Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis across Birmingham’s Voluntary, Community, Faith & Social Enterprise Sector

BVSC and Barrow Cadbury Trust Cost of Living Event took place on 1 November
Over 140 people heard how Birmingham City is being impacted by the Cost of Living crisis
Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector organisations providing vital services are facing both increased demand and rising costs
Toolkit to help the sector to tackle the crisis launched – can your organisation contribute to this?
Event report to published by Christmas

A Cost of Living event for Birmingham’s Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector took place on 1 November 2022. Over 140 people attended the event organised by BVSC and funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust.

We were delighted to be joined by several speakers on a wide range of topics including:

Overview & Birmingham City Council Response - Richard Brooks, Director of Strategy, Equality and Partnerships, Birmingham City Council
Birmingham’s Food System Strategy - Cllr Mariam Khan, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care, Birmingham City Council
Employment & The Real Living Wage - Andrew Gordon, Programme Officer, Living Wage Foundation
Citizens Advice Response – Janice Nichols, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice Birmingham
Crime & Community Safety - Tom McNeil, Assistant Police & Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands
Health & Wellbeing – Michelle Howard & Elisabeth Sheppard, The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS)
Community Buildings & Warm Welcome – Fred Rattley, Director of Community Regeneration, Church of England Birmingham and Chief Executive, Thrive Together Birmingham

Workshops took place throughout the day led by experts from across the sector and partners on key themes:

Employment & Volunteering – The Living Wage Foundation; BVSC
Finance & Funding – West Midlands Funders Network; Birmingham City Council
Housing Poverty – Birmingham Social Housing Partnership (BSHP); Shelter
Food Poverty – The Food Justice Network
Utilities Poverty – AgilityEco (LEAP); Severn Trent Water; Smartlyte/ Get Families Talking
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion – Birmingham Council of Faiths; Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG)

A full list of speakers and workshops is available here.

Cost of Living Toolkit:

Sorry you missed out? Don’t worry – we’re launching a toolkit to help the sector tackle the crisis including:

Presentations and supporting documents from the event (will be uploaded within one week of the event)
Information and resources from sector and partner organisations to be provided on an ongoing basis

The toolkit will be made available here: https://www.bvsc.org/cost-of-living

Does your organisation have anything they would like to add to the toolkit? Please contact [email protected]

Event Report:

BVSC’s Research Team have started to pull together a report of the event which we hope to be published before Christmas – though they have a lot of material to get through! A link to this will be provided once published on our toolkit web page. A copy of the report will be provided to all who expressed interest in the event as well as to partner organisations.

Further Information:

Questions/ Comments: Contact Elizabeth Goodchild, Strategic Partnership Manager, BVSC [email protected]
Cost of Living Toolkit: https://www.bvsc.org/cost-of-living
Add to the Toolkit? Contact [email protected]

Latest

Geese Theatre Company - Board of Trustees

Geese Theatre Company works at the intersection of arts and criminal justice. We are looking to expand our Board of Trustees and are keen to hear from anyone interested in the way in which these two sectors combine.
Volunteer Lead - Full time

SIFA Fireside, Closing date: 3 May 2024
A day of better leadership: helping your team to be great

A training day to explore and improve your leadership skills. With an individual coaching session to ensure new skills work in your specific work context. Thursday 11th July Central Birmingham Fee £245.00.
Volunteer at New Hall Mill Sutton Coldfield

The Friends of New Hall Mill are holding volunteer opens days to recruit new volunteers to support a range of activities including gardening, helping inside the mill, at the gift shop, in the tearoom or as visitor guides.

Footsteps’ Energy Saving Flashcards in the Community

Footsteps - Faiths for a Low Carbon Future is one of the seven community organisations that make up BrumEnergy. Footsteps’ role in this project is to connect BrumEnergy with Birmingham’s faith communities.
Our second Open Conversation is launching soon

Open Conversations are open to everyone who works or volunteers in health and care in the NHS, Local Authorities and the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector across Birmingham and Solihull.
Expressions of Interest sought: Compassionate Communities and Death and Dying Matters Conversations

BVSC Grants are seeking expressions of interest for a Community Engagement Partner who can work with key VCFSE partners to support their work within communities to promote Compassionate Communities as well as death and dying matters conversations. We are keen for communities to be more confident in having discussions around death and dying whilst seeking support where necessary around these themes.
Engage for Funding webinars return on 15 April with a focus on data usage, collaboration and engagement

Engage for Funding webinars return on 15 April for a new spring season. The first three sessions combined will empower participants to develop stories from data, embrace collaborative practices and to engage with audiences on social media in more meaningful ways.
Heat Pump Workshop and Study Day

BrumEnergy partners Footsteps and Birmingham Green Doors organised this workshop to help faith community members share the benefits of using heat pumps in place of gas boilers.
Why Teens podcast is a finalist at the Inspirational Youth Awards Birmingham!

The Why Teens podcast was nominated in the Project of the Year category at the Inspirational Youth Awards Birmingham 2024.
Easyfundraising - Free funding? Now that’s unexpected

Did you know your organisation can receive funding every time your volunteers, employees, or staff shop online? Their everyday shopping can transform into a continual income stream for your organisation. You can raise up to £100 over a year, just from one person doing their weekly food shop, raise up to £45 each time someone switches their household bills, and raise up to £60 when they book a holiday. Find out how this free service works.
Watch Me Play!

Watch Me Play! is a way of supporting babies and young children (aged from 0-7) and their caregivers. Developed with the needs of young children in care in mind, the approach has been found helpful in a wide range of contexts, including perinatal service, post-adoption, young parents, supervised contact, as well as for children who have emerging but unclear needs, and as a first line or waiting list intervention.
West Midlands encouraged to ‘rise up’ and shine for young people this May

Businesses and individuals across the West Midlands are being urged to ‘rise up’ in a special month-long event aimed at tackling youth unemployment across the region.
The Hottest Ticket In Town

Hotly anticipated tickets for the new Birmingham Community Lottery are now on sale, with the first weekly draw taking place on Saturday 30 March. At a cost £1 each, winners could scoop up to £25,000.