Annual Review 2011 - 2012 Welcome!
Legacy and sustainability
This is my fourth year as the Chair of the Trustees of Kingston Voluntary Action. The last few years have been extremely testing for the Voluntary Sector in general and Kingston Voluntary Action in particular. So it is wonderful to be able to announce that the KVA team ably led by Hilary Garner and Lynda Evans have finally turned around the previously uncertain financial position. They have ensured a sustainable future with superb support from our stakeholders. I am delighted to celebrate the success of their endeavours and the new projects which were started in 2012 enabled by the generosity of our stakeholders and funders. I believe that, now this solid foundation is in place, we are able to turn our efforts to ensuring that the legacy that we have all aimed for will be achieved. It has been a privilege for me to work with such an inspiring and dedicated team of individuals. The road ahead will always be difficult but the KVA team genuinely fill me with the confidence that they have the strategies to continue to grow the organisation for the benefit of its members. Paul Cox Chair
Kingston Voluntary Action is dedicated to providing the right advice, support and training at the right time to the diverse voluntary and community groups of Kingston upon Thames. Over the last year we have worked on securing a sustainable future for the sector by developing a framework of infrastructure support, generously funded by the Big Lottery, City Bridge and Royal Borough of Kingston. We are now building on this resounding success with innovative new services and legacy funding for groups through our current Transforming Kingston Infrastructure Project. Finally, it is with great pleasure that we look back at our role in creating a volunteering legacy, following the thrilling and inspiring Summer Olympics.
Developing a funding legacy KVA is helping to create a sustainable future for voluntary and community organisations by increasing and diversifying their access to funding sources and giving advice and training on fundraising. Love Kingston is our exciting new fundraising campaign, delivered in partnership with London Community Foundation, to raise vital new funds for Kingston’s groups. 50% of donations received will support five local groups committed to ‘pathways out of poverty’. 50% will be invested to form the Kingston Legacy Fund, to support charitable activity year on year in our borough. We are also supporting local voluntary and community organisations to have a webpage on Localgiving.com, a popular fundraising website dedicated to small and medium sized charities. In the last year we have continued to offer fundraising courses and one to one funding advice through our capacity building programmes.
Join Love Kingston at www.love-kingston.org.uk Help make a change in our community
I am honoured to have been asked to be one of the Founding Patrons and I am pleased that the Bentall Family have contributed financially to the campaign Edward Bentall
Kingston has a unique personality and distinctive identity stretching back many centuries, it is an honour to be a Founding Patron of the Love Kingston campaign Cllr. Shiraz Mirza 21 groups have already raised more than £12,500 since May 2012. Our aim is to fund the first year’s subscription for 50 groups to Localgiving.com by the end of our Transforming Kingston’s Infrastructure Project.
Love Kingston is a unique and simple way to support local communities in Kingston. Donations received will be divided equally between five local groups committed to supporting people out of poverty, and a new Kingston Legacy Fund. Until March 2015, we will be able to boost all donations to the Kingston Legacy Fund by 50% under the Community First programme. There is £128,702 of match funding available for Kingston. Donations are invested as part of an endowed fund and the annual income used to provide a long-lasting source of support for voluntary and community organisations. The five groups we are supporting are Hestia, Kingston Foodbank, Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness, Oxygen and Kingston Savers.
See the photos from the Love Kingston launch at www.kva.org.uk
Developing a volunteering legacy Kingston Volunteer Centre (KVC) rebranded last year to Go Kingston Volunteering (GKV) to capture the enthusiasm and spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics. 2012 has been an incredible year, and we are delighted that so many volunteers joined us to support the Torch Relay and the cycle races that came through Kingston. Our volunteers also took part in the Cultural Olympiad and continue to help out at local events throughout the borough. There has never been a more exciting time in volunteering, with support from government and the backing of the nation. The London Ambassadors and Games Makers programme really inspired people, many of whom had never volunteered before. GKV aims to capture this enthusiasm and include everybody that wants to volunteer. To do this we will increase and diversify opportunities so that there is something for everyone. GKV will be breaking with its traditional working methods, making it easier for voluntary groups and potential volunteers to embrace the moment and take volunteering to a new level across the borough. Our Volunteering Good Practice project continues to offer advice, support and new training courses to help local organisations deliver robust volunteering programmes.
I volunteered to support all of it, via the Go Kingston initiative, and it was an amazing experience not to be missed. It was a privilege and an honour to be part of it all
I've met new people, been put in fun and challenging situations and gained valuable experience which helped my university application
Number of volunteers recruited for Olympic sporting and cultural events
400
Percentage increase in volunteering
68
Number of volunteer management courses
6
Number of organisations supported by volunteering good practice project
62
Number of individuals trained and supported in volunteering good practice
113
The Buddy Scheme has run 30 befriending partnerships over the last year. Dedicated volunteers support individuals who have learning disabilities. Regular social activities out in the community help to reduce isolation and increase independence.
I love having someone to go out with – and doing things without my mum or dad
Find out more about volunteering at www.gokingstonvolunteering.org.uk
Developing a skills and training legacy Last year marked the end of our Kingston Infrastructure Support and Development (KISD) Project, funded by the Big Lottery. One of our greatest achievements has been to offer local, relevant, high quality yet subsidised workforce development training to staff, trustees and volunteers of local groups. Training in specific areas such as commissioning, social enterprise, outcomes and business planning reflected changes within the sector, helping voluntary and community organisations deliver efficient and sustainable services during challenging times. We delivered the following in the lifetime of the project: Number of courses delivered during the 6 capacity-building programmes of KISD
98
Number of individuals receiving training
875
Number of organisations supported to create and develop Voice websites
65
Number of community development workers 49 benefitting from skills advancement Our partnership with the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) on their Skills and Knowledge in Local Development and Skilling up for Stronger Voices projects also enabled us to develop training for community development workers, strengthening their skills for influencing and supporting local communities. KISD sowed the seeds for Transforming Kingston’s Infrastructure (TKI), which started in 2012 and is funded by the Big Fund on behalf of the Office for
I have found the course to be an invaluable opportunity to develop and broaden my management skills
Civil Society. Working in partnership has continued and expanded. We are again working with Kingston College to ensure a further seven voluntary and community sector managers gain the Chartered Management Institute Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership. Further developing managers’ skills and knowledge is a crucial component of TKI, this time through a mentoring scheme with The Cranfield Trust, that provides business mentoring, social enterprise start-up advice and commissioning support. Twelve organisations
have benefitted so far. Our strong partnership with Superhighways continues to offer Voice website training in addition to new, specialised courses in social media and online fundraising, revealed as a need through our survey with local groups earlier this year. KVA and Superhighways’ partnership with the Local Safeguarding Children Board resulted in piloting an online learning resource for safeguarding children, specifically designed for the voluntary sector.
Watch a film about our workforce development work at www.kva.org.uk
Sustaining the future Kingston has a vibrant and diverse voluntary and community sector that provides a wide range of services, activities and support in our community. Sustaining the future of the sector is important in order to build stronger, more resilient communities, particularly in the present economic climate.
Our year in numbers...
An important function of KVA is to ensure that the sector has a real voice as a key strategic partner in the delivery of services in the borough. One of the ways we are doing this is through our role in the development of the Voluntary and Community Sector Strategy, including the key areas of commissioning, community development and engagement, and the development of a Compact for Kingston. We will also ensure that the sector continues to have a strong voice in the health and social care agenda including important issues such as GP Commissioning.
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Contact us Kingston Voluntary Action Siddeley House, 50 Canbury Park Road Kingston upon Thames KT2 6LX 020 8255 3335 info@kva.org.uk www.kva.org.uk https://twitter.com/KingstonVA @KingstonVA Superhighways 020 8255 8040 www.superhighways.org.uk Www.communityconnected.org.uk KVA is dedicated to delivering services and support that enable communities to connect, ensuring that Kingston upon Thames is a supportive and welcoming place to live. Through projects such as Community Connected, Kingston Eco-op and Kingston Community Furniture we offer opportunities for communities to work and learn together. We’d like to thank the hundreds of volunteers that make this happen.
We are extremely grateful to all our funders for their support
Go Kingston Volunteering 020 8255 8685 www.kvc.org.uk www.facebook.com/GoKingstonVolunteering https://twitter.com/GKVolunteers @GKVolunteers HealthWatch Kingston 020 8974 6629 enquiries@healthwatchkingston.org.uk Kingston Community Furniture Adams House, Dickerage Lane, New Malden KT3 3SF 020 8942 5500 www.kingstoncommunityfurniture.org.uk
Personal Development Trust
Kingston Eco-op 020 8942 5503 www.kingstoneco-op.org.uk www.facebook.com/KingstonEcoop