Business in the Community has received an investment of £20,000 from Lloyds Banking Group to expand its full-time community secondment scheme.

The responsible business charity aims to create a network 550 Business Connecters in 160 areas over the next five years. The funding will pay for the training and infrastructure of the programme and Lloyds has also committed to seconding up to 20 senior staff over the next three years.

In 2011 Business in the Community launched a pilot programme for the scheme which places senior business people on full-time secondments to work with voluntary and community groups. There are currently 20 'connecters' working with voluntary groups to tackle issues such as youth unemployment.

Fujitsu UK and Ireland has joined the scheme and pilot companies including Sainsbury’s and Greggs have committed to expanding the programme, either through increasing the number, or the length, of secondments.

The scheme has received support from the Prime Minister and HRH the Prince of Wales, and charity sector support includes Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

Etherington said: “Voluntary sector organisations are under increasing pressure to do more with less resources, so effective collaboration and partnership working is crucial.”

Stephen Howard, chief executive of Business in the Community added: “The Business Connecter model of long-term business scondments can help forge new relationships between businesses and the communities in which they live and operate by building a network of next-generation business leaders.”

Rural and community enterprises conference

Today (Monday 27 February) Village SOS is hosting a conference about rural and community enterprises, including those featured in a recent BBC1 series.

Video of the event is being streamed live and discussions on Twitter are using the hashtag #VSOSConf. Issues include taking on assets, business planning, accessing finance and legal governance skills.