weHELP...

Our impact on Wiltshire’s communities

Our Mission:Our Vision:Provide support to build a strong, diverse and vibrant voluntary and community sector.

To build the capacity of voluntary organisations and community groups to enable them to effectively meet local community needs.

groups to recruit and retain volunteers

groups to learn from each other

groups to raise funds

volunteers and staff to be more skilled and knowledgeable

organisations to challenge inequality and discrimination

groups to be better run

weHELP...

developecs.org.uk

1236

“I feel more confident in making decisions and asking questions.”

“I am really enjoying my volunteering… and I think it has helped my confidence a lot.”

“Thank you ... for putting me on the right track. I will definitely carry on with the voluntary work.”

“…really helped [us] focus on how to engage with young people and to understand what they need from a voluntary role. We are looking nationally at how we can offer young people

interesting and challenging roles”

“The opportunity you provide to direct people into volunteering has had a big impact on the services we are able to provide to vulnerable people in the community”

volunteering opportunities advertised

186

82

volunteers placed through Volunteer Centre

attendees at Volunteer Manager Network Meetings

Through Volunteer Centre Wiltshire, DEVELOP works across all sectors (public, private and not-for-profit) to

develop and promote volunteering in the county. We match individuals looking for a suitable volunteering opportunity to the best placement available, and help organisations find volunteers and good practice information.

weHELP...groups to recruit

and retain volunteersReturning to Work through Volunteering

Sian had recently completed an Open University degree in Psychology and was looking for something new to do in

her spare time. She started volunteering with local homeless support charity Doorway, providing support to guests across all aspects of the drop in service. Doorway provide extensive training to staff and volunteers and Sian received training in drug and alcohol awareness, domestic abuse, housing and benefits.

Before volunteering at Doorway, Sian had volunteered as a school governor and this had improved her confidence speaking to parents, teachers and chairing meetings. Volunteering and at Doorway she feels has now enabled her to speak with confidence to all members of society.

Sian is now working for the charity in an administrative role after 17 years out of paid employment. Knowledge of volunteering within the drop-in session is also invaluable to her current work and enables her to work effectively to support colleagues, volunteers and guests.

These wonderful volunteers [referred by your service] have greatly impacted the lives of the

most vulnerable children and families in the community.

“Without a doubt volunteering… enabled me to develop the skills and experience to return to the workplace confidently. I cannot recommend it highly enough.” Sian Cooper, Doorway

Facts: Volunteering... ○ is a way that people can give back

to their communities and make a difference

○ provides opportunities to meet new people

○ has been shown to have a positive impact on health and wellbeing

○ helps people to develop new skills or build on existing experience and knowledge

○ can be a route to employment

weHELP...groups to learn from each other

We maintain a public directory of some 500 voluntary and community sector groups. Our

events programme has a strong emphasis on connecting local groups; We organise a volunteer managers’ network, information and networking events, the Wiltshire Voluntary Sector Forum and the annual Wiltshire Voluntary Sector Assembly.

“[The Voluntary Sector Forum] … has opened new opportunities for working with others.”

“I have joined the Wiltshire Children and Families Voluntary Sector Forum as a result of attending your networking event and have potentially got some partnerships in the pipeline with other organisations I met that day.”

“The networking is invaluable.”

“Excellent way to make partnership links to develop new services. Great networking, especially for those new to the area.”

Connecting local charities and businesses

DEVELOP’s Corporate Community Engagement initiative, connected local business CPW with Wiltshire

Scrapstore enabling their staff to donate time to the charity. The Wiltshire Scrapstore and Resource Centre is a thriving, highly successful children’s and community charity. Their main aim is to promote learning through creativity by making various low cost resources available to the community.

82 attendees at Volunteer Manager Network Meetings

71

attendees at the Wiltshire Voluntary Sector Forum

attendees at Information and Networking events

68

“It’s great that business can leave their normal place of work and come into the community and really help to support a charity, especially a charity like Wiltshire Scrapstore that supports many groups of people within the community. Corporate Community Engagement is a great benefit to both parties involved. DEVELOP provide the ‘building of the bridges’ and the links between groups and interested volunteers. DEVELOP are approachable, provide very good information on good practice and we are able to signpost to other local groups who may be interested in our work through their network and information sessions.” Glynis Gosgrave, Director, Wilts. Scrapstore

weHELP...groups to raise funds

Our funding support helps local groups increase their fundraising capacity and develop the skills they need

to maximise their fundraising success. Our work enables organisations to win resources to achieve their charitable purposes. Our funding advisers are fully qualified in advising community groups on funding issues and our development workers have many years of experience working with local voluntary and community groups.

Friends of Colerne

The Friends of Colerne are a charity that raises money to help maintain the fabric of the church and churchyard of St John

the Baptist, Colerne, so that they can be enjoyed by all who live in the village or come to visit. Parish churches get no financial support for repairs from either the Church of England or the Government. Money raised by the Friends helps to sustain a building that generations of Colerne people have created and cared for over more than 800 years. Our Funding Adviser provided details of trust funds previously unknown to the group to which they could apply and gave guidance and advice regarding their case for support.

“Very efficient and professional…DEVELOP has been a wonderful resource to be able to access… suggestions have been incredibly helpful… advice has been on the button.”Kate Hodges, Friends of Colerne

“OUTSTANDING: being able to get outside professional feedback on a bid that had been unsuccessful and look at ways to improve and strengthen its structure and content was a huge help, and made a big difference.”

funding training sessions with 7 groups attending

recipients of 7 funding factsheets and 6 funding bulletins, with an average of 27.3% opens, and 8.1% click-throughs

2

1300+

“At a time when we are fighting for the survival of our project, it is most

comforting to benefit from your expert guidance and we are

extremely grateful.”

5 funding surgeries with 10 groups supported

organisations provided with 1:1 support50

weHELP... volunteers and staff

to be more skilled and knowledgeable

“Thank you for empowering me to give [social media]

a thorough examination and greater understanding.”

We offer a range of general training courses on key topics from Governance to Food Safety,

Emergency First Aid to Marketing and Social Media. We offer bespoke courses for individual voluntary and community groups tailored their particular needs. We have also developed a range of toolkits and factsheets for groups to use and provide information on a range of topics through our information and networking events.

“I would definitely recommend going to DEVELOP for support and training as they have good tutors, a lot of resources to pull from and because they are a small training provider they are able to make the courses bespoke and to suit your needs.”

“I found the course helpful and inspiring and have locked myself away today to formulate a marketing plan (just finished!). Thanks again.”

“Opened my eyes to the variety of options open to us … Very interesting to hear about other people’s ideas and experiences.”

“[Attending an equalities

training session has] made me realise there

are lots of different aspects to diversity and I will become aware

of different people’s needs.”

151 participants on 20 training courses (Apr 2013 – Mar 2014)

participants on 23 training courses (Apr 2014 – Mar 2015)190

weHELP...organisations to tackle inequality and discrimination

DEVELOP’s equalities support service includes intensive group support, training and networking events,

signposting, resources, and up to date Information and news about equalities. We support groups to understand how equalities legislation applies to them and affects their services. We also help groups develop or update equal opportunities policies and understand best practice.

We provide training & briefing sessions including DEVELOP Your Skills in Equalities, Equalities Healthcheck, Equalities Champions, and Equalities for Health Professionals.

Enabling Communities to Speak

The South West Alliance of Nomads (SWAN), was supported by DEVELOP to bridge the gap between the

local authorities and gypsy and traveller communities, so the community could have a voice in local decision making.

SWAN helps make links and create better relationships and understanding among the settled and travelling communities throughout the South West. The group’s Chairperson attended one of our equalities group meetings and was pleased to find in DEVELOP a local organisation that has contact with the local council and other local groups, unlike the larger national groups from whom he is also able to receive support in his role.

DEVELOP helped to enable Roger to put the views of the gypsy and traveller community across to local authorities. The organisation now feels it is in a position to assist and give information to local authorities regarding the needs of the gypsy and traveller community and assist in the assessments of building new sites.

104different groups supported around equalities issues (2013-14)

equality specific groups supported in the first half of this financial year (Apr-Sep 2014)14

“It would be very sad if there wasn’t an organisation such as DEVELOP to make that initial contact between the stakeholder, in our case the gypsy and travellers, and the council. It would be a great disadvantage if there wasn’t a bridge between the council and the local people on the ground.”Roger Redding, Chair, South West Alliance of Nomads

weHELP...groups to be better run

We take the lead in identifying gaps in service provision and work with groups to develop new and

innovative services. We help brand new groups get started, ensuring clarity about the aims and purpose of the group and that it is offering a service that is needed.

We provide a wide range of downloadable information on subjects that help in groups’ on-going development. This includes information on collaboration; data protection; finance and accounting; marketing; procurement and tendering; trustees and governance; recession support legal structures for voluntary organisations and more.

We support organisations to conduct organisational health checks to improve their efficiency and make it is easier to attract and retain funding, volunteers, and staff. We help organisations chose and undertake quality assurance, look at how they demonstrate the outcomes and outputs of their work and the impact they are making.

Biss Meadows Country Park

The Friends of Biss Meadows group came to DEVELOP for support with attracting new committee members and guidance

on ensuring the organisation was run in a professional manner. Biss Meadows Country Park is situated in South East Trowbridge, and The Friends aim to protect and conserve, promote and enhance the natural environment of the Country Park so that the value of the Country Park and its wildlife is preserved and protected for future generations.

DEVELOP helped the group create volunteer opportunities and advertise these online through our volunteer centre. We helped them to review and plan their marketing, on our advice The Friends have set up a Local Giving account which has started to receive donations, and they have a wider presence on both Facebook and Twitter. DEVELOP also supported the group to work through Wiltshire Council’s Quality Standard Toolkit, and assisted with risk assessment procedures and contacts with whom The Friends of Biss Meadows could develop partnerships.

22 new community groups supported to set up

groups newly registered with Volunteer Centre Wiltshire70

56 factsheets on the DEVELOP website

The help DEVELOP has given us has added enthusiasm to the group. They have helped us find new members which has allowed us to look at other areas to promote Biss Meadows, such as Schools, who can tour the park and gain the love of and learn about nature. With the new committee members we are now able to carry out a complete survey of the park... This will help us plan future work’. Ernie Newcombe, Chair, The Friends of Biss Meadows

“I would definitely recommend going to DEVELOP for support and training as they have good tutors, a lot of resources to pull from and because they are a small training provider they are able to make the courses bespoke and to suit your needs.”

We are proud of our recent achievements, but DEVELOP is committed to continuing to make a difference in Wiltshire’s communities by supporting the county’s voluntary and community organisations.

We asked people to rate the impact of the support they received from us:

We are committed to helping more groups and more volunteers, to continuing to challenge inequality and discrimination and supporting others who do the same. We are also committed to improving our understanding of our impact (the difference we

make through our work) as a means of further improving our services to the organisations we support. We look forward to working with you to build a strong, diverse and vibrant voluntary and community sector in Wiltshire.

Overall....

Legal information and legal advice sessionsNew and emerging groups supportFunding advice receivedSupport to network with other groupsPromotion, marketing, other comms supportFunding advice sessionsSignposting groups to the appropriate supportPartnership and collaborate supportHuman Resource support Support at a DEVELOP meeting or eventGovernance/trustee/committee supportSupport with policies and procedures

% of high-impact ratings % of medium-impact ratings % of low-impact ratings

Registered Charity 1096008. Registered Office: 3-4 New Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 1EJ.DEVELOP Enhancing Community Support Limited is a Company Limited By Guarantee registered in England and Wales 01986363. DEVELOP is a member of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).

0845 034 5250developecs.org.uk

Visit the DEVELOP website to find out more about our impact: developecs.org.uk/our-impact

Our services: developecs.org.uk/current-services

Funding resources: developecs.org.uk/funding-support

Join 1,300+ others and subscribe to our e-bulletin at:developecs.org.uk/news