Heather Jallands of Voluntary Action Leicester will be in attendance to provide a presentation in relation to the support that they can offer to local groups and organisations.
Minutes:
Heather Jallands, Development and Volunteering Advisor, Voluntary Action Leicestershire (VAL), was invited to give a presentation on the Group Support Service offered by her organisation.
Details of the free advice, support and training offered for not-for-profit groups in Leicester and Leicestershire was outlined. Particular reference was made to the support for groups offered through the VAL helpline, the group support drop-in sessions, 1:1 support through the referral system, the VAL training programme, online resource centre, the funding toolkit, and the VAL news and E-briefing updates.
Leaflets relating to these areas of support had been made available to members of the community as part of the information session prior to the formal part of the meeting.
The meeting was also informed that a variety of funding sources existed. The ways in which groups could be helped by VAL to access these funds were explained. Details of the funding database created by VAL, which held information relating to Government and other sources of financial assistance, including lottery funding, trust funds and local funding was explained. The meeting noted that many of these funding sources, particularly small local trust funds were not known to groups and funding opportunities could be missed due to a lack of awareness.
In respect of the Spinney Hills ward itself it was reported that in the 2011/2012 financial year a total of £149,420 had been sourced to assist the work of various groups and organisations within the ward.
As part of the presentation, a recent BME Research Report concerning the impact of the current economic climate on the voluntary sector was also made available to members of the community. The report had been prepared jointly with The Race Equality Centre, Highfields Community Association and African Caribbean Citizens Forum and concentrated on the effects on the Spinney Hills ward.
In concluding her presentation, Heather Jallands referred to the other main VAL services including the assistance given to volunteering and to various local Forums. A Future Focus Event was being held on 12th July 2012 at Parklands, Oadby and members of the community were encouraged to attend this information sharing event.
Heather Jallands was thanked for her presentation by the Chair.
In reply to a question from a Councillor, it was confirmed that, following an update of VAL’s database and revisions to internal systems, a breakdown of the total funds offered to groups and organisations operating within the City Council’s boundary could be extracted from the figures available for the County as a whole.
A member of public asked a further question concerning the lead-in time for future training programmes. It was explained that in most cases a programme could be arranged after one month’s notice depending on the amount of information provided by the voluntary organisation.
In closing the item the Chair discussed the need for VAL to be more visible in the community and suggested that surgeries be organised and advertised. Heather Jallands explained that VAL was aware of this need and she commented that various initiatives were being currently considered to raise the level of activity in communities.
At this point of the meeting, the Chair agreed to consider the following additional item: