Who are LITD:
Light in the Darkness is a Community Interest Community that seeks to bring light, hope and succour to societies downtrodden. We do this by providing emotional support to disadvantaged individuals and families such as asylum seekers and refugees who are at high risk of depression due to loneliness, low income, illness, ravaged with poverty and those who lack skills to get a job to provide for themselves and their families. LITD CIC was founded in May 2017 by a former refugee Beatrice Guessie, who knows what it feels like to be tortured mentally and physically and physiologically in the UK’s asylum system, having experienced it first-hand. However, rather than let the experience hold her back in life, she has chosen to be a medium to shine light on other people who are disadvantaged and have been through similar experiences.
Opportunity description:
We are seeking a Bid-writing and Reporting Support Volunteer to help obtain vital funding to keep the organisation going in the short-term and sustainable in the long-term. Part of this role will include keeping track of funds applied for the outcome of the application and if successful the reporting requirement to the funder. The individual in this role will also be responsible for collecting and collecting information for reports to funders. 
 
General duties include:

Researching and identifying funding bodies with potential to benefit our charity 
Coordinating, writing and submitting funding bids 
Developing relationships with existing and potential funders
Contacting trusts and foundations on the phone or by email 
Maintaining a database of funding trusts and foundations
Keeping up to date with developments in the funding sector

 
Additional duties include:

Attending events to capture data and pictures for reports 
Keeping databases, reports and files up to date

 
Desired experience and skills:

An interest in supporting refugees and asylum seekers 
Some knowledge and experience of finding funding opportunities and checking funders eligibility and criteria.  
Experience of writing funding bids (hopefully with some success) 
Excellent written communication skills 
An organised and self-motivated personality 
Happy to carry out tasks independently and as part of a team 
Access to a computer and the internet at home and be comfortable using them
Be able to commit to volunteering regularly to suit your availability with occasional attendance at meetings

 
Induction and support:

You will receive an introduction to our organisation and be introduced to key members of staff and volunteers who may be able to support you with content development.
You will be given access to our social media accounts to enable you to work flexibly from home.
You will be supervised by Beatrice Guessie who will keep in touch to discuss how your support needs and the developing aims and objectives of social media output.
Any ideas for the development of our social media output is very much encouraged and we will endeavour to support your ideas and personal development in this role.

 
Commitment required:
We are flexible but ideally, we are looking for someone who can commit to 2-4 hours a week. We are looking for a volunteer who can join us for the long-term. 
The majority of tasks for this role will be carried out from remotely. However, there will be opportunities to attend events, meetings and work with the LITD directors in person. 
 
What you will gain from this experience: 

Develop communication, funding and reporting skills and knowledge  
Improve self-esteem  
Have a huge impact in a project helping those most in need
Networking opportunities to meet different people 
Gain experience in events and attending meetings
Develop office admin skills 
Gain some knowledge about different cultural backgrounds 
Gain experience in the work place/work experience/use as placement 
Receive a reference

 
Difference your work will make to the group: 
This role will have a huge impact for our service users and our organisations. Funding is vital to enable us to continue to reach communities most in need and continue our work. This role provides us with a dedicated person to support us in keeping those very needed funds flowing to the organisation. The impact of this role is huge, the finds obtained help us support communities and individuals with emergency and ongoing situations, run community groups, and ultimately this work makes people feel more positive, welcome, hopeful, and they know they are not alone.