A report said that Community Fund grants enabled voluntary sector infrastructure organisations to play a more effective role in helping groups to access training, unlock other funding and establish networks.
Source: Simon Northmore, Sarah Pearson, Gareth Morgan and Marilyn Taylor, An Evaluation of Community Fund Grant Making
to Voluntary Sector Infrastructure Organisations, Community Fund (020 7747 5300)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Community Fund press release
Date: 2003-Dec
The government announced that a consortium of charities had been selected to administer and distribute the 125 million 'futurebuilders' fund; and (in the Pre-Budget Report) that lead responsibility for the fund would pass from HM Treasury to the Active Communities Directorate in the Home Office in January 2004. (The fund was designed to strengthen the contribution of voluntary and community organisations, including social enterprises, to public service delivery.)
Source: Press release 17 December 2003, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558) | Pre-Budget Report: The strength to take the long-term decisions for Britain - Seizing the opportunities of the global recovery, Cm 6042, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 10 December 2003, columns 1061-1086, TSO
Links: HMT press release | Pre-Budget report (pdf) | Hansard | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Dec
An official taskforce published a position paper on the future resourcing of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland.
Source: Task Force on Resourcing the Voluntary and Community Sector, Pathways for Change, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9091 0091)
Links: Paper (pdf) | NIE press release
Date: 2003-Dec
The voluntary sector proposed an infrastructure model that supported the full range of voluntary activity - not just those activities that helped deliver the government's policy agenda. It warned that if the government failed to provide a long-term strategic plan for developing the voluntary sector, the additional funding that it had earmarked for infrastructure support could be wasted.
Source: A Model for the Future, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: Report | NCVO press release
Date: 2003-Sep
The government began consultation on the development and funding of voluntary and community sector infrastructure in England. It said: 'If the voluntary and community sector is to thrive and play its role in achieving a shared vision of reform and renewal, it needs high quality and sustainable support services'.
Source: Voluntary and Community Sector Infrastructure, Active Community Unit/Home Office (0870 000 1585) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 17 September 2003, columns 49-50WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Hansard | Home Office press release | Community Care report
Date: 2003-Sep
Following consultation, the government announced details of the 'futurebuilders investment fund' (providing 125 million over the three years to March 2006), designed to assist the voluntary and community sector to deliver public services. It said the fund would be used to provide access to finance for voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises to deliver public services in five key service areas.
Source: Futurebuilders: An investment fund for voluntary and community sector public service delivery, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 11 September 2003, columns 34-36WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Consultation responses (pdf) | Hansard | HMT press release
Date: 2003-Sep
A government-sponsored research report examined the provision of a range of insurance cover (including employer liability) for the voluntary and community sector. It found problems including: average insurance premium increases of between 30-100 per cent per annum; withdrawal of cover, often at very short notice; and an increasing number of exclusions, particularly for care work, youth work and outdoor activities. It concluded with an action plan for government and other agencies.
Source: Research into Insurance Cover for the VCS in England, Alison Millward Associates (0121 449 9181) with Rawlings Heffernan Consultancy Services and Lucas Fettes
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jul
A survey of charities in Northern Ireland found that 75 per cent had experienced substantial increases in their insurance premiums in the year to April 2003 (averaging 37 per cent). Organisations which dealt directly with children or young people were the worst affected.
Source: Emma Bohill, Insuring the Future of the Sector: Impact of changes in insurance on the voluntary and community sector, Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (028 9087 7777)
Links: Report (pdf) | NICVA press release | Daily Telegraph article
Date: 2003-Jun
A study examined the expectations of major funders and how charities could increase donations from them. It said charities should pay more attention to the longer-term stewardship of each relationship, rather than treating donations as discrete transactions - and that this had major implications for charities' structure, culture and working methods.
Source: Judie Lannon, Managing Major Donors: How charities manage their relationships with major donors, Institute for Philanthropy (020 7679 1504) and Ansbacher Group
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
The top 500 fundraising charities were increasingly relying on government sources of income, according to a survey. Voluntary income among the top charities reached 3.3 billion in 2001-02, representing only a modest growth of 2.2 per cent in real terms over two years (1999-2000 and 2001-02): but income from non-voluntary sources grew in real terms by 9.4 per cent to 2.7 billion in the same period. This was mostly due to a substantial increase in grants from government and other public bodies.
Source: Cathy Pharoah, Charity Trends (24th edition), Charities Aid Foundation, available from CaritasData (020 7566 8210)
Links: CAF press release (1) | CAF press release (2) | CAF press release (3)
Date: 2003-Jun