A new report has highlighted the vital community support provided by the local voluntary sector across Somerset.
The Somerset VCSE State of the Sector report for 2020 is the second report of this nature commissioned through the Somerset VCSE Forum which builds on the work of the 2016 State of the Sector report.
In March, a survey was sent to charities, community groups and social enterprises across the County.
The findings have informed a second in-depth review of the state of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Somerset, coinciding with National Small Charities Week.
“What was not anticipated at the time of this project being undertaken was the impact of COVID-19 on communities,” says a spokeswoman.
“This has brought new challenges to the sector as well as opportunities, and two smaller follow-up surveys were conducted mid-March 2020 and April-June 2020 to help better understand the impact locally. The results of all three studies have been included in the latest report, produced by Spark Somerset.”
Key findings of report
- There are 2760 registered charities in Somerset and 100s more informal community groups
- 87% of the ‘workforce’ are volunteers
- Key challenges organisations currently facing include loss of funding/income; loss of face-to-face/group working; adapting to digital working; retaining and training workforce; shielding customers/clients, future uncertainty and developing new services for COVID-19 circumstances
- Of the groups that responded, 10,334 volunteers contribute 19,463 work hours in an average week.
Katherine Nolan, CEO of Spark Somerset, says: “As before, our sector continues to provide valuable services, activities and volunteering opportunities across the county and is characterised by the optimism, enthusiasm and dedication of its workforce.”
“But it is also under pressure – balancing reducing resources with growing needs for their services – and now in more challenging circumstances than ever.”
“We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the whole sector at this time – organisations large and small, registered charities and informal groups. The fantastic support that these organisations provide has never been needed more.”
The full report is available to download on Spark Somerset’s website, visit https://sparksomerset.org.uk/news/StateoftheSector
