Give your views on future funding for voluntary organisations

Posted on 25 Comments on Give your views on future funding for voluntary organisations

Dorset Council is looking for your thoughts on how to financially support the voluntary community sector beyond March 2021.

A total of £1.9 million has been invested this year into the voluntary community sector (VCS) by all six predecessor councils in the Dorset Council area. Grants were given to a cross section of topics including advice, museums, heritage, community, leisure, arts, culture and environment.

The council are reviewing their direct financial contributions to these community resources. They want to gather opinions from the organisations themselves, the people that use them and also other Dorset residents.

The current funding arrangements are unequal, with some areas of Dorset receiving significantly more funding than others. This review will ensure grants are fairly distributed across the county. This consultation will provide the VCS with the opportunity to share their views about potential future options and to comment on the grant’s selection criteria.

Cllr Tony Alford, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services, said:

“We want to hear from people across the Dorset Council area. Not only from those involved with voluntary bodies working in the community, but also those who benefit from their activity and also those who have no direct connection

“We have already written to current grant recipients explaining what we are doing. Their funding has been extended for another year, giving us time to review and put in place a supportive grant system from April 2021.”

Find out more about the Voluntary Community Sector Grants Review 

1 Shares
Share1
Tweet

25 thoughts on “Give your views on future funding for voluntary organisations”


  1. Although not listed an important sector supported by an annual grant from DCC is Axminster and West Dorset Ring and Ride – a charity which provides minibus transport and is now the only way for many of us who have given up driving to get out at all. Very important now for Beaminster folk as it was just announced that the No.6 bus will stop operating in May. I was recently approached by the organiser of R&R as in Dec she was told that Dorset proposed to give only half the usual grant this year.

    Reply

  2. The Voluntary Community Sector represents the very fabric of our society and its culture. It exisits because of the time and often money that individuals put into their particular area of interest, and were a core of the Big Society that the Cameron Government talked about. While I don’t currently personally benefit from most of these activities, I would strongly support investment in these activities as the ratio of individual time and money to that provided by the Council is often huge, and often of great benefit to the wider community. Unfortunately, there are many areas of Council expenditure which are by necessity purely to support 1 individual with no wider benefit and can’t be regarded as investment, but to meet the legal obligations of the Council. So while raising extra monies for these latter purposes let’s make sure we properly invest in the fabric of society.

    Reply

  3. There are many causes that are worth funding in Dorset, but if I had to choose one that would make a massive difference to a large part of the county, it would be the establishment of a theatre in Dorchester. I understand that plans are very advanced for transforming a beautiful old building in Brewery Square into a modern arts centre, and that the only thing preventing this project from going ahead is funding from the Council. It would be an investment that would give the county town a completely new dimension, and attract oeople who might otherwise never visit it at all.

    Reply

  4. It would be a tragedy to stop paying any of these organisations.

    Reply

  5. I realise that Dorset Council has many demands on its money and a reduced grant from central government but do feel that funding for voluntary organisations is very important. They do vital work across many areas, often filling in where services have been axed especially in arts and culture. The advice sector also plays a very important part in supporting vulnerable people. Without sustainable and reliable funds many of these organisations would struggle to exist. Please continue to support them.

    Reply

  6. The advice given by the Citizens Advice in Dorset is vital to the health and wellbeing of the people who don’t know where to turn for help, especially those with lower capacity, and those without knowledge or the ability/expertise to cope with computers. Those in rural areas with poor communications are more vulnerable than those with easy access to help.
    Please continue to fund this vital voluntary service.

    Reply

  7. Funding of voluntary organisations should be voluntary! The clue’s in the name! I choose to make donations to some and not others. I don’t expect the council to use my council tax to fund organisations on my behalf. There are plenty of more important calls on council funding, like social care.

    Reply

  8. Pleasure ensure that funding continues to be provided for Dorset Community Action. This group has been in action for at least 15 years, supporting a wide variety of groups in the third sector. When I became a Trustee and Treasurer for Verwood Memorial Hall in 2005, DCA was an important source of information regarding activities in the third sector, providing opportunities to meet others. to share and to learn from one another as well as to participate in inter-active programs, meeting mainly in Wimborne, able to learn from others how their groups were managed and how to comply with relevant legislation and Charity Commission Guidelines. I am no longer an active member, but still continue to benefit from the information which they desseminate from D. C., insurance companies, Carbon Dorset, A.C.R.E., etc.
    They train, equip and enable groups so that they are not only compliant with legal requirements, but widen their knowledge, experience and thus their vision, thus enhancing community cohesion in their neighbourhoods. I suggest that this is a vital role in these days of community breakdowns, > disenfranchisement > low self esteem > crime, etc.
    I was active in Verwood, East Dorset and Dorset for 10 years, including working with the NHS locally, re primary health care, Business mentoring with DORMEN, and chairman of the East Dorset Third Sector Forum, during its short life, as well as chairman of the Verwood Local Action Group. So, I speak from knowledge and experience.
    Also, please continue the vital funding for DORMEN, to enhance the viable continuation of local businesses.
    Ann Abernethie, Verwood. 23/1/2020

    Reply

  9. I think the advice service given by Citizens’ Advice offices in Dorset is vital. There are many vulnerable citizens who cannot cope with demands of modern life and poor communications and poor transport in rural areas.
    Financial support from Dorset Council is vital.

    Reply

  10. The Citizens Advice Bureaux are an essential service. They need not only to be funded but to have their funding increased in order to continue the vital support they offer Dorset residents. My CAB office in Bridport is physically falling to pieces. The government websites refer more and more people to contact Citizens Advice. Without CAB’s assistance many people would be in very dire straights. Please ensure that CAB continues to receive sufficient funding to operate their services in Dorset. CAB advisors help people get out of debt, and help them get their benefits sorted out, often when other agencies fail to do so.

    Reply

  11. Regarding the VCS it would be helpful if Dorset Council commissioned some research in to both the social value and socioeconomic of the VCS and made it public. To enable us to make informed responses to this consultation.

    Regarding the Advice Sector i would refer the LA to the Low Commission’s Final report – please see link https://www.lag.org.uk/?fileid=-16929

    Reply

  12. As a volunteer at Bridport Citizens Advice I have first hand experience of the tremendous contribution CitA offers. The office is always busy, providing advice and guidance on a whole range of issues from debt to homelessness, relationship breakdown to consumer problems. People from all walks of life, of all ages and backgrounds come to the office in Bridport, or to one of the two outreach services offered in Lyme Regis and Beaminster, and the team of volunteers provide advice, guidance and support to resolve the issues presented. I would advocate that Citizens Advice should be high on the list for financial support, maintaining or indeed increasing the funds earmarked for this vital community service.

    Reply

  13. As a Citizens Advice volunteer for over 18 years, I hope that the Dorset bureaux will continue to receive adequate funding from the community through council tax for the community it serves. CA provides a vital service to any member of the public needing advice on a huge variety of problems and this is especially true in a rural area.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *