Annual Report. Valuing Voluntary Action. April 2004 March Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services

Transcription

1 Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services Valuing Voluntary Action Annual Report April 2004 March 2005 Registered Charity Number Company Limited by Guarantee

2 Chair s Foreword Welcome to this year s Annual Report of Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services. Once again it is my pleasurable duty to present the report, which covers the activities of PAVS for the period April 2004 up to March I commend the report to you all, confident that it reflects the considerable hard work, commitment and achievements of the whole PAVS team. A full year of hard work has been completed both in terms of the core work, and numerous innovative projects. Staff members have, as always, risen to the challenges presented to them. Some employees have moved on to pastures new, and we thank them for their contributions and wish them well in their future plans. Naturally, we have new employees who are warmly welcomed, and we hope that they will enjoy being part of the PAVS experience! All members of staff have worked hard under the expertise and guidance of the Director and Project Managers, and we, as Trustees, thank them all. PAVS name is becoming more widely known and with this, expectations of what we can achieve also grows, but this would not be possible without you, the Voluntary Sector, stating your future hopes and aspirations. Please talk with us in order that we can react positively to your hopes and sometimes your fears. The acquisition of 40 High Street has helped to ease the accommodation issues, and has provided a base for the Gennex 25 7 project, and space has also been rented by other voluntary sector agencies. It remains for me to thank my fellow Trustees for their continuing support, and we now look forward to working together as a team of staff, trustees and volunteers in order to rise to what will inevitably be another challenging but inspiring year ahead. Di Horley Valuing Voluntary Action.. Consulting and involving the sector One of the year s consultation events held with the sector to gain views on topics that vary from the action plan for the Voluntary Sector Liaison Group, to Assembly initiatives such as the independent review of the Voluntary Sector Scheme 2

3 Director s Report We have continued to forge ahead with plans made last year, and our work has tackled recurring themes social enterprise, quality, partnership and consolidation. The work programme has included commissioning architectural designs and applying for Objective 1 funding to develop the Centre for Voluntary Action through a project called Making Space for Social Enterprise. We have involved our members, partners and a broad range of people and organisations with which we work to help inform the development process, and we feel the results will lead us into the next phase of development of PAVS and will help us to develop more enterprising ways of working, as well as supporting groups that are ready to take the next steps as social enterprises. We have focused on strengthening both quality and partnership working reviewing the constituencies and representation on working groups and strategic partnerships, and improving mechanisms for exchanging the resulting information and views. In striving to be able to demonstrate quality in all that we do within the Association we are confident that we are creating the underpinning structures and procedures to make PAVS a strong and effective county voluntary council. The Independent Commission s review of the Wales Assembly Government s Voluntary Sector Scheme highlighted the vital role that CVCs play in ensuring that the national and local agendas for the voluntary sector are complementary. This will influence our planning in the coming year. PAVS has a team of trustees and staff committed to supporting voluntary action in the county we are here to respond to the needs of our members, partners and the broad sector. Meetings are not the only way to understand those needs and we are exploring ways of using technologies in more innovative ways to find alternatives to sitting at tables. Your responses to this work will be greatly valued. I would like to acknowledge the strong governance of the Trustee Board as a staff team we feel supported and valued in our work. The range of skills and the diverse backgrounds of the staff team also continue to prove very helpful in developing PAVS as a forward looking organisation. Partnerships are key to developing and securing resources for voluntary sector activities and the provision of services. We look forward to the coming year, to expanding our membership, responding to the sector s needs and addressing the challenges that will accompany the progress we make. Anne Moazzen Valuing Voluntary Action. This year s annual event in Volunteers Week an opportunity to thank volunteers for the valuable contribution they make to their communities 3

4 About Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS) is: the independent Association of voluntary and community groups in Pembrokeshire a membership organisation, open to individuals and all voluntary and community groups operating in Pembrokeshire a company limited by guarantee and registered charity, governed by trustees elected from the membership part of a network of similar recognised organisations covering every local authority area in Wales PAVS aims to support voluntary and community action by: helping new projects to get off the ground keeping groups up to date with legislation and current issues bringing groups together to influence local planning providing accredited and informal training opportunities providing a full volunteering service including: recruiting and supporting volunteers volunteer management offering information on : funding legal matters developing good practice providing practical help with : financial services and payroll information technology printing and reprographics equipment loan PAVS was established following Local Government reorganisation in April 1997 and since then has seen unprecedented growth in the range and scope of its work coupled with ever expanding expectations. Such rapid growth has presented a range of opportunities and challenges, not least the need for larger premises and the development of management and planning systems to support the delivery of diverse activities in ways that are coordinated, accountable, consistent and sustainable. The guiding framework for PAVS, in common with all County Voluntary Councils (CVC s) in Wales is a set of standards set out in the Local Voluntary Services Scheme (LVSS) which was established by the Welsh Office in consultation with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and the Welsh Local Government Association. This annual report aims to provide an insight into the impact of work carried out by the Association in 2004/05, along with a snapshot of key achievements during the year under each of the 5 themes detailed in the scheme. 4

5 Supporting Voluntary Action The Association continued to develop the range and scope of services to support voluntary action in the county, keeping the sector informed of developments through various general and targeted newsletters, mailings and publications. Throughout the year there has been a focus on strengthening the infrastructure of the Association, planning the individual and team work programmes to fit with our business plans, and by investment in a database tailored to our work. This will allow us to work more efficiently by building a record of the activity we undertake with groups, and to develop a profile of the sector in Pembrokeshire. The content on the PAVS website continues to offer a range of useful, easily accessed information, to which we have added Information Sheets on all aspects of our work. This offers an immediate reference and self help point for organisations, volunteers and development workers. The Development Service, Training and ICT Projects, together with the Rural Community Action joint project (partnering PLANED and the Princes Trust), as well as Volunteering Pembrokeshire offer a comprehensive service supporting the development of voluntary action in the County. This has been underpinned by very successful grants schemes administered by PAVS the Sustainable Pembrokeshire Small Grants Scheme; the Keyfund for Priority 3 wards, and the Carers Holiday Break Scheme. All grants awarded are overseen by Grants Panels that involve representatives from a broad range of agencies, interests and communities. The demand for development services continues to grow, and a stepped service has been introduced the 123 Framework. This will offer an immediate response to information queries at the first level Helpdesk, moving to more in depth development and advice services through to an action planned approach at levels 2 and 3. This will ensure that services are targeted more effectively, and that each development plan for organisations offers the full range of PAVS services. Greater emphasis has been placed on involving the full range of PAVS services with each organisation with which we work to ensure that the sector benefits from the most holistic and comprehensive service we are able to offer. Valuing Voluntary Action.. Working in partnership is a key principle of PAVS work each year the Association takes space in the Learning Zone at the County Show, promoting training opportunities for volunteers and voluntary organisations. Voluntary sector partners at this event included PAVS, The Prince s Trust, Pembrokeshire MIND and displays from the Sector s Training Advisory Group 5

6 Key achievements and facts in 2004/05 Keeping the sector informed: four information packed newsletters available in hard copy, and on the website or through health and social care updates and carers supplements bi monthly volunteer bulletins targeted mailings for consultation documents and local planning developments further development and updating of the PAVS website and a comprehensive range of information sheets Making the most of the world wide web: establishing the second phase ICT project 123 Communicate building on previous success working with groups to develop web sites and on line communities, and researching new technologies for future use participating in an all Wales CVC initiative funded by ELWa to understand the opportunities and barriers to e learning for the voluntary sector Building capacity in the sector: The Learning for the Voluntary Sector project was formally launched at an event held at Stackpole 76 delegates looked at social enterprise development in the context of learning and Preparing for Tomorrow 25 organisations represented by 47 delegates participated in a Basic Skills conference held in March 6 Build Your Skills workshops identified training needs for groups, and produced prioritised Learning Plans 24 courses were provided (4 of which were accredited) to 390 participants planned using collated information on training needs, from which new initiatives such as the Trustee Recruitment and Training programme were developed longer term plans were developed to create a range of toolkits for learning, and establish a team of learning champions The 123 Framework was developed offering varying levels of support from one off information to in depth development support. 243 groups were supported in the year Quarterly outreach funding surgeries were held, with invited guest speakers covering topical issues, followed up with 6 funding advice workshops for which a fundraising strategy toolkit has been designed Funding the sector: 243 groups received a development and funding advice service 111 of which secured a total of 1,812, groups and 38 individual carers received a total of 462,548 distributed through the grants schemes administered by PAVS WCVA undertook research in this year which indicated that voluntary action in Pembrokeshire contributes a value of 90.9 million to the local economy. Of this 30.6 million covers the salaries of an estimated 2,128 paid staff, and 57.9 million is the notional value of volunteer time of which there are an estimated 22,700 in Pembrokeshire 6

7 Working in Partnership Partnership work continued to be a key and growing area of work, presenting great opportunities for the sector along with many challenges. Over 40 partnerships involve representation from the sector. Representatives operated at many different levels and were supported by staff in the Representation and Joint Working Team, covering every aspect of life in Pembrokeshire. Community Planning received feedback from all strategic partnerships in the county, on which there continues to be voluntary sector representation. The re structured Voluntary Sector Liaison Group continued to develop its work, including initiatives for the production of a Funding code of Practice; for engagement of the sector in Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings, and participation in the Wales Programme for Improvement reviews within the Local Authority placing a greater emphasis on working to an agreed action plan, reported and consulted on at bi annual events with the sector. Key achievements 2004/05 Strengthening the participation of the sector: facilitated the representation of voluntary organisations, service users and carers in the planning of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing services participated in working groups that developed the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Strategy to ensure that plans were in place by March 2005 the restructured Voluntary Sector Liaison Group developed protocols for involving voluntary sector organisations in the work of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and began work to develop a Funding Code of Practice PAVS facilitated participation in regional events, and also held local workshops which drew together views of voluntary sector organisations that contributed to the Independent Commission s review of the Assembly s Voluntary Sector Scheme an on line community for the network of groups working with children and young people was developed in addition to 3 editions of the Network s newsletter the voluntary sector, carer and lay members of the Local Health Board continued to meet as a group under the Building Strong Bridges Initiative, and to participate in the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Voluntary Sector Network Supporting carers: the Holiday Breaks scheme was again administered by PAVS, and supported 38 carers to have a holiday the Carers Forum was arranged twice in the year 4 Carers Supplements were circulated to a readership of nearly 600 The first of a planned series of Carers and Employment seminars was arranged in Pembrokeshire College in November 2004 Valuing Voluntary Action.. One of the bi annual Carers Forum events over 400 carers and support organisations receive information about the activities, discussion and outcomes of these days 7

8 New Initiatives PAVS has led discussion in a range of strategic partnerships to encourage consideration of the potential for voluntary sector service provision. This is particularly relevant as a response to prioritised aims within strategic planning across all partnerships. There continues to be broad support amongst statutory agencies for the development of voluntary sector services. This acknowledges the value voluntary sector services add to formal services and that they provide a key component in developing a whole systems approach to meeting the needs of communities in the county. Governance and standards for voluntary sector services are central to decisions that will be made about resourcing projects, and future work will need to target training needs and systems development with the sector through a range of training and development work. Funding opportunities will need to develop, and PAVS role in partnership work will continue to focus on working with a range of organisations to plan responsive, new initiatives as well as helping to sustain existing valued services, and to work with funders and the sector to secure the necessary resources. Key achievements 2004/05 Supporting young people: The Gennex project, developed the themes of active citizenship, community decision making and activity, including disadvantaged children and young people from 7 to 25 years of age The Gennex project team worked with sessional staff and volunteers to support 15 youth forums in the county 11 community based forums and 4 issue based forums. Voluntary sector representatives attended all meetings of the Children s and Young People s Partnerships the second phase Consortium Youth Project was completed with each group planning for future work some of which included further bidding for Objective 1 funding Improving community transport: PAVS continued to link with a range of stakeholders to establish PACTO (Pembrokeshire Association of Community Transport Organisations) Work was ongoing with PACTO to secure 90,000 over 3 years through a service level agreement with Pembrokeshire County Council and a dynamic development worker was then employed to develop community transport in the county Spreading the benefits of Objective 1 funding: work began on new phases of Training for the Voluntary Sector; 123 Communicate (PAVS ICT project); and the consortia of County Voluntary Councils projects for capacity building work with voluntary and community groups work continued with Priority 3 wards in Pembrokeshire to develop projects that would fully utilise Keyfund resources an application for Objective 1 funding for Developing Social Enterprise was submitted in partnership with PBI and PLANED to offer support to voluntary and community sector organisations to work in more enterprising, self sustaining ways an application for Objective 1 funding was completed to develop the Centre for Voluntary Action this exciting project will develop the site to create Space for Social Enterprise allowing small, embryonic social enterprises space in which to grow, and offering a small conference area for the sector in the centre of the county town 8

9 Supporting Volunteering The volunteer bureau at PAVS was restructured in this year, beginning with the launch of the service from newly revamped space within the Centre for Voluntary Action. The service now operates under the banner of Volunteering Pembrokeshire, and has consolidated its work in the Centre offering on line search facilities for volunteering opportunities, as well as comprehensive listings of all opportunities registered and access to the internet and telephones to explore preferred opportunities. New materials, reference and broad ranging information have been produced, and have been used to expand the service through links with partners such as the Employment Service and Careers Wales West. This underpins the Basic Adult Guidance Service offered to potential volunteers, and builds on the strong work already achieved through a contract with Careers Wales West. The Pembrokeshire Volunteer Organisers Network has continued to meet, facilitated by Volunteering Pembrokeshire staff, and one of the events organised this year was a Skills and Knowledge Exchange workshop, looking at volunteer recruitment Valuing Voluntary Action.. Volunteering Pembrokeshire, working in partnership with Pembrokeshire Voluntary Organisers Network Key achievements 2004/05 Widening participation in volunteering: providing a Volunteer Recruitment Service from the Centre for Voluntary Action in Haverfordwest, and in 6 outreach bases throughout the county which offers adult guidance to all potential volunteers aged 19+ local coordination of Millennium Volunteers targeting year olds hosting the Retired Senior Volunteer Programme for volunteers over fifty dealing with 1117 volunteering enquiries in the year registering 270 volunteers with PAVS Volunteering Pembrokeshire project Developing volunteering opportunities: providing advice and information to 185 organisations who are members of Volunteering Pembrokeshire and which manage, train or coordinate volunteers advertising over 500 volunteering opportunities 86 of which were new in the year supporting the Pembrokeshire Volunteer Organisers Network (PVON) working with statutory agencies to develop volunteering opportunities establishing Pembrokeshire Environment Volunteers Network (PEVN) 9

10 Building a strong County Voluntary Council We have continued to support organisations that are developing their capacity to operate autonomously, and to host organisations within the Centre for Voluntary Action offering space and facilities to help develop services within the sector. The building adjacent to the Centre in High Street, Haverfordwest has been leased by PAVS, with the long term aim of offering more accommodation to sector organisations. There have been positive outcomes for projects with which PAVS is a partner, including the Disability Coalition and its parallel research project, funded through the Interreg III European initiative. Emphasis has been placed on strategic planning for the Association, covering a 3 year period up to 2008, matched with further strengthening of the policy framework. To underpin our face to face services with members and other groups, we have developed over 50 Information Sheets, covering the most requested reference material that supports voluntary and community sector organisations. Paper copies are available on request, or as downloads from the web site. We have continued to embed quality assurance in all our work, using the Charity Evaluation Service s system: PQASSO (Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations). This, together with the work that has been undertaken on policies and procedures in this year means that the Association is virtually fully compliant at the second of three levels of performance, and making steady progress on the third level. Participation in the regional and national agenda for the voluntary sector has become an important aspect of each CVC s work, and WACVC (Wales Association of County Voluntary Councils) members are beginning to work together to achieve economies of scale, and to combine resources to work more effectively. Training, ICT development and support, information and business management services are obvious possibilities for collaborative working and this will be pursued actively in the coming year, complemented by each organisation s internal business planning processes. Key achievements 2004/05 Commissioning the design of plans to develop the Centre for Voluntary Action, including a level access entrance and additional accessible facilities work and meeting space Developing and improving working links with partner organisations Ongoing review of policies and procedures to ensure the Association fulfils statutory requirements and makes progress against PQASSO updating staff contracts, together with the development of a range of additional policies linked to personnel issues strengthening the skills range and diversity of the Trustee Board an updated induction and training programme for trustees and staff use of PQASSO (a self assessment, quality standards framework developed by the Charities Evaluation Service for voluntary organisations) to continue to improve the governance and management of the Association linking the Association s strategic planning process to team and individual staff members work programmes to achieve a fully integrated business plan for PAVS 10

11 Human Resources Trustees in post during the period Islwyn Bevan David Fletcher Nigel Owen Jane Slade John Farrow Di Horley Sue Perkins Beryl Thomas Cleaver Geoff Ferguson John Nicholas Tracey Price Staff in post during period Bettina Becker E Learning Researcher Sue Blantern Information Systems Officer Emily Boyle Disability Researcher INTERREG III Margaret Brooks Keyfund Grants Administrator Josie Coggins RCA Development Officer Donna Coles Trainee Finance Assistant Sally Davies Carers Development Worker Mike Dunthorne Temporary Finance Clerk Marie Anne Elf Trainee Finance Assistant Richard Etherington Sessional Worker GENNEX 25 7 Nadine Farmer Development Officer GENNEX 25 7 Rachel Gibby Coalition Development Officer Caroline Graham Volunteering Pembrokeshire Co ordinator Ceri Hind Project Assistant Development Team Lee Hind Youth Planning Facilitator Sue James Davies Senior Administrative Officer Katherine Jones Development Worker GENNEX 25 7 Linda Lancaster Administrative Assistant Sue Leonard Senior Training Officer Anne Moazzen Director Mui Mok Volunteering Pembrokeshire Development Officer Lindsay Morgan Administrative Assistant Jean Morris Receptionist Guy Norman Assistant Director Catherine Palmer ICT Project Development Officer Angela Phillips Development Officer Gavin Phillips Desktop Support Assistant Stuart Purdy ICT Development Support Officer Judith Roberts Finance Officer Margaret Roberts Joint Planning Facilitator Keith Simcox Health & Social Care Planning Facilitator Roger Smith Training Officer Marc Tierney ICT Development Support Officer Lorna Unwin Funding Advisor Fiona Walder Partnerships Officer Louise Walters Project Assistant Training Team Elaine Winfield ICT Development Support Officer 11

12 Income Expenditure Service Level Agreements PCC 8% Other Income 10% Project Funding Objective 1 25% Grants distributed 20% Management & Administration 5% Core Funding 11% Projects delivered by partners 9% Services & Projects Restricted 54% Grants for distribution to the sector 19% Project Funding Other Sources 19% Services & Projects Unrestricted 12% Funders 2004/05 Wales Council for Voluntary Action European Union Objective 1 Community Fund Pembrokeshire National Park Welsh Assembly Government Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Education and Learning Wales Pembrokeshire County Council AON Risk Insurance TEXACO Members voluntary subscriptions Prosper Cymru/PBI Careers Wales West 12

13 PEMBROKESHIRE ASSOCIATION OF VOLUNTARY SERVICES STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 st MARCH 2005 Unrestricted Restricted Notes Incoming resources: Charitable activities gross income 152,461 1,063,775 1,216,236 1,032,243 Less: deferred income (93,342) (93,342) (119,554) Donations ,176 13,627 Members voluntary subscription Other incoming resources 47,534 79, , ,658 Total incoming resources 2 200,866 1,050,577 1,251,443 1,034,559 Resources expended: Charitable expenditure Local Voluntary Scheme 109,977 69, , ,606 Consortium P4 & P3 projects 15,413 79,559 94,972 65,985 Technical Assistance Project 7,173 25,446 32,619 17,733 Building Strong Bridges 30,007 30,007 28,569 Joint Planning Facilitation 27,367 27,367 27,950 Carers Focus Dev Project 29,768 29,768 29,513 Youth Planning Facilitation 12,944 12,944 15,012 GENNEX 25 7 Project 57,791 57,791 Volunteering Pembrokeshire 51,206 51,206 76,134 Rural Community Action Project 15,597 15, Community Transport Project 2,963 Local Regeneration Fund Small Grants 49,192 49,192 Local Regeneration Fund 93,586 Community Fund Project 14,326 14,326 9,339 Voluntary Sector IT Project 37, ICT Project 73,061 73,061 21,256 Pembrokeshire Keyfund Project 194, ,612 49,386 INTERREG III 2,753 2,753 Consortium Youth Project 138, , ,806 Voluntary Sector Training Project 71,481 71,481 Pembrokeshire Coalition Project 31,200 31,200 28,461 Projects Support Costs 20, , ,914 87,664 Management and Administration 4 21,424 39,842 61,266 36,108 Total resources expended 3 174,292 1,115,731 1,290, ,426 Net incoming resources 5 26,574 (65,154) (38,580) 71,133 Funds at 1 April , , , ,301 Net transfer of funds (6,207) 6,207 Funds at 31 March , , , ,434 All the company s operations are classed as continuing and there are no recognised gains or losses other than those included above. 13

14 PEMBROKESHIRE ASSOCIATION OF VOLUNTARY SERVICES BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 ST MARCH 2005 Notes Fixed assets Tangible assets 8 24,638 34,738 Current assets Stocks 2,661 1,077 Debtors and prepayments 9 131,610 75,185 Cash at bank and in hand 194, , , ,164 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 10 (134,174) (159,468) Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities 194, , , ,434 Represented by: Restricted funds , ,971 Unrestricted funds: Designated funds 13 21,445 17,090 Reserves 14 70,385 54,373 Total funds 218, ,434 These financial statements are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part VII of the Companies Act 1985 relating to small companies. The full accounts have been audited by Bevan & Buckland who have given an unqualified report. For further information, the full Financial Accounts, the Auditor s Report and the Director s Report should be consulted. Copies are available from Judith Roberts MAAT, Finance Officer, at PAVS office. Approved by the board of directors on 2 nd November 2005 and signed on its behalf by Signed copies available for viewing at PAVS offices Diane Horley, Director 14