource to help them achieve their goals of being totally focused on supporting, mentoring and helping young people in Kent.’
Agreement by the trustees of both Kent Youth and Kent Council for Voluntary Youth Services will see them working toward a full merger, but as of September 4th they will be jointly operating under the new name of Young Kent.
Young Kent’s new mission statement reflects the two organisations’ united ideals and outreaching goals for young people in Kent:
‘To be the leading youth work organisation in the county for voluntary and community groups. To provide essential support services to member organisations, represent their best interests and provide opportunities for young people to reach their full potential.’

1 Aug Website Funding seeks Talented Web Developer
Medway Voice is seeking a talented Medway-based web developer to take up a new opportunity to create the Virtual Medway multi-purpose web-platform as part of the Transforming Local Infrastructure project – an eighteen month funded project.

The Virtual Medway website is to provide innovative online support to voluntary and community organisations in Medway as they respond to the challenges and opportunities of the Big Society.

10 July Kent Community Foundation
View the latest funding news

28 June Community Right to Challenge
As of the 27^th June 2012 local groups have the right to express an interest in taking over the running of a local public service, which the authority must consider and respond to. It presents voluntary, community and social enterprise groups with the opportunity to take part individually or collaboratively in a public service procurement process.
Further information on Community Right to Challenge is available at:
Community Right to Challenge comes into force
My Community Rights
Kent County Council’s Bold Steps for Kent highlighted the authority’s commitment to engaging the Kent Voluntary and Community Sector in public service delivery; and in response to yesterday’s launch of the Community Right to Challenge have issued a briefing paper for voluntary, community and social enterprise groups.
At Kent CAN we believe that Community Right to Challenge is an excellent opportunity for local groups to create support packages that are tailored to the needs of their own community. As your countywide representative we want your opinions, so if you have a view please take five minutes to complete our short online survey. The survey closed Friday 6 July.

18 June Business Development Officer, Medway 

Following a successful collaborative bid to the Transforming Local Infrastructure Fund, a unique opportunity now exists to play a pivotal role in identifying and delivering on opportunities emerging from an innovative cross-sectoral Medway Partnership, that support the development and sustainability of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Medway. The role of Business Development Officer will additionally support the delivery of further strands in the bid including Medway Marketplace and Virtual Medway. If you are results driven, have a flexible empowering approach that recognises the value and diversity of the communities in Medway, a can do attitude and the ability to work effectively with a range of partners, we would be interested in hearing from you.
Salary: £24,000 Hours: 37 Hours per Week Contract: Fixed Term Contract to 30th September 2013 Location: CVS Medway, under1roof, Chatham ME4 6BB Closing Date: 10am, Friday 29th June 2012 Interviews: Will be held on the 9th July in Medway For an informal chat about this post please contact: Martin Featherstone, Chief Executive, CVS Medway: Tel: 01634 812850 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Download: Application Form, Description and Person Specification This post is funded by Transforming Local Infrastructure, which Big Fund is delivering on behalf of the Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office. CVS Medway is an equal opportunities employer . Charity Number 1042475

11 June "Preparing the VCS for Commissioning" by the PCC
the event planned for 14th June has been postponed and will now be held on 3rd October click here to book 

11 May Inside Track funding news
Please click here to view a copy of the latest edition of "Inside Track" newsletter produced by the Kent County Council External Funding Unit which contains the latest information on national, regional and local sources of funding

29 May "Preparing the VCS for Commissioning" by the PCC
registration is now closed

02 May Faith in the Big Society
Vinbrooke Support Kent and Faith to Engage are working in partnership with Department for Communities and Local Government, Houses of Parliament Stronger together CIC, African Caribbean Forum, Equality Cohesion and Faith to Engage, etc. to support members of their faith communities and cultures regarding those working with local communities and families.
They have arranged a day on 26th May 2012 to bring together people of faith and those committed to community improvement and involvement, such as the police, social services, local government officers, faith leaders and community groups/Organisations.  For further Information Please Click Here

02 May Compact Voice General Survey – help them spread the word
They’re circulating a more general survey to Compact Voice’s 2800 members, and they would be extremely grateful if you could help spread the word about it (and the chance to win a Kindle for completing it) to your local partners and the wider voluntary sector. The link to the general survey is: www.surveymonkey.com/s/2012CompactVoiceSurvey
Help them to beat last year’s coverage of 74% of local Compacts!
How does completing the survey help?  Last year, your responses helped them to develop clear campaigning messages. For example, they were able to say that 88% of respondents felt that the Compact was "important and needs to be implemented in full". However, they also confirmed that more national leadership on the Compact was needed to set the tone for local work. They believe that this point has been taken on board by government. The Compact has been named as one of six cross-departmental business plan priorities going forward. This means that departments must ensure their activities deliver against these six key priorities. The Department for Communities and Local Government also published their Best Value Statutory Guidance this year, which makes explicit mention of the Compact and reaffirms the government’s commitment to Compact principles. They know that more needs to be done, and your views will help them to move things forward. They will be publishing the results of the survey in a report in Summer 2012. The survey is now closed

 23 March Big Society Co-operative - recruitment opportunities
Click the links to view the adverts Administrator and Project Manager

26 March The VCS and Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner
In November Kent goes to the polls to elect its first ever Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and Kent CAN have been asked by NAVCA and Clinks, a national charity, to provide the link between the PCC and VCS. Read more....

6 March    Kent Community Foundation
read the latest funding news

5 March  Coastal Communities Fund
A new fund to help support much loved seaside towns create new jobs and prosperity click here for further information. Application deadline 27 April 2012

22 February Charities Act Review
The review has now moved into its consultation phase, with the launch of a number of different opportunities for those inside and outside the charity sector, read more.....

9 February Coastal Communities Fund
A new fund to help support much loved seaside towns create new jobs and prosperity was launched today (9 Feb). The £23.7million Coastal Communities Fund has been created to provide struggling coastal communities with money to support new opportunities that can make their town prosper. Seaside groups could use the money to start programmes that can deliver skills training, offer apprenticeships to school leavers, create new workspaces or support small-scale transport improvements. View the prospectus setting out eligibility, suggestions of how to use funds and details of how to bid was published today: Read the press notice here. more details to follow

6 February Kent Community Foundation
View the funds open for application

30 January Funding Fair, 19 March
North Kent Training Service, part of the North Kent CVS Partnership is hosting a FREE learning network event on the 19th March 2012. Read more...

13 January Kent Big Society Fund now open
Read more

16 January Inside Track
Please click here to view a copy of the latest edition of "Inside Track" newsletter produced by the Kent County Council External Funding Unit which contains the latest information on national, regional and local sources of funding

13 January FREE Workshop - An Introduction to Consortium Working
The Big Society Partnership is holding a free workshop event in Ashford on the 24th January

The workshop provides an opportunity to discuss and explore all aspects of consortium working and will cover a range of topics including:

• What makes a successful consortium?
• Legal aspects of setting up a consortium, quesiton and answers - led by Jane Adams, Bircham Dyson Bell, Charity Law firm of the Year 2011
• Writing a Memorandum of Understanding
• Identifying partners
• How the Big Society Partnership support consortium working and tendering

04 January Kent Community Foundation - read the latest funding bulletin

22 December Kent Forum Briefing December 2011
Read the latest briefing

21 December Opportunities for the VCS
Read the letter from Paul Carter, Leader of KCC to the VCS

20 December Kent County Council prioritises vulnerable and voluntary sector as budget confirms 0% tax rise
KCC unveiled its spending plans for the next financial year read more...

19 December Kent Big Society Fund
Read the press release from Kent County Council

19 December Inside Track
Please click here to view a copy of the latest edition of "Inside Track" newsletter produced by the Kent County Council External Funding Unit which contains the latest information on national, regional and local sources of funding. 

08 December 2011 Jobcentre Plus Local partnership opportunities
The Jobcentre Plus team exist to help their customers move into work as quickly as possible. They want to work together with partners across Kent & Medway and are offering this opportunity to improve the job prospects for local people click here.

08 December 2011 Ethical Business Award for CAP
Shepway social enterprise receives the nationally recognised Social Enterprise Mark
Folkestone-based CAP Enterprise (Kent) cic - a specialist community interest company, has recently been recognised for its work in supporting community groups, charities and social enterprises across Kent. Since it began trading in early 2010 CAP has quickly developed a reputation for giving no-nonsense support to organisations caught up in the challenges of finding funding and managing themselves.
The CAP team, led by former Enterprise Gateway Director, Jason Martin, were presented with the prestigious Social Enterprise Mark during National Enterprise Week. CAP is the first social business in Shepway to achieve this status, and one of only a few (less than 10) in Kent to have met the Social Enterprise Mark’s stringent criteria.
CAP Enterprise was formed in 2009 in response to a need in Kent for a professional umbrella organisation that could help provide hands-on support to other social enterprises of all types. CAP offers support at all levels of organisation from charities looking to embrace social enterprise to large community based initiatives.
Jason Martin, Founder Director at CAP commented: “Our goal is to support the creation of 2,000 self-sustaining social enterprises across Kent. We want to help set up and develop organisations that earn their own money ethically, and that use their profits to help the Kent society. We’ve worked with over three hundred organisations since we launched and receiving the Social Enterprise Mark is a great honour for CAP. It goes to show that we are practicing what we preach.”
Anne Mountjoy, Marketing Manager from the Social Enterprise Mark Co. added: “As the only certification for genuine social enterprises, the Mark guarantees businesses which meet defined criteria, proof that they trade for people and planet. The Mark helps those businesses promote their business ethics and values. We are delighted to welcome CAP as the first infrastructure organisation to receive this award and have no doubt they will inspire others to follow this great example of social enterprise.”
Government data estimates that there are 62,000 social enterprises across the UK, contributing £24 billion to the economy and employing around 800,000 people. Experts foresee social enterprises as the future for business – mixing sound commercial sense with a desire to have a positive social and environmental impact.05 December 2011

To book your place log onto http://www.trainuscreen.eventbrite.co.uk.

PLEASE BOOK BY Friday 9th December 2011 Or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information

02 December 2011 - SNAPSHOT December Funding News
Click here to view the bumper edition

29 November 2011  VAT exemption for charities that share services
Announcement made as part of today's autumn statement by Chancellor George OsborneThe government will introduce an exemption that allows charities to share services without paying VAT, the Chancellor, George Osborne announced in his autumn statement today. Read more...

28 November 2011 - Slice of £10m to jump start sustainable living in the South East
Big Lottery Fund (BIG) is investing £10million of good cause funding to jump start more sustainable living across the country and communities in the South East are invited to apply for a slice of the funding.
Communities Living Sustainably will fund partnerships that bring together the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to build up to 10 sustainable and resilient communities to help deal with the potential impact of climate change.
For further information including details on how to apply please click here

28 November 2011 -  Advice Fund now open for applications
Advice Services Fund is funding from the Office of Civil Society (OCS) to support organisations in the free advice sector that have been affected by reductions in public spending. The programme aims to enable not-for-profit advice organisations to continue providing free services to people in their communities in England. Read more... 

22 November 2011 - Learning Disability Services New Model, Shepway Day Services Consultation
View further information and the relevant documents for this consultation.

22 November 2011 - Collaborative fundraising challenges
The KM Charity Team is accepting requests from organisations wishing to have blocks of places at its shared fundraising events. In 2012 the KM Charity Team will stage three abseils and two sponsored bike rides at various Kent locations. It will also stage the KM Dragon Boat Race at Mote Park, Maidstone and the Kent Water Zorbing Championships in Herne Bay. All seven events can be used by any charity or good cause to raise funds for themselves. All of these receive media publicity through KM Group newspapers, kmfm radio stations and Kentonline website.

There is no cost to your good cause for taking up places at a collaborative event. KM Charity Team handle all aspects of the event ticketing, staging, sponsorship forms, stewarding and check-in – and will supply a promotional toolkit to help you let your supporters know about the event. The KM Team will stage a photocall with your local KM Group editor where you will receive the sponsorship raised. You can use these high profile fun events to beef up your fundraising calendar in 2012.

To find out how your good cause can benefit from these successful collaborative events call Simon Dolby on 0844 264 0291 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

21 November 2011 - 'Inside Track' - KCC Funding Newsletter
Read the latest newsletter produced by the Kent County Council External Funding Unit

10 November 2011 - Vital Connections Conference 15 Nov complimentary tickets

27 October 2011 - Kent Forum Briefing - October 2011 - Read the October edition

07 October 2011 - Save the date - Compact Week
Following a 12 week consultation The Kent Compact will soon be relaunched. The Compact is an agreement between government and the voluntary and community sector on how to work together better and help build better partnerships in your area. Save space in your newsletters, at your AGMs, and in your marketing material for the relaunch and support your Compact during Compact Week Monday 7th to Friday 11th November.

04 October 2011 - Free Deaf Awareness Training
12th and 14th October read more... download and application form

12 September - Big Lottery Fund Consultation
The Government has opened a 12 week consultation on proposed policy direction for Big Lottery Fund in line with the transfer of responsibilites for BIG to the Office of Civil Society in the Cabinet Office.
The consultation invites views from a wide range of stakeholders which inclde the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and other government departments.
Click here to view the consultation documents and email your views to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Deadline for responses is 18 November 2011

16 September 2011 - Transforming Local Infrastructure in Kent
The partnership leading Kent's bid for the Transforming Local Infrastructure Fund would like to get your views about what services you wish to see in the next few years and how you would like them to be delivered.
The Big Society Co-operative leading Kent's bid has put together a very short Survey Monkey questionnaire that will only take 2-3 minutes to complete. Please note because of the short time scale on submitting the bid the survey is now closed.

14 September 2011- Shaping the Future of Youth Services in Kent
Kent Youth invites all voluntary youth organisations in Kent to their evening conference at the Ashford International Hotel on Thursday 20th October from 5:45pm - 9:30pm Download the flyer
Kent Youth would like to hear from you, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your good news stories and photos about your work with young people and groups over the last year. Kent Youth will include this as part of a rolling Powerpoint display to demonstrate some of the great work carried out by voluntary sector groups. Anyone wishing to book should email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

23 August 2011 - Older People Services in the South East Questionnaire
Big Lottery Fund is committed to making a significant investment in issues affecting older people over the next few years and the first phase of this investment is due to be announced in the Autumn.
With this in mind BLG are keen to build up a picture of what is happening in the South East region in terms of what services exist and where, unmet needs, successful and innovative projects and key stakeholders.
BLF would very much appreciate it if you could take time to have a look at the questions and let them know if you have any information that may be helpful in building up a picture of services for older people in the South East. This questionnaire will close Monday 22nd August 2011.

23 August 2011 - The draft Vision for Kent 2011-2021 Consultation is now closed
The consultation closed 22 August 2011

15 August 2011- Foundation Degree in Volunteering
Starting in September 2011 Canterbury Christ Church University will be commencing a new Foundation degree in Volunteering - Grow your skills in the voluntary sector. The programme is designed to help:

* Develop new skills and adapt to different roles
* Find out more about the changing nature of the voluntary sector
* Learn from and share knowledge with others in the sector

Lots of support is offered to help with studies at both University and in the workplace. Experience of working in the sector and/or formal qualifications are necessary.
Interviews will be held on 30th August 2011.
To find out more about this qualification, which has been developed in collaboration with Canterbury District Community Alliance, please view www.canterbury.ac.uk/fdvolunteering or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 01227 782 418

07 August 2011 - Big Society in Kent 2011 Questionnaire - closed 7th August 2011
Working in partnership with Kent CAN, CAP Enterprise is assessing the support needs of the county's third sector in the light of Government cuts, economic challenges and reduced public giving.
By talking directly to over 5,000 third sector organisations CAP Enterprise intend to create an up-to-date, accurate picture of how Kent voluntary and community sector organisations are addressing the opportunities and threats of the Big Society in 2011.

01 August 2011- Youth Service Hub Consultation
Closing date 29th October 2011 - click here to access

07 July 2011 - Kent Partners' Compact Refresh 2011 Consultation
The consulation opened on the 7th July and closed on the 30th September 2011

07 July 2011 -Third Annual Kent Voluntary & Community Sector Conference
View the presentations from the day.

30 June 2011 - Kent Forum Briefing - 2011
Please click here to view the Kent Forum Briefing for June to update all partners on developments across the Kent Forum including the signing of the Kent Recommitment and the launch of the Vision for Kent consultation.  Further information is available at – www.kentforum.org.uk.
Contact details for relevant articles are given in the briefing, however if you have any questions on the briefing itself please contact David Firth on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

28 June 2011 - Kent Connects Technology Exhibition & Conference, 16 September, Maidstone