j4b Community - Voluntary & community funding made clear

The Government’s third sector action plan, Real Help for Communities, will enable hundreds of groups to step up advice, support and volunteering in areas hit by the recession. 

The package includes: 

• A £10 million volunteer brokerage scheme starting in April that will offer up to 40,000 unemployed people the chance to develop new skills by volunteering.
• Also from April, a £15.5 million Community Resilience Fund to enable small and medium-sized voluntary groups to provide services such as debt advice and skills training programmes in the most deprived areas.
• A £16.5 million Modernisation Fund to help with the costs of mergers and partnerships, helping the third sector to restructure and become more efficient.
• Half a million pounds to double the number of people trained at the School for Social Entrepreneurs.
• A national campaign to raise awareness of the Government’s commitment to pay all invoices within 10 days, a move that will improve cash flow for small organisations. 

Cabinet Office Minister Liam Byrne said the cash would be targeted at people hardest hit by the recession. 

He explained: 

“The best of the British spirit is the way we pull together when times are tough. And it’s Britain’s charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises that so often make that happen.” 

Kevin Brennan, Minister for the Third Sector, added: 

“We need to make the most of the skills and expertise the third sector has to offer – helping people through times of challenge and change, finding new and more equitable ways of doing business through social enterprises, and empowering people to transform their lives and communities.” 

Third sector representatives have given the plan a cautious thumbs-up, even though it falls well short of the £500 million demanded by ACEVO last year or NCVO’s more recent call for a £100 million package. 

Stuart Etherington, chief executive officer for NCVO, “cautiously welcomed” the announcement. 

He explained: 

“We see this help as a start as we are just at the beginning of the recession. The two key things we asked for - the modernisation fund and resilience funds - are in the package of support.” 

ACEVO chief executive Stuart Bubb dubbed the support a “welcome start”, but warned “more will be needed as the recession unfolds”. 

While Jonathan Bland, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition, felt the Government had “missed an opportunity”. 

He said: 

“While we are pleased by the additional funding for the School for Social Entrepreneurs, we are disappointed that social enterprises have been largely overlooked by this action plan.  

“Social enterprise should be an essential part of the plan to rebuild the economy, and currently it is not.” 

To read the full Real Help for Communities report, visit the Office of the Third Sector website (opens a new window) 

Source: Office of the Third Sector, 09/02/2009