On Sunday, 19th May 2019, over 50 trustees, volunteers, and senior managers from Hindu Temples and centres joined a workshop on safety and security at the Santana Mandir in Leicester. The workshop included a hands-on practicum in drafting a security policy and procedure. Plus sharing best practice for for projects that could benefit many Hindu places…
Strengthening Faith Institutions supports faith institutions to register as charities with the Charity Commission, Outreach Team. In addition to being a registered place of worship, if a charity has income of more than £5,000 a year, they should register. What is the register of charities? According to the Charity Commission, there are about 180,000 registered charities. The Commission’s Register of…
On 29th April, Strengthening Faith Institutions (SFI) held its second annual awards ceremony in Birmingham to celebrate the contribution of faith institutions towards a more cohesive society. Many places of worship are run by volunteers, and at SFI we want to give recognition to those individuals who have contributed significantly to a faith organisation or…
Jack Scotcher discusses the importance of interfaith community cohesion. Local and regional interfaith organisations are playing a bigger role in helping to foster good relationships across communities in the UK. Faiths Forum for London (FFL), which is part of the Inter Faith Network (IFN) is one of many interfaith forums that come together at events…
On Sunday 24th March 2019, Faith leaders and trustees from Mosques, Churches and Gurdwaras came together at the Allama Iqbal Community Centre in Peterborough to receive essential training and support in safeguarding and compliance at SFI’s regional symposium. The Charity Commission were also in attendance to help faith institutions register as charities. The training and…
The Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) is to hold its 4th annual Skills Conference on the 28th of March 2019. The conference, which will be held in Chadwick Court in central London, is an opportunity for members of smaller charities to upskill themselves with essential back-office skills in running a charity, including finance, marketing &…
All religious organisations with annual incomes exceeding £100,000 have a duty to register as a charity for the charitable purpose of “the advancement of religion for the public benefit”. Registering as a charity comes with a number of benefits, including not having to pay income and corporation tax, and being able to claim back a…
Veronica Simpson from Back in Control Consultancy who specialise in Domestic & Sexual Violence and Abuse delivered an awareness training session for faith leaders from the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Hindu communities on Thursday 4th March. The workshop raised awareness of the issue, 1 in 4 women in England and Wales will experience Domestic Abuse in their…
On Monday 11th February, Shakil Ahmed, our Birmingham regional, delivered a session on ‘How to Safeguard Vulnerable Adults’ within your faith institution. According to AGE UK’s fact sheet on safeguarding older people from abuse and neglect, safeguarding duties seek to protect all adults who: Have needs for care and support (whether or not the local…
On February 12th, 2019, 50 Faith leaders and trustees from Mosques, Churches and Gurdwaras received essential training and support in safeguarding and compliance at SFI’s regional symposium. The event’s aim was to launch SFI in Blackburn, which was identified as an integration area in the Government’s Integrated Communities Strategy, and was led by SFI’s expert trainers…
