CCB invites anyone living in rural Berkshire to share their experiences of accessing local healthcare services. We want to hear your stories of how easy or otherwise it is to see a local dentist, register with a GP, have a prescription filled or attend an out-patient’s appointment. We don’t need to know the details of your medical history, only your experiences of accessing services.

Why are we interested in this?

The short answer…:

We would like to see rurality recognised as one of the wider determinants of health: a range of social, economic and environmental factors which impact on people’s health. This would bring a greater focus on the location of health services in relation to where people live and ensure that issues such as outreach, accessibility, digital inclusion and rural isolation are on the agenda of the local health authorities.

The slightly longer answer…:

Anyone doing a little research into rural health and social care will find many articles that highlight issues that need to be resolved. Organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing, the Rural Services Network, the British Medical Association and the Nuffield Trust have all recently published articles exploring rurality and its impact on health outcomes and service accessibility.

Some suggest a review of the funding formula is required to address the higher cost of delivering services in rural areas. Others advocate for investment in recruiting more staff in rural areas. These ideas, and others, may be effective solutions, but they are long-term and require action at a national level. What can be done at a more local level to improve rural health outcomes?

Most articles on the issue of rural healthcare sooner or later come across the issue of data availability that can help shed light on the nature of rural populations and the accessibility of the services they rely on. ‘Rural’ is quite hard to define and statistics are rarely available at a fine enough granularity to understand the specifics of sparsely populated areas. Most studies seem to conclude that a better understanding of the unique nature of need in different communities is necessary, and that different places require their own solution.

‘Integrated Care’ is the new structure for health services and replaces the old network of Clinical Commissioning Groups. Integrated Care Systems have been created, governed by Integrated Care Boards, each of which has established an Integrated Care Partnership that brings together healthcare professionals, service users, charities and local authorities to inform service delivery. There are 42 Boards in England, with Berkshire split between NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (West Berks, Wokingham and Reading) and NHS Frimley (Bracknell Forest, Slough and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead).

Each Board is responsible for creating its own Integrated Care Strategy, and there is little evidence that the issue of rurality features within the emerging local strategies. If we are to have any success in changing this, we need to be able to tell the stories of people living in rural Berkshire: how our health and wellbeing outcomes could be improved by rural-proofing local strategies and improving access to healthcare in rural communities.  

We will soon publish how you can get involved with helping us understand this issue further. In the meantime, if you have any comments on this topic, please email us at admin@ccberks.org.uk

The community of Crowthorne stepped out in force on the first Friday of December for the annual Crowthorne Late Night Shopping event.

The High Street was buzzing, with hundreds of shoppers enjoying the Christmas market stalls and starting their Christmas shopping at local independent and artisan shops, businesses and cafes.

The event was opened by the Mayor of Bracknell Forest Borough, Councillor Ankur Shiv Bhandari, who presented prizes to three local school children for their winning entries in the poster competition to advertise the event.

Activities included a Santa Grotto run by Crowthorne Library staff, Christmas carols and festive lights by Churches Together in Crowthorne, fire and road safety demonstrations by Crowthorne Fire Station crew, a visit by The Wayz youth minibus, charity stalls and fairground rides. Thank you to Crowthorne Parish Council, Bracknell Forest Council, Wokingham Without Parish Council and Churches Together in Crowthorne for contributing to the cost of the road closure which made the event safer for all, and to all the volunteer marshals who assisted with event logistics and stewarding.

Local shops and businesses reported their best day of pre-Christmas sales ‘ever’ and thanked the organisers for their work, and the residents for joining in with the festivities and supporting traders by shopping local!

Comic Relief Community Fund

We are pleased to be managing this new fund on behalf of Comic Relief in England. It will provide grants of up to £10,000, supporting project delivery and organisational capacity building, helping organisations flourish.
The funding is split as follows:
• Up to £1,000 for capacity building
• Up to £9,000 for project delivery
We will fund applications from grass roots, community led organisations that can demonstrate how people with lived experience of the issues being tackled are involved in the organisation and the project.
Applications must sit within one of the four key themes:
A Safe Place To Be: Supporting people to rebuild their lives because of homelessness or forced migration.
Children Survive & Thrive: Supporting children up to the age of 11 to grow, play and learn
Gender Justice: Championing those who identify as women and girls, including initiatives tackling domestic violence, abuse or exploitation
Mental Health Matters: Supporting good mental health in communities and tackling stigma and discrimination. For more details please click here.

The Woodward Charitable Trust

The Woodward Charitable Trust only makes grants for core costs rather than specific projects as they recognise that smaller charities can find these hard to fund. They hope that this will have a more direct impact on the organisations that they choose to fund.

Applicants should take the time to read these guidelines in order to avoid submitting applications that are likely to be rejected. We know that preparing applications can be time consuming and we don’t want any organisation to expend that precious commodity unnecessarily.

Trustees only fund organisations that support at least one of the following three target groups and particularly look to fund projects that help families and young people and that are aiming to improve the life chances of their beneficiaries.

Please note that if your organisation also helps other groups outside our 3 priority areas you may still apply, however, it will be expected that the majority of your beneficiaries (more than 50%) are within at least one of these areas. If you do not give us details of how you help within our priority areas you will not be funded.
Trustees like projects that promote community cohesion and the development of skills that will change the outlook and outcomes for the users. Organisations that promote volunteering and involve both past and present users in their operations or management are encouraged. Trustees only consider applications for core costs and are looking for organisations which aim to achieve a positive impact in at least one of the following areas:
• Children and young people who are isolated, at risk of exclusion or involved in anti-social behaviour and projects to help those who have been in the care system. This also covers gang violence and knife crime, education and mentoring as well as projects that work to raise self-esteem and employment opportunities and encourage an active involvement in and contribution towards the local community;
• Disadvantaged families, this covers parenting support and guidance, mental health, food poverty, refuges and domestic violence projects. We understand that many organisations dealing with disadvantaged families may also work with other disadvantaged people, but please note that at least 50% of your service users must fall into our three priority groups in order to be considered for a grant. It is important to give us details as to how the work of your organisation fits within our guidelines;
• Prisoners and ex-offenders and specifically projects that maintain and develop contact with prisoners’ families and help with the rehabilitation and resettlement of prisoners and/or ex-offenders after their release.
The Trustees make two types of grants:
• Small grants – up to £3,000, but usually £1,000 or less;
• Large grants – Only a few large grants are awarded over £3,000 each year, and these are usually to charities known to the Trustees.
General Application Guidelines | The Woodward Charitable Trust

Deadline: The Trustees favour small-scale, locally based initiatives and most grants are only for one year. Trustees review grant applications twice a year, usually in March and October

Tesco Community Grants

Applications accepted on a rolling basis. Tesco Community Grants is open to charities and community organisations to apply for a grant of up to £1,500. Every three months,
three local good causes are selected to be in the blue token customer vote in Tesco stores throughout the UK. More info.

Community Energy Fund

Grants are available for not-for-profit organisations who can raise their initial funding through a crowdfunding campaign to support community projects committed to being environmentally conscious through ideas such as installing renewable technology or introducing energy efficiency measures in their endeavour to increase energy independence. Further info.

The Leathersellers’ Small Grants Programme

Grants up to £5,000 for charities registered and operating in the UK (including Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO) but not Community Interest Companies (CIC) that are working:

• to provide assistance to vulnerable people in their community
• in geographical areas of deprivation (within the UK) – they recognise all relative measures of deprivation as tracked by the Indices of Deprivation or similar tools. they ask who your work helps and why this is needed for that group or in that area so you can explain the need that exists there.
• with an annual income of under £200,000 (secured for the coming year)

They meet monthly, and close each round after 45 bids received.

Read more

Screwfix Foundation

We are passionate about making a difference to communities across the UK. We are a grant giving charity with a clear purpose to support projects that improve, repair and maintain homes and community facilities used by those in need throughout the UK.
The Screwfix Foundation currently offers local registered charities and not for profit organisations funding up to the region of £5,000.
How do we raise money? We raise funds throughout the year to support causes that will change people’s lives. Look out for raffles and fundraising weeks held within Screwfix stores and you can also round up your pennies when shopping online at http://www.screwfix.com or on the Screwfix app.
As well as helping local charities and not for profit organisations, we also partner with Macmillan Cancer Support, donating funds towards their home improvement programme, which helps people suffering from cancer in financial need with minor home improvements.

Before applying for funding from The Screwfix Foundation, your organisation MUST:
• Be a registered charity or not for profit organisation.
• Help those in need. This could be by reason of financial hardship, sickness, distress or other disadvantages in the UK.
• Be looking for funding to support projects that relate to the repair, maintenance, improvement or construction of. homes, community buildings and other buildings.
Further details here.

Deadline: All applications are reviewed individually by our team on a quarterly basis, the review dates are in March, June, September and December.

National Lottery Community Fund – regular funding programmes

The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has three rolling funding programmes:
* Awards for all (for applications under £10,000)
* Reaching Communities (for applications over £10,000)
* Partnerships (for applications over £10,000 for organisations that work together with a shared set of goals to help communities to thrive)
The aim of the programmes is to support communities to thrive by funding activities that:
* Build strong relationships in and across communities.
* Improve the places and spaces that matter to communities.
* Help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage.
Organisations can apply for funding to:
* Continue to deliver activity – whether the community needs crisis response, recovery or business as usual activity.
* Change and adapt, becoming more resilient to respond to new and future challenges.
Applications for all three programmes are accepted on an ongoing basis and further information on these programmes and how to apply can be found through the links above.

Newly Opened: CLA Charitable Trust
The CLA Charitable Trust is dedicated to helping those who are disabled or disadvantaged to visit and participate in learning experiences about the countryside.
We support charitable organisations that access the benefits of the countryside to pursue the health and wellbeing of people and to provide opportunities for education about the countryside in England and Wales.
Priority areas – Children and young people, disadvantaged financially, physically, mentally, or from areas of deprivation.
Who can apply – Small and medium sized charities and not for profit organisations such as CIC’s with clear social purpose based in England and Wales, who have not been in receipt of a grant from CLACT in the previous three years and have a current safeguarding policy.
What we fund – Applications for running costs, project works and capital works. Evidence of need should be demonstrated.
Click here for details.

Deadline: Please apply by 6th February for your application to be considered at the March meeting; 26th April for the June meeting; and 31st August for the October meeting.

Julia and Hans Rausing Trust – Foodbank Fund

The Foodbank Fund has been established in response to the cost of living crisis and evidence that many foodbanks are facing the combined challenges of increasing need, escalating running costs, and food donations failing to keep up with demand.
The Fund is open to applications from foodbanks for funding to help meet costs such as the purchase of additional food items and increased running costs.
The definition of a foodbank for the purposes of this Fund is a venue which regularly gives out emergency food parcels at least once each week and has been running for six months or more.
• You must be a not-for-profit organisation established before 1 January 2020
• Your annual income is between £25,000 – £1,000,000
• Applications accepted until 6 December 2022
Foodbank Fund – The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust (juliahansrausingtrust.org)

Deadline: 1st January 2023

Barclays and Sported Community Football Fund

Sported has partnered with Barclays on the Barclays Community Football Fund, offering small grants, training, kit and exclusive ticketing offers to make football more accessible in communities across the UK.
Barclays believe in creating opportunities for all through access to football. Through the Barclays Community Football Fund, we want to grow participation in football at every level.
Grants of £500 are available for groups wishing to start offering football, to those keen to expand their existing provision to new audiences or those already delivering football to under-represented young people.
Alongside the grants, the programme offers training and support resources to groups to help reduce inequalities in the participation of football.
The programme has a particular focus on including girls and young people from lower socio-economic and under-represented groups – including racially diverse communities, people with disabilities, and people from the LGBTQ+ community. More details here.

Deadline: Rolling until 31st December 2024

Schroder Charitable Trust

The Schroder Charity Trust makes grants of up to £5,000 towards core and project costs to charities registered in the UK for work under the following categories:
• Arts, Culture and Heritage
• Education, Training and Employment
• Environment and Conservation
• Health and Wellbeing
• Strengthening Communities
The Trustees are particularly interested in applications which can demonstrate the following:
• Building strong communities and an understanding of how to engage with intended beneficiaries
• Replicable and sustainable work, rather than one off events
• Value for money
• Maximising the use of volunteers
• Support of older people
• Support for marginalised/vulnerable younger people
• The use of helplines and information services
• Sustainability of funding i.e. the charity will not be solely reliant on a grant from the Schroder Charity Trust for their work.
More details here. Deadline: Rolling

Home Instead Charities

About Us: Home Instead Charities were founded by Home Instead, the UK’s leading provider of home care. Our mission is to end loneliness for ageing adults. We exist to bring happiness and joy into the lives of our ageing population through peer support lunch clubs, art clubs and music therapy groups. 
Criteria: Small, local registered charities for projects that further the needs of our ageing adult population, through well-being activities and programmes to prevent social isolation and loneliness. Most of your group members must be over 55 years old or the project you are requesting funding for must benefit people aged over 55.
Grant Size: Up to £1,500
Deadline for applications: Rolling programme

Grants For Good
Applications close on Thurs 15th December.
Making a positive difference to communities, people and the environment, Grants for Good is theMatthew Good Foundation’s first fund that invites local charities, voluntary groups or social enterprises that have an average annual income of less than £50,000 to apply for funding. Every three months, they will share £10,000 between 5 shortlisted projects that have a positive impact on communities, people or the environment. The project that receives the most votes will receive a grant of £3,500, second place £2,500, third place £2,000 and fourth and fifth place will both receive £1,000. Further info.

Future Communities Fund
Applications close on Fri 23rd December.
This new fund will offer grants of up to £30,000 a year for five years to organisations helping diverse young people develop the skills to become future leaders and activists. We have a total of £1.5m to award from this round of funding. If your organisation has an annual turnover of £250k or less with young people’s voices from all backgrounds and abilities at the core of your delivery, you may be eligible to apply. Click here for further information.

Thank you to Berkshire’s fabulous CVS’s for the information contained in this article – Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve, Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, Slough CVS & Reading Voluntary Action.

On Friday 18th November we held our 2022 AGM at Sulhamstead & Ufton Nervet Village Hall. Thank you to everyone that came – it was great to meet you all.

At the event we also officially launched Rural Hubs – 21st Century Village Halls. This project will enable community buildings to become more attractive, comfortable, and sustainable venues so that they can be enjoyed by all for the next 100 years.

This 5-year project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and The Prince’s Countryside Fund (Year 1), will support the transformation of village halls in Berkshire and help the volunteers who run these essential facilities to realise their ambitions.

At the event our Chair Sarah Morland officially presented a cheque from the National Lottery Community Fund to fund the project for five years.

She said, “It is a pleasure to see you all face to face again after two years of online AGMs. The scope of this project was dictated by our interaction with Village Hall trustees and their needs. A successful outcome of this project is to ensure halls are able to offer more activities, reach more people in their community and reduce loneliness and isolation.”

Tim Parry, CCB Chief Executive says “Supporting village halls has been at the heart of our work since the charity was formed nearly 50 years. I’m very excited to be officially launching this project and know that people in rural communities in Berkshire will have access to improved community halls that are warmer, more welcoming, inclusive, and vibrant because of it. I would also like to recognise the additional funding contributions from The Chiltern Estate, Englefield Charitable Trust & Peter Samuels Charitable Trust who enabled us to scope and develop this project to deliver it effectively this autumn.”

Kate Meads, CCB’s Community Buildings Advisor added; “This project will enable us to help village halls trustees to identify where they need to make changes to improve their venues, like being able to offer free Wi-Fi, upgrade insulation and heating systems, thinking about accessibility issues, etc. My role is to support hall volunteers to prioritise the changes they want to make, support them to implement these plans and help them access funding for their upgrades.”

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online – from your weekly shop to your annual holiday – you could be raising free donations for Connecting Communities in Berkshire with easyfundraising?

There are over 7,000 brands on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds.

All you need to do is:

1. Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ccberks/?utm_campaign=raise-more and join for free.
2. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.
3. After you’ve checked out, the brand will make a donation to Connecting Communities in Berkshire at no extra cost to you whatsoever!

There are no catches or hidden charges and Connecting Communities in Berkshire will be really grateful for your donations.

Thank you for your support.

If you shop on Amazon then head over to Amazon Smile where you can earn commission for CCB while you shop, again at no extra cost to you: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1056367-0