EVOC

Menu 
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Annual Reports and Statements
    • Board of Directors
    • Edinburgh Community Lottery
    • Edinburgh TSI
    • EVOC Membership
    • Meet the EVOC Team
    • Publications & Reports
    • The Red Book
    • Vacancies
  • Contact Us
  • Forums
    • Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Forum
    • Edinburgh Disability Forum
    • Edinburgh Mental Health Forum
    • Older People’s Service Providers’ Forum
    • Third Sector Strategy Group (TSSG)
    • Voluntary Sector Forums
  • Networks
    • Children, Young People & Families
    • Community Link Workers
    • Edinburgh Community Transport Operators Group (ECTOG)
    • Edinburgh Health Walk Network
    • Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network
    • Locality Operational Groups (LOGs)
    • Small Area Networks
    • Substance Use Network Edinburgh (SUNE)
    • Voluntary Sector Forums
  • News
    • Edinburgh’s Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund: The Story So Far
    • Events, Seminars, & Workshops
    • EVOC Blog
    • Our Latest E-newsletters
    • Supporting the People of Ukraine
  • Noticeboard
  • Partnership
    • Edinburgh Communities Climate Action
    • Climate Action Stories
    • Conversations & Communities
    • Edin Health & Social Care Partnership (IJB)
    • Edinburgh’s Promise
    • Get On Board Edinburgh
    • Health Walks Open For Referrals
    • Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities (THRE)
    • Transformation (EHSCP)
  • Support
  • Training
    • More Training Info
You are here: Home » EVOC News

Community-based Adult Learning Grants Awarded for 2022

19 January 2022 By Esther Currie

We are excited to announce details of the 29 grants awarded from the Scottish Government Fund to support community-based adult learning opportunities across the City of Edinburgh.

Together with our Third Sector Interface partners – Volunteer Edinburgh and Edinburgh Social Enterprise – and Edinburgh’s Community Learning and Development Partnership Adult Learning Sub Group, we have identified a range of projects and activities that deliver on the agreed objectives for this investment. These focus on digital inclusion; working with black, Asian and minority ethnic communities; increased access to childcare to enable adults to engage and improving mental health and wellbeing for learners.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Funding, Updates

Investment For Community-Based Adult Learning in Edinburgh

8 December 2021 By Esther Currie

Please note that applications for the fund have now closed [Wed 22 Dec].

Edinburgh’s Third Sector Interface (TSI) – a partnership between EVOC, Volunteer Edinburgh and Edinburgh Social Enterprise – has been awarded £112,000 from the Scottish Government to invest in community-based adult learning opportunities. This is to help address barriers to learning resulting from the impacts of the Covid 19 Pandemic.

Working with the Edinburgh CLD Partnership, we have agreed four priority learning themes and activities – these are linked to the Edinburgh CLD Plan objectives. (see table below)

This investment must be spent and the activities delivered by 31 March 2022.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Funding, Updates

Edinburgh Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is now open

30 November 2021 By Esther Currie

Please note that applications for this fund have now closed [Fri 14 Jan].

Funding Scope Update (17 Dec): Having discussed concerns with Scottish Government about the decision to exclude counselling from this fund, we have received updated feedback that some counselling can in fact be funded. We appreciate that this timing is inconvenient, but given the strength of feedback about the need for counselling during the funding events, we felt it was essential to be transparent about this change.

Get the latest updates and other key info about this fund here. 

Expressions of Interest I Get Involved I Key Documents I Funding Overview


We’ve had a busy November, discussing this funding with as many people as we can.

To try to make it more accessible, instead of long application forms we’re asking you to fill in a few key details setting out what you think your organisation or group can do to meet the needs of communities in Edinburgh. Please also tell us what support you might find helpful.

These expressions of interest will be publicly available for others to see on our website from mid-December, so do check back in a week or two. We hope this open process will stimulate partnerships and ideas.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Funding, Updates

Update: Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Funding

19 November 2021 By Esther Currie

We have now developed a draft Partnership Plan for the Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Funding that begins to set out Edinburgh’s approach to implementing the fund announced by Scottish Government on Fri 15 Oct 2021. 

You can still register for our last online event and share your thoughts and experiences on how to development a funding process that will get the most out of this investment for the people of Edinburgh: register here. 

If you are unable to attend you can add to a shared online whiteboard here. 

Here’s the full funding briefing document (Tue 2 Nov) I Evidence appendix

PARTNERSHIP PLAN BACKGROUND

  • Some elements of the fund are set out by Scottish Government and others are to be defined for
    Edinburgh in partnership.
  • £1.255 million has been allocated to Edinburgh to support community health and wellbeing, for
    those aged 16 and above.
  • The fund is to support mental health and wellbeing at a small scale, grassroots, community level. It
    can be used to increase capacity for existing groups and projects or for new initiatives.
  • Groups do not have to have mental health and wellbeing as their main focus, but there needs to be
    a clear benefit to the mental wellbeing of people in their community.
  • Initiatives with a focus on addressing mental health inequalities by supporting those who have
    been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic will be prioritised, particularly those supporting
    communities experiencing multiple forms of marginalisation

Read the full draft partnership plan here. 

Filed Under: Updates

EVOC Conference + AGM 2021

15 November 2021 By Esther Currie

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the 2021 EVOC Conference + AGM: Thriving Local.

We appreciated the time and energy of everyone involved and look forward to continuing these conversations in the coming weeks and months. 

We will be sharing recordings of the keynote speeches in the coming days, but in the meantime you can see 2 of the 3 keynote presentations below: 

  • Dona Milne: Director of Public Health and Health Policy (NHS Lothian)
    Covid recovery: The NHS as an Anchor Institution
  • Daisy Narayanan, Placemaking and Mobility (City of Edinburgh Council)
    20 min Neighbourhoods – Living Well Locally

You can still browse the full Conference + AGM programme here.

Filed Under: Updates

EVOC Conference Speakers for 2021

5 November 2021 By Esther Currie

We’re looking forward to welcoming 3 fantastic keynote speakers to our 2021 Conference + AGM, each focusing on a different issues that are relevant to the time and place that we find ourselves: 

  • Dona Milne, Director of Public Health and Health Policy (NHS Lothian)
    Covid recovery: The NHS as an Anchor Institution
  • Daisy Narayanan, Placemaking and Mobility (City of Edinburgh Council)
    20 min Neighbourhoods – Living Well Locally
  • Paul Wilson, Chief Executive (Volunteer Edinburgh)
    The impact of COVID-19 and the future of volunteering

Find out more about each of these speakers below and REGISTER NOW for the Conference + AGM. 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Updates

Money to Support Mental Health at the Heart of Edinburgh Communities

20 October 2021 By Esther Currie

We are delighted to share news of a new investment from the Scottish Government – a share of 15 million-pounds to support adult mental health at the heart of communities across Edinburgh.

This is a hugely welcome recognition of the role community and voluntary sector organisations have and continue to play in promoting and developing good mental health and wellbeing for citizens and communities in Edinburgh and across the country.

Bridie (our Chief Executive said)
‘The pandemic has put a spotlight on the need for community-based mental-health support for citizens and communities across Edinburgh and the country. We at EVOC are delighted that smaller organisations and grass-roots community groups across Edinburgh will have the chance to benefit from this investment from the Scottish Government, delivering activities and services that support and take a more holistic approach to people’s wellbeing. Building on EVOC’s enabling role, distributing funds like the Response Recovery & Resilience funding in 2020, our aspiration for this fund is to mitigate against the impact of the pandemic by reaching those community organisations who have trusted local connections.’

Maria Arnold, our Senior Development Officer for Adult Mental Health, added:
‘Unequal social and economic pressures have taken an inevitable toll on mental health and wellbeing, and this funding is an important step towards tackling health inequalities. Small community organisations are perfectly placed to support people holistically, to prevent mental health needs from escalating.’

We’re going to be collaborating with a number of partners – including the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, Edinburgh’s Thrive Collaborative, key voluntary sector organisations and the people who would benefit from this funding – and are focused on developing a funding process that prioritises what works at a grass-roots level and what the citizens and communities of our city really value.  

Dr Linda Irvine-Fitzpatrick, Strategic Programme Manager for Thrive Edinburgh and SRO, Edinburgh Pact and Community Mobilisation said:
‘I am delighted to see this new money for communities and we will be able to action allocating it quickly, building on existing relationships. It’s an exciting opportunity to be bold and engage in dialogue with lots of people.’

APPLICATIONS
The fund will be open for applications by the end of November 2021, and in the coming weeks everyone involved will be listening to communities and providing our members, partners and colleagues with regular updates. This includes details of income thresholds for organisations who are considering applying – make sure you sign up to our e-mailing list to get the latest news.

MORE ABOUT THE FUND
The £15 million-pound investment for communities across Scotland, builds on the children and young people’s community wellbeing support currently being rolled out across Scotland. It also has strong links to developments in primary care through the establishment of dedicated Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing services across Scotland.

Filed Under: Funding

£15 million to help improve mental wellbeing New Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund launched

18 October 2021 By Esther Currie

A new Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund has been established with £15 million allocated to support mental health and well-being in communities across Scotland.

The fund aims to support adult community-based initiatives to help address the impact of distress and mental ill health caused by social isolation and loneliness, as well as addressing the mental health inequalities exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Grass roots community groups and organisations will be able to benefit from the funds to deliver activities and programmes to people to re-connect and revitalise communities building on examples of good practice which have emerged throughout the pandemic.

Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart launched the fund at Saheliya in Edinburgh, a specialist mental health and well-being support organisation for black and minority ethnic women and girls.

Mr Stewart said:

“This funding reflects the importance we place on promoting good mental health and early intervention for those in distress and will help develop a culture of mental wellbeing and prevention within local communities. It is vital now, more than ever as we start to re-open society that we support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals. I am very keen that this benefits communities across all of Scotland.

“I was pleased to be able to visit Saheliya this morning and meet some of the people involved with running and the project, and some of the people they help.”

Background:
A range of charity-support bodies and social enterprises, known as third sector interfaces, will manage the fund in partnership with local integrated health authorities and other partners including Community Planning Partnerships and local authority mental health leads.

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is part of the wider £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund announced in February 2021 to ensure delivery of the commitments set out in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan in response to the mental health need arising from the pandemic.

 

Filed Under: Funding

Responding to the National Care Service Consultation

29 September 2021 By Esther Currie

PLEASE NOTE: This event has now passed. 

The commissioning for funding and services for health and social care services in the Voluntary Sector is going to change significantly over the next 3 years.

It’s therefore essential that we come together to share knowledge and experiences and offer our Sector’s perspective on the Scottish Government’s consultation on a National Care Service.

The Independent Review of Adult Social Care recommended a National Care Service, with Scottish Ministers accountable for adult social care support. However, the Government has ambitions to go beyond that, creating a community health and social care service that supports people of all ages. This is a big cultural and system change that will need to be supported by primary legislation. Read more about the Scottish Government’s consultation on a National Care Service for Scotland. 

ADD YOUR VOICE TO A SECTOR RESPONSE

To inform a voluntary sector response to the National Care Service consultation we hope you’ll be able join us for an event on Wed 27 Oct (9.30am – 12noon) when we’ll be focusing on 5 different themes linked to the consultation: 

  • Community Commissioning
  • Structural Change
  • Health Inequalities and Prevention
  • Widening the Scope of Adult Care to include Children and Families and Drug and Alcohol Services
  • Fair Work

PANELISTS:

Sebastian Fischer (Chief Executive, VOCAL)
Sebastian has been the Chief Executive at VOCAL since 1994.
He is also an executive board member of the Coalition of Carers in Scotland. 

Maureen Martin (Chief Executive, Edinburgh Development Group – EDG)
Hello, my name is Maureen Martin. I am CEO of Edinburgh Development Group (EDG for short) we established in 1991 to develop services for people with learning disabilities and their parents and carers. EDG works with other organisations to make Scotland more inclusive and supportive communities. Recent developments, Self-managing Co-operatives, Belong Network, and Keys to the Door. EDG is a partner in the newly formed Parent Carewell Partnership

 

Kimberley Swan (CEO, FAIR)
Kimberley has worked and managed in the third sector for nearly 20 years. Her current role for over ten years is as CEO at FAIR (Family Advice Information Resource) an information and advice charity for people with learning disabilities and their carers. Kimberley is the Chair of the Edinburgh Disability Forum with EVOC, which is an information and networking group for managers from the third sector who support disabled people. She is the Co- Chair of the Edinburgh Learning Disability Advisory Group which is a co-production group for people with learning disabilities to engage with the HSCP. She is Co-Convenor of the Coalition of Carers a National Carer Organisation. Kimberley is also a parent carer to her son Frankie who has complex neurological and physical care needs.

Rod Finan (Professional Social Work Advisor, Scottish Government)

Register now & find out more 

 

Filed Under: Future Thinking

Edinburgh Community Lottery Launch

2 September 2021 By Craig Mundie

ONE WEEK UNTIL THE LAUNCH EVENT

We here at EVOC are getting excited as the launch event for the Edinburgh Community Lottery draws closer!

We’re inviting Edinburgh-based charities and local good causes of all sizes, to attend the Good Cause Launch Event on Thursday 9th September at 2pm, where you will get a chance to find out more and sign up.

Be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page and Twitter account as we countdown the days until the Edinburgh Community Lottery launch event!

How the Lottery Works:
Tickets for the Edinburgh Community Lottery will cost £1. A whopping 60p (compared to just 25p from tickets by the National Lottery) from every ticket goes towards local good causes. There will be a weekly draw with a jackpot of £25,000 for a matching sequence of six numbers. The other prizes on offer include: £2500, £250, £25, or three free tickets!

There are two parts to the Edinburgh Community Lottery scheme. Good causes across Edinburgh will be able to set up their own lottery page, receiving 50p from every £1 spent by players. A further 10p from every £1 will go into an EVOC good causes fund, with the remainder being put towards prizes, operating costs, and VAT. Players who do not wish to support a specific cause can still take part in the Edinburgh Community Lottery, with 60p from their ticket going into the general EVOC good causes fund, which will then be distributed by the organsation.

Here’s what our Deputy Chief Executive, Ian Brooke, had to say:
‘We’re really excited to be launching the Edinburgh Community Lottery, a new way to support communities and good causes in Edinburgh. While the past eighteen months have thrown a spotlight on the amazing work of community groups and voluntary organisations everywhere, it has also stretched staff, volunteers, and resources up to and beyond breaking point. That combined with the loss of fundraising activities in light of Covid restrictions, means that the Lottery is a really important new opportunity for good causes to raise money, making sure they can continue to support citizens and communities across our city.’

If you have any queries, you can get in touch with the Edinburgh Community Lottery team at EVOC: communitylottery@evoc.org.uk

Filed Under: Updates

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 33
  • Next Page »

Sign up for our newsletters

Sign up

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Recent EVOC news Items

  • Fourth Round of Micro Grants to Support Communities with Covid Boosters
  • Proposals Open: Summer Holiday Food & Childcare Programme 2022
  • Bringing Together the Voices of Voluntary Sector Leaders
  • EVOC’s Annual Survey: Have Your Say
  • Introducing THRE – Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities
Visit the EVOC Redbook
Join EVOC

I want. . . .

  • The latest news
  • Upcoming training courses
  • Join EVOC

About EVOC

  • Board & Trustees
  • EVOC Staff
  • Edinburgh TSI
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy

Contact Us

EVOC
525 Ferry Road
Edinburgh, EH5 2FF

T: 0131 555 9100
F: 0131 555 9101
E: info@evoc.org.uk

Facebook
Twitter

Latest Tweets

  • It’s Thursday, which means that it’s time for our weekly Children, Young People, & Families e-Newsletter Read it h… https://t.co/x56dsM6r37 23 June 2022 1:00 pm
  • 💥Ian-sception!💥 Throwback to a sunny Day 1 at the #SCVOGathering last week! @IanGCVS snuck in to photobomb… https://t.co/CjPeJlWJm2 22 June 2022 12:30 pm
  • Thanks to this #Funding from @ScotGov we’re able to continue to collaborate with local & national partners to suppo… https://t.co/wMypwowfII 22 June 2022 10:06 am
EFQM - Committed to excellence
Cyber Essentials Certified
Quality Scotland Logo
Living Wage Logo
OSRC Registered Charity - SC009944

Copyright © 2022 · EVOC is a company limited by guarantee No. SC173582 and is a registered Scottish charity No. SC009944.