Sector and Government support

There are a number of organisations collecting information and resources during this time. Here are the links our network are finding useful.

Government Business support

Main government Coronavirus Business Support page
Including details on Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-employment Income Support Scheme, Business Rates Holidays for Retail Hospitality & Leisure, Cash Grant for Retail Hospitality and Leisure, Small Business Grant Funding, Statutory Sick Pay Rebate, VAT deferrals.

Guidance - Claim employee’s wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention SchemeFind out if you’re eligible and how much you can claim to cover wages for employees on temporary leave (“furlough”) due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Sector bodies

Community Business sector

Power to change homepage
Overview of funding and other advice and blogs from across the community business sector.

Including latest community business specific updates on e.g. HR, Volunteering, Finance, Risk Job and any upcoming webinars. Includes latest on a key question: can you furlough staff and then they volunteer back in a different capacity? At the moment this is not fully clear but the latest here.

Advice regarding HR, governance, grants and tax relief and any upcoming webinars.

Plunkett Foundation - COVID-19 Pages
Advice and guidance for community businesses, from managing risks to supporting communities.

Charity and Social Enterprise sector

NCVO Knowledge Bank
NCVO’s member-only resources have been made available to everyone. Their Coronavirus section has information that organisations can use to decide what steps they need to take with contingency planning, staff, volunteers etc. They also have information on safeguarding.

A collection of news and resources for the sector that include briefings, links to resources (ie Legal support for members) and webinars.

Other sector resources

BITC's support hub enables organisations who are in need of support because of Covid-19 to be matched with a business who is offering to help. They have regional leads ready to process requests and help match up with the support requested.

COVID-19 Mutual Aid Groups - resources
Range of resources for mutual aid groups including safeguarding and data protection.

Good Finance - COVID-19: Resource Hub for Charities & Social Enterprises
This page contains information, resources and tools designed to support charities and social enterprises navigating COVID-19. These include information about funding, social investors, remote working etc.

A resource hub on cross-sector partnerships and how they are adapting. Public, private and social sector organisations who work in partnership are having to adapt their relationships in response to the measures taken to reduce deaths from the disease and contain its spread.

A crowdsourced collection of resources for Social Businesses and Charities created by ventures from the Year Here network.

Safeguarding and Data Protection

Government - Safeguarding Factsheet: Community volunteers during COVID-19 outbreak
A factsheet is designed to address specific concerns that people involved in supporting their community may have at this time.

SAFE - Online Safeguarding courses
Online Safeguarding Training for those who work directly with Children, Young People and Adults at Risk across the United Kingdom. You need to buy credits to do the courses.

A series of notes about Data Protection and GDPR that was delivered via Zoom from the National Food Service (17.03.20)

A hub with information to help individuals and organisations navigate data protection during this unprecedented time, including advice for community groups, business owners and organisations that are using people's data during the coronavirus pandemic.

Staff and Volunteers

This guidance note examines how Co-operatives UK members can protect employees from the spread of infection and how to approach situations linked with the spread of the virus. They also examine important issues including leave and pay - and provide responses to the most frequently asked questions.

Social Change Agency - Fiscal hosting for COVID-19 community groups
Information about a platform to help community groups and collectives who have formed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, easily receive donations and pay expenses through a host.

Volunteering Matters - Links to Businesses skills to support Charities
Help with connecting Charities to Businesses that have come forward to offer their support with their skills and expertise.

Using technology

Coronavirus Tech Handbook
The Coronavirus Tech Handbook provides a library for technologists, civic organizations, public and private institutions, researchers, educators and specialists of all kinds to collaborate on an agile and sophisticated response to the coronavirus outbreak and sequential impacts. It is a rapidly evolving resource with thousands of active expert contributors.

Inspiration for connecting offline and online

Fun Palaces - Tiny Revolutions of Connection
Practical suggestions, tiny steps anyone can take to connect a little more in their local community or simply pass time creatively in self-isolation. These steps are both online and OFFline.

Twitter discussion on links tools and guidance around services that need to take traditional interactions online (e.g a sensitive conversation with a young person through whatsapp or signing consent from paper to online).

Camarados - Spoon Rooms
A way to capture the spirit of Camarados Public Living Rooms online and making video calls more sociable in the more structured, time-bound environment of a videocall.

Helpful tools

13-week cash flow template
A 13 week cash flow template to project future possible scenarios, capture assumptions and refine over time to determine viability of an organisation. Originated by Key Fund and Debbie Lamb –perfected by Neal Trup.

HACT - Community Insight data
Community Insight data which includes data on people from at-risk groups, including:

Older people, people underlying health conditions and benefit claimants for health and disability.
Groups requiring additional support e.g.single-person households, households with no cars and prevalence of dementia.
Economic factors, including key workers and vulnerable sectors.