Bournemouth Council for Voluntary Service

Transcription

1 Bournemouth Council for Voluntary Service Annual Review 2012/13 Bournemouth CVS supports and develops organisations and promotes volunteering Registered Office Boscombe Link, 3-5 Palmerston Road, Bournemouth, BH1 4HN Tel & Fax: (01202) Website: Registered Charity No: Company No:

2 This report summarises our key achievements in in the context of our three main aims: To provide services and support and bring voluntary organisations together to enable them to work more effectively To promote and encourage volunteering To enable the voluntary sector to represent their views and influence policy 1. Providing services and support for voluntary organisations and bringing them together to work more effectively Offering individual in-depth advice and guidance in response to 556 requests from 108 different voluntary and community organisations in the last year. Providing a regular newsletter entitled Know Your Stuff which updates members on all the legal and technical aspects of running a charitable organisation. Providing in addition a dedicated advice and support service for voluntary sector youth organisations which responded to 55 requests from 35 different organisations. Established a Bursary Scheme and awarded 18 bursaries to enable voluntary youth workers to attend training courses. Organising other educational opportunities such as visits to local prisons. Running a range of training courses and networking opportunities. Over the past year 198 delegates from voluntary and community organisations have attended our training courses and 212 have attended networking events. Developing a Tendering Network to provide information and support for organisations wishing to tender for commissioned services. Maintaining 13 e-forums to improve communications between voluntary and community organisations. Further developing our website to offer specific information to the sector including advertising 142 local voluntary sector events and advertising 198 voluntary sector jobs free of charge. Providing an extensive selection of audiovisual resources available for loan; 57 loans of equipment to 19 local organisations. Publishing a quarterly newsletter, the VCS Voice, which is widely circulated to voluntary and statutory organisations. Compiling a Register listing accurate contact details for approximately 400 voluntary organisations in the Borough. Providing a project which seeks to motivate local business to support local voluntary organisations. Working with Bournemouth Chamber of Commerce to develop a new Charities Forum to support relationships between local charities and local businesses.

3 2. Promoting and Encouraging Volunteering In order to promote volunteering we have developed a number of outreach information points in 12 local libraries. Further promotional work has included high profile publicity events during National Volunteers Week, media interviews, displays in shopping centres and participation in the Mayor of Bournemouth s Annual Volunteer of the Year Awards. The Bournemouth Voluntary Vacancies Bulletin which is updated monthly allows voluntary and statutory organisations to advertise volunteering opportunities. Over 200 copies are distributed each month listing over 320 voluntary opportunities. We are registered with the national volunteering website and over the last year we received 982 volunteering enquiries through this web based contact. Media interviews Displays in shopping centres Online; and Bournemouth Voluntary Vacancies Bulletin Information points in 12 local libraries Participation in the Mayor of Bournemouth s Annual Volunteer of the Year Award Events during National Volunteers Week Over 70% of organisations registered with the Volunteer Centre express high levels of satisfaction with the service. This year the brokerage service has continued to provide a timely and sensitive response to potential volunteers, helping them to clarify what they would like to do and matching them to available opportunities. In the last year we dealt with 1,796 enquiries and 1,196 new volunteers registered with the Volunteer Centre. 235 were interviewed by telephone while 182 were interviewed in person, of whom 136 (72%) had additional needs ranging from physical disability, learning disability, mental health conditions, drug or alcohol dependency to ex-offending.

4 1,796 enquiries answered An average of 320 opportunities each month 80% attending interviews express high level of satisfaction It is clear that the brokerage service provided by the Volunteer Centre plays a significant role in ensuring equitable access to volunteering opportunities with all the benefits that such participation entails. Evaluation of the brokerage service is carried out at the time of the interview. Follow up information is also sought from clients two months after the initial interview. 80% of those attending for interview expressed high levels of satisfaction with the service. It is widely recognised that volunteering reduces social isolation, improves health and well-being and helps to develop community cohesion. It is also recognised as a way of helping people who have been excluded from the employment market to increase their skills and confidence and to return to paid employment thus reducing poverty. Copyright Samantha Cook Photography Besides providing information about existing opportunities, an important area of work for the Volunteer Centre is to open up new placements and to promote good practice in the management of volunteers. Regular networking events for Volunteer Coordinators are offered which are supported by regular web-based communications. The network currently has a membership of over 545 organisations from the public and voluntary sector across Bournemouth and Poole with over 60% attendees reporting benefits from their attendance such as improvements to their practice, improvements to their management of volunteers and improved access to resources or expertise.

5 3. Enabling the Voluntary Sector to represent their views and influence policy Many of the Voluntary and Community Sector organisations in Bournemouth have as one of their primary purposes an ambition to change the policies and practice of various agencies and public bodies in order to challenge the discrimination and disadvantage experienced by their beneficiaries. To support them in their endeavours BCVS invests a considerable amount of its resources in ensuring that they have good access and on-going engagement with those who are responsible for decision making at the highest local level. The voluntary sector now has places for representatives to sit on 16 key decision-making committees in Bournemouth. Democratic procedures for the election and appointment of representatives have been developed. It is essential that the VCS meets regularly in order to develop a collective voice and to support and hold these representatives to account. We currently organise regular meetings of four forums which each meet three times a year. The Children and Young People Forum brings together organisations working with children and young people in Bournemouth. We also organise a Criminal Justice Forum which brings together organisations in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole which seek to promote community safety, reduce re-offending and support victims. This year we have launched a new forum for Health and Care organisations which has enabled the sector to keep abreast of national and local health policy development. In a survey which we carried out during the year to test the effectiveness of this work 85% of local VCS organisations said they were either fairly or very aware of national developments while 77% said they were fairly or very aware of local policy developments. Lastly, working in partnership with Dorset Race Equality Council and Poole Council for Voluntary Service, we also run an Equality and Diversity Forum to bring diversity groups together to build their capacity and to enable them to develop a collective voice. We have also developed web-based networks to assist with communication between organisations. These forums all play an essential role in enabling the Voluntary and Community Sector to maintain an independent voice and play a full part in the planning and development of services for the local population in Bournemouth. A major focus of our work this year has been the establishment of strong relationships between the voluntary and community sector and the numerous new bodies which have been established including, the Clinical Commissioning Group, the Health and Well-Being Board and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. The Compact on Relations between Government and the Voluntary Sector is the key document setting out how partnerships between local public bodies and the voluntary sector should function. Last year we worked with Bournemouth Borough Council to review and refresh the local Compact. This work will be even more important in the future as we seek to build strong partnerships with the new agencies which have been established. To this end we will be working hard in the year ahead to raise awareness of the Bournemouth Compact.

6 Future Developments at Bournemouth CVS The Voluntary and Community Sector is growing in influence and with it demand for our service grows. The context in which we are operating is a dynamic one and the sector is constantly required to develop new skills and areas of expertise in order to respond. The sector is also required to build new relationships and partnerships with different agencies. We will be seeking to ensure that the newly established Health and Wellbeing Board and the Clinical Commissioning Group are aware of the potential contribution of the VCS in meeting health needs locally. A further area of work will be to continue our engagement with local business in order to seek to develop a culture of philanthropy to support VCS activity with local communities. We will develop strategies to reach out and encourage greater participation in our services by ever more organisations and will explore a range of strategies to attract greater numbers of volunteers. Funding bids will be submitted to sustain and further develop all our services to meet the increased demand. We will continue to work in partnership to avoid duplication and to gain access to additional funding streams to increase and enhance the services we can provide. This year we have greatly increased participation by local voluntary organisations in all our services. At the annual staff and trustee awayday it was agreed that a priority for the year ahead will be to review our marketing strategy and consider how new and existing organisations find out about the service which we offer. We will be carrying out a mapping exercise in the year ahead to discover more information about all the organisations which are operating in Bournemouth. We will also be seeking to build up more evidence about the value of the work which the sector undertakes.

7 Bournemouth Council for Voluntary Service Staff Trustees Vivienne Aird Chief Executive Steve Place Senior Adviser Colin Feltham - Chair Hazel Walker - Vice Chair Paul Payne - Treasurer Bev Hepting Angela Ross Prof. Keith Popple Richard Erven Rev Martin Broad Debbie Clifton Standing Observers Christina Squire Events and Business Support Manager (on maternity leave) Romany Meehan Administrator Liz Brierley - Saffery Champness (Auditors) Cllr Barry Goldbart - Bournemouth Borough Council Sue Bickler - Head of Community Regeneration - Bournemouth Borough Council Thanks to all our Funders and Partners Amy Dowling Volunteer Centre Broker Helen Hender Development Worker Voluntary Youth Sector Bournemouth Borough Council Bournemouth 2026 Trust Big Lottery Fund Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group National Association for Voluntary and Community Action Penny Turner - Finance Officer Thank you to all the VCS organisations that have supplied us with photos. Front cover clockwise from top left: 1st Wessex Scouts, Friends of Guys Marsh, Turn Your Back UK, SEDCAT, Healthwatch Dorset, Bournemouth 2026 Trust. Page 3: Hospital Radio Bedside, Diverse Abilities Plus Page 4 clockwise from left: NCS Certificate presentation, Barnardo s, Mayor of Bournemouth s volunteer awards, Space Youth Project Page 5: Signing of the Bournemouth Compact Page 6: Headway Dorset with the IT Gentleman and the Give and Receive Project, Friends of Dolphin, Youth Partnership event, VYP membership packs

8 BCVS Summary Financial Report INCOME Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Total Total incoming resources 33, , , ,603 EXPENDITURE Total Resources expended 48, , , ,794 Transfer of funds 34,449 (98,228) (63,779) 0 Net Movements in funds 19,453 (99,147) (79,694) 36,809 Balance brought forward 1 April , , , ,567 Balance carried forward 31 March ,427 84, , ,376 Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2013 Total Total FIXED ASSETS Tangible Assets 0 2,545 CURRENT ASSETS Cash at Banks and in hand 431, ,715 Debtors and prepayments 12,026 38,416 Stock 0 1,901 Sub Total 443, ,032 Creditors - amounts due within one year 83, ,201 Net Current Assets 359, ,831 Net Assets 359, ,376 FUNDS Unrestricted 275, ,974 Restricted 84, ,402 This is a summary of the full accounts prepared to Charity Commission Standards which have been independently examined by the Auditors. Copies are available on request from: Bournemouth CVS.