As part of our Meet the Funder series of events, National Lottery Community Fund will be holding a surgery by appointment only on:-

 Wednesday 9th April at VAMT

If you would like to discuss funding for  a potential project or any issues you may have with delivering your current Lottery Funded project, book your half an hour appointment now.

Appointments must be booked via karen.vowles@vamt.net

Charity regulator warns about fraudulent letters sent on its behalf

Charity Commission warns charities about fraudulent messages recently sent to charities and trustees.

The messages typically request action to be taken such as removing a trustee or chief executive from their position, releasing funds as part of a grant or supplying documents such as a passport or utility bill. They may be signed as coming from ‘the Commission,’ Chief Executive Officer and/or its Directors.  

We have reported the incidents to Action Fraud and will continue to monitor the situation.  

It’s not always easy to tell if correspondence is real or fake, however please note we:

• will only send you a letter just by post only if we do not have your current email address. Check and update your details
• rarely address letters generically, for example ‘to whom it may concern’
• do not write letters or emails of certification on behalf of UK charities regarding tax exemption or any other matters
• do not issue requests to authenticate an account online by supplying personal identity documents
• will not ask you to provide banking information

In the rare circumstance where we might send you a letter by post  it will:

• be franked – not stamped
• normally have a case number or reference on it 
• be unlikely to be marked as ‘Strictly Private and Confidential’ 
• come from the Charity Commission for ‘England and Wales’, not the ‘UK’ or ‘England’

It is unlikely that any serious allegations against individuals would be detailed in a letter, or that we would name individuals before there was clear evidence of wrongdoing. 

Matters to do with casework or investigation would normally come from a caseworker or a team at the Commission . 

If you are in any doubt, contact us to check.

Please contact the Charity Commission for England and Wales if you have any concerns via the above link.

There is a unique opportunity for you to get involved in sharing your voice, experiences and ideas to help shape what a new mental health and wellbeing NHS service could look like in your local area.

We are asking all people who live and work in Bridgend, Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taf to attend a local event near you, to share what you would like this new service to provide for you, your loved ones and its communities.

For more information about this project please visit: Help shape your local mental health and wellbeing educational service - Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Here is the online booking link to secure your place for an upcoming event:

www.ticketsource.co.uk/recovery-college-ctmuhb

Alternatively to book onto an event, please let us know which date you would like to attend and for how many people by sending an email to:

CTM.MHLD.ServiceEngagement@wales.nhs.uk

Here are the dates and locations for the upcoming events:

• 27th March: 10am – 12.30pm in Trelewis Community Centre
• 1st April: 10am – 12.30pm at VAMT (Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil)

Online Event

• 3rd April: 5pm – 6.30pm

The Scrutiny Recruitment session on 20^th March at 10am has now been cancelled.

If you are interested in being part of this vital role in the Voluntary Sector and would like further information please do not hesitate in contacting karen.vowles@vamt.net