NVSC

Measures announced include:

Real Help for Communities: Volunteers, Charities and Social Enterprises is an action plan outlining £42.5 million support for the third sector in the difficult economic climate. Details of how third sector groups can access the funds and programmes announced will be available here shortly.

The support covers two areas:

1. Meeting Demand for Services and Tackling Unemployment

• Up to £10 million investment in a volunteer brokerage scheme for unemployed people. This will create over 40,000 opportunities for people to learn new skills and give back to communities through volunteering. - From April 2009
• A £15.5 million Real Help for Communities: Targeted Support Fund will provide grant funding to small and medium providers in communities most at risk of increased deprivation due to the recession. This is in addition to the £130 million already committed to the Grassroots Grants programme meaning more small grants to more community groups - Available from April 2009

2. Strengthening the Sector now and in the future.

• A £16.5 million Real Help for Communities: Modernisation Fund to support viable third sector organisations to access specialist services in order to restructure and become more resilient and efficient in the recession. Funding for organisations available from summer 2009.
• £0.5 million investment in the School for Social Entrepreneurs to expand its action-learning programme to support social entrepreneurs.

Real Help for Communities: Volunteers, Charities and Social Enterprises contains a range of other actions that will both enable the third sector to deliver real help now in more effective and efficient ways and support the sector to emerge from the recession stronger and more sustainable. You can download a key milestones chart of all the various actions here.

NVSC welcomes the Government’s recognition of the vital role the local third sector will play in suppporting communities through the worst of the current economic downturn and believes the measures set out will help the sector meet rising demand it faces as a result of the recession. We are calling LB Newham  and other Satatutory sector agencies to make a similar commitment to supporting local third sector organisations.