A new on-line guide has been published by Social Enterprise UK, helping in the set up and management of social enterprise organisations.

FREE WEBINAR by Charity How To.com Thursday, May 17: 10 Ways to Get Better Results For Your Charity on Facebook

The Community Toolkit team have been working with independent consultant Chris Smith, member of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners, in the Quality Assurance of content relating to Charitable Annual Accounts, Statutory Filing and External Scrutiny of Accounts.

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The Community Toolkit team, in association with Social Audit Network and Forth Sector Development Ltd, have added a number of new topics to the online resource including:- Social Impact, Social Return on Investment (SROI) and Social Accounting and Auditing.

HMRC have listed important updates and changes on the Employer Pack page on their website.

Saltire Awards are the new Scottish awards designed to formally recognise the commitment of young  volunteers (12–25 years old) and their contribution to voluntary organisations.

Are you involved in community based transport in your local area?

Would you like to network with others, share experiences and make lasting connections?

The Scottish National Rural Network is working in partnership with the Community Transport Association Scotland to bring a networking opportunity to those involved in existing community transport schemes and those looking to set up services in their area.

The Birnam Arts Centre, Birnam by Dunkeld, Thursday 31^st May

From the 4^th May the Community Toolkit will include a pop up text box to page headers in compliance to the EU laws governing the use of cookies.

The Health and Safety Executive has updated its health and safety guidance for event organisers. The website points to further resources, such as use of contractors, has a dedicated FAQ section and reviews topics from crowd management to handling waste.

Scottish Charities have until 5pm Friday 25 May 2012 to apply to Inspiring Scotland Go2Play fund to help turn great ideas about play into a reality.

BIG Lottery Webinar for beginner applicants

Thursday, May 10th at 11am the Big Lottery Fund will be holding a funding webinar about BIG’s small grant schemes (Up to £10,000, mainly focussing on ‘Awards for All’) aimed at those who have not applied to BIG before or those who have been unsuccessful in the past. Spaces are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

A new guidance booklet 'Promoting positive mental health at work' has been developed by Acas. It helps people understand mental health and the impact it has on employees and organsations.

Applications are now open for the following Comic Relief UK Grant Programmes:

Young people and mental health, Sexually exploited and trafficked young people, Domestic and sexual abuse, Mental health, Young people and alcohol, Refugee and asylum-seeking women.

We have added guidance for employers on their health and safety responsibities of employees who work from home.

We have updated the Social Media section to include information on integrating Social Media into a communications strategy.

We have added a new page on Pensions, as a sub page of Recruiting Staff.

Volunteering welcomes all kinds of people, celebrating their skills, experiences, and diversity along with their unique and individual contributions.  The Community Toolkit volunteering section is packed with information to help community groups involve and support volunteers. 

The Government is carrying out a consultation on proposed new policy directions for the Big Lottery Fund.  The consultation closes on Friday 18 November 2011. 

We have added a link in the Resource Library to discounted Microsoft Software for voluntary organisations.

We have added a link to SCVO's model constitution for Unincorporated Associations, which can be downloaded and adapted for use by your group.

The hourly rate for workers aged 21 and over increased from £5.93 to £6.08 on 1 October 2011. Rates for younger workers and apprentices, and accommodation offset rates have also risen.

ACAS has produced guidance for Employers on using Social Networking websites at work.

This programme will fund 500 people to work for a charity of their choice in the UK, for two months full time or four months part time.   Placements start in March 2012.