We are delighted to welcome back a range of funders and grant-giving organisations who have kindly offered to run a series of virtual funding information sessions for representatives of voluntary and community groups across County Durham.

These include Easyfundraising, Ballinger Charitable Trust, Karbon Homes, Point North, Bernard Sunley Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund Reaching Communities and Awards for All, Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Livin, Believe Housing, and recently confirmed the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust and The Rothley Trust. 

Full details and booking links can be found here:

Virtual Funding Information Sessions 2026

In our latest blog, Julie Gourley, our County Durham Poverty Truth Commission Project Worker, reflects on the recent successful Stanley and Consett Poverty Truth Commission launch event in March.

Read the blog here

You can also read previous blogs following the County Durham Poverty Truth Commission's journey here

REACH County Durham, a partnership between Durham County Council Public Health, Durham Community Action and Durham University, secured £10,000 through the NIHR Public and Community Partnerships Award to launch a new creative health research project.

The aims of the project are to:

• Make involvement in research accessible, relevant, and meaningful
• Strengthen partnerships across the community, academic, and public sectors
• Influence public health priorities based on lived experience
• Create a sustainable model for community involvement in research (priority setting) to support future NIHR and other funding applications.

The project will connect with 18-35 year olds in Tow Law, County Durham, using accessible, family‑friendly methods of community research. Our approach is to overcome multiple participation barriers, including a lack of childcare, time, literacy, digital access, trust and confidence.

Fortnightly creative workshops will run from June 2026 to March 2027, delivered collaboratively between REACH partners, Tow Law Community Association and local organisations and will help generate new evidence to inform our decision-making going forward.

For more information, please email Rio Floreza rio.floreza@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk

Within REACH County Durham, we propose developing a mental health special interest group and a loneliness & social isolation special interest group with representation from Durham County Council Public Health, researchers from Durham University and stakeholders from relevant VCSE organisations.

Known as SPRIGs (Supporting Practice, Research and Innovation Groups), they will be relatively informal, providing an opportunity to ‘take the lanyards off.’ With each sector and stakeholder given equal value, it will begin as a discussion group for members to discuss their experiences, concerns, research needs and interests in this field, as well as their expertise (this may be academic, policy, practice and/or lived experience).

Group sessions may include horizon scanning and familiarisation with the latest literature, evidence and data, identifying evidence gaps and research needs locally, and scoping relevant research funding calls.

Expressions of Interest

If you would like to be involved, please email Rio Floreza for more information and a copy of the Expression of Interest form: rio.floreza@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk

Finding affordable housing in our rural villages is becoming increasingly difficult, and this shortage is having a real impact on the long‑term sustainability of these communities.

To help highlight the issue, Durham Community Action recently took the unusual step of placing an advert in the Teesdale Mercury asking local landowners to come forward with possible sites for affordable homes.

Even with support from Durham County Council and local Housing Associations, only a small number of rural affordable housing schemes are likely to be built in the near future. However, recent Housing Needs Surveys show that many rural people are in urgent need of suitable, affordable homes. Our Rural Housing Enabler is working hard to raise awareness and encourage new developments wherever possible.

One simple way communities can help is by spreading the word. According to the National Planning Policy Framework, “rural exception sites” can be brought forward in any rural location. In designated rural areas and the Green Belt, they are often the only type of exception site allowed. These sites can deliver all kinds of affordable housing, including First Homes, where there is clear evidence of local need.

Parish Councils, organisations, and individuals who may know of suitable land are encouraged to take a proactive approach. This might include identifying and contacting landowners or passing details directly to Durham Community Action.

Susan Tron MBE, Rural Housing Enabler for County Durham, works alongside local communities and Durham County Council to identify potential locations for development.

“We’re particularly interested in sites of around 1 to 1.5 acres that are within, next to, or closely linked to a village.”

If you think you may have land that could help meet local housing needs, Susan would welcome a confidential, no‑obligation chat.

You can contact Susan on 07496 461998 or email susan.tronMBE @durhamcommunityaction.org uk

Pride in Place is a 10‑year, national government‑funded programme investing up to £20 million of investment and support over the next 10 years (from 2026) to 284 communities across the country to make long-term improvements. In Durham, £20million is being invested into four areas to help regenerate local neighbourhoods and strengthen local pride:

• Crook North/Tow Law
• Peterlee East
• Stanley South
• Spennymoor (this work began in 2024)

Each area is establishing a Neighbourhood Board comprised of people with a strong connection to the area and will be led by an independent chair to create a shared vision and long‑term Regeneration Plan reflecting the needs of that community.

For more information, visit the Let’s Talk County Durham website to see how you can get involved:

• Crook North and Tow Law Pride in Place
• Stanley South Pride in Place
• Peterlee East Pride in Place
• Spennymoor Pride in Place

April is Stress Awareness Month. It is a vital opportunity for employers to address one of the most pressing challenges in today’s workplace - preventing work-related stress.

As part of HSE’s Working Minds campaign, which helps prevent work-related stress and promotes good mental health at work, they are calling on employers across Great Britain to #BeTheChange.

Work-related stress is one of the leading causes of ill health at work. In 2024/25, nearly 1 million workers reported stress, depression, or anxiety related to their jobs.

Make use of these free resources designed to help managers and teams better understand and address stress:

• Stress Talking Toolkit
• Online learning modules
• Working Minds campaign resource hub

You can find out more about preventing stress and protecting workers' health in their news article.

For access to further regular updates, tools and resources, sign up to their Working Minds campaign ebulletin

The Ethical Property Foundation is offering a free property webinar for voluntary organisations on Thursday 14th May from 12.00 - 1.00pm.

Join them for an engaging and practical session on negotiating and managing your lease, delivered by experienced solicitors and surveyors.

Participants will receive an information pack and the opportunity to access free follow-up advice from their property experts.

Find out more and book your place:

Negotiating and Managing Your Lease Webinar

Join the Heritage Network for a dedicated North East networking day on Thuesday 21st May from 10.00am - 4.30pm, bringing together not-for-profit organisations and community champions working with or from historic buildings across the region.

Hosted at  Redhills Miners Hall in Durham, this interactive day offers a chance to connect with peers, gain fresh perspectives, and explore both leading and emerging heritage projects shaping the North East.

Full details and book your place here;

Building Futures: Community-Led Heritage in the North East

Join us online for this information session delivered by the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Find out how the National Fraud Network can offer solutions to safeguard your information and protect your finances. 

This session will take place online via Teams on Tuesday 26th May from 9.30 – 11.00am.

Please note there will be British Sign Language interpreters supporting this session.

Book your place here:

Scam Smart Online Information Session

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) are hosting an insights webinar on Tuesday 28th April from 12.00 - 12.30pm.

This session will introduce the CT Crime Prevention Toolkit on ProtectUK through a short, illustrative video. They will show the video and provide an informal walkthrough of the toolkit’s key features.

Book your place here:

NaCTSO Insights - Crime Prevention Toolkit

Durham Safeguarding Adults Partnership are hosting an awareness training session delivered by the England Illegal Money Lending Team about illegal money lending and how to identify, prevent, and report it.

The online session will take place on Microsoft Teams on Monday 29th April from 10.00 - 11.15am.

To find out more and book a place visit

Stop Loan Sharks - Online Awareness Course

On Wednesday 18th March, Durham Community Action hosted a knowledge exchange event in partnership with the University of York and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. The event was well attended by representatives from the VCSE sector, researchers, people with lived experience, clinicians, and research delivery staff.

As part of this project, Durham Community Action has mapped the services available to individuals following their release from prison across County Durham and developed a good practice resource for the VCSE sector who recruit or are thinking about recruiting prison leavers as volunteers.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who contributed, collaborated, and shared vital information to support this work. Your input has enabled us to create resources that will help strengthen support and volunteering opportunities provision across the county.

We are pleased to announce that the Good Practice Guide: Recruiting Volunteers with Criminal Convictions is now available to use. Email info@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk  for a copy or more information.

Photograph: Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV)

Durham County Council launched Connecting County Durham, a new, easy-to-use online directory of local organisations, activities, and support services for residents and professionals.

The new site is a replacement for the Families Information Service and Locate websites and has been designed in partnership with local people and organisations.

What the Directory Includes:

• Care and support organisations
• Activities and social groups
• Mental and physical wellbeing services
• Childcare and family support
• Special educational needs and disabilities services

Residents can explore services using simple keyword searches, filters, or postcode lookup within the directory.
The site also offers easy links to further information and support on key topics such as mental health, care services, the SEND Local Offer and much more.

Get Registered

It is free for organisations to register and promote their services, which in turn will help strengthen the local support network for residents, so we would encourage everyone to update their entries regularly, or register now if you have not already done so.

Visit the website: Connecting County Durham

The Shakespeare Temperance Trust is a historic charity body, providing twice-yearly grants to support community groups and charities serving the people of Durham City.

If you run a project or charity within Durham City or the immediate surrounding vicinity which supports children, young people, disabled, vulnerable or elderly people and are seeking funding, they invite you to contact them to see how they may be able to help.

Find out more: Shakespeare Temperance Trust

The Grocers’ Charity, the charitable arm of the historic Grocers’ Company, supports small and medium‑sized UK charities that positively impact public benefit.

The major causes they support are Relief of Hardship, the Elderly, Disability, Arts and Heritage, Health, Military, Environment, and Children and Young People.

They typically provide one-off grants of up to £5,000.

Find out more:

The Grocers' Charity

VONNE are seeking a Chair with a passion for the North East VCSE sector and the communities it supports.  

They are looking for someone who has an extensive knowledge of the type of work they undertake, and a wider involvement with the voluntary sector, with experience and a deep understanding of charity governance and working through boards and committees.

If you have proven leadership qualities, excellent communication and interpersonal skills and can act with integrity and impartiality, they'd love to hear from you!

The closing date for applications is Friday 8th May at 12.00pm.

Find out more about this pivotal trustee role and how to apply here:

Chair at VONNE

Durham County Council's consultation and engagement platform, Let’s Talk County Durham, provides a space for people to be actively involved in local decision-making, deciding together what should happen.

By registering on the site, you can create your personalised account to make the most of its features and get alerts on subjects or geographical areas of interest to you.

Visit: www.letstalkcountydurham.co.uk