Understanding Welsh Places (UWP) is a digital tool born of the collaboration between the IWA, Carnegie UK, CLES, Wiserd and Welsh Government. It offers a unique service: making data about small towns and places in Wales accessible in one place, in a fully bilingual format. The upcoming publication of the 2021 Census data promises to be a watershed moment in making comprehensive up to date information available, with potential to improve our services. In this workshop, you will learn about the UWP tool, its potential for your place, and have the opportunity to contribute your thoughts on where it could go next.

Volunteering has long defined communities’ responses to a crisis. The devastating scale and frequency of crises we’ve faced recently has put a spotlight on voluntary action – its importance, impact and sustainability. From Storm Dennis, through the Covid-19 pandemic, to welcoming refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, we are trying to answer the questions of what motivates people to volunteer at a time of crisis, what the impact of recent significant spikes in volunteering activity has been on the sector, and will there be any long-term effects? Join us for an overview with John Drury, Professor of Social Psychology at University of Sussex and Natalie Zhivkova, Volunteering Policy Officer at WCVA.

The Revitalising Trusts Programme helps charities who find it difficult to spend their income for the public benefit by assisting them to use their income and assets effectively. The Charity Commission is working in partnership with Welsh Government and Community Foundation Wales(CFW). The Programme aims to assist ineffective or inactive charities and provide them with simple options to wind up, transfer or revitalise their charity. Many trustees are unaware that there are thousands of inactive funds with a monetary value in the tens of millions, many with small nominal incomes, that could be pooled and used more effectively to provide local charities with much needed support.

This session will cover the advice and support available at the Architectural Heritage Fund, in the form of grants and loans, for social enterprises which either operate from and / or are planning on taking ownership of a historic building in Wales.

Join this session to hear what community groups across Wales are doing to tackle the cost of living crisis, and find out how you can get involved in campaigning for change.

Have you heard the term Social Prescribing and wondered what it is? In this workshop we explore what is meant by social prescribing, including:
• how it can be transferred to the workplace and education settings to improve wellbeing
• how ‘greening’, ‘nature connectedness’ and ‘biophilic’ design to promote psychological wellbeing
• how these ideas can be used when caring for others, as well as enhancing our self-compassion
• how to develop a closer relationship with nature and our ‘ecological selves’
• practical ideas to take away

Social Prescribing is gradually becoming an integral part of NHS primary care support in Wales (Primary Care Hub, Wales, 2018). There is growing evidence that social prescribing, carefully matched to personal needs can result positive health and wellbeing, and improve a person’s quality of life (National Academy for Social Prescribing, 2021).

A participative workshop focused on helping organisations understand where they are in terms of data so they can plan to improve. The session will feature a brief introduction to data maturity. Then each participant will undertake a free data maturity assessment of their own organisation. Then, in breakout groups participants will compare and contrast their data maturity assessment scores and discuss how this might shape their approach to data improvement. Finally the workshop will end with a suggestion of next steps.

Platfform is the mental health and social change charity. Within our young people’s services, we see first-hand the power of young people’s voice. We’ve been on an incredible journey since setting up our first co-produced wellbeing project, moving towards a way of working that shares power with young people and challenges us to do better.
Join us to hear about the journey of our State of Mind project, where this has led us to today, what young people feel is important in mental health services and how the process of coproduction has brought wellbeing benefits for us all.

A brief guide of how employers can begin to create a safe space for employees, volunteers and service users by taking a stand against violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. The webinar will include:
• Signposting to relevant resources and support for those impacted.
• A brief discussion of sexual harassment in the workplace and the legal requirements of employers.
• A survivors story.
• An insight into how employees may be impacted by these issues both in work and in their personal lives.
• Guidance on how employers can meaningfully stand with survivors and support impacted staff members.

At the height of the pandemic 345,000 people were juggling employment with unpaid care responsibilities, equating to 25% of the Welsh workforce. Without support, working carers can see their health, finances and careers negatively impacted.
Adapting to the changing workforce, this interactive session delivered by Carers Wales covers
• Relevant research shaping government policies
• Advice for working carers and carers looking to return to work
• Tips for organisations to meet the needs of their workforce and unlock business benefits
Following the session you will receive a hard copy of our Working Carers Guide, a perfect resource for line managers and employees.

Whether it’s a small huddle space, a home office, a large meeting room or even a shared community hall, a sustainable modern meeting space connects and engages communities across the country and even the world. Join us to discover how you can use Microsoft Teams and the very latest, innovative Teams-certified devices to help build your own sustainable modern meeting space. We will also feature a case study to show first-hand the positive impact that a sustainable modern meeting space has had within the voluntary sector, as well as the benefits it has brought for these organisations and their communities.

The incidents of mental health amongst young people is on the increase, along with self-harm and eating disorders. This seminar will explore the different types of mental health difficulties that young people experience and the behaviours that can accompany them. Various ways of building resilience will be introduced and how young people can be supported.

You can get clued up on refugee facts in just 60 mins. Join us for an interactive session exploring migration patterns, what the papers say, and what the data really tells us. You will learn:
• Myths from facts
• Framing – and how it affects most of us
• Tools to have conversation with your friends
• How you can welcome refugees

In the post-Covid era, many organisations have embraced the practice of home and hybrid working and have seen happier workforces as a result. However, other employers have continued to struggle to get the balance right, to convince staff to come back to the workplace, or to work out their long-term strategy on this issue. This in turn can have negative effects on workforce morale, staff turnover and recruitment. In this webinar, we will talk about the employment law and HR implications of changing someone’s place of work, whether it is possible to compel a reluctant employee to attend the workplace, and will provide guidance on developing a clear policy on homeworking that is right for your organisation. We will also discuss the practicalities of managing employees when they are working remotely and what to do if this is affecting their productivity.

Charity organisations often feel out of their depth when it comes to implementing EDI in their everyday operations and we want to ensure that support is given to help encourage others to ‘do EDI’ well and make it meaningful in their day to day activities. At WCVA we have revisited our own EDI ethos and worked hard to gain a better understanding of ourselves and how our people feel as well as looking at the services we provide to our members. Now is the time to share our experiences with others and encourage smaller organisations to embark on their own EDI journeys.

This session will give you an introduction to assessing, measuring and managing the social effect of any organisation or activity using the Principles of Social Value.

The Newid Partners (WCVA, ProMo Cymru and Cwmpas [formerly Wales Co-operative Centre]) will present some of the learning we have gained through six months of planning and delivering Newid: digital for the third sector. This will include insights from the baseline survey run throughout March 2022, which was completed by over 500 organisations. We will also reflect on the importance of digital in the future of Welsh voluntary organisations, and what the Newid services have taught us about how the sector understands digital.

A session exploring ways in which small charities can begin to grow their charitable income through donations, even when they have never had donations before. Looking at online donations, regular giving and legacies, Funding School founder Rosie Cribb, will be in conversation with Clare Sweeney, expert public fundraiser, to learn about ways in which charities can start exploring this often untapped area of fundraising, which offers great scope for long term financial sustainability. Listen to some amazing examples of fundraising success within charities with very little previous experience of this type of fundraising.

We will also here from a small charity that has established their own monthly giving scheme from scratch and learn from their experiences.

This event is sponsored by www.fundingschool.co.uk which specialises in offering digital and group coaching courses to accelerate your fundraising- sign up via the update for free fundraising resources and course news!

The Open University’s Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) offers free leadership development courses and resources that are rooted in our research. Join us to find out more about:
• Free leadership development courses on our OpenLearn platform
• Leadership Learning Clubs
• Online resources and events
• CVSL’s underpinning research on leadership and collaboration

How much would you invest to retain your employees, or to attract new colleagues to your organisation? HSF health plan, the trading company of the charity The Hospital Saturday Fund. Heather will explain how their health plans make employee benefits accessible to employers with little or no budget, but still have an impact for you, and your employees!

Localgiving has provided 1:1 support to over 350 charitable organisations across all 22 counties in Wales. Since 2016, our Wales programme has provided free training and match funding to small and medium sized not-for-profits that want to learn more about online fundraising. We help organisations to raise awareness of their work and make it easy to receive donations via the internet. Join our session if you would like to learn more about securing unrestricted income through individual donors, fundraisers and monthly giving. There will be a focus on crowdfunding through online campaigns and information about the grants that we offer.

This interactive session will introduce you to Children’s Rights and the National Participation Standards for Wales. As well as learning about what Children’s Rights and the Participation Standards are, we will get you thinking about how you can uphold the rights of the children and young people you work with, and work towards the Standards in supporting them to have their say.

Does your work include providing health or social care services? Or supporting & advising people accessing these services? Learn more about improving the lives of unpaid carers, and the Carer Aware resources available to help you:
– understanding carers’ legal rights;
– how to work effectively with carers, based on what carers say;
– how to support carers in their interactions with health and social care services;
– encouraging and supporting co-production approaches between statutory sector / third sector / unpaid carers;
– how to access our free training, achieve CPD hours, and gain the coveted Carer Aware badge.

This is an awareness talk presented by one of Kidney Wales’s Volunteer Ambassadors. Our ambassadors have a personal connection to kidney disease and are passionate about sharing their lived experience to help raise awareness across Wales. The talk will cover Kidney Health, Kidney Disease, Transplantation and Dialysis, an account of lived experience with kidney disease and some information about Kidney Wales and how we support patients and families. By raising awareness of kidney disease, we hope to create a more supportive and understanding environment for those it affects and the people around them.

The National Lottery Community Fund has launched its UK-wide conversation described here: Putting Communities First. This is the start of a UK-wide conversation about how The National Lottery Community Fund can best support people and communities to thrive going forward. This workshop will be an opportunity to hear more about the how the organisation is renewing its strategy and the findings of a recent review of what is happening in Wales.

The voluntary sector has had to respond to a number of major crises in the past few years, from climate change to the pandemic and assisting refugees fleeing conflict. It is important that voluntary organisations are able to respond effectively to these types of crises. Join us for a panel discussion where experts from the sector will discuss how voluntary organisations can be ready to face a crisis.

Despite the increase in remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic, recent reports suggest that bullying and harassment remain prevalent issues in the workplace. Although employees may be spending less time in the physical workspaces, research suggests that bullying and harassment, and in particular, sexual harassment, have taken on new forms in the virtual workplace, and that there has been an increase in bullying and harassment online. In order to avoid potential bullying and harassment in the workplace, employers must ensure that Equality and Diversity training is delivered on a regular basis and that they have a fit-for-purpose Equal Opportunities policy in place. Each organisation needs to demonstrate that it has created a non-discriminatory organisational culture that is “lived and breathed” by everyone. During this webinar, our HR and Employment experts will outline the principles of protecting Equality and Diversity in the workplace, how to avoid harassment claims, and the potential consequences if employers fail to take steps to do so.

It’s been a tough two years, and while some individuals, groups and organisations prioritise getting back out amongst their communities, others are prioritising supporting from afar in this new digital normal. We’ll be hosting an open discussion about where communities are at, and how we can all best support people to reconnect and communities to thrive. Join us to learn more and network with like-minded people.

The valuable community response to the Covid19 pandemic and other major emergencies, highlighted the need for effective volunteer coordination. Supported by the Wales Resilience Group, British Red Cross, funded by a Volunteering Wales Strategic Grant, coordinated the research and consultation to improve emergency response coordination of volunteers in Wales by exploring partnerships within and between the third, private and public sector. This session will present the final report with recommendations for a framework for coordination that will go to the Welsh Government Resilience Forum to take forward.

Welsh Government published a new Code of Safeguarding Practice in Spring 2022 aimed at a broad range of organisations: Working together safeguard people code safeguarding practice. Welsh Government expects individuals, groups and organisations offering activities or services to follow this advice. This will demonstrate reasonable steps are being taken to ensure the safety of children and adults at risk. This interactive workshop will give an overview of the code and how it can be used. Breakout rooms will offer the opportunity to discuss aspects of the code in greater depth and how to put this into practice in your organisation.

EYST invites you to join our new leadership Team to explore working with Diverse communities. Hear from experienced Family Support and Youth workers on how to provide the best support to the Ethnic minority communities across Wales and to improve your awareness and understanding. Session aims to be fun and interactive!

Good risk management is fundamental to an organisation achieving its aims and is at the heart of good governance. The principle purpose of risk management is to identify possible risks to your organisation achieving its aims and to allow you to set up procedures to avoid the risk or better cope with its impact, with a view to protecting your organisation. This session is intended to assist you with your organisation’s approach to risk management.

The Regional Integration Fund (RIF) aims to identify replicable and scalable models that can address some defined health and social care priority areas. The RIF:
• Is a crucial driver to transform systems,
• Will identify the components of 6 Models of Care,
• Will deliver what matters to achieve health and well-being outcomes for people
This session explores where volunteering fits into the picture – where can (and do) volunteers have an impact and how we can we measure its value? Speakers will describe the aims and expectations of the RIF, suggest where volunteers can contribute and discuss approaches to gathering evidence of volunteering impact.

The Co-production Network for Wales has been funded by the National Lottery Community Fund to carry out a five year project, supporting Public Services Boards (PSBs) to improve their co-production and community involvement. In this session we will recap what we did in our first year, during which PSBs produced the Well-being Assessments that then inform the Well-being Plans and their implementation; and we will share learnings from the practical experience, that are transferrable across sectors. A brief presentation will be followed by a Q&A and a discussion on the way forward.

•  Are you interested in free learning to help improve your skills as a volunteer?
•  Would you like to help others by inspiring a love of learning and supporting people you work with?If so, then come along to find out more about our OpenLearn Champions Programme in Wales. OpenLearn is a free online resource of over a 1000 learning resources created by Open University academics. There is a range of topics to explore; through short courses, articles, podcasts, videos and much more. Whether it’s a five minute exploration or a 50 hour expedition into learning that you’re after, you will find it on OpenLearn. After the workshop you’ll be invited to become an OpenLearn Champion, so you can help others to access free learning on OpenLearn.

The Wales Co-operative Centre announced in April that it had changed its name to Cwmpas. Founded in 1982 by the Wales TUC, the organisation had established itself as the UK’s largest development agency for co-operatives and social enterprises. The new name signalled the next chapter for the development agency working for economic and social change. Catherine Evans is Policy and Communications Manager for Cwmpas, who led on the re-brand. If you’re thinking about changing your organisation’s name or brand, come along and find out from Catherine what was involved for Cwmpas, plus her top tips and lessons learned.

Together, the Fundraising Regulator and Chartered Institute of Fundraising Cymru will introduce participants to the essentials of fundraising and what organisations need to know in order to comply with the relevant legal and regulatory fundraising standards, as they expand into new income streams. Through exploring different scenarios, participants will understand how good practice principles should be applied to ensure their fundraising is legal, open, honest and respectful. We will also signpost to where and how they can find support and guidance on applying the Code of Fundraising Practice, as well as provide some top tips for using particular fundraising methods.

The world changed significantly in the first half of 2022. We examine the implications of recent events on the global political and economic landscape, and what this might mean for your organisation’s finances. As well as the effect on financial markets, we consider such questions as:

Inflation is at the highest levels seen in a generation, causing a ‘cost-of-living crisis’ – how resilient is your organisation to this risk?

Has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point towards ‘stakeholder capitalism’, a more inclusive model that should benefit all parties in society, rather than just shareholders? Will you benefit?

If you’re finding that obstacles such as time, availability, costs and location are proving challenging when organising face-to-face meetings, AGMs and other events, a hybrid approach can help you overcome all of this without sacrificing on the quality of the experience and its outcomes. Join us as we showcase the very latest tools and features that will enable you to maximise productivity within your Microsoft Teams or Zoom hybrid meetings, AGMs and events. We will also feature a case study, giving you a real-world account of how meetings, AGMs and other events can be run successfully using a hybrid setup.

In this informative, webinar run by experienced surveyors and property advisers, we help you cut bills and carbon footprint. You will receive an information pack with opportunities for Q & A. The webinar will help you:
• Look at your premises post pandemic with new eyes
• Find cost efficient ways to green your premises
• Update your green office policy
• Assess current energy usage and costs
• Improve Energy Efficiency to cut bills and carbon footprint
• Manage the process of change: involving trustees, volunteers, staff & service users
• Creating good habits for long term sustainability.

Are you a Trustee or a Non-Executive Director of a Charity, and are unsure of what is expected of you in that role? Or are you a member of a Senior Management Team within a charity, and are unsure of your reporting obligations to the Board? If you fall into either category, this is the webinar for you! Join Darwin Gray’s Fflur Jones for a whistle-stop tour of Trustees’ obligations in accordance with charity law, and also the duties of non-exec directors of companies limited by guarantee. Explore with us the importance of your charity / organisation’s governance documents, and how to rely and interpret them. Finally, we will explore the distinction between the duties of organisations’ executive teams, including their reporting obligations to the board, and the importance of Boards in defining and endorsing organisations’ overall strategies for the future.

A seminar introducing the support of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Promotion Team and the Welsh Offer.
We will explain the advantages of offering a Welsh medium service and how to go about designing it.
Receiving official recognition from the Welsh Language Commissioner for your Welsh Offer is an amazing way to let funders know that you have a solid plan in place and to show your users that you are proud to offer a Welsh medium service for the people of Wales.

Platfform is the mental health and social change charity. As part of a growing social movement, we believe a shift towards being trauma and relationally informed is fundamental in addressing the global mental health crisis. By infusing these ways of working into our policies, practice and approach we can create psychosocially healthy circumstance both for staff and the people we support, so that we can all have a chance to thrive. In this talk Dr Jen Daffin, will explore how Platfform is focusing on humanising its systems and making them healthier, more relational, more integrated, more reflective, and more connected.

Across all industry sectors, there is a daily threat of cyber attack which could compromise the integrity of IT systems and expose your organisation to cyber crime including data theft. This puts an organisation at risk of reputational damage, interruption to its core services and activities, regulatory sanctions and potentially significant unplanned financial costs. This session will look at the practical measures an organisation can take to protect itself including the benefits of cyber insurance.

A taster session for RNIB Vision Friends training. “Sight loss increases with age. Do you want to learn how to support people with sight loss to be more independent as they get older? Vision Friends is a free online training course funded by the Welsh Government that offers those who work with older people the skills to understand the needs of older people with sight loss. It gives advice on how to identify sight loss, seek help and make adaptations to allow older people to be more independent. The training can increase wellbeing and help reduce the risk of falls.

Disabled people are hardest hit by rising costs. The increase cost in energy prices, cuts to disability benefits and the general cost of living is creating a triple whammy for many disabled people. Disabled people across Wales have told us their fears about not being able to afford to heat their homes, buy food, pay for their impairment-related costs and support is urgently required. We will be presenting our research, gathered from disabled people directly and leading a discussion on how we can tackle this crisis across Wales.

This is an event to launch WCVA’s organisational resilience definition and indicators and the beginnings of a new model WCVA is creating to support voluntary organisations in their resilience-building journey. The aim is to provide an update on WCVA’s work and also to engage with the sector on this important topic. This will be an interactive event with a presentation, followed by breakout sessions for participants to feedback and respond. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

Come along to have a one-to-one chat with our team.
• Find out how we can support your organisation to develop staff skills.
• Tell us what your training and development needs are, and we’ll give you some solutions.
• See what options we have, ranging from our degree apprenticeship in applied software engineering, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and various short courses that can quickly help you learn and upskill.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the most significant disruption to the workplace in generations. From homeworking to Covid related sickness absences, employees have had to endure significant challenges and adapt to numerous changes over the past two years. With research suggesting that the stress and pressures experienced by employees during the pandemic will likely continue for the foreseeable future, as we ease into the “new normal”, it is more important than ever for employers to prioritise the mental health of their workforce. During this webinar, our HR and Employment experts will provide advice and guidance on supporting the mental health of your workforce in a post-pandemic world. We will discuss the following:

• When an employee’s poor mental health can lead to being a disability protected under the Equality Act 2010, and what the employer needs to do if so;
• How to identify signs of poor mental health amongst staff when they are working remotely and how to support all employees with their mental health; and
• The risks of getting it wrong or failing to act, with real-life case studies setting out how employers have gone wrong.

Children in Wales is one of the leading providers of safeguarding training in Wales, reflecting the specific legislative, policy and geographical context, with a strong emphasis on promoting the voices of children and young people. This seminar will provide an insight into up-to-date guidance and changes relating to safeguarding in Wales. Attendees will consider good practice around their policies and procedures. The session will explore the importance of having a competent safeguarding lead within their organisation, and how and why they should be auditing the effectiveness of what they are doing in this essential area of their work.

In the run up to the publication of 2021 Census data for Wales, the Welsh Government will provide an overview of how the population of Wales has changed over the past 10 years. This will include comparisons with other parts of the UK, as well as looking in detail at what lies behind population change in Wales, and some of its implications. It will also be an opportunity for you to tell us how you use these statistics in your work, or how they could be used by you.