DCMS blog

Using Dormant Assets to get charities and social enterprises the capital they need

Seb Elsworth

Seb Elsworth, January 9, 2021 — Civil Society

CEO, Access - The Foundation for Social Investment

Access uses money from dormant assets to support more charities and social enterprises to get the capital they need to grow and help more people in their communities. We do this through a model we call blended finance. This means combining loans and grant so that social lenders are able to support smaller organisations who…
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Supporting frontline organisations to make a real difference

Stephen Muers

Stephen Muers, — Civil Society

Interim CEO, Big Society Capital

Image from Acorn childcare video of a smiling baby playing
Big Society Capital was set up with the promise of £425 million from dormant bank accounts and £200 million from our four bank shareholders. Our mission is to improve people’s lives in the UK through investment.  It is the frontline organisations that deliver such impact, so far more than 1,200 of them, and the fund…
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2020 is ALL THE FEELS | Bristol’s Watershed on the impact of lockdown and the Culture Recovery Fund

Clare Reddington

Clare Reddington, October 30, 2020 — Culture

CEO, Watershed

Exterior of Watershed with a boat going past right to left on the waterway
Clare Reddington, CEO of Watershed in Bristol discusses what happened when covid closed them down, how they have been using the lockdown to do some deep thinking and how they are re-emerging wrapped in renewed values to make a sector that is representative, safe and welcoming for all.   Before lockdown, Watershed was thriving and…
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Remembrance Sunday & Armistice Day 2020

Avatar photo

, — Culture

Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day
This year the annual National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph will be a closed ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, there are many ways you can mark the occasion safely, either outdoors, while following social distancing guidance, online or at home.  Things you can do and watch in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday…
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Military Wives Choirs: A thank you for supporting our virtual activity #CommunitiesCan

Eleanor Pullen

Eleanor Pullen, October 9, 2020 — #CommunitiesCan

Digital Engagement Officer, Military Wives Choirs

12 members of the Military Wives Choirs pose for a photo wearing choir outfits including a black dress and purple cardigan
The grant funding that the Military Wives Choirs has received has enabled us to continue to bring our network together, albeit virtually, during these unprecedented times in the COVID-19 pandemic. With over 70 choirs and more than 2,000 members in British military bases across the UK and overseas, the Military Wives Choirs is a charity…
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How our UK startup is tackling the cyber skills shortage

Jonathan Slater

Jonathan Slater, September 18, 2020 — Digital

Founder, CEO, Capslock

capslock student
Capslock was founded by a team of UK cyber security experts. We are a revolutionary education institution, created to re-skill UK adults, kick-starting their new careers in cyber security. As the UK continues to lead global innovation, the skills we need as an economy are subject to rapid change. For DCMS and Government as a…
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Building trust and community cohesion through Board Games – #CommunitiesCan

Mem Mehmet

Mem Mehmet, September 11, 2020 — #CommunitiesCan

Happiness Engineer, Universal Board Games

Two dads play a board game in the park as their children watch on. All socially distanced.
Universal Board Games have been using play to build trust and community cohesion for 20 years. We feel it will be even more important to rebuild this after the negative impact of the coronavirus lockdown on vulnerable communities in Hackney. The Coronavirus Community Support Fund we’ve received has enabled us to build capacity and plan…
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Reshaping the Hailsham Festival – #CommunitiesCan

Dr Tony Biggin

Dr Tony Biggin, September 4, 2020 — #CommunitiesCan

Chair, Hailsham Festival

Hailsham Festival
In early 2020 Hailsham Festival – an annual celebration of creativity, talent and imagination – was gearing up for its most ambitious year ever – not only were plans well advanced for the ‘normal’ festival fortnight in September but also for ‘String’ – a newly commissioned community musical, rooted in Hailsham, its surrounding villages and…
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EFL Football Clubs: Tackling loneliness together – #CommunitiesCan

Mike Evans

Mike Evans, August 28, 2020 — #CommunitiesCan

CEO, EFL Trust

EFL Trust - Tackling loneliness together graphic
How EFL football clubs are bringing people together and connecting older people at risk of loneliness COVID-19 and the lockdown restrictions brought loneliness into sharp focus. In these troubled times it filled me with a great sense of pride to see how EFL football clubs and their community organisations stepped up to provide a vital…
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Liverpool 5G digital network bridges health gap during COVID-19

Rosemary Kay

Rosemary Kay, August 25, 2020 — Digital

Project Director, Liverpool 5G Testbed

We became part of the DCMS Testbed & Trials Programme in March 2018 delivering the Liverpool 5G Health and Social Care Testbed. This project highlighted the barrier that digital poverty had on both care providers and residents who would benefit from technology in the home, but did not have access to affordable connectivity. Our testbed…
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