There is still time to apply for the Be the Business Start-up and Grow Grants 2014-15. The deadline for the fund is 15th September 2014 at 5pm.
 
A pot of £600,000 is available to help businesses to start-up and to grow in West Sussex.
 
If you would like more information about the grants you can attend one of our FREE information workshops being held in August (to book your place click here) or of you need help developing your bid you can book a FREE 1-2-1 session with one of our qualified business advisers. To book a 1-2-1 session please email info@bethebusiness.org.

This programme is for start-ups, early-stage companies (1-2 years) and for established and growing businesses in West Sussex where, if applicable, the business rates are/will be paid. Businesses planning to relocate in West Sussex are also eligible but if successful, the grant will only be paid after relocation has taken place. The programme is open to micro and Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) in West Sussex.
 
Applicants will be required to provide at least 50% of the total project costs as match-funding. The business proposal must be linked to the creation or safeguarding of jobs in West Sussex.
 
This year, 50% of the funding available will be dedicated to specific sectors we wish to encourage to come forward with their ideas, particularly to submit bids with other businesses in the same sector to address problems they have in common.
 
These sectors are:
•Manufacturing, particularly linked to healthcare, aviation or marine industry
•Low carbon and renewable technologies
•Tourism and local food
•Care
•Land based businesses
 
The remaining 50% of the fund will be open to applications from all sectors.
 
The maximum amount of grant that can be requested for any individual project is £25,000.  The maximum amount that can be requested for any sector project submitted in consortium is £75,000.  Only sector projects can be submitted in consortium.
 
For full details including eligibility criteria, guidelines, application form and grant agreements please visit www.bethebusiness.org/grants
 
Please feel free to circulate this information to anyone you think it may be of interest to.

New Tourism Launch for Worthing and Adur – On Your Doorstep

Reclaiming Childhood
13 September until 24th January 2015
In the Art Gallery at Worthing Museum
Through portraits, sounds and stories, painter Claire Phillips gives a powerful insight into the lives of children who have had to sacrifice a portion of their life working in desperate conditions, for nothing in most cases.  Many of the children have been removed from their families by traffickers with undelivered promises of a better life and education.
These are not the stories of children from the UK but those of children who are just a few out of 50 million in India who are losing their childhood to unjustifiable conditions.
This exhibition presents some of their stories, their drawings and depicts their characters through the stunning portraits that Claire painted during, and after her work, with the children’s charity Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a charity dedicated to rescuing children from slavery.
Claire’s aim is to ‘show the very nature of the child – playful, mischievous innocent and vulnerable ‘.
‘The children represented in these portraits are reclaiming their childhood from conditions that no adult should endure, let alone a child of 9 or 10 years old.  The gentle nature of the portraits is juxtaposed against the stories of their experience told from their own words and soundtracks from the journey to meet them.’ Claire Philips
This striking and emotive exhibition will be challenging audiences in Worthing following its recent premier at the Oxo Gallery, London.

Worthing remembers with pride the great sacrifice made
by residents during the Great War of 1914 to 1918

On Sunday 3rd August at 11am a special Drumhead Service will be held in front of the Town Hall, Chapel Road, to commemorate the 100 years since the commencement of hostilities in World War One (WW1)

The Drumhead Service will be conducted by Revd David Farrant, Chaplin to the Worthing Combined Ex Service’s Association (CESA) and Revd Andrew Fadoju, Chaplin to the Mayor of Worthing.

In attendance will be Worthing Mayor Vic Walker, Deputy Lieutenants for West Sussex, Worthing Councillors, Honorary Aldermen, Youth Councillors and Officers as well as the Police, Fire Service, Army, Sea and Air Cadets and the Worthing Combined Ex-Services Association Veterans and Standard Bearers.

This Service will follow the format of the Solemn Commemoration on the Centenary of the Outbreak of the First World War to be held in Westminster Abbey on Monday 4th August.

The public are requested to be there by 10.45am as it is anticipated that the Commemorative Service will be very popular.

Complimentary refreshments will kindly be provided afterwards by The Worthing Tabernacle in Chapel Road.
 
Major Tom Wye, Vice President of CESA, says: “It is so important that the terrible lessons learned during the carnage of the Great War are never forgotten. It is equally important that the tremendous sacrifice made by the residents of Worthing is properly commemorated. I look forward to seeing a really great turnout from our town and surrounding areas.“

On the same day at 1pm the Worthing Mayor, Vic Walker, will unveil a stained glass window installed on Worthing Pier, commemorating Worthing’s war dead from the Great War . This window has been commissioned and sponsored by Paul Holden owner of the Worthing Journal.

Students from Worthing Davison C of E High School for Girls have also created their own WW1 Project which will be displayed in the Worthing Town Hall foyer from Monday 28 July to Friday 1 August 2014.  This exhibition is open to the public, so please pop in and take a look at their artwork.

All events are open to the public.

The Social Enterprise Fund 2014-15 has launched!

The Social Enterprise Fund was established in 2011/12 as one of a number of initiatives to support the social enterprise sector in West Sussex and to promote social enterprise throughout the county. This year the SEF is offering two streams of grant funding as a means of investing in the social enterprise sector for the longer term. These are:

Stream 1: Social Enterprise Early Stage Development Grant to support social enterprise at earlier stages of development.

Deadline: 12th August 2014, 5pm

Up to £50,000 is available to fund up to 10 organisations that want to undertake a piece of work to explore their idea for social enterprise. The maximum grant that may be awarded to an individual or organisation is £5,000. This grant scheme is to help individuals and organisations who have an idea for a social enterprise business and who wish to explore and investigate this further so as to be able to assess whether it is a viable business proposition. Any proposal must be a business idea linked to clear social objectives. We anticipate that the fund will support a wide range of proposals.

Stream 2: Social Enterprise Main Grant scheme for social enterprises at the point of delivery of new products or services.

Deadline for Expression of Interest Form: 14th August 2014, 5pm

Deadline for Full Bid Application Form: 18th November 2014, 5pm

Up to £275,000 is available from the SEF for individuals or organisations to deliver new products or services as a social enterprise. The maximum grant that may be awarded to an individual or organisation is £25,000. Any proposal for funding must be a business idea, linked to clear social objectives working to achieve social impact when delivering services and products as a social enterprise.

You can apply for either Stream 1 or Stream 2, not for both.
Please ensure you read the guidelines and eligibility criteria before applying.

Application forms, guidelines and other documents related to this grant fund are available to download here

Following on from the Legacy Project launch event that some of you came too but some of you couldn't, I would like to let you all know about a big project currently under way called The Compound Project that is taking place in Worthing that needs your help!  Its a highly exciting project that when finished is going to have a huge benefit on the local community. 

Some of you have expressed huge interest in this brilliant project .  Please take a look at this informative video which has been put together by the youths involved in the project - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mRky08faPc&feature=youtu.be
 
On Saturday 30th August between 12pm - 4pm the Compound Project have organised a clearance and picnic afternoon and you, your friends, family and colleagues are all invited and the more volunteers we have on the day the more then we are going to be able to get done! 
 
We need people to arrive on site for 12pm where we are going to need help with various tasks including:
 
•    Digging around the compound to make a nice flower bed and then potentially putting flowers in the bed if we have some by then
•    Clearing the ramp of bramble and cutting the hedges back for easy access to the beach and for disabled visitors to get in
•    Dismantling the beach hut
•    Finding a suitable boat for potting flowers
•    Breaking up concrete bunkers into smaller pieces so they can be moved (suitable tools for this needed)
•    Cutting down some sheets of metal and an old railway carriage (angle grinder will be needed)
•    Clearing a space to put decking

Tools & resources we need help with:
 
•    Garden tools such as spades/forks and anything else you think may be helpful for the above tasks
•    Gardening gloves (If everyone could bring their own that would be helpful)
•    Rubbish bags will be provided by Shirley the organiser
•    Portaloo will be provided by Shirley the organiser
•    Angle grinder or something similar to cut through the metal work
•    Sledge hammer to break up the concrete
•    A Skip to put all the rubbish in
•    Anything else that you think may be useful on the day
If you can help with anything on the Tool and Resource list please email me so I can keep track of who is bringing what and so I can make sure we do not double up on anything.  We need some strong volunteers to help break up the concrete and cut the metal down so if you know anyone please get them on board.
 
We would like to get as much done from the list as possible but even if we can only tick a couple of things off we will be happy! Once we are done then we can all sit down and have a picnic together to celebrate our achievements for the afternoon! Water will be provided but everyone will need to bring their own picnic.
 
This is a really exciting community project to get involved with so if you would like to get involved please email me with names of the people coming along and if you can bring any resources with you from the list. Don't worry if you can't as I'm sure between us all we can cover it.
 
Once you have emailed me expressing your interest I will email you with directions and a map to the compound.
 
If you have any questions please get in touch.
 
Best Wishes 
 
Sarah
 
--
Sarah Maynard
Events Manager
+44 7927883966
www.legacyproject.org.uk

New Enterprise Allowance Newsletter June 2014

The latest New Enterprise Allowance Newsletter has been published. Including numbers update, a date for your diary followed by some good news stories.

Between August 2011 and May 2014 we have recieved 4572 referals, 3321 of which have been accepted onto the scheme. 1671 Businesses are confirmed as started trading and 1066 are still trading over 6 months.

NEA Mentoring Conference
NEA Business Awards
Good News Stories    Read More .....

Worthing College Visial Arts Academy Sponsorship Opportunities

Worthing College Visual Arts Academy is looking for sponsorship for an Artist Residency programme they are looking to launch in September 2014. They are looking for 10 x £150 sponsorship from individuals or companies who would like to support students develop their creative skills and experience through this exciting opportunity working with two local artists Barry Williamson & Sarah Sepe. For full details visit: http://artistresidencyworthingcollege.wordpress.com

FREE Peer Mentoring Taster Session -
Thursday 18th September
Book your place now!!

Following five successful groups of
the Peer Mentoring Programme which supported over 50 local businesses owners we are ready to start GROUP SIX!!!! Don’t miss your chance to be part of this exciting and beneficial programme.

The Mentoring groups will consist of 10-12 like-minded business people all keen to share their business expertise and willing to learn from and support each other. What will you gain? Thinking time to work on (rather than in) your business

• The opportunity to explore projects in a confidential environment
• A diverse pool of wisdom and expertise to draw on
• A unique blend of challenge and support from your peers
• Think tank for practical solutions to specific problems
• Ideas for new products and services
• Develop your management skills
• Build relationships, trust and mutual  understanding
• 
  

See what previous attendees think about the workshops on our Peer Mentoring Video - Click here to view

Please contact the Chamber office for more information or to secure a place! Email: info@worthingandadurchamber.co.uk or call the office on 01903 203484.

Simon Fanshawe gives a thumbs up to Worthing’s tourism industry!

Writer and broadcaster Simon Fanshawe OBE, was the special guest at a celebration dinner held in Worthing on Sunday June 29.

The event at the Ardington Hotel in Steyne Gardens marked the end of the two-year Seaconomics project to boost tourism in Worthing and Adur.

Around 50 people, including Worthing’s new mayor Vic Walker, were entertained by a witty speech from Mr Fanshawe.

Proceedings were led by James Appleton, Head of Planning, Regeneration and Wellbeing at Adur and Worthing councils.

The evening united various local businesses who have taken part in the Seaconomics project.

Training provided by Worthing-based Sussex Learning Solutions has helped local firms focus on the potential benefits from tourism.

Firms ranging from guest houses and restaurants to shops and attractions have learnt how to make their mark and attract trade, whether through social media, websites, foreign language skills or visual merchandising.

During the evening attendees were given certificates recognising their training and four businesses were awarded certificates of commendation. These were the Manor Guest House in Broadwater, Carrots Cafe in Shoreham, Coombes Farm at Lancing and The Men’s Gift Shop in Worthing.

Simon Fanshawe said: “Every town tells their own story. Worthing is the quiet elegant sister alongside its rowdy seaside neighbours of Brighton and Hove That's why both Oscar Wilde and Harold Pinter went there to write. Sandwiched between the downs and the sea that calm enjoyment is now welcoming championship kite surfing and top-end development. It was a great pleasure to be invited to share the first green shoots of Worthing's tourism renaissance at the Seaconomics awards. "

Janice Fraser, Adur & Worthing’s tourism development & marketing officer, adds: “It was lovely to be able to celebrate the success of the last two years with the businesses that have participated in the Seaconomics project.

“Not only was the marvellous evening enjoyed by one and all, but we also went away with the knowledge that the scheme has really helped so many businesses in Worthing and Adur make the most of the substantial opportunities offered by the tourism trade.”

The £350K Seaconomic investment into Worthing and Adur’s tourism industry has seen the installation of a fabulous new playground in Beach House Grounds, an Adur & Worthing Food and Drink Festival,  training and workshops to support 105 businesses, and promotion of sustainable tourism through walking and cycling. Further investment has been made in www.visitworthing.co.uk making it more attractive to visitors and driving up the number of click-throughs. An investment was also made in display equipment to showcase Adur and Worthing at national and international trade shows.

The Seaconomics project started in 2011 and finishes in September 2014 and involve partners from Kent, Worthing, and Essex, Holland, Belgium and France.