Support for Community Organisations

BUILDING CAPACITY – INCREASING IMPACT

How can community spaces optimise their set-up and activities to become more resilient? Cheshire Community Action is playing an integral role in delivering the Building Capacity – Increasing Impact project to local voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) in the Cheshire West and Chester (CWAC) area.

This project provides infrastructure support to organisations that run community spaces, helping them to:

 

Improve organisational effectiveness by developing skills, knowledge and resources. 
Boost financial sustainability by strengthening governance structures and financial and fundraising capacity.
Promote volunteering opportunities and recruit, train and manage volunteers effectively.
Measure and evaluate to quantify outcomes for informed decision-making on the delivery of services and activities.
Collaborate and work in partnership with other organisations.
Develop innovative capacity to respond to opportunities and challenges.
This project includes a calendar of monthly training sessions and complex support such as one-to-one coaching and bespoke leadership training.

 


SOCIAL ENTERPRISE & COMMUNITY BUSINESS SUPPORT

Social enterprises and community businesses are organisations with a social and/or environmental mission that get the majority of their income from selling goods and services rather than through grants and donations. They aim to make a profit but the majority of their profits are reinvested in their mission to bring about social and/or environmental change.

Social enterprises and community businesses use a wide range of different business models and legal structures. It can often be difficult to know which will be the right ones to take your ideas forward and that’s where we’re here to help, as well as providing support as your social enterprise or community business develops.

With more than 12 years’ experience, our expert advice and support can help you…
Explore ideas for developing new social enterprises and community businesses.
Set up the right legal structure and business model to take your ideas forward.
Develop a business plan and financial forecasts.
Market your goods and/or services.
Measure and demonstrate the impact of your work.
Understand legal requirements.
Access funding and finance.
Grow what you are doing.
Develop good governance.
Develop new services or a trading arm for your organisation.

Contact Kevin Janes

Email: kevin.janes@cheshireaction.org.uk
Phone: 0333 577 5370

CHESHIRE WEST COMMUNITIES TOGETHER (CWCT)

The community development service provided by CWCT is primarily targeted at the communities in the borough with the most significant health inequalities, particularly in Chester, Ellesmere Port and Winsford. There is one community development worker in Chester (Blacon and Lache), one in Ellesmere Port and one in Winsford.

The aim of the service is to engage with and empower residents to take community action to improve health and wellbeing in their local areas. The community development workers have an in depth knowledge of their communities and are a good source of information about what is going on.

If organisations or residents want to find out what is going on in the community, get more involved in their local community or have an idea about how the area could be improved, they can contact the relevant community worker on the details below:

caroline@cwtogether.org.uk

CHESHIRE WEST VOLUNTARY ACTION (CWVA)

Volunteering

CWVA volunteering platform provides plenty of benefits for both volunteers and any organisations offering volunteering opportunities.

Both volunteers and organisations offering opportunities can create their own accounts on TeamKinetic and use the range of features to their advantage. Volunteers can search for opportunities by location, category, organisation and other fields to find a role perfect for them, while organisations can manage the process of recruiting volunteers from start to finish and run off useful reports.

If you need any additional support with the volunteer platform, please email:

enquiries@chesterva.org.uk
CWVA Volunteering portal

Support for volunteer managers

Volunteer managers play a vital role in volunteer-involving organisations (VIOs) as it’s their responsibility to recruit, retain, train, develop, evaluate and look at the various needs of their volunteer team.

There are many different ways CWVA can help you:

  • Developing policies and procedures.
  • Developing and promoting roles.
  • Advice on screening procedures, including application forms, references, DBS checks and where to signpost volunteers who may be unsuitable for your organisation.
  • Advice on supporting and developing your volunteers in their roles.
  • Advice on rewarding and recognising your volunteers, including our useful Reward and Recognition Toolkit.
  • Support and advice on evaluating your volunteer programme and what benefits it brings to volunteers, people using services and the organisation as a whole.
  • Promoting your opportunities on our dedicated volunteering platform.
Cheshire Community Action

Cheshire Community Action aim to give communities a stronger voice by engaging and supporting them to influence the places, spaces and services that are important to them.

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CONTACT

01244 400222
enquiries@cheshireaction.org.uk

Queens House Annexe
Queens Road
Chester
CH1 3BQ

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