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VACANCY – Grants and Donor Services Officer

Grants and Donor Services Officer – Cumbria Community Foundation

22.5 hours per week (hours are negotiable)

Salary £22-£27K FTE depending on experience

Due to our continued growth, we are seeking to appoint a confident and committed professional to join our Grants team.  The Grants and Donor Services Officer will work with existing team members to ensure funds and programmes are delivered to the highest standard as well as supporting the development of new funds.

The successful candidate will be bright, articulate, enthusiastic, flexible in thought and have excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to lead on a variety of funds and programmes.

If you’re looking for an opportunity where you can make a difference, want to work with an established organisation with a varied and interesting work load, then download an application form and the job description and person specification or contact yvette@cumbriafoundation.org and return your form (a supplementary CV can be supplied in lieu of completing the application form as long as all relevant information is supplied) together with a covering letter explaining why you think you are suitable for the role.

Challenges are multiplying for communities in Cumbria that have already faced inequality and deprivation for years. There is a growing need to advocate for more – and more targeted – support for grassroots, community-led investment. This is an exciting opportunity to improve the lives of people in need in Cumbria by contributing to the philanthropic grant making capacity of the Community Foundation. If you have the drive to help us make an impact, we want to hear from you. 

The post is based in our office in Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth.

Completed application forms or CVs should be emailed with a covering letter to yvette@cumbriafoundation.org (subject line marked Private & Confidential).

The closing date for applications is midnight on Thursday 5th April 2018.

Shortlisting will not take place until the week commencing 16th April 2018.

Interviews will take place on Tuesday 1st May.

Older people told not to suffer in silence this winter

Older people in Cumbria struggling to survive the winter months in comfort are being urged to seek help after the Met Office warned the county is about to enter a period of chilly weather lasting throughout the rest of February and possibly into March.

Cumbria Community Foundation, which raises money for the Winter Warmth Appeal, is urging people over 60 and in need to contact their local Age UK to receive a one-off grant of up to £250. The winter fuel grants will pay for anything to do with keeping warm and well – energy bills, contributions towards new boilers and even hot meals, insulation or clothing.

Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive at the Foundation, said: “With the recent and forecasted drop in temperatures, and daytime highs barely getting above freezing, this support offers an essential lifeline to older people in fuel poverty.

“Falling temperatures place an increasing financial stress on older people, who often have to ration their energy use. Many are at risk and even die because of the combined effects of fuel poverty and social isolation.”

The lifesaving appeal initially started eight years ago because of shocking statistics of winter mortality among older people in Cumbria – an average of 300 people lose their life due to the effects of the cold weather every winter. The appeal, which encourages those who receive the Government’s Winter Fuel Payment to donate it to someone in need, has raised £150,000 and already supported 900 people this winter.

To find out more or donate to the appeal click here or call 01900 825760.

Cooke’s Crew Film Club thanks to £10,000 grant from Cumbria Housing Partners

Signal Film and Media are delighted to announce the long-awaited return of Cooke’s Crew next month, the film club for 12-16yr olds, thanks to funding from Cumbria Housing Partners and Barrow Borough Council.

The last Cooke’s Crew project ended in March 2017 and was originally scheduled for return last September, but had to be postponed due to funding limitations, now the cameras are ready to roll again.

The 20-week project will begin recruitment in March for a start in April 2018 and will target young Barrovians who don’t usually take up out-of-school learning opportunities using the language of film. Cooke’s Crew uses exciting varieties of creative digital media activities specially designed to offer an alternative pathway towards employment, further education and social development.

Independent Think-Tank, DotEveryone, identified people in Barrow as being ‘highly likely to experience digital exclusion’. Although young people inherently learn digital skills through using social media, computer games and access at school, in areas of social deprivation this does not translate to acquiring essential skills and knowledge about how to use technology productively – to improve life chances and to access job opportunities.

Kerry Kolbe, Co-Director at Signal Film and Media, said: “By encouraging the exploration of creative digital media through storytelling, young people will learn how technology, used positively, can be a platform for expression of opinion, sharing of experiences and communication to peers and the wider world.”

At the end of the course Cooke’s Crew participants will present a community screening of their work and will have worked towards an Arts Award qualification; a nationally accredited certificate that provides a recognisable marker of achievement.

The Cumbria Housing Partners Fund, administered by Cumbria Community Foundation, provides grants of up to £10,000 to community and voluntary organisations running projects aimed at improving people’s employability or education. Over the last 10 years Cumbria Housing Partners’ has been successful in supporting apprenticeships and community projects in neighbourhoods across Cumbria.

John Clasper, Cumbria Housing Partners Chair said: “We are delighted to fund this exciting project which will support over 100 young people in Barrow to access media and arts learning leading to qualifications. The skills they learn will boost their confidence and support them as they move towards independent life and employment. We very much look forward to seeing the finished project at the screening and meeting the participants.”

Andy Beeforth, CEO of Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “The Cumbria Housing Partners Fund aims to bring real, positive change and bring local communities in Cumbria closer together. We are passionate about matching fundholders with the most deserving projects in Cumbria. This fund is particularly important because it will directly improve skills of some of the most disadvantaged people in our community.”

£65,000 awarded to eco friendly communities

Community projects promoting sustainable living along the Solway Coast have received a share of £65,000 from the Robin Rigg West Cumbria Fund.

The fund, set up by energy company E.ON and administered by Cumbria Community Foundation, benefits community projects close to the Robin Rigg offshore wind farm that promote sustainable use of energy and resources, reduce climate change, and support nature conservation.

Castle Hill Trust

Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre (CBDC), based at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle received £10,000 to help fund their Solway Nature Networks project. Working in the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, CBDC will encourage local people to volunteer and map, identify and record the habitats and species of the Solway plain. This will provide valuable information about the area that hasn’t until now been sufficiently recorded. The project will end with a roving exhibition of the wildlife discovered and celebrate the hard work of the volunteers.

Deborah Muscat, Manager at CBDC, said: “Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre noticed that it was not receiving as much wildlife data for the Solway Coast as other parts of Cumbria.  We are delighted to receive a grant for our Solway Nature Networks project from E.ON and CCF.  It will allow us to recruit and train a group of volunteers to help us find out more about habitats and species in the area.”

Formerly known as The Settlement, the Castle Hill Trust in Maryport received £15,000 to upgrade the heating system in the building. The Trust, formed in 2017, provides volunteer-led activities such as arts and crafts sessions, a Job Seekers club and Friday night youth provision. The funding will make the grade 2-listed Georgian building a warmer, more pleasant place to meet, with reduced energy consumption and running costs, meaning more  to spend on new activities.

Jim O’Rourke, Trustee, said: “I was delighted when I heard we had received the grant. The improvements should significantly reduce our energy bill, enabling us to provide more support to the local community. Cumbria Community Foundation has supported our predecessors and we are extremely grateful that they have agreed to continue to support local people through Castle Hill Trust.”

Emma Skelton, E.ON Business service coordinator, said: “E.ON is proud to be an active member of the community. It’s great to see our fund benefiting so many local areas and projects.”

Annalee Holliday, Grants & Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “Since the fund was established in 2009 it has invested almost half a million pounds into the local community. Promoting sustainable living is so important these days, and funds like the Robin Rigg West Cumbria Fund are crucial in helping projects make a bigger impact in their area.”

The Robin Rigg West Cumbria Fund considers applications once a year. The closing date for the next round is 23rd November. For more information, visit our grants page.

Communities in West Cumbria benefit from new fund

Residents of Egremont and Cockermouth can now benefit from the newly launched Lord Egremont Fund for West Cumbria.

The fund, created by Lord Egremont to support his family’s long-term involvement in the community, and managed by Cumbria Community Foundation, recently awarded its first grants.

Time to Change (West Cumbria), which runs the Calderwood House hostel in Egremont received £5,000 to help start up a new allotment project. Residents will work together, under the supervision of a trained horticulturist to grow vegetables that are then used in the kitchen. The project will offer a safe and healthy space to work as a team, giving residents a support network to deal with issues such as isolation, depression and low self-esteem, as well as getting them out in the fresh air.

Rachel Holliday, Director at Time to Change, said: “We are always looking at new ways we can work with our community for the benefit of others.

Thanks to the grant, residents will have the delight of growing their own food, providing a healthy diet with lots of learning in the fresh air, as well as keeping food costs down in the hostel. We are so excited to get going and we know this grant will leave a real legacy to help the homeless in our area.”

In addition, the project received £2,000 from the Shepley Group Grants, also administered by Cumbria Community Foundation.

A further £5,000 was given to Egremont Youth Partnership, which provides a range of activities throughout the week for young people, including young adults with learning disabilities. The sessions give youngsters an alternative to hanging around on the streets; helping to keep them out of trouble and reducing anti-social behaviour, while developing the their skills and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.

Bern Hellier, Trustee, said: “The Trustees are grateful and delighted with the support we have received this year from the Lord Egremont Fund towards our core running costs. We are entirely dependent on grant aid and fundraising. There is a real need for youth club provision in the town. Over the next year, with this support and that of our other funders, we will be able to run a varied programme for young people in youth sessions which are held on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights in our premises in Chapel Street.”

Lord Egremont, said: “I have been lucky enough to have known West Cumbria, particularly the town of Egremont, for almost seventy years. I have great admiration and respect for its people and am very happy to be able to help the community in this way.”

Community based organisations providing activities benefiting people in and around the two towns, and particularly projects that are volunteer-led or make good use of volunteers to support their work, are eligible for funding.

Annalee Holliday, Grants & Donor Services Officer, Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “We are very excited to be working with Lord Egremont to help identify projects his fund can support. We know, for example, 15% of households in West Cumbria have an income of less than £10,000 per year, and it is funds like this that are crucial in helping people improve their lives and getting them involved in their communities.”

To find out more or to apply see our grants page or contact Annalee Holliday on 01900 82470 or email annalee@cumbriafoundation.org.