Dear Colleagues,
There are so many changes that seem to be hitting the VCSEF sector at the same time and change is certainly coming,
You may have seen the recent letter to the sector from NCVO, which outlined the organisational changes to staff teams that have been made, with a view to ensuring financial sustainability.
Leading up to this, they surveyed small charities about what they wanted from NCVO. The feedback was around key themes including:
- Voice and influencing funders and decision makers
- Membership in terms of collaboration and building networks
- Data gathering to prove impact and how to harness AI
- Sustainable and unrestricted funding
This feedback reflects some of what we see locally.
The larger and more diverse a VCSEF sector is, the further it can be and can feel from central decision making and the seats of power.
Large organisations may often have the time and muscle to make themselves heard, have a place around the table and are an easy and accessible ‘reach’ for commissioners and funders.
This is not necessarily the case for smaller groups, which tend to be largely led by a small number of volunteers, but who have a significant impact across communities and neighbourhoods, not least because, they are often volunteering close to where they live.
This is where Local Infrastructure Organisations (LIO) are central and crucial in supporting capacity building, including facilitating funding, collaboration and volunteering, which in turn enables the sector to have influence, partner effectively, and serve communities.
LIOs have often been embedded within their areas for decades; their staff have relationships with VCSEF sector groups; they are trusted, they have a pipeline of people who want to contribute and grow, and they can facilitate bringing communities and systems to work together.
Lessons can be learned from the NAVCA report Local VCSE infrastructure: What does good look like? It highlights that good infrastructure is not defined by structure, but by relationships, by the trust, equity and shared purpose that enable communities and systems to work together.
NAVCA describes local VCSE infrastructure as; “the hidden wiring that makes places work” and calls for; “partners across local government, the NHS, funders, and communities to commit to multi-year, flexible resourcing.” The full report can be found here.
Last week, I was delighted to be invited to a conference entitled NHS Curse or Cure? The conference was organised by Ruth South, CEO of Communities Against Racism Enterprise (CARE) and her excellent team. Esther Douglas did a great job as compere for the whole day. The conference had a range of speakers looking at minoritised communities and their experience of health services including maternity, sickle cell, prostate cancer and mental health to name a few.
A few years ago, Ruth was interviewed by WVCA as part of our VCSEF sector spotlight. It’s wonderful to see CARE’s incredible journey to date. You can read about how Ruth started CARE here: WVCA Voluntary Sector Focus – CARE
Just a reminder that on the afternoon of 29th April we are holding our quarterly VCSEF Alliance Meeting at The Workspace where there will be the opportunity to discuss some of the issues raised here and to network.
Please book your place here VCSEF Alliance Meeting
Finally, if there are any issues that you would like to raise or anything that you would like to hear more about, please contact me.
If you would like more information, please remember to check out our website and newsletter regularly – there is always new information, and opportunities are always presenting themselves.
Thank you,
Sharon Nanan-Sen
Chief Executive Officer