Feedback from a Yateley Society member about her My Home Made Better adviser appointment with Lisa from Energy Alton:

"I have to say she was fantastic with our fairly complicated set-up, laid out everything in simple to understand terms, told us what to look out for on supplier quotes and ultimately saved us a lot of money and heartache!!"

The CityFibre Community Fund supports digital inclusion, innovation and community engagement in areas where CityFibre operates - this includes Hampshire. CityFibre aims to address key digital challenges, enhance social value, and foster stronger community connections by offering a small grants programme. Open to registered charities only. Go to this link and scroll down to find the Hampshire application form. Deadline to apply 27 March.

By the end of the 6 weeks, you will:

• Understand what makes a great podcast

• Know what equipment is needed and how to use it

• Gain skills to facilitate podcasting with a group

• Learn how to promote and share your podcast with others.

There are 2 course options starting on 21 or 23 April and running over 6 sessions. Cost £250 + VAT. More detail at this link.

Join them on Friday 20th March for this free event that will include talks, presentations and a buffet lunch.

Date: Friday 20th March 2026
Venue: Lismoyne Hotel, Fleet, GU51 4NE

11:00 – Welcome and tea/coffee
11:30 – Presentations from trustees, families, service providers, young people, parents and educators (full line-up to follow)
12:30 – Buffet lunch and time to chat

This year’s event celebrates the strength of families supporting one another, as well as the vital role of the wider community - schools, professionals, partners, and friends in ensuring no child, young person, or family feels alone. Booking essential.

• Kettles, toasters, and coffee makers

• Small lamps and lighting fixtures

• Radios, clocks, small stereo systems, DVD players, speakers

• Hair dryers, electric shavers, small grooming appliances

• Adjusting tension on sewing machines (portable)/mending textiles/sewing

• Toys and gadgets

• Minor alterations and repairs to clothes

• Bicycles (basic maintenance and adjustments)

• Small mechanical tools (e.g. hand blenders, food processors, pepper grinders)

• Porcelain ornaments, crockery

• Laptops, tablets, and some small computing devices

• Vacuum cleaners (domestic, portable)

• Miscellaneous items: umbrellas, picture frames, minor furniture repairs to small, portable, items.

More details at this link. To see details about all of our local Repair Cafés please go to the "Green Hart" section on the Here for Hart Directory.

representative. All types of organisations can apply. The deadline for applications is 14 March 2026. More detail at this link.

There are two levels of awards:

• Standard Grants of £2,000

• Larger Grants of up to £10,000 to be used towards specific projects, research or equipment rather than running costs.

The 2026 deadlines for:

• Standard grant applications - 13 April, 14 July, 8 October 2026, and 5 January 2027

• Large grant applications - 16 March, 16 June, 10 September, and 2 December 2026.

More detail at this link.

You can download a free Payroll Giving Charity Toolkit to promote payroll giving and grow regular donations to your charity, provided by the Charities Trust. The toolkit contains a range of ready-to-use assets that you can use to help donors understand the tax-free benefits of payroll giving, encourage them to talk to their employer and set up a regular pay day donation to you.

Here’s what is included:

• ‘Payroll Giving Ready’ badge - add to your website and fundraising communications

• Website copy and images - add to your website to encourage visitors to start Payroll Giving to your charity

• Email copy and image - send out to donors or include in your newsletters

• Social media images and copy - post to let your followers know you’re ‘Payroll Giving Ready’.

• interventions preventing family breakdown (such as practical support, counselling, and mediation);

• families affected by abuse, domestic violence, or substance misuse;

• prisoners' families during and after imprisonment.

The trust favours charities with an income below £500,000, though larger organisations with innovative pilots may apply. Both capital and revenue grants are available, including core funding, with particular encouragement for newer organisations seeking to establish themselves. More detail at this link.

Using digital in an unsystematic way can lead to confusion, frustration, and wasted time, money, and effort. Charities often stay in this situation due to squeezed organisational finances, a lack of new funds for digital tech, and a lack of headspace and capacity.

What is the Charity Digital Strategy Accelerator?

The Charity Digital Strategy Accelerator, otherwise known as the CDSA, guides you through the process of creating a digital strategy from beginning to end. It is a free, online, self-paced course, made up of twelve modules, each helping you build towards an impactful digital strategy for your charity. The modules are as follows:

• Welcome

• What is a digital strategy?

• Team alignment

• Digital governance

• Understanding your current digital landscape

• Strategic alignment

• Horizon scanning

• Discovering user needs

• Embedding responsibility and ethics

• Planning your digital strategy

• Writing your digital strategy

• Delivering your digital strategy

Full details at this link - note you may need to create a Charity Digital log-in to access this link.

to shape what happens next in your area.

Who should attend?

If you work with young people or your work impacts their lives, this event is for you:

• Youth workers, youth work leaders, and practitioners (local authority and charities/community organisations)

• Education professionals, health and wellbeing staff, housing professionals, and those working in crime prevention

• Local authority decision-makers, service managers, councillors, and funders

At this roadshow, you will:

• Understand what the National Youth Strategy means for young people in your region and how it connects to your work.

• Access the latest data and insights specific to your area from Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, National Youth Agency, UK Youth and your Regional Youth Work Unit.

• Connect with partners across sectors who share your commitment to young people, as well as senior leaders from DCMS.

• Shape practical next steps for implementation in your region and contribute to national progress.

This is your opportunity to influence how we turn a ten-year vision into tangible change for young people in your community.

Booking link here - free to attend.

• Children, Young People and Families

• Arts, Culture and Heritage

• Employment and skills

• Money advice and housing support

• Mental health and wellbeing services

• Disability and carers’ support

• Green/environmental initiatives

Everything is brought together in one accessible place, helping people discover the right support quickly and confidently. Please share the link widely so your clients, networks and local community can benefit: www.hereforhartdirectory.org.uk

In most cases, grants are made on a relatively small scale. Many grants will be under £2,000, most will be under £5,000, and in only a few cases will grants exceed £10,000.

The funding provided by the BlueSpark Foundation can be for physical assets (such as iPads, sports equipment, or lighting for stage productions) for services or facilities (such as sports coaching or music or drama tuition) or simply for the provision of experiences (such as theatre visits). These examples are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive regarding the funding BlueSpark may provide to support projects. Applications can be submitted anytime and must be made online using BlueSpark Foundation's standard application form. More detail at this link.

Saturday 11 April 10.00-14.00 - Sponsored by the Fleet Hospital and Community Friends and the Lions Club of Fleet their next PSA Screening is being held at the Key Centre, Elvetham Heath. Fleet. GU51 1HA.Registration required please go to https://flions.mypsatests.org.uk. A non-returnable fee of £10.00 is required to secure your appointment. You can also use the above weblink to order a PSA home-testing kit for £29.

Saturday 18 April - Yateley Lions Club are holding a PSA Testing Event at the Tythings, Yateley. More detail to follow on their social media - open to Yateley male residents over 40 years.

• Lions Club of Fleet (our partners for this event)

• Fleet Hospital & Community Friends

• South East Coast Ambulance - Community First Responders

• Fleet Pond Society

• Hart & Rushmoor Young Carers

• Hart Foodbank

• Fleet & District U3A

• Girlguiding UK - Fleet Division

• St John Ambulance

• Chloe's & Sophie's Special Ears Fund

• MHA Communities Hampshire North

• Fleet & District Carnival Association

• Home-Start Hampshire

• Fleet & District Voluntary Care Group

• The Basingstoke Canal Society

• Fleet Community Speedwatch Group

• Hart Rotary Club

• The Friendship Group

• Victoria Hall Charity

The Month of Community gives community organisations the opportunity:

• to bring people together through the Big Lunch and the Big Help Out (to be re-branded as the "Big Do"), the Great Get Together and Great Big Green Week,

• to showcase how we value our volunteers during Volunteers Week,

• to show our support for specific members of our community who may be facing challenge and adversity (Carers Week, Refugee Week, Loneliness Awareness Week).

The Eden Project has brought all of this information together on their website, and are leading on combining the Big Lunch and the Big Help Out into the Big Do (5-8 June). Sign up for news about how to get involved.

Who Can Apply to be a Sporting Champion?

The criteria are:

• A nationally ranked athlete
• Member of a regional squad with regional results in the previous 2 years or represented at regional level in the previous 2 years
• Finished top eight at regionals or equivalent competition in the previous 2 years.

Full details at this link:

Help the Wildlife Trusts speak up for chalk streams!

While it is a welcome step forward that chalk streams are included in the NPPF, the current wording is too weak to truly protect them. Help the the Wildlife Trusts to call on the Government to strengthen protections for chalk streams! An email template is already preapred for you so all you need to do is use the simple e-action to submit your response to the consultation calling on the Government to add chalk streams to the irreplaceable habitats list in the National Planning Policy Framework. Consultation closes on 10th March 2026.