Voscur Impact Review 2017-18

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Impact review 2017-18

tu r n o ve r a n e w l e a f

Turning Over a New Leaf Growth, collaboration and evergreen strategies

2017-18

Supporting Voluntary Action

Driving Bristol’s social economy

Turning over a new leaf 2017-18 has been a year of significant change for Voscur, as an individual organisation and as a part of Bristol’s social economy.

More than ever, collaboration has been a key theme, based on the belief that great things can happen when we combine our talents, and we hope you’ll be inspired by the examples featured in this report.

Introduction

For instance, Voscur helped create the BS2 Collective of young people’s organisations that won a three-year £1 million subcontract to deliver Targeted Youth Services in communities which previous providers have struggled to reach.

Also coordinated by Voscur, the Bristol Sexual Violence Support Consortium has developed a theory of change and shared needs assessment for Avon and Somerset that will result better services for survivors across the region.

Winners of the 2015 'Voscurs', Bristol's social impact awards. Photo by Liam Gast

Sandra Meadows Chief Executive Officer

Sandy Hore-Ruthven Chair

Two years ago, Voscur’s Kick Start course became a partner in the Social Enterprise Innovation Programme. It has produced 72 graduate entrepreneurs who are now developing their community businesses, such as Streetspace in Knowle West featured on page seven, and we can’t wait to see its continued growth in 2019.

Pro bono support - voluntary input from professionals - has also brought experts and fledgling VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) organisations together to boost Bristol’s social economy. At a time when it’s hard to justify investing in leadership, it’s a privilege to help local organisations access free advice from experienced coaches. We’re equally lucky to have a range of highly skilled Advocates who continue to represent Voscur and the VCSE sector (in their own time) on a variety of decision making boards and committees in the city.

Introduction

Looking ahead, as we remember the golden leaves of autumn and look forward to the green shoots of spring, a combination of fresh approaches and traditional values seems like a pragmatic way to move forward while so much remains uncertain.

This is the spirit in which we’re launching, on behalf of the sector and the whole city, a VCSE Strategy (Into a New Era) and a new set of principles outlining how the sector works together and with others (Bristol in Partnership). Both were compiled following extensive consultation with the sector, partners and stakeholders. We are pleased to have facilitated and enabled its creation but ownership rests very much with us all… our sector, our strategy, our future. A real sense of ambition and optimism comes through in the strategy as well as a determination to make the changes necessary for a sustainable future. We look forward to working collaboratively to deliver the aims of the strategy and to building a new foundation to secure our future. We also want to: • Accelerate social investment (loans) where it fits while advocating for grants where it never will • Create new pathways for mutually beneficial collaboration between public sector commissioners and community organisations

• Work with commercial businesses where they want to share transferable skills that support sector development and sustainability • Support both new technology (e.g. opening up data to app developers) and old technology (e.g. opening up our homes to lonely neighbours) • Use Facebook to help develop a new generation of social leaders and increase face-to-face training to harness the benefits of shared learning and collaborative working So let’s turn over a new leaf together. Let’s remember the motivations and ambitions that brought us to the social economy in the first place and the priceless lessons we’ve learned over the years. And let’s look to the future - standing firm on our principles and values and making the most of innovation, new ideas and opportunities for greater collaboration and partnership.

Together we can deliver a sustainable and bright future for all VCSE organisations, from the smallest to the largest.

Photo credit: Jess Walker.

1 3

Start-up support: Bristol Men In Early Years Set up in 2013, Bristol Men in Early Years (BMIEY) is a Community Interest Company which was helped by Voscur’s Kick Start programme and later received individual support. Though the team at BMIEY is small, they run a city-wide network of men and women who work with children from birth to seven years old.

They aim to increase the involvement of men in children’s lives and provide positive role-models for children. BMIEY also supports men to take up employment in a range of early years settings; jobs that many people still see as exclusively female.

Photo credit:Conner Baker via Unsplash

BMIEY members are early years practitioners, teachers, head teachers, governors, childminders and family support workers. They meet regularly to share experiences and to discuss research and current issues - these can include child protection, challenging stereotypes, and practical activities.

Only 3% of teachers in early years education are men.

Source: National Association of Head Teachers BMIEY wanted to host a national conference, to raise the profile of the organisation beyond Bristol and promote wider support for men in early years. With no previous fundraising experience, the company needed to understand the funding environment and the specific sources they could approach for support.

To help BMIEY, Voscur: • Discussed why Community Interest Company (CIC) status is best for trading and paid directorships.

• Provided a list of appropriate funders, as a starting point for BMIEY's own research into potential funding sources.

• Developed BMIEY's knowledge of charitable funding processes: from planning a budget to identifying and describing positive results.

"As the CIC model becomes more popular, Voscur aims to ensure that new organisations know all their options. Based

Support

on their future income model The national conference, held in July 2018, was called Gender in the Early Years: Ideas into Action.

Speakers included Professor Robert Winston.

and ethos, Voscur recommends suitable funders."

David Whittaker Head of Services, Voscur

Funding support doesn’t lead directly to new funding. Organisations tend to collaborate when they have to but it can have lots of positive spin-offs. Better planning drives the most far-reaching organisational change, even more than increased income. These are some of the more unexpected findings of the QuIP (Qualitative Impact Protocol) study we completed this year to explore in greater depth the drivers and impact of change in Bristol's social economy.

Support

Understanding our impact: a fresh perspective

" More is now expected of us you either 'learn and do' or lose your funding.

Sheer necessity means we must better equip ourselves.

We hold people's lives in our hand when we pick up the phone."

Study participant

Local organisations have embraced new ways of working to address adverse conditions.

Political support is needed to sustain a healthy social economy.

These are two less surprising results.

Instead of reminding people which Voscur services they’d used, then asking if that service was effective, with QuIP they’re simply asked “what’s changed?”

Then: what was the effect of that change? Then: what caused that change? Sometimes the cause was a national policy. Sometimes it was the end of a related local service. Sometimes it was a new grant or contract. Sometimes it was input from Voscur staff.

Using this method, a QuIP study assesses the external factors affecting the work of local organisations in positive or negative ways. It also captures the impact of Voscur’s support – if there was any identified impact, or not if there wasn’t.

Compared to other approaches to evaluation, therefore, QuIP reduces bias, clarifies causes and effects, and identifies specific results for one organisation in the context of broader changes (national, regional, global) affecting all organisations.

See the full story: voscur.org/quip2018

Photo credit: Antony Xia, via Unsplash

This means that Voscur has improved evidence which can be used to influence the stakeholders of Bristol’s social economy: investors, commissioners, policymakers. It also means Voscur is better able to demonstrate the impact of its own work to the citizens of Bristol, our partners and local councillors who decide how to use the council’s resources.

5

Training: building skills, confidence and capacity Voscur's training programme covers a diverse range of topics to improve the VCSE sector's sustainability, quality and impact. It covers the everyday essentials, such as good governance, and emerging issues, such as social investment. Our trainers deliver both practical and thoughtprovoking content, in a variety of formats, to meet the learning needs of stakeholders in the most appropriate way.

Between April 2017-18,

832

people attended our training courses

605

from community organisations

93%

Graphic credit: Freepik.com

of trainees reported increased ability to perform their role

48 courses

delivered

“We’ll have an entirely new approach to volunteering because of this session.”

Isobel Tarl, on Retention and Recruitment of Volunteers

“It gave me good pointers on specific aspects to highlight – our board review is already scheduled.”

Training

Chris Heaton, on The New Charity Governance Code lunchtime briefing Is there a training topic you want Voscur to cover?

Let us know. Email lucy@voscur.org to discuss.

Support

Following our Kick Start programme: Streetspace Voscur’s Kick Start programme gives new organisations and social enterprises the inspiration and expertise they need to develop their ideas.

Once they complete the programme, we follow up on their progress and often support them.

Streetspace, a youth work organisation based in Filwood Broadway, Knowle West, is one example.

From its newly-refitted hub, Streetspace: • Aims to give a voice to young people; a voice that a voice that often goes unheard due to the levels of deprivation in the area.

• Encourages young people to get off the streets, empowers them and gives them sense of responsibility for and understanding of their family and community.

• Lets young people express themselves through music, art and sport drop-in sessions.

• Undertakes on-the-ground youth work on nearby estates and aims to reduce anti-social behaviour.

Streetspace attended the Voscur Kick Start course in 2017, six months after starting up, to develop the organisation by choosing the right formal structure.

Since Kick Start, Streetpace has secured grants from Quartet Community Foundation, the National Lottery Awards for All, the Trusthouse Foundation and other local grant-makers; it also partnered with Youth Moves to share a youth worker.

To date, Streetspace has worked with over 150 young people and, with funding, hopes to work with many more. Here is just one success story: "We worked with a 15-year-old boy from Filwood in Knowle West who was involved with a disruptive group causing anti-social behaviour and regularly using cannabis. We came across him through the police and other local organisations.

Through our Respect programme we have worked with this boy to explore values around gangs, friendship and respect. Slowly he has built trusted relationships with our staff and has begun to show he can act responsibility. For example, he designed and painted a mural at our youth club; his participation would have been unheard of before we stepped in. He now volunteers at Streetspace sessions for younger people."

“We will be supporting a 15-year-old boy through his final year of school, which he wasn't interested in before, helping him achieve and then move into work when he reaches 16. He’s really keen to get an apprenticeship and move his life forward."

Streetspace staff

Do you know a new group that could benefit from Kick Start?

Tell them to visit voscur.org/kick-start for 2019 dates.

Streetspace staff member Photo credit: David Whittaker

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VOSCUR

Voice & Influence

AREAS ACCESS ALL

VOSCUR

VOSCUR

ACCESS AL L AR

EAS

Information and resources

Community impact

535 people from 387 organisations attended events Events included оо Let's Talk Good Finance оо Fund It! 2017

Graphic credit: Freepik.com

оо South Bristol on the Map оо Community Transport in the West of England оо Targeted Youth Services partnership development

As seen on Twitter Katie Edmonson @KT_Briz_Charity Brilliant, inspirational speech from Safe Space #bristol, supporting victims of sexual assault in the city.

Excellent work ladies! #fundit17

GDPR: from constraint to catalyst

Insight & intelligence

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation came into force in May 2018. This meant companies and individuals holding personal data for any reason must be clearer about why they hold the information, how secure it is, and how people can opt out of communications from them. Voscur published blogs, guidance and tools and provided training sessions to help organisations prepare.

Five months later, research1 confirmed that most charities had seen their contact database shrink as a result of GDPR. However, the same proportion thought it would also help improve public trust in charities. Our experience locally echoes this: small groups have been hit especially hard, but it has also provided an opportunity to rethink and improve stakeholder engagement and data systems, which should yield long-term results.

Weekly email bulletin readership (subscribers who open our ebulletin email before and after GDPR)

44% 27% In the three months before GDPR

In the three months after GDPR

Ref. In 2017, the Direct Marketing Association's Email Benchmarking Report found only 6% of charity emails are opened.

1. nfpSynergy October 2018: https://bit.ly/2FuheDO 6

Voscur unites local organisations to improve their reach and influence. We explore the potential impact of policies and strategies, and our Voscur Sector Leaders (formerly Advocates) boost local engagement.

Brexit Response Group Voscur was asked to join Bristol’s cross sector Brexit Response Group, looking at contingency planning in the event of a ‘No Deal Brexit’. Whilst trying to anticipate the impact of a no deal scenario is difficult, we are keen to ensure that organisations and communities are considered within citywide plans. It is important that the VCSE sector considers what impact leaving the EU could have on operations and sustainability and Voscur will ensure ideas, plans and information relating to challenges are fed into discussions.

Bristol City Funds Initiative During 2017-18, Sandra Meadows (Voscur’s Chief Executive) was appointed to the City Funds Governing Board. The Bristol City Funds is an exciting new initiative to raise additional money - a new approach which will help organisations access and use repayable finance and grant funding to tackle the City’s most intransigent problems – poverty and inequality.

This year has seen the launch of three funding priority groups (FPGs) - No Child Goes Hungry, Inclusive Employment and Community Initiatives - all identified as priorities through the One City Approach. Voscur will be working with partners on the Community Initiatives FPG which will focus on local proposition and solutions that address the challenges of poverty and inequality at a community level.

Voice & Influence

Voice and influence

Health and Social Care: Data and Intelligence Project This year, Voscur started to explore development of an intelligence offer to collate and analyse data and evidence from VCSE organisations delivering health and social care services. This will demonstrate impact and develop business cases for investment and funding applications. The offer will form part of a larger project, creating a central VCSE databank to inform the sector, its partners and stakeholders of the impact and outcomes delivered by the sector.

Bristol City Council: Discretionary Rate Relief Voscur made representation about the sector's concerns on proposed changes to the Discretionary Rate Relief system. Despite BCC’s public consultation, and information provided by Voscur to the sector, it was felt that the period between a final decision and implementation (March to April 2018) left insufficient time for VCSE organisations to replace the funding they would lose as a result of the changes.

Voscur also asked for an extended assessment to look at the potential negative impact on communities served by organisations with a turnover of £100k who were likely to be affected by the changes. Following representation by Voscur, Deputy Mayor Craig Cheney agreed changes wouldn’t be introduced until the financial year 2019-20.

Bristol Commission for Race Equality The Commission for Race Equality was established in December 2017. Sandra Meadows was selected as one of 12 new commissioners for race equality, working with groups and communities to ensure they draw on lived experience.

During the year 2018-19, the Commission will develop an action plan for working groups addressing inequalities in education, employment, criminal justice, housing, leadership and representation.

9

Supporting new social enterprises Voscur has delivered a Social Enterprise Innovation Programme (SEIP) since early 2017, reaching social entrepreneurs in the local area – many of whom are from marginalised groups in society. When a social enterprise succeeds, it can make a real difference in reducing inequality.

59 people have completed our Kick Start programme for social enterprise start-ups.

Three quarters of these (42 people) are from priority wards in the north, south and east.

Half are from BAME communities, like Somali Kitchen.

The main barriers to people from disadvantaged communities launching a social enterprise are: • A ‘benefit gap’ between receiving benefits and starting a social enterprise; the fear of losing income before any money is made.

• Skills and knowledge gaps, such as financial management, business reporting and relevant legal requirements.

• Difficulty in marketing beyond a particular community.

Additional barriers to BAME involvement in social enterprise: • Potential language barriers in funding applications and writing constitutions if English is not their first language.

• Contextual and market knowledge to identify a Unique Selling Point.

• Breaking into established networks; a lack of networking opportunities with peers and the wider community.

Social enterprise

To help potential social entrepreneurs overcome these difficulties, Voscur will continue to provide and extend our outreach and support. We’re now sharing research and best practice with Black South West Network to identify specific barriers for people from BAME communities when developing a social enterprise.

Voscur will help develop community assets in disadvantaged neighbourhoods (such as community centres and libraries) by working with Bristol and Bath Regional Capital, creating a basis for social investment.

Getting local investors on board helps to establish connections and share wealth around the entire city, encouraging equality.

Photo credit; NESA by Makers, via Unsplash

"We have completed our first year of trading and are now in a position to sign a tenancy agreement with the management at St Pauls Learning Centre (and the Ethical Property Company) which should help secure the longterm future of the darkrooms."

Wendy Leocque and Ruth Jacobs, Real Photography CIC

Voscur worked with over 1,000 individuals from social economy organisations in 2017-18.

Around 500 organisations contribute directly to Voscur’s governance as members. These include emerging informal groups and some traditional charities that have been working in the city for decades. The chart below shows when organisations were established.

Impact & reach

Long-term impact

Voscur works with organisations throughout their lifecycle to ensure they get the right help at the right time, and to ensure the city has a thriving ecosystem of groups collectively starting up, innovating, growing up and maturing at any one time.

1960s

1970s

Decade established 1980s

1990s

2000s 2010s Ashley

19%

Easton

14% 31% 17% 13% Percentage of total Voscur member organisations in 2017-18

6%

Expanding our reach Every week we share news, insight and opportunities with over 4,000 Twitter followers and over 1,500 email bulletin subscribers. We mapped those who told us where they work below. This reach into pockets of stakeholders in surrounding regions and other core cities reflects a similar expansion of contracts and consultancy to new customers outside Bristol, with the income earned reinvested into the city.

11

What's going on in collaboration Many VCSE organisations in Bristol now use two common forms of collaboration: lead partner and partnership-of-equals. However, these aren’t always appropriate. For example, some commissioners believe a partnership-of-equals is not an appropriate model.

To address this, Voscur developed new ways of collaborating, so that organisations are supported and can be involved in different processes.

Targeted Youth Services and BS2 Organisations previously left out of commissioning processes were supported to confidently influence future services; for example, the Targeted Youth Services contract from Bristol Youth Links.

With help from Voscur, several smaller VCSE organisations formed the BS2 Collective and pitched to become sub-contractors to prime bidders for Targeted Youth Services. BS2 Collective’s aim is to serve the community and bridge the gap between service providers and young BAME people in BS2.

10 smaller organisations, including those in the BS2 Collective, were sub-contracted to a value of £1.3 million over three years. Voscur continues to monitor and support individual organisations and the overall collective.

Youth Investment Fund When the Big Lottery Fund launched a programme for open access youth work, Voscur worked with the Big Lottery Fund and the Cabinet Office to coordinate Bristol's response. We provided briefings and support to coordinate and complement local VCSE organisations’ applications.

Programme criteria meant that several organisations could apply, including seven from Bristol.

The result was that the seven organisations successfully obtained £2.5 million.

Collaboration

Both these examples involve different thinking: either facing a new audience or creating capacity to collaborate. They involve strategy, creativity, leadership and independent facilitation.

Voscur believes the sector will see more of these models, and looks forward to supporting further strategic collaborations in 2019.

Could you benefit from a collaboration?

Email mark@voscur.org to discuss.

Photo credits: Yingchou Han, Rachel via Unsplash, Raw Pixel

Collaboration

Working together to support survivors of sexual violence Voscur’s partnership with the Sexual Violence Support Consortium (SARSAS, The Green House, Womankind Therapy Centre and Barnardo’s) develops integrated working to benefit local survivors of sexual violence.

The two-year project, grant-funded by Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, started in August 2017.

Voscur hosts Jennifer McLamb, Consortium Innovations Manager, to drive the project forward with the aid of Voscur’s independence, expertise and wider resources.

The consortium has so far produced: 1. Shared values and principles: open discussions about aims, values and principles were solidified in a new collaborative working agreement.

Photo credit: Jude Beck

2. A Sexual Violence Needs Assessment for Avon and Somerset: provided by Voscur and reviewed by the University of Bedfordshire. It highlighted long waiting lists for specialist services, and the effect on survivors trying to access muchneeded support.

3. Theory of change: this ensures survivors get the right support at the right time. The theory was presented in a clear, acccessible graphic for staff and wider stakeholders.

These are the foundations for further collaborative work, which will see coordinated use of combined resources to provide the most appropriate support depending on each survivor’s individual needs.

The consortium aims to expand its services for survivors, and respond to shrinking public resources.

510,000 women and 138,000 men in England and Wales experienced sexual assault between March 2016-17.

One in five women have experienced sexual assault since the age of 16.

Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office of National Statistics

"Voscur's role as a neutral base has been a critical part of the success of the project. I feel sure that nothing will be missed; it is well organised and thorough."

Consortium member

13

Developing the leaders of Bristol's social economy Collaboration is one of the great strengths of Bristol's social economy. However, it still needs leaders within organisations, communities and the citywide forums where policy and strategy are shaped.

Historically the leaders of VCSE organisations have sometimes felt at odds with their peers in the public and private sectors. To some extent, that might always be the case, but increasingly around big issues – transport, energy, climate change, wellbeing – we find greater unity, common goals and a recognition of the value of learning from each other.

To support development of the VCSE sector, Voscur has backed a pro bono (donated free for the public good) coaching programme for local managers and leaders in the voluntary sector since 2016. Coordinated by a network of professional coaches, the scheme has fast-tracked the development of 15 senior leaders by offering free sessions to organisations that otherwise might not invest in leadership roles.

With professional volunteers providing expertise in online sales, finance, data and marketing ...

... the market value of pro bono support in 2017-18 is calculated to be £60,958 ...

Leadership

... and the overall impact of this input to be many times that figure.

Leadership is a key part of Bristol’s 10-year VCSE Vision & Strategy, launched by Voscur alongside this annual report. This strategy will introduce a new model of ‘distributed leadership’ from communities across the city and establish a new development programme offering paid apprenticeships, internships, work experience, coaching and mentoring. Collectively these leaders will serve to strengthen the voice and influence of the VCSE sector, in the city and across the West of England.

"I got three free sessions then bought three more - best professional development I've ever had."

Keiko Smith Mentee Photo credit: Rawpixel.com

Funding support

Using local investment to support the growth of small and large organisations Voscur has boosted Bristol’s social economy by delivering over 500 one-to-one support sessions to VCSE organisations in 2017-18, boosting management capacity in such as fundraising, governance and finance.

p

p o p ular

su

To resource local services, Voscur helped secure over £5.6m of funding for delivery in 2017-18. Just over half of this was leveraged into the city from a range of stakeholders, often using local contracts and grants from Bristol City Council as the catalyst to unlock external investment.

rt po

t o p ic s:

422

organisations received one-toone support

53%

M

ost

organisational development

£5.6m

Income of secured for 2017-18 delivery

26%

practical resources

Graphic credit: Freepik.com

6

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s form nership

part

or upp

ss

54

Bristol City Council £2.8m from Impact Fund

n atio r o b

ted

People's Health Trust, £2.9m from European Union, Big Lottery, Lloyds Foundation, Arts Council and private trusts

a coll

“Jenny [Development Officer and Funding Lead] from Voscur reviewed our organisation’s situation and our plan for the future.

She was quick to grasp both explicit and implicit issues and understand our organisation’s circumstances and needs. Her suggestions were tactful and spot-on, showing in-depth knowledge of the local voluntary sector.”

Chris Cox, Youth Education Service 15

Bristol in Partnership Voscur’s work on the Bristol Compact (a set of principles to support and underpin the VCSE sector's work) changed its focus during the year, and our review led to the revised Compact, now known as Bristol in Partnership.

Various public sector managers told us they were committed to effective partnership working with the VCSE sector, that many things had changed recently and that they wanted the Compact to be more flexible and inclusive. We consulted throughout the year, and these are the ideas that arose:

Offers and Principles A need to shift to less prescriptive offers from the VCSE sector when doing business with others, away from the Compact being perceived as a set of instructions.

Widening Relationships Having acknowledged the changing environment for VCSE organisations, there was strong commitment to expand the scope of the Compact to cover not only public-VCSE relationships but also business-VCSE relationships, and those between larger and smaller VCSE organisations.

Geographical Scope and Governance The complexity of changes in the public sector (reorganisation of the NHS, shrinking local authority, a new West of England Combined Authority, Police and Crime Commissioner and merged Clinical Commissioning Groups) require a focus over wider, different geographical boundaries.

Bristol in Partnership includes key themes: • Using city resources effectively to deliver impact • Engaging and consulting • Volunteering and social action

Bristol in Partnership

• Managing change It is designed to be used by our colleagues in all sectors and sits alongside the VCSE Strategy, supporting the VCSE sector contribution to people and communities in and beyond Bristol.

Photo credit: Adrian Scottow via Flickr

Photo credit: Hans

During the year Voscur drafted the first ever VCSE Strategy for Bristol: Into a New Era which will be officially launched early in 2019. Into a New Era outlines the priorities for the sustainability and development of the VCSE sector over the next 10 years and aims to provide a strong foundation for growth and greater independence within our increasingly diverse sector.

To create the Strategy, Voscur consulted widely with sector individuals and organisations, conducted interviews with partners and stakeholder and held focus groups and meetings to help shape six strategic objectives: • Strong and distributed leadership • Financial independence – a more commercial approach • Facilitating access to data and information

Future strategy

Into a new era ...

" We need to make sure the whole city knows that a robust VCSE sector is an economic boom for Bristol. Critics sometimes see it as a drain, but it’s actually a massive resource that generates money. It’s not even about a PR campaign – it’s the truth. If it wasn’t for VCSE organisations, the money wouldn’t come here."

• Strong and independent voice • Increased collaboration, partnership and cohesion

Interviewee

• Greater resilience and adaptability Ownership and delivery of the new strategy rests with the sector, its partners and stakeholders.

Voscur will continue to play a key role in driving this forward so that we can deliver the overall vision of: “A strong and empowered sector in charge of its own future: well-resourced, sustainable and focused on the success of an aspirational city. We see Bristol working collaboratively to meet the needs of all individuals and communities.”

Part of the ongoing work in delivering the strategic objectives will be to ensure alignment with other key developments, locally and nationally such as the National Civil Society Strategy, Bristol City Funds Initiative, BCC Corporate Strategy and the One City Approach. To be reviewed and updated annually, this is an opportunity for Bristol’s VCSE sector to take ownership of its future and to work closer together to ensure our local communities are empowered and able to withstand future challenges.

“Those outside of the VCSE sector have no idea what it does, or how many people rely on it. There is a need for massive education on this; we need to be telling the story.”

Interviewee

17

Thank You Our Members

Our 2017-18 Staff Team

You continue to inspire us and dedicate time and energy to helping local communities and the city at large. Whilst Voscur supports its members, members also support Voscur in return, providing vital input to ensure we represent you and your needs.

Asma Ahmad, Polly Allen, Yaz Brien, Katie Finch, Lucy Fletcher, Richard Foote, Liz Gorman, Clare Havard, Lorna Henry, Ellie Hooper, Ed Howarth, Mark Hubbard, Kate Hygate, Dr. Sarah Jackson, Jessica Langton, Sui Lau, Charlene Lawrence, Sophia McDonald-James, Rebecca McDougall, Jennifer McLamb, Sandra Meadows, Meera Pandya, Sarah Pigott, Ruth Pitter, Ria Powell, Vicky Redding, Wendy Stephenson, Jess Walker, Louise Wearne, Phoebe Westwood, Charlotte White, Becky Whitlock, David Whittaker, Jenny Wildblood, Louise Wratten.

Our 2017-18 Board Members Elected from our membership, for their support, direction and guidance: Sandy Hore-Ruthven (Chair), Creative Youth Network Marissa Ellis (Vice-chair), individual member (resigned November 2017) Steve Sayers (Vice-chair), Windmill Hill City Farm Matt Wortley (Treasurer), individual member (appointed June 2017) Frances Fox, The Bridge Foundation (resigned November 2017) Joanna Holmes, Barton Hill Settlement Alex Kittow, Southmead Development Trust Dan Lyus, WE Care and Repair Philip Parry, Bristol Citizens Advice Bureau (resigned November 2017) Kamaljit Poonia, Ujima Radio Jean Smith, Nilaari (resigned November 2017) Suzanne Thompson, The Restore Trust Laura Welti, Bristol Disability Equality Forum Lin Whitfield, individual member

Thank you

(appointed April 2017)

Our 2017-18 Volunteers Jonathan Boulton, Jack Burrows, Barbara Chamberlain, David Guest, Aimee Hearn, Sharon Hughes, Evelyn Hutchon, Julie Jamis, Fiona Kingdon, James Last, Jennifer Lo, Tom Mason, Silvia Naranjo, Ade Olaitan, Nazia Rehman, Meri Rizk, David Shelton, Imogen Smith, Jon Stephens, Rosie Vincent, Adrian Wilkins, Sue Williams, Jill Woodley.

Bristol Manifesto for Race Equality Steering Group (now the Interim Commission for Race Equality) Abbi Bainton, Desmond Brown, Nishan Canagarajah, Councillor Asher Craig, Esther Deans MBE, Ann Degraft-Johnson, Veron Dowdy, Sandra Gordon, Sumita Hutchison, Maya Mate-Kole, Sandra Meadows, Robishia Temple, Nick Young.

Voscur staff 27% Bristol city 17% Voscur staff 36% Bristol city 22%

Non-white British

Disability

Voscur

Thank you

The valuable work of our Advocates has become increasingly vital to the way Voscur operates - that’s why we will now refer to our Advocates as Sector Leaders. We’ll work with them to implement a new two-way communication process that will give the voluntary sector an even greater voice on boards across the city.

Thanks to those of you who have supported us during 2017–18, including: Fiona Castle, Imayla Bristol Children & Families Partnership Board and Early Intervention Steering Group Ben Cheney, St Mungo’s Bristol Safeguarding Adults Board Jackie Citron, Circles South West Safeguarding Children Board Alistair Dale, Youth Moves Raising the Participation Age (14–19) Strategy Group Julie Edwards, BAND Children & Families Partnership Board Graham England, Addiction Recovery Agency Reducing Re-offending Board Elaine Flint, Wellspring Healthy Living Centre Health and Wellbeing Board Frances Fox, The Bridge Foundation Joint Health Outcomes Group – Children & Families Partnership Board Anthony Hill, Barnardo’s SEND Challenge Group (part of Bristol Children & Families Partnership Board) Dan Lyus, WE Care and Repair

diversity

Better Care Bristol Transformation Board Alex Raikes, SARI Safer Bristol Partnership Rachel Robinson, Learning Partnership West Think Family Group - Children & Families Partnership Board Suzanne Thompson, The Restore Trust Restorative Bristol Board Christine Townsend, Integrate UK Bristol Safeguarding Children Board Emma Wells, Bristol Drugs Project Safeguarding Adults Board Dom Wood, 1625 Independent People Bristol Children & Families Partnership Board

Our 2017-18 Funders, Donors and Sponsors Big Lottery Fund, Bristol City Council, Bristol Drugs Project, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), KPMG, Lloyds Bank Foundation, People’s Health Trust, Quartet Community Foundation, VWV.

Lastly...

Thank you to everyone else not mentioned individually on this list – there are too many of you to name, which shows how much Bristol’s VCSE sector is embedded in city life. You may have provided an events venue, shared your specialist knowledge, interacted with us on social media, or recommended us to someone you know. We really do appreciate these gestures.

Women

Heterosexual

Voscur staff 73% Bristol city 50%

Graphic credit: Bristol City Council

Our 2017-18 Voscur Advocates

Voscur staff 73% Bristol city 96% 19

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Image credits (front and back cover): Sky: Freepik.com Bristol (bottom): Adrian Scottow

social economy s ’ l o t s i r B g n i p l He

Voscur, Royal Oak House, Royal Oak Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4GB Voscur is a registered charity and a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. Company no. 3918210. Charity no. 1148403