This week is Small Charities Week! We’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on the incredible work of the small (as well as all other shapes and sizes) charities and groups that reside and give tirelessly to the communities of Milton Keynes! This is also an opportunity to find out how we can support your group or charity, through the recent funding we have received from the National Lottery! Read on to find out more …
It’s Small Charity Week this week – an annual campaign that aims to amplify, support and connect small charities right across the UK. You can out more and explore the calendar of events planned for Small Charity week on the official website here!
We wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to the hundreds of small charities that work across Milton Keynes, supporting those most in need and running a wide range of vital and creative projects and activities! We offer a range of support and resources to VCSE groups and charities in Milton Keynes, which you can explore throughout our website!
We also wanted to use the campaign as our opportunity to highlight our programme of support for voluntary and community groups in Milton Keynes, which we are delivering as part of our capacity building programme, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. This work is related to developing VCSE Networks to represent the voices of Milton Keynes communities.
Background
Milton Keynes is stronger when organisations work collaboratively, so through Community Action: MK’s National Lottery funded programme we are building and supporting networks made up of VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) Sector organisations and strategic partners. This is a great way of ensuring local people’s voices are being heard and the needs of our diverse communities are being addressed.
We will be bringing organisations of all shapes and sizes together within networks to share information, skills and support, and to identify opportunities for collaboration (for example, through joint funding bids, research projects, or joint communications).
We want to build on the work already developed as part of existing and effective networks such as the Mental Health Alliance, which has been active for nearly three years, or the newly-developing Refugee Support Network, which – as described by one of the groups involved – “give opportunities to learn and link up with others”.
What we are doing
VCSE Networks in Milton Keynes focus on a huge range of themes and issues. Through our programme we will particularly focus on developing and supporting three new and emerging VCSE networks: Food and Essential Items (focusing on bringing groups that support people experiencing food poverty and suffering at the hand of the cost of living crisis); Refugee and Asylum Seekers, and Climate Action, and next year we will look to develop a pilot network based in two of the most deprived areas of our City.
How
Collaboration and lived experience data
As well as supporting collaboration, our work will also focus on ensuring the voices and lived experiences of the huge range of communities across Milton Keynes that VCSE groups support, are heard and have influence with decision and policy makers, and those designing services. We will do this by developing systems to capture lived experience data and communicate it effectively to have the greatest impact. We will continue developing the MK Voluntary Sector Alliance. The Alliance is made up of members of VCSE organisations who are part of different thematic networks. The aim of the Alliance is to represent the VCSE sector as a whole, amplifying the voices of the communities it serves, and actively engaging with decision makers.
Events and meetings, and skills-sharing
Through this programme of work, Community Action: MK will facilitate opportunities for organisations to meet (both virtually and in person when possible), receive and share information and insights, and access training to strengthen capacity and to gain news skills for those that work or volunteer with them. We also want to make sure that we tap into the skills, expertise and insights that many of the local groups already have – we will do this by running co-learning and networking events and sessions.
Building relationships with other sectors
We will also make the most of the existing connections and create new opportunities to build relationships and work closely with other sectors (e.g health/ public), especially those that make decisions about the local services.
Promoting inclusion
Inclusion will be at the heart of this work. This means making sure that the networks and groups participating in networks represent a wide range of communities, with a particular focus on those that have been marginalised and are at greatest needs.
It also means giving opportunities to take part in smaller, less formal grassroots- led groups, those that have not had the chance to get involved yet (and finding out what support or resource they need to participate).
Benefits of joining networks
- Connecting with other groups and organisations
- Identifying collaboration opportunities
- Identifying joint funding opportunities
- Training and networking events
- Sharing knowledge and resources
- Having a stronger, collective voice to influence decisions and plans
- A better understanding of needs in Milton Keynes
- Getting the lived experience of communities heard
- Greater awareness of services related to your area of work and the people you support
How can we get involved?
If you are a voluntary group or a charity delivering services or activities in Milton Keynes and are not already part of the networks, but would like to join, we would love to hear from you – get in touch at networks@communityactionmk.org.
Upcoming meetings & events (open to all)
- Thursday 27th June- Meeting of the Mental Health Alliance
- Tuesday 9th July – Meeting of the Refugee Support Network
- Thursday 11th July – Meeting of the Food & Essential Items Network
- Tuesday 16th July – lunchtime information session about MiDos, the NHS directory of services (open for VCSE groups to register on)
- Tuesday 10th September: Charity Reporting information session
- Thursday 3rd October: Community Action: MK AGM