This information is reproduced from Sandy Adirondack’s legal update emails for voluntary organisations. To subscribe to these emails, send details to legalupdate@sandy-a.co.uk.

VAT is an extraordinarily complex tax, but organisations which ignore it do so at their peril. Any organisation, including a charity, which does not register when it has to will face substantial penalties (the registration threshold for 2018-19 and 2019-20 is £85,000 of taxable business supplies – goods or services – in any 12-month period or expected within the next 30 days).

An organisation can register voluntarily if it makes taxable supplies, but its level of these is below the threshold. If it does not do this when it would be advisable to do so, it may lose the opportunity to claim back some VAT it has paid. But the decision to register voluntarily is complex, and should never be taken without advice from a VAT specialist (and for charities, this specialist should have expertise in charity VAT).

Whether a charity is registered for VAT or not, it should be aware of the reliefs available to charities, for example on much charity advertising and many fundraising materials. Failure to claim these will result in paying unnecessary VAT.

Basic resources

• Made Simple guides: VAT. Sayer Vincent accountants, August 2018, 24pp, PDF: via https://www.sayervincent.co.uk/resources/made-simple-guides/. In my opinion, the best starting point.
• How VAT affects charities. HMRC, VAT notice 701/1: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-vat-affects-charities-notice-7011.
• VAT. Charity Tax Group: https://www.charitytaxgroup.org.uk/tax/vat/. Similar to the above but explains more of the background, and includes more examples

Courtesy of Slough CVS, Volunteer Centre West Berkshire,  Involve Wokingham, Involve Bracknell

Voices From The Frontline 

Voices From The Frontline supports women’s organisations to shine a light on their fight for gender equality in the UK. The fourth round of the grants programme deadline is Tuesday 14^th May.

Throughout history, every single advance for women’s rights and gender equality – including property ownership, access to education, equal pay and reproductive rights – has only ever been achieved by bold, brave women becoming informed, getting organised, mobilising others and taking action to tackle injustice and inequality head-on. They want to fund this work!

This programme offers grants of £500 to £5,000 to support charitable campaigning work across Rosa’s four pillars (leadership and representation, safety, health and economic justice). We’re looking for new voices to stand up and take action.

Find out more about Voices From The Frontline

Children In Need’s Small Grants programme

Children In Need’s Small Grants programme is open to charities and not-for-profit organisations applying for any amount up to and including £10,000 per year for up to 3 years. Check the information below to see if your project should apply and that you meet our minimum standards for grantmaking.

They give grants to projects working with children and young people of 18 years and under experiencing disadvantage through:

• Illness, distress, abuse or neglect
• Any kind of disability
• Behavioural or psychological difficulties
• Living in poverty or situations of deprivation

The next deadline is 27^th May 2019.

Find out more about Children In Need’s Small Grants programme

Triangle Trust 1949 Fund – Development Grants
Core funding for charities, not-for-profit social enterprises and community interest companies in the UK that are working to support unpaid carers or the rehabilitation of offenders or ex-offenders to help them make a step-change in their development and therefore build increased sustainability for the future. Read more

Road Safety Trust
Grants are available to public and professional UK-based organisations for activities that will reduce the risk of death and injury for all road users. Read more

Lawn Tennis Association – Facility Loan Scheme
Loans are available to help LTA-registered venues in Great Britain deliver projects that enhance community facilities leading to a growth in the number of people playing tennis. Read more here.

Canoe Foundation
Deadline: 30th April 2019
Grants for clubs, community groups and regions across the UK with an active interest in wider canoeing participation. Read more here.

Wooden Spoon Charity
Projects must fall within Wooden Spoons Vision Statement: Our aim is to make a positive impact on the lives of children and young people through our commitment to quality charitable work.  Applications can be submitted at any time.
For more information see  https://www.woodenspoon.org.uk/apply-for-funds

WHSmith Trust Community Grant

The WHSmith Trust is now offering grants of up to £500 to voluntary organisations and schools from the proceeds of the compulsory carrier bag levies across the UK. Grants are awarded every six months to charities, schools and community groups of any size, provided they support the community in the UK. Find out more about the WHSmith Trust Community Grant

Magic Little Grants Fund 2019

Small one-off grants are available to small local charities and community groups in Great Britain that are engaging hard to reach individuals, encouraging them to take part in physical activity to help improve their physical health. To read more please click here.

The Allen Lane Foundation

Grants are aimed at reducing isolation, stigma and discrimination, and to encourage or enable unpopular groups to share in the life of the whole community and make a lasting difference. Running and core costs are also covered to support the organisation to become sustainable. For further details please click here.

Atul Pathak Community Awards 2019

Community Grants from £500 to £3000 plus additional support through a year-long corporate partnership. Open to registered charities and community groups.
Eligibility
Applications for all types of projects for all types of community groups, both ‘Not for Profit’ and registered charities can apply. Preference is given to smaller groups and charities working in the preferred areas. (Bracknell is a one of the preferred areas.)

What is Covered?
“Supporting the community is not about dictating what we think the community needs, it is about supporting the needs of the community. Therefore, we do not have set criteria for the types of projects we will support”. (see guidance for any exclusions).

How much you are applying for is not the prime concern: what you will do with the money and how Atul Pathak and Appt Corporation is able to support you throughout the year is what we are interested in.

Projects relating to environment, sport, health, welfare and education have been supported.

Annual grants of £500-£3000 are available. In addition to Atul Pathak Community Awards, Appt Corporation will provide corporate assistance where possible. This can include:
• Contributions from associated organisations in fields ranging from accounting, to assistance with promotion and back-office functions.
• Manpower from Appt Corporation employees and volunteers to help on winning projects.
• Use of the well equipped training facilities owned by Appt Corporation in Hanwell and Notting Hill Gate to host events.
• Catering for community events.
• Business development advice from Atul Pathak and his team.

Deadline
Apply before 30th April 2019 using their application form and guidance. Please contact community@apptcorp.com if you would like further information about the Atul Pathak Community Awards.

Tree Futures Grant Schemes

Funding is available to assist schools and community groups in undertaking well-planned tree planting projects across the UK during National Tree Week. For further details please click here.

Community learning is fun, motivating and helps ensure your reach your goal!

Our charity is fortunate to have funding support from West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council Adult Community Learning to deliver community focused training opportunities.

Last month we delivered a training session on an Introduction to Community Organising with Community Organisers Limited (CO Ltd) in Calcot. The session was well attended by a broad cross section of community groups and volunteers from West Berkshire and beyond. Community Organising is the work of bringing people together to take action around their common concerns and overcoming social injustice. When people are organised communities get heard and power begins to shift creating real change for good.

Alex Neale from Community Organising

Alex Neale and Dominic Taylor ran the energetic and interesting session from CO Ltd, feedback from learners included:

“The training was interactive and well lead, I really enjoyed it” and “It was all great, really impressed, I most enjoyed sharing stories and experiences with others in the room.” “I really found the listening activity powerful.”

CCB are currently planning a repeat session of the Introduction to Community Organising session in Wokingham in May and a new session linking Community Organising to Neighbourhood Planning projects. To register your interest for either event please e-mail gemma.pearce@ccberks.org.uk and follow us on our Facebook page to be the first to see when events are published: https://www.facebook.com/CCBerkshire/

Eleanor Craig from Yell.com

At the beginning of March we ran a session in Swallowfield with Eleanor Craig from Reading based global company Yell.com. Eleanor is Senior Marketing Manager and a Social Media guru at Yell, CCB are very grateful to her for giving up her time and expertise to create a really thorough Social Media training session for community groups and buildings.

The session allowed learners to bring along their smart phones/tablets and laptops and update or put in practise their learning immediately whilst in the room. We examined and discussed the benefits of using free social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google my Business and Yell free listing. Feedback from the session was really positive with everyone rating their knowledge at a higher level than when they entered the room. One learner stated that “I just wanted to thank you for a really great training session last night. I found it really informative and it has given me lots of food for thought as to how we can better utilise these channels.”

If you work for or volunteer for a community group or parish council and would be interested in attending a future Social Media training session please register your interest by e-mailing gemma.pearce@ccberks.org.uk

Future Training

Emergency Life Support Skills & Defibrillator training. FREE – 7PM – 9.30PM

Run in partnership with Heartstart Swallowfield

Thursday 21 March, The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham RG40 1UE,             Online booking; https://ccberks.wufoo.com/forms/z1k60lu30hs7ora

Wednesday 22 May, St. Nicholas Centre,  Sutcliffe Avenue, Earley, RG6 7JN               Online booking; https://ccberks.wufoo.com/forms/z1m7jz8l0fbyesy/

Topics covered in the training include:

• Priorities/the conscious casualty
• Cardiac arrest
• Suspected heart attack
• Choking
• Serious bleeds
• Automated External Defibrillator
• ELS Certificate

Food Hygiene Training

Achieve an Introductory Certificate in food safety

Equivalent to a level 1 qualification. Certified by the CIEH (chartered institute of environmental health, Suitable for anyone works/volunteers in a food environment occasionally. For example, those helping at cake sales, PTA events, scout camps and church fetes.

£20 CCB/CBAS members, £30 volunteers, £50 for those training for paid work

Sat 11 May 10.30am – 2.30pm. St. James’ Church Centre, Church Lane, Finchampstead RG40 4LU. Booking link; https://ccberks.wufoo.com/forms/zug1hxk0lyx5ci/

Your skilled trainer Ally has a post graduate diploma in dietetics, 25 years’ experience of working in the food sector, an affiliate member of the CIEH and a registered trainer with the CIEH. The training will also cover food allergies and how to avoid pitfalls.

Why not train with a friend/colleague – it makes learning more enjoyable and it is great to share your experience.