A RoOD is required to approve the budget allocation and implement of the scheme.
Background
The council has been allocated £7,545,330 to be spent between 2022 and 2025, of which £450,000 (£200,000 for 2023/24 and £250,000 for 2024/25) has been allocated to enhance community resilience and infrastructure and provide tailored business support for the VSCE sector.
E11 VSCE Development
A key finding from the survey of Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises, conducted as part of the State of the Sector Report 2021, was the need to support the sector in accessing training, business support and expertise; focusing on marketing and communications, income generation opportunities, recruitment and retention.
Providing training will enable the sector to enhance their skills and knowledge, learn new techniques and strategies, improve their overall effectiveness, increase their capacity to meet the needs of their community and ultimately achieve their goals more efficiently.
Total fund allocation is £37,000 to deliver training in 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 to 113 individuals.
E11 VSCE Grants
Recognising the important and valuable contribution that our vibrant VCSE sector makes to the lives of residents across the county, the Community Grant Fund aims to build on this to deliver the aims and objective of the UKSPF Investment Plan.
Through the Fund, we want to enable community and voluntary groups to access funding for projects that will support community initiatives and activities across the county addressing their local needs.
The Community Grant Fund will support community-based activity with grants of up to £15,000 for community groups across Herefordshire.
Projects will need to align with the following priorities:
? Pride in place – improving people’s satisfaction with where they live
? Enhancing engagement with community activity
? Improving health and wellbeing
? Tackles issues related to the cost of living crisis
The aim is to not be too prescriptive of the type of projects which can be funded but they must contribute to the Community and Place theme set out in Herefordshire’s UKSPF Investment Plan and therefore, projects must be able to show how they will:
? Be community-based
? Improve our communities
? Improve people’s satisfaction with where they live
? Increase the number of people engaging with community activity in local neighbourhoods
? Help improve the health and wellbeing of people in the community
? Help improve the quality of life of people affected by the cost of living crisis
This Fund is open to community and Third Sector organisations that deliver locally within Herefordshire and engage local people in the design and development of
services to meet their needs. These can be new or established services
The grants scheme will be delivered through a competitive process managed by Herefordshire Council’s grants team. The funding will represent an opportunity to facilitate the sustainability of community-based activity. Total fund allocation is £413,000 in 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
Specific Outcomes and Outputs
E11 VSCE Development:
113 people receiving training (52 in 2023/24; 61 in 2024/25).
E11 VSCE Grants:
23 voluntary, community and social enterprise groups receiving grants to enhance community resilience and infrastructure (10 in 2023/24; 13 in 2024/25).
The Fund has the following overarching outcomes:
? People and communities have access to services, support and opportunities that improve their lives and well-being.
? People and communities are more self-reliant and are better able to identify ways to improve and take control of their lives and well-being.
? People are better able to gain the skills, capacity and confidence to play an active role in their communities.
? People and communities are better able to influence and participate in decision making and service development.
? People and communities are better able to identify and deliver solutions that meet their needs.
? People and communities are better able to participate in the social, economic and cultural life in Herefordshire.