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Our response to your feedback includes increased advocating around your greatest concerns, free conference room and meeting room space for smaller organisations, quarterly meetings with our Finance Director and the donation of good condition second hand PCs
Read more below…
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We appreciate the positive feedback so that we know what we are doing right and what we should do more of.
Likewise, we hear what you are concerned about and where we need to redouble our efforts to support the sector.
Examples of the positives. What you told us…
Concerns and needs. What you told us, what we’re doing and what we will do going forward.
85% of respondents identified a lack of funding and commissioning opportunities as their biggest concern going forward. This was far and away the biggest concern.
Hackney CVS response
We are very aware of the situation and are continuing to work with commissioners to ensure the sector gets as much information on commissioning opportunities going forward as possible.
We will use the VCS strategy to ensure commissioners fully value the role of the VCSE and use standard principles when procuring and commissioning re VCSE.
We are an active commissioner in our own right. Through our largest programme, Connect Hackney: Ageing Better, we are currently commissioning out £540k. In an average year we will continue to allocate between 45% to 55% of our income to the sector.
We will continue to organise Meet the Funder events and at the moment we are arranging a cross-borough event. We are working with major trusts and foundations to encourage them to invest in Hackney.
Consortia – we will continue to look for opportunities to bring the sector together in consortia. As part of this approach, we will proactively take business cases to commissioners where we have a strong evidence base for VCSE led approaches to tackling Hackney’s biggest issues.
We are looking at how to make working on partnership bids with us simpler – for example, through the use of standard EOIs.
Hackney CVS Associate membership is essential to this process as it provides the information we need to start pulling partnerships together. If your organisation isn’t an Associate Member, please join here at no cost: https://hcvs.org.uk/associate-membership/
We are working to pilot a digital referral tool so that VCSE data can be considered alongside public sector data. VCSE data would go into shared data sets at the Commissioning Support Unit. This would allow VCSE data to be considered in the same space as public sector data, thereby demonstrating the value of VCS more accurately. We will update you on this when we have more information.
We will continue to provide one to one surgeries – where Associate Members can meet us to discuss fundraising and access our organisational development offer. We will continue to publicise funding and commissioning opportunities widely through our websites, newsletter and Twitter.
Premises. The second biggest concern you highlighted is access to premises to deliver your work.
Our offer to smaller organisations in the sector
From our surveys, we know that organisations with a turnover under £100k struggle to rent space for meetings and events. In response, we are pleased to offer our conference room and training room for hire at a 50% discount to organisations with a turnover of under £100k. (Excludes weekends and evenings). To take advantage of this offer please contact our Operations Coordinator, Nathan De Souza: nathan@hcvs.org.uk t: 020 7923 1962
We continue to discuss the issue of premises with major stakeholders in the borough. We are mindful that colocation of services may offer solutions to this issue and we will continue to discuss this at a strategic level.
We have office space to rent at the recently refurbished Adiaha Antigha Centre in Dalston. If you need to rent space, please look at: https://hcvs.org.uk/office-space/ or contact our Operations Director, Paul Conway: paul@hcvs.org.uk / t: 020 7923 1962
Networking
You told us that you value networking with other organisations. In response, we would like to offer 4 free networking days over the next 12 months across the sector to any organisations that want to host a themed event to get like-minded organisations together to work on a Hackney specific project. As part of the offer, we would help you to coordinate the networking day and to publicise it. If you would like to organise a networking event please email or phone our Director of Communities and Partnerships for an initial discussion, Jackie Brett: jackie@hcvs.org.uk / 020 7923 1962
Costing a project – free one to ones with our Finance Director
Many of you identified a need for support on how to cost projects. In response, we are delighted to offer quarterly one to one meetings with our Finance Director. Meetings will last one hour and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. The first advice day will take place on Thursday 13 June. Please contact Mark Boisson if you would like to book a space: mark@hcvs.org.uk
Free computers
We have a number of second hand PCs which we are happy to give away to Hackney charities and community groups. For more information contact Paul Conway: paul@hcvs.org.uk
Winners of £50 payments
Well done to the survey responders who are the winners of our random drawer. They are Mind in the City, Inspire, Breaking Barriers, St Mary’s Secret Garden and the Family Rights Group.