Dear Colleagues,
It was great to see people coming together to meet and work face to face through the VCSEF Alliance on 23rd May 2024 at The Workspace. There were approximately 45 people in attendance. The workshop style discussion covered the following:
- VCSEF Alliance Terms of Reference – for comments
- Needs and Offers – including information swap
- Networking and collaboration – contact details to be shared
- Topics for future discussion e.g. JSNA, Integrated Care System, One Wolverhampton, Core20PLUS5. Mental Health, SEND offer and more
Group discussion – attendees had group discussions collaborating and working together, with a special focus on:
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- What facilitates working together
- Benefits of working together
- Challenges and barriers
- Good practice examples
Group Discussion – Follow the link to see what the different groups had to say on each of these Outcomes from group discussion
Needs and offers – follow the link to see the Needs and Offers posted by the groups and organisations that attended the Alliance meeting Needs and Offers
Terms of Reference (TOR) – During the meeting, a draft of this document was shared, and attendees had a chance to comment on it. It is proposed that VCSE Alliance is amended to VCSEF Alliance to include ‘faith’ organisations. Find the finalised version here, TOR VCSEF Alliance May24.docx
It was also really positive to see so many new groups taking part in the meeting. There is clearly an appetite for involvement, connectivity, information sharing, learning from each other and networking. One of the strengths of the VCSEF is its continual growth and renewal as new people come forward to tackle issues, organise, mobilise and provide activities and services where they are needed.
Out of the 45 people that attended the meeting, 31 of them have completed our feedback form so far. Based on their responses, not only did the majority find the meeting useful, but 97% of them stated that they had met someone in the meeting who they considered would be a useful contact for their organisation.
When asked about the usefulness of the meeting, 90% of the attendees found the meeting useful or very useful for their work or their organisation overall.
Out of the 31 people that completed the feedback form, only one person, or 3%, said that they did not meet anyone in the meeting who they thought would be a useful contact for their organisation.
Accessing funding is always a competitive process and remains a challenge for our sector. Some of the existing funding programmes e.g. Hope Small Grants will be open for applications for a further year. The details of these programmes are on our website. Additionally, as part of our events calendar, we aim to provide funding and other workshops throughout the year.
Our overall hope is to continue to work with partners, collaborate and provide opportunities with a view to supporting, strengthening and sustaining the VCSEF sector going forward.
If you are interested in joining the VCSEF Alliance, please join the mailing list here.
Thank you,
Sharon Nanan-Sen
CEO, WVCA