The GoldStar Project is designed to encourage and enable voluntary organisations and projects throughout England to realise the potential of volunteers, mentors and befrienders from socially excluded groups. Their aim is to promote and share good practice used in engaging people from these groups giving them the opportunity to enrich their own and other peoples’ lives.

GoldStar is calling for applications for small grants to hold good practice events in the community. GoldStar will welcome applications from organisations (or groups of organisations), that can demonstrate specialist expertise in working with volunteers from one of more of the following target groups, Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME), disabled people or people with limiting long term illnesses; and people with no qualifications. The events should be to promote and share good practice amongst other organisations.

Successful organisations can receive a small grant of between £100 and £3000, and there is a “good practice events management toolkit” available for FREE to everyone, which is full of hints and tips and templates to help organisations to manage events. The deadline for the first wave of applications is at 12pm 29 August 2008. For further information please visit: www.goldstar.org.uk/SmallGrantsForEvents.htm