Merseyside Network for Change

Local

Ariel Trust Ltd
From their base in Liverpool they provide Radio Production Training Courses and a variety of support for people and groups to become involved in Radio Broadcasting in the Northwest of England.
www.arieltrust.com

Credit Union
Credit unions are financial co-operatives owned and controlled by their members. They offer savings and great value loans plus they are local, ethical and know what their members want. Many credit unions now offer a range of services including a current account, benefits direct, ISAs and Child Trust Funds.

Each credit union has a "common bond" which determines who can join it. This determines who can become a member of the credit union. The common bond may be for people living or working in the same area, people working for the same employer or people who belong to the same association, such as a church or trade union.

There are more than a dozen credit unions operating in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, the Wirral and Halton. To help you find which one covers your area RAISE has developed a 'Find your credit union' page. You will be able to enter your postcode, city or borough name, or any part of the credit union's name and find full contact details including maps and opening times.

European Languages Centre
Centre running language courses, taught at 5 different levels and suitable for all students from beginners to those with an advanced knowledge of English. They also provide tuition in specalised subjects like English for Business and Specialised Programmes including Executive Courses.
Website

Everton Development Trust
EDT is an established social enterprise organisation based in inner-city North Liverpool. Since formation in April 1992 it has created an impressive track record in assisting people into employment and enterprise by operating a wide range of advisory and training initiatives.
www.edt.org.uk

Local Solutions
Local Solutions' mission is to improve the quality of life in a region that has many unmet needs and they achieve this through a diverse range of services. Service users are drawn from all ages and backgrounds, including economically deprived citizens and socially excluded groups. They include people seeking training and employment, homeless people, lone parents, people from ethnic minority groups, carers and older citizens.
www.localsolutions.org.uk

Toxteth Town Hall
Owned and managed by Dingle Multi Agency Centre Ltd (DMAC Ltd). Conveniently located on High Park Street, Liverpool, with full wheelchair access. DMAC lets out office space to community and charitable groups and also have a large hall, which can be used for a range of activities. Any community, voluntary or statutory organisation is welcome to make a booking.
http://www.toxtethtownhall.org.uk

Organisations currently based in Toxteth Town Hall include
Toxteth Citizens Advice Bureau, Immigration Advisory Service, Chara Trust, Remisus, Liverpool Somali Youth Association and Somali Umbrella Group.

Urbanag
Urbanag is a social enterprise registered as a Community Interest Company.
Urbanag sees its role as promoting structures and strategies to assist the processes of job creation and revenue generation through developing organisational capacity, partnerships and alliances among food producers and between producers and the market.

It will act as consultants, project managers and capacity builders, promoting sustainable and economically viable urgan agriculture projects.
www.urbanag.org.uk

Wirral Change
Wirral Change is a Black and Racial Minorities Outreach Service offering information, advice and guidance on jobs, education, training, self-employment, health and wellbeing, as well as signposting to other services for racial minority people on the Wirral.
www.wirralchange.org.uk

National

National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) works with and for the voluntary sector in England by providing information, advice and support and by representing the views of the sector to government and policy-makers.
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk

Employment/Law

ACAS
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service provides impartial information and help, prevents and resolves problems between employers and their workforces, settles complaints about employees' rights, and encourages people to work together effectively.
www.acas.org.uk

Charity Law Unit
Undertakes legal research of the charity sector. It aims to do this both by responding fully to the demands for legal research raised by the charity sector and by being pro-active in highlighting and pursuing legal research in areas where the law and its application requires clarification, guidance or possible reform.
www.liv.ac.uk/law/clu/

Health & Safety Executive
The UK Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are responsible for the regulation of almost all the risks to health and safety arising from work activity in Britain.
www.hse.gov.uk

Liverpool Occupational Health Project
Advises charities on Health & Safety at work.
www.hazardscampaign.org.uk/direct/dirp1348.htm

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Funders

NOTE: Awards for All, Community Foundation for Merseyside and Merseyside Expanding Horizons will consider funding organisations who are not registered charities. They each give between £500 and £5,000 for organisations starting up. Most other funders will require an organisation to have charity status before applying.

Awards for All
Awards for All is a Lottery grants programme aimed at local communities. They award grants of between £500 and £5000 funding projects that enable people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, as well as projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community. Currently, A4A is experiencing an underspend and so is urging eligible groups to apply. From early 2006, the maximum funding level will be increased from £5,000 to £10,000.
www.awardsforall.org.uk

Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund is a result of the merger between the New Opportunities Fund and the Community Fund, ordered by Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Launched on 1 June 2004, it aims to simplify funding in those areas where the two bodies currently overlapped. As well as providing funding for charities and the voluntary sector and health, education and the environment, it will also take on the Millennium Commission's ability to fund large-scale regenerative projects. It is a fund for community transformation, from smaller grants at local level through to big capital projects, intended to regenerate and revitalise communities. Some grant programmes will be 'open', where a wide range of organisations can apply by completing an application form. Other programmes are likely to concentrate on strategic partnership working across different sectors, funding for infrastructure and development, or opportunities for voluntary sector involvement in the delivery of community services.
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Community Foundation for Merseyside
Community Chest funding is provided by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, and administered by the Community Foundation for Merseyside. Funding is available to voluntary and community groups which are working at "grass roots" level to provide activities and services which meet the programme objectives. Grants of up to £5000 are available, applications for less than £500 are fast-tracked. The Community Learning Chest will fund activities to develop the skills and knowledge of communities participating in neighbourhood renewal at a local level.
Community Foundation for Merseyside also administer the Local Network for Children and Young People, funding of which is provided by the Department of Education and Skills. This funding is for projects working with children aged 0-19 years. Grants are up to £7000 for one year or £12000 over two years if an exceptional project.
www.cfmerseyside.org.uk

Liverpool Mental Health Awareness
LMHA Formerly Liverpool Mental Health Awareness Project) has been working to promote positive awareness of mental health issues in Liverpool since 1992. LMHA works with other community groups in the region to provide support, and funding where possible, to promote the message that mental health is an issue for us all.
www.livementalhealth.org.uk/

Lloyds TSB Foundations
A grant-making trust who make donations to charities. Their mission is to support and work in partnership with charitable organisations which help people, especially those who are disadvantaged or disabled, to play a fuller role in communities throughout England and Wales.
www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk

Merseyside Expanding Horizons
Expanding Horizons works to promote social inclusion for all, but prioritises work with organisations which support the most excluded individuals and groups, particularly those facing multiple exclusion, including for example, those who are disabled, homeless, substance misusers. Small grants are awarded to such organisations (Social Capital and Community Chest).
www.expandinghorizons.co.uk

For help with applying for funding, please contact us at Merseyside Network for Change. We can run a search for appropriate funders for you with our FunderFinder software, and give advice and guidance specific to your organisation.

Health

Local Solutions Carers Project
Free advice and support (independent from statutory organisations) for those caring for others. Includes the BRM Carers Project, which provides support to those from Black and Ethnic Minority communities who care for elderly, mentally or physically disabled people. It can offer help with welfare rights, completing forms, and accessing a Carer's Assessment. It also offers emotional support, a Carer's Newsletter and Carer's Emergency Card.
www.localsolutions.org.uk/projects/carers/

youngaddaction Liverpool
“Services for young people and their families. Helping to manage the effects of drug and alcohol misuse.”
youngaddaction Liverpool caters for young people between the ages of 10 and 17 and is part of a nationwide charity committed to dealing with the problems associated with drug and alcohol misuse. As well as running treatment, outreach and arrest referral services, youngaddaction Liverpool also offer a volunteer programme. The project has its own standard referral form, which can be sent to agencies on request, but any individual can just give them a call. The service is offered to young people on a strictly voluntary basis.
www.youngaddaction.org.uk

Local Partnerships and Networks

Liverpool Community Network
The Liverpool Community Network is a network of networks that enables voluntary, community and faith groups to have a collective voice as part of both individual networks and the larger voluntary sector assembly.
www.liverpool-community.org.uk

Liverpool Partnership Group
City-wide partnership of 23 organisations and Cluster Partnerships working together.
www.liverpoolfirst.org.uk

Social Enterprise Network
SEN is a network of social enterprises and aspiring SEs, in Greater Merseyside. It is a Company Limited by Guarantee, with a Board of Directors elected from its membership. It aims to present 'one voice' to advocate for and support the development of the SE sector and is recognised in its representative role by major public agencies.
www.sen.org.uk

Speke Garston Partnership
SGP is an agency dedicated to helping local people develop the necessary skills to access meaningful employment, thereby helping to improve the quality of life of the 24,000 residents of communities of Speke and Garston.
www.sgp.org.uk/sgp.htm

Refugee/Asylum Seeker Support

Asylum Link Merseyside
Asylum Link is a drop-in centre for asylum seekers and refugees. They aim to provide friendship, help and practical advice. They encourage the participation of asylum seekers and refugees in the service they provide. English classes run 5 days per wek and projects such as gardening, cycling and sewing take place at the centre.
www.asylumlink.org.uk

ECSR (Enabling Christians in Serving Refugees)
The ECSR website provides a series of links to useful organisations and resources that provide information, resources and advice for assisting asylum seekers and refugees as they are integrated into life in the UK.
www.ecsr.org.uk

Liverpool Mental Health Awareness
LMHA can provide small grants to refugee community organisations concerned with mental health issues.
See above under 'funders'.

Refugee Action
Refugee Action is an independent national charity that enables refugees to build new lives in the UK. They provide practical advice and assistance for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement through community development work. In Liverpool, the Asylum Advice team provide Reception and One Stop Shop services. The Reception service assists newly arrived asylum-seekers to make an initial application to NASS and also ensures people are housed in emergency accommodation. They also operate drop-in services across the city. Asylum seekers can get advice on health, social care and education, racial harassment, and accommodation.
http://www.refugee-action.org/liverpool/default.aspx

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