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) 466130

email: contactus@bournemouthcvs.org.uk

Website: www.bournemouthcvs.org.uk

Registered Charity No: 1081381

Company No: 4024662

This report summarises our key achievements in 2012-13 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

Offering individual in-depth advice and guidance in response to 556 requests from 108 different voluntary and community organisations in the last year.

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 commu-

nications between voluntary and community organisations.

Providing a regular newsletter entitled ‘Know Your Stuff’ which updates members on all the legal and technical aspects of running a char-itable organisation.

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 audio-

visual 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 organ-isations 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.

1. Providing services and support for voluntary organisations and

bringing them together to work more effectively

In order to promote volunteering we have developed a number of outreach information points in 12 local libraries. Further promo-tional 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 volun-teering website www.do-it.org.uk and over the last year we received 982 volunteering enquiries through this web based contact. Over 70% of organisations registered with the Volunteer Centre express high levels of satisfaction with the service.

2. Promoting and Encouraging Volunteering

Media interviews

Displays in shopping centres

Online; www.do-it.org.uk and

www.bournemouthcvs.org.uk

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

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.

Copyright Samantha Cook Photography

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 attend-ing 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.

1,796 enquiries answered An average of 320 opportunities each month 80% attending interviews express high level of satisfaction

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.

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 mak-ing at the highest local level. The voluntary sector now has places for repre-sentatives to sit on 16 key decision-making committees in Bournemouth. Democratic proce-dures for the election and appointment of repre-sentatives 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 organi-sations. 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 Bourne-mouth. 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 Com-missioning Group, the Health and Well-Being Board and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

3. Enabling the Voluntary Sector to represent their views

and influence policy

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.

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.

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.

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.

Future Developments at Bournemouth CVS

Bournemouth Council for Voluntary Service

Staff Trustees

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

Liz Brierley - Saffery Champness

(Auditors)

Cllr Barry Goldbart - Bournemouth Borough

Council

Sue Bickler - Head of Community

Regeneration -

Bournemouth Borough

Council

Bournemouth Borough Council

Bournemouth 2026 Trust

Big Lottery Fund

Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group

National Association for Voluntary and

Community Action

Thanks to all our Funders and Partners

Vivienne Aird Chief Executive

Steve Place Senior Adviser

Christina Squire Events and Business

Support Manager (on maternity leave)

Helen Hender Development Worker

Voluntary Youth Sector

Amy Dowling Volunteer Centre Broker

Romany Meehan Administrator

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

INCOME Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total 31.03.13 Total 31.03.12

Total incoming resources 33,574 210,533 244,107 476,603

EXPENDITURE

Total Resources expended 48,570 211,452 260,022 439,794

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 2012 255,974 183,402 439,376 402,567

Balance carried forward 31 March 2013

275,427

84,255

359,682

439,376

BCVS Summary Financial Report 2012-13

Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2013

Total 31.03.13 Total 31.03.12

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible Assets 0 2,545

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash at Banks and in hand 431,027 606,715

Debtors and prepayments 12,026 38,416

Stock 0 1,901

Sub Total 443,053 647,032

Creditors - amounts due within one year 83,371 210,201

Net Current Assets 359,682 436,831

Net Assets 359,682 439,376

FUNDS

Unrestricted 275,427 255,974

Restricted 84,255 183,402

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.