It is great to see so many of you now face to face as well as online still.
We have had some very successful socials so far and we now invite you to join us for a Coffee Morning on Wednesday 14th September at 11am at Holders Woods.
September - BOSF Coffee Morning on Wednesday 14th September at 11am
Hosted by the Holders WoodsConservation group
How to find us: What3words location: fruit.winks.photo
From Holders Woods car park, follow the main path, past the long pond on your right, on past where the pavilion used to be, and the pond behind it. Stay on the same path until you reach a clearing, just passed a wooden bridge and small pond on your left.
From bottom of Moor Green Lane, coming in at the Doctor’s entrance: follow the main path straight through, keep going straight, pass the entrance to the Fields on the left, then you will reach a clearing on the left, before the bridge by the small pond
October - BOSF Conference at The Exchange, Centenary Squary In partnership with the University of Birmingham Saturday 8th October
Please book your place now for our annual conference via Eventbrite by clicking here, or contact Sarah oninfo@bosf.org.uk Please confirm if you have any dietary requirements or special needs The Conference Programme will be sent out as soon as it has been finalised.
November - BOSF Coffee Morning on Tuesday 8th November at 11am Hosted by the Friends of Ley Hill Park at Holloway Hall
December - BOSF Christmas Lecture at The Exchange, Centenary Square In partnership with the University of Birmingham Wednesday 7th December, evening
We look forward to seeing you soon!
BOSF Team
BOSF Seed Corn Fund
To all BOSF Member Groups.
We hope you all know about our Seed Corn Fund and we would like to remind you that the free help and support is still there for you to use!
Just to remind you, a seed corn fund is when a little bit of money is invested to generate more money.
BOSF, with generous support from Birmingham City Council, want to help out Friends Groups by investing a little bit of money to generate more money for our parks and open spaces volunteers.
We can therefore offer you FREE help to work with Get Grants to help bring in the funding you need.
Last year, with the help of Get Grants, we turned £10K in to over £100K.
This year we have already helped groups to bring in the total of £39,797, which has gone towards:
new picnic benches
playground equipment
new tools
and a variety of park activities!
Friends of Edgbaston Reservoir were one of the successful groups this year:
“We have been successful with two bids so far. Last year we had to move our operation from City Hospital greenhouses to James Turner Street. The £10k we got through the Seed Corn Fund enabled us to establish ourselves within a few weeks and just in time for the new growing season, to the amazement and delight of our school and community hub partners.
Because we have now embedded ourselves well and truly within the Winson Green community, we have also bid successfully for several thousand pounds to employ a part-time outreach worker to run our site and liaise with other community groups in the area.”
So, if you are a BOSF Member and your group needs to bring in funding, we can help out.
It is very easy, so start by clicking here and give us some information about your group and what you need funding for
Then Katie at Get Grants will be in touch to give you all the assist you need!
I you have any questions or need help, then please let us know by contacting Sarah at info@bosf.org.uk
BOSF Team
Audio Tour of Edgbaston Reservoir
The Friends of Edgbaston Reservoir have created an audio tour “Revealing the Reservoir”
This was put together in collaboration with the team from the Roundhouse who identified thirteen stopping points on the Reservoir where a comment was appropriate.
Together with reservoir-user input a script was devised to inform visitors and deepen their experience of this unique historic, wildlife haven, recorded and spoken by a variety of local enthusiasts. Highly recommended.
Congratulations to Birmingham City Council Parks for again being successful with the Green Flag Awards.
Fifteen parks and open spaces maintained by Birmingham City Council and supported by ‘Friends Of’ parks groups have once again been named as Green Flag Award winners for 2022.
The scheme, operated by Keep Britain Tidy, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for their management across the United Kingdom and around the world.
Across the country 2,208 sites are on the roll of honour this year – and in Birmingham all 15 sites that earned the honour last year have retained their prestigious flags this time around.
Consultation on Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Plan
Birmingham City Council has launched the statutory consultation for the Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Plan. This Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared by the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust Neighbourhood Planning Forum.
You can email your comments byclicking here, or send them to City Centre Planning Team, Planning and Development, Birmingham City Council, PO Box 28, Birmingham, B1 1TU
The public consultation closes at midnight on Friday 16th of September 2022.
Commonwealth Games 2022 Equipment Gifting
More than 16,000 sports items used at Birmingham 2022 are being made available to not-for-profit community-based organisations in the West Midlands.
Sport England has teamed up with the Birmingham 2022 organisers and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to give away more than 16,000 sports items used at the Commonwealth Games.
The items, which include bikes, martial arts mats, weights, T20 cricket equipment, basketballs, boxing gloves and weights, as well as general equipment, such as cones and bibs, are being made available to local sport and community groups across the West Midlands.
The community giveaway will support the shared goal to create a lasting community impact in the West Midlands, by supporting people to be active beyond the Games.
Not-for-profit community-based organisations, such as local voluntary groups, schools, sports clubs, Community Interest Companies (CICs) and social enterprises that deliver community-based projects, that seek to tackle inactivity and promote the physical and mental benefits of leading an active life, are encouraged to apply and have until 19 September to get their application in.
Here’s a roundup of Get Grant’s fantastic FREE Events coming up throughout September!
SEPTEMBER
GET GRANTS - FREE EVENTS Virtual Fundraisers Networking
Our FREE monthly Virtual Fundraisers Networking Event provides a perfect opportunity for fundraisers to get together and share knowledge and experience.
When – Thursday 29th September, 10am – 11am
Meet the Funder Events
In our popular Meet the Funder Virtual Events, Get Grants Experts are joined by Funders to talk about their funding programmes. In September, we are excited to bring you two events! We will be joined by experts from The Good Things Foundationand The National Funding Scheme, to talk about their various grant programmes!
These events give attendees the opportunity to speak directly to funders, take part in discussions, get unique insights, and ask questions specific to their project or organisation, and are suitable for fundraisers working for a wide range of not-for-profit organisations of all sizes.
Meet the Funder: The Good Things Foundation
Get Grants will be joined by The Good Things Foundation, a social change charity, who will be talking about their existing grant programmes, helping people improve their lives using digital.
When – Monday 5th September, 1pm – 2pm
Meet the Funder: The National Funding Scheme
This talk considers how charitable organisations can maximise donations and maintain strong donor relationships across multiple digital channels including text, web and contactless giving.
When – Tuesday 27th September, 1pm – 2pm
Caftspace "Commoning" Action
Join Common Agency Projects (CAP) for an immersive experience in nature. CAP have created Commoning Action for people to go outside, perform and connect with a green space close to them. The action is a guide to take time in a green space, (of your choice), whilst actively listening to the space itself and how you feel there, in that moment. If you are happy to, record your version, send it to them and they will include it on a Mass Share on Instagram stories on 14 September.
10 participants will be randomly selected to receive a We are Commoners badge.
For more information and to sign up, please click here!
Deadline for participating is 7 September.
CAP are an artist duo who explore green spaces as a site for meeting and exchange. They produce Commoning Actions which investigate making and moving in nature, as a forms of common action.
Get Grants 10th Anniversary
Get Grants want to bring together their amazing Fundraising Communityto say thank you and celebrate everything they have achieved!
Throughout October 2022, they are offering a programme of FREE online events, discounts, and giveaways, culminating in an in-person Get Grants Get Together in November.
Their jam-packed programme includes lots of brand NEW training courses and events to get involved in.
View the full programme of events click here
All of our Get Grants 10th Anniversary events are FREE and can be booked via Eventbrite
25% off all Training Courses throughout September & October.
10 NEW FREE Introductory Fundraising Workshops
NEW FREE Mentoring Clinic Online event
Chance to win FREE Training Courses and Support Services at each event
Launching a NEW Community Fundraising Training Course
Special Get Grants 10th Anniversary Virtual Fundraisers Networking Event
Special Get Grants 10th Anniversary Get Together in-person event
As with all Get Grants events, there will be an opportunity to come together with like-minded people and share successes, experiences, and support with our UK-wide community of fundraisers.
Powerful evidence was given last month to the MPs on the Westminster 'Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee'.
The focus was on the ever-growing recognition of the central importance of public green spaces to all our communities, and the massive additional funding urgently needed to reverse the financial crisis faced by local parks services. The contributions included evidence and views from the Local Government Association, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the NFPGS, Fields in Trust and the National Trust.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has now announced they will award neighbourhoods in England funding to create or improve over 100 local parks.
Significantly, the government has allocated the £9 million Levelling Up Parks Fund based on identified need. Rather than a competitive bidding process, DLUHC has used data from Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Mapping Tool to identify 85 areas – including Liverpool, Birmingham, Carlisle, and 16 London boroughs – where residents have the least access to outdoor space.
Parks Suffer from the Lack of Funding
The Guardian newspaper has recently published two articles looking at the problems our parks and open spaces face as a result of the lack of funding.
Please click the links below to view the articles.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has just launched a “Have your say” opportunity to collect views on how the Lottery might invest - and in what - for the future. This is a great opportunity for all interested in improving public green spaces to tell them how we would like to see the Heritage Fund investing in future.
This is an opportunity to get parks, community green spaces and urban nature moved up the funding agenda!
