Dear Colleagues,
Is it really 1st August 2025? Time is flying and bringing sweeping changes with it.
I mentioned that over the next few weeks and months, I will be coming out to visit the VCSEF sector to hear about your work. In the meantime, of course, we see many new and existing groups on a daily basis.
In that regard, I would like to share what we have been doing over the last few months. The full report, which contains impact data and community events, etc., can be downloaded here: WVCA VCSEF Sector Support Report – July 25, and I would encourage you to take a look, but here is a snapshot:
VCSEF Sector Support – January to July 2025
- 115 interactions; 113 hours in total
- 81 different groups
- 36 (44%) were either new or had not had WVCA support before
- 1 hour; average duration of interaction
Who do we see?
- 44.44% of groups set up/led by people from BAME backgrounds
How do we see people?
- Face to face interaction is the most frequent (59%)
- Digital meetings either via Microsoft Teams or Zoom (17%)
- Phone and email engagements comprise over 25%
Reasons for seeking support
- Set up a new organisation or move to formal legal structure
- Support to secure or learn how to apply for funding
- Information & Advice
- Governance
- Promotion/Marketing
- 38 (33%) resulted in more than one topic being discussed
Main services or activities carried out by organisations
- Health and Wellbeing (either mental or physical) activities represent the most common area of focus for organisations,
- Neighbourhood and community interaction and cohesion (e.g. arranging opportunities to socialise or have peer to peer support).
Additionally, our Wolverhampton Volunteer (WV) Centre tailors support to people’s volunteering needs. Figures for the period are as follows:
- 234 organisations registered with WV
- Offering 400+ volunteering opportunities.
- The highest proportion of referrals are from the WV website
- Majority of volunteers are unemployed (44%)
- Students form the second highest group (17%).
- Age range is from 16 to 66+
- Gender (self-described) evenly split between male and female
- Ethnicity (self-described) White British inc. N. Irish/Scottish/Welsh (39%); then Indian, African, Caribbean; 12% prefer not to say.
Interestingly, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) carried out some research on Local Infrastructure Organisations like WVCA, which strongly supports the case for local, quality provision and being knowledgeable about the local area. You can read NAVCA’s summary here.
The research identified five functions: facilitating funding, organisational development, advocacy, volunteering and community participation, and convening. These functions help statutory bodies gain a greater insight into local needs, thereby impacting improvements in commissioning processes and local policy decisions. The research went on to say that this leads to three broad outcome pathways of: better targeted resources, improved policy making, and increased community trust, empowerment and belonging.
In conclusion, as I always say, please remember to check out our website and newsletter regularly – there is always new information, and opportunities are always presenting themselves.
If you have any issues or would like to hear more about something, please get in touch with me at sharon.nanan-sen@wvca.org.uk.
Thank you,
Sharon Nanan-Sen
Chief Executive Officer