I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire Duties of Trustees session in June 2019. The information was valuable and the session worthwhile.

I really liked Connecting Communities 2019. Events like this are so helpful, especially finding like minded groups who can support each other.

I really enjoyed the Connecting Communities Conference 2019. The networking was good, as were the workshops. It was a good opportunity to talk about different situations with other groups.

I found the recent Connecting Communities conference an extremely useful exercise in terms of networking, sharing best practice, collaborating and supporting other community groups. What was apparent was the appetite to work together and not against each other, to absorb information and develop innovative approaches to combatting loneliness, and to identify those who are most vulnerable within our communities. By developing new relationships at the conference this will only enhance the good work we all do individually and collectively and create new opportunities.

I recently attended the Connecting Communities Conference 2019. The event was really thought provoking and gave me a great insight into other organisations and the work they do.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire Funding masterclass at the Over Community Centre. I found all 4 sessions really useful.

I think events like these are really valuable.

I recently helped to facilitate our workshop on CSR – More than a Giving Machine. It was fantastic to watch charities and business connecting and engaging in such a useful way. Watch out for our next steps, possibly some business engagement training with a dragons den thrown in..!!

I was a workshop leader at the recent Connecting Communities Conference 2019 talking about our Open Arms Project.

The groups had the opportunity to discuss “What loneliness means to them,” the group shared a wide range of experiences and also had the opportunity to discuss their roles and what their communities were doing to impact on Loneliness. Before the activity  the Open Arms team highlighted the aims of the Project and how they are connecting with communities across  Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to tackle loneliness .The activity phase of the workshop revolved around a task, using a range of arts and craft materials to create something that could be used to build connection in communities. The group then fed back about what they had created and how it could be used to start a conversation. The groups were then encouraged to think about they could do in their communities to tackle the issue, and those that wanted to signed a pledge highlighting the action they would take. It was great, lively, interesting and informative.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire course on How to Run a Successful Fundraising Event. The trainer has such a wealth of knowledge and experience and the session was a really useful learning environment to be part of.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire Commissioning Forum North on the 30th January 2019. It was very useful to meet directly with the Commissioners and share issues that we are experiencing as an organisation.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire Funding Masterclass. It was so much help. It helped provide me with focus and ideas. Its really good to know that advice and support is out there.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire course on setting up and running a community group in Wisbech.

As a result, I think we may need to change the name of our group and get the structure of our finances correct. I would have loved at least another hour of training to learn a bit more.

I recently attended the Commissioning Forum North run by Support Cambridgeshire: It was good to talk with other voluntary organisations and have an honest conversation with commissioners about commissioning practice within the County.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire course on Supervision Skills for Volunteer Managers.

I found it really useful, and will be able to pass this information onto other staff.

I recently attended the Financial Reporting for Small Charities session delivered by Support Cambridgeshire. It was brilliant. It was pitched at all levels, for all different types of organisations and I found it invaluable.

I recently attended a course on the Legal Aspects of Volunteering run by Support Cambridgeshire. It was very well presented, and brought clarity on a range of volunteering subjects, including how to DBS check.

I recently attended The People Powered Conference in St Ives. There was a good crowd, an excellent keynote speaker and lots to follow up on.

On the 21st November, I went to the recruiting and retaining volunteers course. The course was excellent, the trainer really knew her stuff and I am taking away so much more than expected.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire Course on the Legal aspects of Volunteering. Whilst it was a huge subject area to cover, I will need to think about GDPR and how volunteeer councillors are reimbursed.

I really enjoyed the recent People Powered Conference. It gave me an excellent insight into how to market for volunteers. Really useful.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire Charity Forum on GDPR. The event was really useful. It was nice to have information explained well. and have the opportunity to ask questions as the session progressed.

I recently attended the Writing a good funding application session run by Support Cambridgeshire. It was brilliant. It was clear, information and certainly not boring..!!

I recently attended the Community Organising Course provide by Community Organising Limited as part of the Support Cambridgeshire Training Programme. I had no pre-conceived idea of what Community Organising was, and some of the exercises and framework tools I found useful. I think there is room for Community Organising in as a vehicle for working with our communities and I would like to see more of the training being rolled out across Cambridgeshire.

I attended the Support Cambridgeshire course on Voice and Representation. I have learned about preparing for meetings, and providing good quality feedback to my organisation. The course has given me the confidence and the tools to deal with stressful situations in meetings.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire course on recruiting and retaining volunteers. It was a really good and useful session, and gave me some marketing hints and tips, plus strategies for recruitment including the use of social media.

I attended the recent Voice and Representation course provided by Support Cambridgeshire. The trainer was very approachable and the infoRmation was easy to understand. The course has given me increased confidence to represent my group.

I recently attended the course Legal Issues for Volunteer Managers. As a result, I will be updating my Regional Fundraising Officers with volunteer expenses and lone working policies and spur a culture of change.

I recently attended the Search 4 Funding session. It was most useful, especially having access to the self – service funding portal.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire course on recruiting and retaining volunteers. I learnt a lot about role descriptions, marketing and reaching out to more diverse groups in order to attract volunteers.

I recently attended the course on Voice and Representation. I learned a lot, particularly about the time and commitment required to be a good representative. Overall, the training was excellent, and well presented.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire Search 4 Funding network session. It was helpful, especially in how to adapt the needs of your project for Lottery Funding.

I recently attended the course on Equal Opportunities and Diversity. It has been over 4 years since I last received any guidance on the subject so this was a good refresher course.

I attended Angela’s (Angela Haylock – Development Officer Hunts Forum) training on Safeguarding Adults. There was a good mix of interactive work with the valuable giving of information.

I attended the recent course on Safeguarding Adults. A well spent 3 hours and food for thought..!!

I recently attended the course on Impact.

In addition to the expected benefits of learning about impact measurement, I have also found it has changed the way I think about decision making and prioritising. I think ‘what impact will this have’ when planning for the organisation and for myself and make sure I prioritise accordingly.

I recently attended the Basic Duties of Trustees course. It was interesting finding out about the breadth of trustees responsibilities. I now have an action list of to-do’s  

post training.

The course on Fire Safety in Village Halls greatly enhanced my knowledge of the regulatory requirements and responsibilities as well as complementing my fundamental fire prevention knowledge.

Julie Farrow (lead CEO of Support Cambridgeshire) influences the discussions at stakeholder meetings and always offers her support to follow through on issues, ideas and changes.

The sector is incredibly diverse and organisations can hold wildly differing views on subjects but I think Support Cambridgeshire represent the complexity and diversity of the sector extremely well. They are well networked and are able to represent views and opinions from a wide range of meetings and forum.

I recently attended the course on Data Protection and the GDPR and have quite a few bits of useful information I can act upon.

We were trained in Voice and Representation by one of your Development workers (Angela Haylock of Hunts Forum). Angela was very knowledgeable and experienced of the issues facing the voluntary sector – especially around the subject of voice and recognition for seldom heard groups.

I found the session on Crowdfunding really useful. The general overview, website access, and which platform to use are all points worth considering.

I recently attended the Support Cambridgeshire course on budgets and financial planning. I learned a great deal: Budgets, cash-flow reporting, salaries, employer NI and pension calculations, and can now implement these in my own organisation.

I recently attended the Basic Duties of Trustees course. I found it very useful, as it gave me a wider picture of what Trustees do.

On our first meeting we found Alan (Alan Turner – Development worker for Cambridge CVS) to be very helpful with information how to move our club forward. We then held a meeting with most club members, and at this meeting the club decided to become members of CCVS and take on Alan’s recommendations. We attended a Funding Meeting at March Town Hall, and also had a second meeting with Alan after the funding session. At this meeting we received from Alan further useful help and information on drawing up a development plan for the club, which has now been completed and moving forward with Alan’s involvement.

The recent course on Legal Issues for Volunteer Managers was great. I now feel equipped to improve..!!

I recently attended the Legal Issues for Volunteer Managers training course. While there was a lot to cover in a short space of time, it was really relevant and useful.

During my time with Acorn I found everyone at Hunts Forum very friendly and supportive. I was previously unaware of the existence of such an important organisation, and now make sure that I pass on all that you have to offer when I find myself in an appropriate situation to do so.

I really do appreciate the huge amount of useful information you have forwarded to me in the last few weeks. Thank you so much. I am sure that with all this knowledge Fledglings will soon be flying. Thank you for all your help.

Two pieces of advice given to us that made a big difference to our thinking were; Don’t just chase funding, have a plan; and to put ourselves in the role of a potential funder and view our application from their perspective.

I recently attended a training session on Writing a good funding application organised by Support Cambridgeshire and run by Alan Tuner (Development worker for Cambridge CVS). I found it really helpful, particularly the need to plan how you complete your application before submission. Thanks very much.

I found the training course on Writing a good funding application really useful. The course was well structured, with some useful tips on resources and where and how to research.

I really enjoyed the course on Fire Safety. It gave me great information to ensure my village hall complies and is safe.

The course on Fire safety had well-focused material and was professionally delivered.

I really enjoyed the course on Equal Opportunities and Diversity. It provided me with lots of useful information, including how to solve a problem through positive action. I also liked the way we worked in groups and examined particular case studies to increase my understanding of the subject.

I recently attended the session on Crowdfunding. The workshop aims were clear, the workshop met my objectives and the session definitely improved my confidence and skills.

I recently attended the course on Budgets and financial planning. It was very enjoyable and informative.