Sunderland Voluntary Sector Alliance (SVSA) update
We successfully achieved registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in April. We have also secured office accommodation at Elliott House on Villette Road and our Funding and Contracts Officer and Business and Finance Administrator are now in post.
Our Investment and Commissioning Manager joins us early in July.
Funding
Recently received formal notification that we been successful with our UKSPF application. This is brilliant news and provides funding to recruit a Volunteer Co-ordinator and a small team of Development Workers.
What's next?
We have a few busy months ahead and may not respond to requests as quickly as we have done in the past. However, where there are urgent requests, we will work with partner organisations and do our best to provide support. Please bear with us while we develop our new organisation and develop the support services you have told us are important. We plan to launch our membership scheme in September and will be promoting it to all of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations, asking them to register.
Over the next 6-8 weeks we will be:
· Recruiting and inducting new staff
· Agreeing priority areas for income generation and investment into the sector
· Re-launching our website (with a membership area)
Want to be involved with the ongoing developments of the Sunderland Voluntary Sector Alliance?
We are looking for the following:
· A Treasurer
· Trustees
· Operational Board members
If you are interested in any of the above roles, please contact Tracy.Hassan@sunderlandvsa.co.uk
Achievements to date, for your information
Provided support for VCSE Growth and Sustainability.
Supported 172 VCSE sector organizations.
Provided intensive support to 95 organizations, including help with policies, funding, financial planning, and service development.
Assisted 7 groups in becoming Charitable Incorporated Organizations (CIOs).
Offered business development support and funding advice to 153 VCSE organizations.
Facilitated Needs-led Training and Qualifications:
Delivered 13 workshops, attended by 70 organisations; based on specific requests, covering topics such as successful funding applications and understanding local intelligence and social value
7 voluntary sector employees enrolled on the MA Leadership course in 2022.
Increased Social Value (SV) and Investment into the VCSE sector:
Matched VCSE needs with cash donations, volunteer hours, training, bid writing, design work, printing, educational activities, careers talks, building supplies, paint, and materials.
Successfully delivered 26 SV activities.
Benefitted 33 organizations.
Secured funding for two positions: an Investment and Commissioning Manager and a Funding and Contracts Officer; demonstrating our commitment to increasing investment for the VCSE sector to benefit Sunderland residents.
Corporate Volunteering:
Partnered with 11 large businesses to develop volunteering opportunities.
Facilitated the delivery of 2,081 corporate volunteer hours to 29 local community groups.
Community Volunteering:
Recruited 89 individuals as community volunteers to support service delivery within the sector.
Strengthened the VCS Workforce through Training and Employment:
Secured £204,000 funding from the UK Community Renewal Fund (CRF) ( in partnership with Community Opportunities and the wider voluntary sector), in order to raise the profile of the VCSE as an employer and strengthen the sector's workforce through volunteering, training, and employment at a neighbourhoods level, particularly in hard-to-engage communities.
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