2010-2011

Supporting the Voluntary

and Community Sector in a

Changing Environment

Chair’s Report

This is my third year as the Chair of The Trustees of Kingston Voluntary Action.

It has been a year in which, at last, I have been able to understand more fully the workings of KVA.

It has been a year, not surprisingly, of concerted effort from the whole organisation to manage the

difficulties encountered in the current financial climate.

Sadly, some members of staff have been lost due to the cuts, but the spirit of the management,

staff and volunteers has not been dimmed and they continue to strive to deliver an ever-growing

programme for the benefit of voluntary organisations and community groups.

The major thrust of everyone within KVA is to ensure that sufficient new grants are generated to

enable existing programmes to be delivered and new opportunities are investigated as they arise.

It has been a very challenging year for KVA staff in general and for me in particular. The Board of

Trustees continue to give their total support to Hillary Garner and his team in the pursuit of their

goals. We are greatly encouraged by the successes that have continued during these difficult times

and the plans for the future give us cause for great optimism.

Paul Cox

Chair

Supporting Change

Changes in the economic, political and social environment - including the Government’s BIG

Society Agenda - continue to have an impact on voluntary sector organisations and community

groups in Kingston.

A key role for Kingston Voluntary Action is to ensure that we constantly adjust to the changing

needs and requirements of organisations, ensuring that we support change, through the

development of the services and support we deliver.

We continue to transform and develop our training and capacity building, information and advice,

partnership and strategic working, communications and volunteering support.

Transforming Volunteering

Developing Training and Capacity Building Support

During the period April 2010 - March 2011, Kingston Volunteer Centre registered and referred

over 1,544 potential volunteers to local community, voluntary and statutory organisations. The

majority of these were female, in the age bracket 19—25 years old, and unemployed. Over half

of those volunteers interviewed had some sort of disability.

Kingston Volunteer Centre will be rebranding this year to GO Kingston

Volunteering, and will fundraise to develop and build upon the work of

the Good Sports Project. We aim to recruit 500 extra volunteers to get

involved in the local Cultural Olympiad diary of events, and fulfil

Kingston’s 2012 volunteering legacy.

In rebranding, the Volunteer Centre will not only be leading on volunteering and helping to bring

the 2012 Cultural Olympiad alive in Kingston, it will be challenging tradition, identifying its

strengths and weaknesses and seeking to put in place a service reflective of organisations and

volunteers’ expectations in 2012 and beyond.

So far, through our BIG Lottery funded Kingston Infrastructure Support and Development Project,

we have delivered 67 training courses attended by 690 participants from the voluntary and

community sector. In partnership with the National Association of Voluntary and Community

Action (NAVCA) under their Skills and Knowledge in Local Development (SKiLD) programme, we

delivered a ‘Supporting Communities Development’ programme of 5 training courses designed to

help development workers in the borough with their role.

We have also worked in partnership with Kingston College in supporting managers from 7 local

voluntary organisations to obtain the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Diploma in

Management and Leadership at Level 5.

Through the development of our training programme and work-

shops, our aim has always been to provide training that is

relevant and meets the changing needs of the sector. This has

included training on commissioning, developing social

enterprises, developing outcomes, using ICT tools and social

media for fundraising and monitoring and evaluation purposes.

Kingston Voluntary Action has secured funding from the City

Bridge Trust to continue providing and developing capacity

building advice and support. This will include organisational

development support, identifying and promoting funding

opportunities, providing support to local organisations with fundraising through grants and

supporting organisations in income generation, commissioning and procurement.

Developing Information and Communications Support

The Superhighways Project continues to deliver services that ensure that VCS organisations keep up

with changes and developments in IT communications. This includes online tools that can improve

efficiencies in work practices and social networking applications, such as Twitter and Facebook, that are

a good way for organisations to reach potential beneficiaries.

Cloud Computing is still the big focus in the IT world and we are working with the South London CVS

Partnership’s BESPOKE Project to investigate just what advantages this new way of working could bring

to voluntary organisations, along with the implications in terms of, for example, cost and security.

Kingston Community Furniture has faced a challenging year during which

stock donated was not always consistent with market demand. This

reflected economic uncertainties nationwide. Nonetheless, the project

ended the year in a stronger position and succeeded in building some

strong collaborative working ties.

As a direct result of collaboration, the Project is actively reviewing its

future governance and is currently considering the possibility of a merger

with the Vine Project. This will lead to improved service delivery, reaching

a wider community in South West London and Surrey.

Managing Project Change

The local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Kingston is informed about developments through

KVA’s communication systems; disseminating information through the KVA website, quarterly

newsletters, e-bulletins and email distributions, and through face-to-face communication with

individuals and via our local networks.

KVA facilitates a range of forums for the sector, providing an opportunity to exchange information

about any new or emerging needs and potential ideas/solutions for tackling these needs. These

include the Community Development Network and Voluntary Sector Forum.

KVA chairs the Kingston Information and Advice Alliance (kiaa) that develops both policy and strategy

for the advice sector. Kiaa supports a diverse range of agencies to work together, to identify needs

and collaboratively work towards solutions.

KVA also chairs the Kingston Advisors’ Forum bringing together front-line advisors from all agencies.

The Forum is a platform for front-line advisors to take forward cross referral initiatives, update on

legislation changes and enjoy all the benefits of networking.

KVA hosts the Information and Access to Advice project Kingston-i for

residents in the borough of Kingston. The project is supported by community

and voluntary organisations, in partnership with Kingston Council. It is a web-

based directory of services, with telephone support. The aim is to help keep

people well and maintain their independence, by providing greater choice for

people using services throughout Kingston, by giving accurate, consistent and

timely information.

Strategic Development and Community Cohesion

With the increasing emphasis on Localism, empowering and involving residents and

communities, voluntary and community sector organisations (VSC) play an even greater role

in delivering services.

It is important that during these changing times, VCS organisations have a voice … and a

key role of KVA is to ensure that we represent the sector at a local and strategic level.

We represent the sector through the Local Strategic Partnership and under the Localism

agenda, which includes the Community Engagement Strategy, the Voluntary and Community

Sector Strategy, the Grants’ Review, the Social Enterprise Strategy, and the One Norbiton

Working Together Project.

KVA is responsible for the dissemination of information, and provides a range of

communication and networking opportunities for VCS organisations to meet each other and

work collaboratively. The strength in this function lies in enabling groups to have a voice,

to participate collectively and to respond to an immediate issue that affects the community.

Following an attack on Kingston Mosque in November 2010, there was a tremendous

community response from organisations, community leaders and residents united in wanting

to express their solidarity with the attacked community. Also wanting to express the view

that an attack of this sort ran counter to the way that the Kingston community works and

lives.

Kingston’s response was widely recognised as an example of best practice, in terms of how a

community could come together to respond to such an incident. Community leaders have

met since, and it has been agreed that we want to maintain momentum and find new ways

to champion cohesion and enjoy commonality.

Taking this forward, it has been agreed that Kingston Voluntary Action will be the Chair of

the newly formed Community Cohesion Group, with key partners from Kingston Police,

Kingston University and Kingston Council being involved in supportive roles.

The key aims of the Group will be to nurture a safe and enjoyable environment for

communities in Kingston, especially those which experience isolation, or feel vulnerable to

attack.

Kingston Volunteer Centre 020 8255 8685

www.kvc.org.uk

Maria Jarvis, Manager

Richard Craig, Buddy Scheme Co-ordinator

Pat Stanley, Volunteering Good Practice Worker

Hedley Featherstone, Good Sports Project

Co-ordinator

Kingston Community Furniture

Adams House, Dickerage Lane, New Malden,

KT3 3SF 020 8942 5500

www.kingstoncommunityfurniture.org.uk

Adrian Collins, Project Manager

Sean Murray, Business Manager

James Deane, Operations Manager

Bart Ricketts, Eco-Op Project Co-ordinator

Chris Williamson, Recycling/Packaging Supervisor

Sue Ilsley, Support Worker

Sam Carrey, Support Worker

John Legate, Bike Project Mechanic

Registered Charity No. 257551

Kingston Voluntary Action Siddeley House, 50 Canbury Park Road

Kingston KT2 6LX

020 8255 3335

www.kva.org.uk

Hilary Garner, Chief Executive

Lynda Evans, Deputy Chief Executive

Keith Morton, Business Manager

Maria Tunmer, Health & Social Care Manager

Zahida Saddiq, Capacity Building Manager

Sanja Kane, Workforce Development & Training Co-ordinator

Chris Wingrove, Kingston-i Project Manager

Judith Naylor, Children & Young People First Project Worker

Polly Healy, Administrator

Rianne Eimers, LINk Manager

Debra McCarthy, LINk Support Co-ordinator

Superhighways 020 8255 8040

www.superhighways.org.uk

Kate White, Manager

Colin Cregan, ICT Support Worker

Yaarub Aisa, ICT Support Worker

Sue Quilter, Admin Worker

Contact

Funders

We are extremely grateful to all our funders who funded our work throughout 2010-2011.