Wiltshire Community Foundation

We had a fascinating talk from cyber security expert Bill Egerton this morning. He gave us plenty of food for thought with some chilling stats but also had some excellent advice. In 2018 4billion people worldwide suffered data breaches, a 133 per cent rise on 2017. Of that total, 65 per cent suffered Identity Theft. There were 2,447 data reaches in the UK, a 29 per cent yearly increase. Many of these breaches come from ineffective or insecure passwords. In 2018 40 per cent of... UK charities were victims of attempted breaches. Thieves see them as soft targets because they are prone to having poor cyber security and less expensive IT systems. Did you know that there is a CD containing 15 million often-used passwords that ID thieves can use to run against your accounts to hack into them? These CDs are available on the Dark Web, an unregulated corner of the Internet where stolen credit card details sell for £50, or for £820 someone can buy a person's complete identity, including passport, National Insurance, driving licence and NHS details. It is possible to make life much more difficult for hackers, who will soon look elsewhere if you are a tough nut to crack. By joining three short words together, and adding some unique characters, you can create a strong and memorable password. For instance, PudDigNab7! would take 1.6 billion years to crack if possible passwords were run against it at a rate of 1,000 per second! The thing to remember is make your password easy to remember but very difficult to guess. There is a great deal more advice to be had at www.ncsc.gov.uk.
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We had a full house for our Writing Applications workshop this morning. This was just one of a range of Funder+ workshops we run monthly to help groups stretch their knowledge and do even more for their communities. See the full range of workshops we do, including our upcoming sessions on funding and governance and marketing, here http://bit.ly/2ZKN2dF.

We are holding two workshops as part of our Loneliness Uncovered project to increase awareness and collectively consider ways to build connections to reduce and prevent loneliness and isolation.
The workshops are a forum to bring organisations together, from across Wiltshire, who provide day to day activities that connect people and address loneliness and aim to:
• map current provision and activities (those provided by statutory services, the voluntary sector and local commu...nity organisations); • identify gaps and needs and priorities, and • collaboratively consider challenges and identify potential solutions
We are hosting the workshop in two locations and would be delighted for any interested individuals, voluntary or community groups to take part in the events and share their knowledge and experience.
The workshops are being held in:
Salisbury – Tuesday 11 June 2:00pm to 4:30pm The Friary Community Centre
OR
Devizes – Thursday 20 June, 9:30am to 12.00pm Devizes Town Hall
The workshop will comprise a short introduction and discussion sessions which will look at the issues surrounding loneliness in Wiltshire, what is currently being done to address these issues and what more could be done to connect people. If you wish to attend or would like more information please contact us 01380 729284.
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We have been able to provide more places on our highly-rated Writing Better Funding Applications workshop on 22 May.
This workshop will help attendees to understand what funders are looking for and how to write more successful funding applications. During the interactive session participants will explore:
• Key principles of writing grant applications ... • Effectively communicating your organisation and project • Meeting a funders’ objectives • How to show you are making a difference • Common reasons why applications fail
You can book your place here https://bit.ly/2PeZkWP
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Don't forget tomorrow is the last day to request an application for our current main grants programme round. This programme supports projects which will make a sustained impact in the lives of disadvantaged people in Wiltshire and Swindon.
Grants are up to £5,000 per year and up to three years funding is available. For this programme, applicants must demonstrate that the majority of their beneficiaries are disadvantaged either economically, socially, geographically or physica...lly.
Charities or community groups of any size may apply and grants can support new projects, the continuation of existing provision, training and other development activities that strengthen groups as well as core costs, overheads and salaries. It can also be used towards capital projects (buildings and equipment), provided most of any remaining costs have already been secured.
Further details are available on our website http://bit.ly/2HgPpwv
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Great idea - lets all get talking!

The government has launched a £3 million fund to improve village halls and better connect rural communities across the country.
Village hall committees are now able to apply for grants of up to £75,000.The grant aims to help fund the updating and refurbishment of village halls so that they are fit for purpose and provide activities which seek to achieve one or more of the following outcomes for their communities:
• Improved health and wellbeing/reduction in loneliness... • Demonstrates a positive impact on the environment • Supports the local rural economy
The scheme will fund up to 20% of eligible costs, with a minimum grant of £10,000 and a maximum grant of £75,000 payable. This means overall scheme costs would be between £50,000 and £375,000.
More information and the eligibility criteria is available here: http://acre.org.uk/ou…/village-hall-imp rovement-grant%20fund
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Applications are still open for our main grants programme which supports projects which will make a sustained impact in the lives of disadvantaged people in Wiltshire and Swindon.
Grants are up to £5,000 per year and up to three years funding is available. For this programme, applicants must demonstrate that the majority of their beneficiaries are disadvantaged either economically, socially, geographically or physically.
Charities or community groups of any size may apply an...d grants can support new projects, the continuation of existing provision, training and other development activities that strengthen groups as well as core costs, overheads and salaries. It can also be used towards capital projects (buildings and equipment), provided most of any remaining costs have already been secured.
The closing date for requesting an application pack for our next grants round is 16 May. Further details are available on our website http://bit.ly/2HgPpwv
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Funding and Advice Session - Tuesday 7 May, Devizes
Places are still available on our free one-to-one funding and advice session taking place in Devizes on Tuesday 7 May.
This is a great opportunity to seek advice from an experienced funding advisor to discuss your organisations funding needs or how to set up an run a community group.
... For further information or to book visit: https://bit.ly/2ZSa96e
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Chief executive Rosemary Macdonald's May blog is out. In it, she talks about knife crime, new funding for Swindon and an eventful awayday. https://www.wiltshirecf.org.uk/node/319