Small Sums’ Post

Check out this amazing PBS segment about a very special organization I believe in and am honored to be on the Board - it’s called Closely Crafted. Started in 2022 by Gigi Burris, the mission is to preserve craftsmanship in American fashion as well as raise awareness of American designers who are shaping the future of craft in the industry. From running after-school programs that introduce young people to behind-the-scenes world of craftsmanship, to creating sponsored apprenticeships that will equip the next-generation with hands-on skills to carry this legacy forward, this organization does great stuff! Through nurturing artisan equity and raising awareness of craft, @closelycrafted contributes to jobs, advancing sustainability, and supporting local communities. On this #GivingTuesday, this is a wonderful organization to support - young in their work but very focused on direct support and guidance in everything they do with very minimal overhead and maximum organization! Donations can be made directly on their website, or through their “Move the Needle” fundraiser, which serves to attract funding for Closely Crafted’s educational mission of training up-and-coming talent.

2024 Wrapped ✨ Making Spirits Bright, All Year Long As the year wraps up, the real gift is seeing how these milestones have touched lives and created lasting change. 👉 534 new VCFSEs signed up 👉 2,200 volunteer hours donated 👉 408 new suppliers onboarded 👉 95 jobs and apprenticeships offered 👉 371 community initiatives supported 👉 10 new authorities trusting us to deliver social value These numbers represent more than just progress—they reflect lives changed, communities strengthened, and futures brightened. As we enjoy a well-earned break to recharge for the year ahead, we're excited to continue building on this success in 2025, delivering even more social value together. From all of us at Match My Project, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a bright, impactful New Year! #SocialValue #CommunityImpact #PublicSector #MerryChristmas #Procurement What was your organisation's highlight of 2024? Let's celebrate together—share in the comments below!

NEW FOR TEES VALLEY! We have launched a free Apprenticeship Levy Matching Service 🤝 Employers that pay the apprenticeship levy can choose to transfer up to 50% of their levy funds each year to help smaller, growing businesses to pay for their apprenticeship training and assessment. This is a great way for larger companies to support other Tees Valley businesses and communities. 💥 Receive Funds 💥 If you need help to fund your apprenticeship training, the service can help match you with a donor company and provide high quality advice and apprenticeship support. 💥 Donate Funds 💥 If you want to donate funds, the service can help match you with a local business and work with you to support your sector and develop a skilled talent pipeline. Find out more: https://orlo.uk/tk8es

Working across Manchester and beyond, RISE UP enables young people facing barriers to employment succeed in life-changing careers. Led by CEO Roman Dibden who left school at 14, Rise Up develops workplace skills and facilitates jobs, apprenticeships and placements through company partnerships. Their approach of tailoring support to each person’s unique challenges works, elevating participants into meaningful jobs above the minimum wage. With 1 in 8 young people now neither earning or learning, referrals are surging. Rise Up needs to grow, but with limited capacity this is impossible. With funding from The Fore, RISE UP will recruit a Youth Development Officer, freeing up Roman to develop more partnerships to sustainably scale and change the lives of more young people. #BackedbyTheFore #smallcharities #socialchange #socialjustice #funding #socialenterprise #charities #inequality #grantmaking

Impact Futures has helped facilitate a £200,000 Levy Donation!    This significant levy transfer has taken place between our valued partners The Access Group and ivolve care & support – enabling essential workforce development within the adult social care sector.    ivolve is excited to put these funds to good use, training and upskilling their teams and preparing them for both the challenges and opportunities in this critical sector.    Congratulations to all involved. This is an encouraging step forward in improving residential, supported living and complex care services delivery across the UK.    Visit the link below to learn more about this exciting development: https://ow.ly/3zKN50U9eSZ   #ImpactFutures #Apprenticeships #Levy #LevyTransfer #ivolve #TheAccessGroup #Funding #ProfessionalGrowth #ImpactFunding #PartnershipSuccess #TrainingAndDevelopment #UKHealthcare #SocialCare #HealthCareInnovation #Upskilling #WorkforceTraining #HealthcareDevelopment

UK charities are hiring staff with 'privilege not potential' according to a report by the EY Foundation. How can charities recruit more working class talent? There are a few ways that charities can be more inclusive for people from a working class background. In our view a good place to start is: ✅ Offering paid training programmes like funded internships and apprenticeships. 🙅 Getting experience in the charity sector shouldn't come at a cost. --- Image Description: the test on the image reads, "How can charities recruit more working class talent?" the text is white on a Charity People green background with dark green patterns in the corners. #WorkingClass #CharitySector #Charities

Ever had to pick something up and learn as you go? Found this book yesterday on my shelves, bought for a few quid over ten years ago as ex library stock. (Now so old the 'further information' section has postal addresses and not websites). I was working in marketing for a small charity and needed to get involved with some fundraising projects. So I bought a book and got learning. This approach isn't always the best and apprenticeships can really help here. They can support the transition of someone into a new role and provide structure to their development, gaining more formal knowledge of concepts alongside building skills. If you're in the charity sector and know a new fundraiser, please point them in my direction. Apprentify is recruiting their next cohort of fundraiser apprentices currently. We work alongside The Juice Academy to give learners access to trainers who are current industry professionals and really know their stuff. 🤓Time to let this book go? Where would you go to learn more about your sector or develop new skills?

We’ve joined forces with Activate Learning LTE Group and Nelson and Colne College Group to work strategically on curriculum reforms in further education. Collectively, we teach more than 75,000 learners across the country every year and employ more than 5,000 colleagues in the sector. Together, we will be leading the implementation of expected changes to Level 2 and 3 qualifications over the next four years to support colleges across the sector. The collaboration is facilitated by The KWP Ltd and supported by key stakeholders across the sector including the IfATE (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education), Association of Colleges and Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Read more about our work so far and our upcoming plans: https://orlo.uk/RNEfe #CurriculumReforms #Education #FurtherEducation

Did you know that you can access Apprenticeship Levy funding, even if you're not a levy payer? If you or your team want to study Procurement as an Apprenticeship, get in touch because there might be a free route for this, whether you are a levy payer or not!