2010 Sefton CVS Annual Report and Accounts 2 Introduction Highlights of the year 2 Aims and objectives 3 Chair/Chief Executive’s report 4 Support to groups Developing Communities Teams 5 Funding and managing finances 6 Training and business planning 7 Research and intelligence 8 Promoting volunteering Volunteering 9 Giving the sector a voice Safer and stronger communities 10 CEN Sefton Networks 11 Every Child Matters Forum 12 Health and Social Care Forum 13 Sefton/Knowsley LINk 14 Partnership working Sefton Equalities Partnership 15 VOLA 16 Strengthening infrastructure Greater Merseyside ChangeUp 17 Specialist support Sefton CVS Children and young people 18 Employment 20 Annual Report Finance and Accounts Treasurer’s report/funders 21 Financial statement 22 Balance sheet 23 The information contained in this annual report Sefton CVS factfile 24 is available in different formats on request. Introduction Highlights of the year Sefton CVS recognised 121,400 hours of The Handy Help Service completed more than The Young Advisors worked with the police on volunteering during the year which equates to 1,000 repairs and adaptations in the homes of issues around Section 30 orders and liaised with an economic value of almost £1.7 million. older people. Sefton Council on its Core Strategy. The Funding Information Service helped VCF CVS co-ordinated the VCF sector’s involvement in The remarkable achievements of children and sector organisations to raise £1,710,396 from a key developments such as the Sefton Strategy for young people in Sefton were again celebrated range of sources. Older Citizens and Sefton’s Parenting Strategy. at the Shining Stars Awards. Sefton LINk recruited more than 600 new The Voluntary and Community Sector Support CVS published the latest 360-page edition of its members with the help of social networking sites Project helped groups working with children directory containing details of hundreds of VCF like Facebook and Twitter. and young people to raise £300,000. sector organisations. 179 Sefton residents found jobs or work Sefton Equalities Partnership launched a More than 1,400 people attended the wide range placements with the help of the CVS WorkZONE major new drive to improve consultation and of training courses organised by Sefton CVS and Future Jobs Fund projects. engagement in the borough. during the year. Many more organisations used the Sefton CVS The In-Trust network received national recognition The Sefton CVS Community Accountant helped CRB service - 460 disclosures were processed when it was ‘highly commended’ in the 64 VCF sector groups to prepare their annual for 84 groups. Health Service Journal Awards. accounts during the year. The CVS Developing Communities Teams The Community Empowerment Network gave The vinvolved project has helped 1,258 young carried out over 1,500 capacity-building more than 650 VCF sector groups a voice in local people aged from 16-25 to take up volunteering interventions with VCF sector groups. decision making. opportunities. The launch of the Sefton Equalities Partnership Staff Support Groups initiative. The Handy Help Service completed more than 1,000 jobs Families enjoy a major Playin’ Out event in Bootle’s North Park marking Playday in August 2009. during the year. 2 Aims and objectives Sefton CVS seeks to improve the quality of life of all residents in the borough, particularly those who are marginalised or experiencing disadvantage. We do this by supporting and enabling voluntary • Providing a channel through which the sector • Be an active local partner in the planning and community groups, along with active citizens is represented. and delivery of initiatives relating to central and volunteers, to identify and serve unmet needs Government policy. • Developing new ideas, strategies and through the provision of professional, quality organisations. • Be the lead VCF sector agency involved in services offered in accessible and culturally social and economic regeneration initiatives sensitive ways that reflect the needs of our diverse • Supporting and developing volunteering such as Working Neighbourhoods. communities and also the sector’s values of equity opportunities. and equality. • Maximise investment in the area from sources • Promoting equality of opportunity and access such as the Big Lottery Fund, charitable trusts We also seek to promote the needs of citizens and and valuing diversity. and central Government. the sector by working in partnership with public CVS also considers partners’ priorities and sector agencies such as Sefton Council, NHS • Underpin the VCF infrastructure through a partnership plans and how the VCF is engaged in Sefton, Merseyside Police, Merseyside Fire Service range of community development activities. these developments. and the private sector. • Help the VCF sector develop enterprising new The objectives that are reviewed annually The core work of Sefton CVS is: ways of generating non grant-based income. focus on how CVS can: • Providing support services to the voluntary, • Increase voluntary and community • Be actively involved in the formation of cross- community and faith (VCF) sector. engagement amongst the citizens of Sefton. sector partnerships. • Promoting partnerships within the sector, • Help the VCF infrastructure respond to change. and between the voluntary sector and other sectors. • Act as a conduit between Sefton communities and the local authority and other partnership bodies. Bootle MP Joe Benton reads a lesson at the community A team from the Everton Foundation were the winners of a football tournament organised to raise Guests at the Sefton Shining Stars Awards ceremony at Southport’s Floral carol service at St Matthew’s Church. awareness of hate crime. Hall in November. 3 Introduction Chair/Chief Executive’s report full-time staff, as well as deploying at least Local organisations are reporting significant 13,000 volunteers and, through more than 1,200 increases in the use of their frontline services in organisations, providing essential frontline services advocacy, welfare and debt advice and accessing to local residents. health and wellbeing services. Most of the organisations in Sefton have been CVS has also seen a significant increase in developed here and are managed and governed volunteering and the use of its support services by here, circulating their resources within the Sefton a VCF sector keen to maintain and sustain itself economy. Most residents are within walking through these difficult times. distance of an organisation providing and CVS’s role is to co-ordinate the voice and champion undertaking activity that supports and complements the work of the sector in our local communities. the work of our public sector partners. Increasingly though, our work is being highlighted Significant economic constraints, recession and The Sefton CVS annual report for 2009/10 at regional and national level as we promote its longer-term consequences, cuts to public gives an overview of the work of the Sefton’s VCF sector and the quality of the effective expenditure and further announcements to be organisation at a time that the notion of the partnership working that exists here. Big Society and community activism are very made in the Comprehensive Spending Review, much in the spotlight. have organisations in all sectors - public, private We will continue to do this, and to advocate that the and voluntary - facing uncertainty. They will good health and wellbeing of the sector is critical to Voluntary and community action, philanthropy and have fewer resources and face prioritisation and enable it to perform its vital function in civil society, volunteering have a rich heritage in Merseyside. the consequences that brings to maintaining now and in the future. Local people have been responding to need, employment and continuing services. and seeking to improve society by developing Margaret Hardman MBE - Chair new services, campaigning to end injustice, or Nationally charities, voluntary and community Angela White - Chief Executive highlighting gaps and seeking to make better groups have become increasingly vulnerable in provision, for more than 100 years. Organisations these uncertain times, especially where cost-cutting such as Age Concern, the Councils for Voluntary measures have been applied disproportionately Service and the CAB all began in Merseyside. to this sector, at a time when it is being asked to do even more through initiatives such as the Big Sefton has a thriving VCF sector which contributes Society. to the local economy by employing over 3,000 VIP guests at the 2009 Sefton CVS annual general meeting at Jospice in The new Bishop of Warrington, the Venerable Richard Blackburn, was a CVS supported a campaign for a bench at Crosby Library in memory of former Thornton. guest of CVS during his civic visit to Sefton. Mayor of Sefton, Jenny Kemp MBE. 4 Support to groups Developing Communities Teams The CVS Development Communities Teams New projects moving into the centre during the year Summary in north and south Sefton provide advice included Sefton@Work and the Promoting Parents 1,506 interventions took place with groups during and support to enable VCF sector groups Innovation Pilot. the year. This figure includes 574 face-to-face to become more efficient, effective and The North Team also organised three bespoke interventions at level 3 and above (which is a sustainable. training sessions on the role of charity trustees measure from 1 to 5 applied by CVS to categorise Their work ranges from helping groups who during the year. the time spent and intensity of support given to the are starting up to supporting more established organisation. Level 5 is the most intensive, when The South Team deliver the Visible Communities organisations seeking to develop their services. the support can involve help with developing quality assurance programme of support to a business model, a sustainability plan or a The teams undertake a diagnostic with each group community centres. This is accredited by substantial funding bid). to establish what is required. This enables them Community Matters and Sefton CVS has the to develop a tailored package of support.