 Volunteers’ Week is just around the corner, and it’s time to start planning! Whether you're hosting an event, giving a shout out to your amazing volunteers, or looking for new ways to get involved, we’ve got you covered.
 Please find attached the March newsletter.
As with previous editions, readers are encouraged to forward it to anyone who may benefit from its contents. VIC hopes you enjoy reading the latest updates and news. Further information and regular updates can be found on VIC’s Facebook page and group. If hard copies of the newsletter are required, please contact a member of the team on 01706 833180. Copies of all newsletters and the latest news are also available to download from the VIC website. Both the website and Facebook page are regularly updated with information about VIC services and activities.  Hello Neighbours,
April is the ‘cruellest month’ according to opening of the famous poem The Wasteland. But we disagree, our news this April is actually very exciting. We’re sharing insights into the new plans for police reform, a minute of mayhem on Radio 4, and celebrating some fantastic volunteers. Highlights this month:
 Welcome to your Charity Bulletin
As a family of financial services businesses, the Benefact Group reinvests available profits back to charities and good causes. In this bulletin you'll find the latest support and news for charities from the Benefact Group.  With the sun finally popping out and longer days on the way, now's the perfect time to start planning some summer fun in your community - and in 2026, there’s even more to be part of.
This year, we're bringing The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out together on 5-8 June for a weekend of friendship, food, fun and action.  WELCOME TO YOUR APRIL COMMUNITY BULLETIN! We produce a monthly bulletin with our health and community partners to keep you updated on the community support and activities happening across Rossendale.
This includes information from our community groups, events, health information, grants and community training opportunities. We hope you will find the bulletin useful. All published Community Bulletins are available on our website - Community Bulletins Feel free to share the bulletin with friends, community groups and on your own social media. If you have any information that you would like to share in our next bulletin, or you would like to be added to the e-mail distribution list, email us at [email protected] Welcome to the latest NAVCA newsletter. There is lots of information and updates below – on Pride in Place; allyship, a Ministerial visit and more, so do have a look through. One thing to add is that last week was the first meeting of the new Covenant Council that I have a seat on alongside other civil society leaders. It was very much about getting to know each other, with No. 10 present and keen to emphasise the importance of the voice the Council will create. There was a high level of energy, pragmatism and ideas in the room, as well as a sense we need to focus our efforts where we can make change, and that this is a long game of culture shift and understanding as well as specific actions. Our first formal meeting will need to focus on a work plan and actions. In the meantime, I will keep on talking about the importance of community (not just charities) and of wider government engagement and influence (not just civil servants and Whitehall). Do keep sharing what you’re doing, seeing and experiencing – it all helps us understand the local picture to bring it to thee fore nationally!   As we move into spring, ongoing activity resumes along the Super Slow Way!
This month you can join us as we welcome the light at our Exbury Egg Spring Equinox with artist Stephen Turner (Friday 20th March). We'll also be hosting a Clayton Creatives Open Day (Tuesday 31st March) where you can come and get a taste of what happens in our weekly sessions. And the opportunity to have your say on the kind of work Super Slow Way plans for the rest of 2026 in our upcoming Community Assemblies. Regular activity also includes our Clayton Creatives Art Cafe sessions happening every Tuesday, currently facilitated by artist Cath Ford, weekly creative workshops and Solstice Garden sessions at the Exbury Egg in Burnley, our Canalside Wild Walks with artist Ian Halawi and our monthly Taste of Transformation events in Nelson which take place towards then end of each month. You'll find more information on all this activity below. We are busy planning for our new programme of activity starting in April so we look forward to sharing more information about that in the coming weeks. You'll find all new workshops and activities on the ‘What’s On’ section of our website. Activities are free and all are welcome. Please keep in touch with The Super Slow Way on Facebook, Instagram, our website and of course this newsletter to hear about everything that will be happening, and if you do visit any of our outdoor spaces or take part in any of our activities, we'd love to see so be sure to tag us in your social media photos @superslowway.  Did you know that in the first two months of 2026, Arts Lancashire shared 33 different paid jobs and artist commissions from Lancashire arts and culture organisations on our LinkedIn page?
We’re happy to report that March is kicking off strong, too. Of course, we may be biased, but working in the Lancashire arts and culture sector is a truly special experience. Whether you’re in full-time or part-time employment, working as a commissioned artist, or volunteering, you’re guaranteed to work closely with senior leadership and see your input genuinely valued. You’ll often have the chance to engage with different aspects of the projects and organisations you work with, helping you to develop your skills and prepare you for future career opportunities in Lancashire, or beyond.  Please find attached our February newsletter, as with previous newsletters please forward this newsletter to anyone you think would benefit from reading it.
We hope you enjoy reading the latest news from VIC. Our Facebook page and group is updated regularly with further news and information. If you require any hard copies of the newsletter, then please don't hesitate to contact one of the team on 01706 833180. You can also download copies of all our newsletter and latest news from our Website. Our website and Facebook page are regularly updated and there is more information on VIC services and activities. How are you doing, Lancashire?
There’s a lot happening in our County right now - and it’s going to affect the arts in ways both challenging and exciting. If your art is part of, or all of, your income, this is something you’ll want to pay attention to. Devolution is in progress, but culture isn’t yet one of the the three pillars that the new Lancashire Combined County Authority is built on. Could a directly elected Mayor change that - supporting local artists, boosting creative spaces, and putting culture at the heart of our region’s future? We’d love to know what you think – share your thoughts with us on this in the comments. Local Government Re-organisation is looming. The Lancashire we have known since 1974 - following the changes introduced by the Local Government Act 1972, and save for the 1998 shift that made Blackburn and Blackpool unitary authorities alongside Lancashire County Council - is set to change again.  A belated Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus (or Happy St David’s day) everyone, but especially our 52,000 members in Wales. St David was a 6th century monk, born in Pembrokeshire who famously advised: “Do the little things in life.” I love that advice, it chimes so well with what Neighbourhood Watch members do all the time. Through small actions every day, we make our streets better, safer and friendlier places to live.
We have a date that we want you to put in your calendars. 1-7 June will be Neighbourhood Watch Week – the theme this year will be “communi-tea”. Yes, you read that correctly, it’s a mixture of community and tea party, and who doesn’t love a tea party? Find out more about what we have planned here.  Welcome to the Get Grants March 2026 Newsletter!
Coming up this month, we have Creating Impact Reports MASTERCLASS on Wednesday 4th March, followed by Accessing Invite-Only Funders MASTERCLASS on Thursday 2nd April. Join our Meet the Funder/Expert Events with the easyfundraising Impact Fund, Charity Digital and Charity Excellence Framework to learn about their latest insights, resources, and opportunities. You can also join us for our Get Jobs Showcase, led by Get Grants Director & Founder John Ellery, where you’ll learn more about how we support organisations across the sector. If you missed the latest MASTERCLASS with John Ellery, our NEW Core Cost Application MASTERCLASS is now available on demand. You can purchase it and watch anytime, at your own pace. Plus, check out upcoming grant deadlines, featured funding opportunities, and all our latest Training and FREE Events this month. The March edition of the Rossendale Community Bulletin is now available and can be found at March 2026 - Communities Bulletin. We produce a monthly bulletin with our health and community partners to keep you updated on the community support and activities happening across Rossendale. This includes information from our community groups, events, health information, grants and community training opportunities. We hope you will find the bulletin useful. All published Community Bulletins are available on our website - Community Bulletins Feel free to share the bulletin with friends, community groups and on your own social media. If you have any information that you would like to share in our next bulletin, or you would like to be added to the e-mail distribution list, email us at [email protected]  Community Futures invites you to the: Launch of Village Halls Week 2026 in West Lancashire24/2/2026
 One month to go…
As our upcoming event is fast approaching, we wanted to remind you that free tickets are available, and we’d be delighted to see you there. Throughout our communications, we will use the term hall to include village halls and community halls For me this newsletter should be titled “reasons to be cheerful”. It has been a funny old start to the year – with international politics, UK politics, local politics all bringing their own brand of disbelief at various points; and the rain, which has just not stopped; and the dark evenings, which don’t feel like they are getting less dark yet.
But, amidst all that there is hope. We had an energising network session yesterday with members focusing on guidance on community cohesion which has been published to support local authorities Common Ground: building cohesive communities. There is plenty in there about how to engage, and potentially a tool to get an “in” with your own authority. I’m really proud of the allyship programme bringing people together to develop their practice, and the new EEDI framework has a clear focus for LIOs, identifying strengths and areas to develop to be stronger in our actions. And the Million Acts of Hope campaign lifts me just thinking about it and its potential, to really amplify the good that there is. So I hope like me you read this newsletter and feel inspired to take action, no matter how big or small, and to engage in conversations with others about what you are doing. We can’t control the big politics, but we can definitely make a difference to those around us and our communities. Who knows, maybe even tomorrow it will stop raining. Welcome to the Get Grants February 2026 Newsletter!
We’re excited to share this month's lineup of Fundraising Training Courses and FREE Events! Join Core Costs Applications MASTERCLASS, led by Get Grants Director John Ellery, exploring the popular topic of securing core cost funding! We’re also running Donor Journey Mastery MASTERCLASS, designed to help you optimise every stage of your donor engagement. If you missed our Launching Legacy Fundraising MASTERCLASS with David Page, you can now catch it on demand via our website. This month's free events include an Introduction to Legacy Fundraising Workshop, Bid Writing Workshop and our Virtual Fundraisers Networking Event, where you can learn, connect and grow alongside fellow fundraisers. Keep reading to explore all the opportunities waiting for you this February!  DWP Business Updates
LA Welfare Direct bulletins: F(link is external)ebruary 2026(link is external) Guidance: These LA Welfare Direct bulletins provide information that affects Housing Benefit and other areas of DWP, to local authority staff. Update include:
Universal Credit for the self-employed(link is external) Guidance: How Universal Credit works if you are self-employed and how to report your self-employed income and expenses to Universal Credit every month. Update: Clarified what is counted as a room in your property.  Hello Neighbours,
And happy February! Valentines Day is around the corner; it fills me with dread. I worry that Royal Mail won’t cope with the quantity of cards being sent to me and lose them all… it happens every year. I’m joking, I do get one card (from the cat). But this time of year, romance is marketed very aggressively. It’s natural to want to show people we care. But there are individuals out there who exploit that generosity. Our Romance Fraud pages have useful information if you are worried about a relationship that doesn’t feel quite right. Also, we need to make an apology. Last week we sent out a message with a special offer for members. But we got a lot of negative feedback. We’ve listened and decided not to send individual alert messages relating to offers from partner and sponsor organisations. As a charity we rely on sponsors to help fund our work, keep membership free and provide value for our membership. So, in future, we’ll be sharing offers in our newsletter and on our website. In this issue
 Readers are invited to enjoy the latest news from VIC (Veterans In Communities). Further updates and information are shared regularly on VIC’s Facebook page and group.
For those who require hard copies of the newsletter, the VIC team can be contacted on 01706 833180. Copies of all newsletters and the latest news are also available for download from the VIC website. Both the website and Facebook page are regularly updated, providing more information on VIC’s services and activities. VIC thanks everyone for their continued support.  This month's edition includes:-
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